Resurected LSA 1896 MLE

[Roy]

Following on from the post 'My next challenge'

If i'd worked for a week straight i'd have been able to buy a better rifle but thats not the point, I've learnt a load about the MLE and have saved a bit of history.

I cleaned up the front sight where someone had pummelled it about, someone in the past cut a slot and silver soldered a bit into the rear of blade so when you look though the sights the front sight is very bright. I even have a front sight hood which I got given 10+ years ago.
I found a replacement bolt and safety in a box at the gunsmiths but when I came to assemble it the safety would not engage and I had to carefully, with a small curved oilstone relieve the safety scallop on the bolt, this took an hour, did each armoured have to do this to get a MLE safety to work? thats why we have serialised parts!
In the MLE box at the gunsmiths I found a forend tip which I added to that forend graft since I could never get that nose cap fit as good as the stock duplicator at LSA. The barrel channel was cut and scraped buy hand, the machine which cut the tapered channel must have been quite interesting.
I scraped the stock back a little to remove the old oil finish then used some walnut and red stain to even out the colour and blocked it with a piece of softwood to get the 100 year old smoothness. it'll get oiled everyday until, according to the sergeant armorers instructions 'a polished finish is achieved'
A couple of bits are still outstanding, I still need a nose cap and piling swivel and I'm very open to horse trading to get them. Also i'd like to know if anyone still makes reproduction clearing rods.

Roy

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[browningautorifle]

If i'd worked for a week straight i'd have been able to buy a better rifle but thats not the point, I've learnt a load about the MLE and have saved a bit of history.

Maybe, but that wasn't the point. I did the same type of resurrection with a Krag recently and with the same sort of reasoning. Nice job bringing it back and hope you can find the small parts soon. Keep looking here and I'm sure someone will have them...