Lee Enfield barrel vices

[Bearclaw]

G'day guys,
I am trying to find myself a barrel vice that will suit both the No4 and No1. I would love an orginal one but not sure if these are available. Are there plans around to build your own.

Myles

Information

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[tbonesmith]

Good plans in John Hinnant's book on precision barrel fitting. Superb reference and cheap from brownells. I got my vice off eBay. Works great. The guys always selling them too, will post link later. The difficult part is mounting it properly ridgid. I posted how o did mine in my no4t rebuild thread. Done quite a few since and its been perfect.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

There is a thing called a:

Vise No.13, which consists of several parts.

One of the clever things about it is that the flat surface to drive the flat on the barrel is a separate part, dovetailed in and numbered to the "clams" as they are marked.

What I appear to be missing are:

The baseplate, which, it would appear, bolts to the workbench and onto which the lower "clam" slides, and the clamping device that holds the whole assembly together.

My set has R.S.M.L.E. stamped on the two blocks that I do have, so there is no prize for guessing what it fits. It also seems to have been "adjusted to fit the Australian "H" barrel diameter where the appropriate section surrounds the barrel forward of the Knox form.

These blocks were originally painted something like "bronze green"but most of it has disappeared.

I have started to draw them up in CAD, and would like to see what the rest of the bits look like.

The blocks are still usable by the simple expedient of clamping them in SOFT jaws in a VERY large vise. The steel is quite hard and I would not like to crack them. It would be nice to have a copy of the "proper" baseplate and clamp. Also obviously missing is the receiver wrench that is supposed to fit around the breech ring. I suspect that in original equipment, this wrench would have had a decent-length handle on it.

Any "machine heads" out there with one to photograph?

If you don't have a complete one of these toys, The Brownells one works fine; just be a bit careful "cracking" the thread by the enthusiastic application of a large hammer. The Brownells blocks that fit the SMLE are also listed for use if you want to play with small-ring Mausers, like the Swedes. Note also that the Brownells bench-mounted vise uses "approximately" tapered insert blocks that, packed with copper, brass or VERY soft steel inserts are designed to grab the barrel proper, just forward of the Knox form.

A four foot length of steel tube as a handle extension is a bit more subtle than a large hammer. Even better, if it appears that it was assembled by a budding Popeye, or that it may have a "little" oxidation in the threads, stand the barrelled action in a can of diesel fuel for a couple of weeks before swinging off the wrench.

[RJW NZ]

Ebay always seems to have them under enfield. you can also go to enfield resource.com and look up the gunsmith type shops such as Brownells, they always have something, but ebay first cheers R

[tbonesmith]

FWIW Bruce in Oz, I saw one of the vices you refer to at the Lithgow SAF Museum, looked like a beauty. Who knows, if you gave them a ring they might photograph it for you and email it to you. This had blocks for the No1 and No4 too.

[Warren]

If anyone is playing around with Pattern 14 rifles, I have a set of blocks for that one that are just sitting around. Drop me a PM and we can talk.

[muffett.2008]

Check EBAY, both the barrel wrench and a basic vice are advertised seperately.

[buffdog]

If you can find a copy of the NRA "Gunsmithing Guide", there are plans for two barrel vises in it, along with a wealth of other information.

Also, a wrench for the barrel Knox form can be easily made if you have a metal lathe. Bore out a block with the proper taper, then mill the top of it flat with an 11 degree taper. Then simply weld a flat piece of steel across the flat, so that it will fit the flat on the Knox form.
.

[bigduke6]

Good plans in John Hinnant's book on precision barrel fitting.

If you can find a copy of the NRA "Gunsmithing Guide", there are plans for two barrel vises in it, along with a wealth of other information

Two excellent books, well worth the money, John Hinnants book can also be bought from Dave Manson reamers.