I Need Your Help

[moeman4]

I have a blue binder type book that measures 7.5"L by 5.5"W by 2" thick, it opens at the front 2" side & on the back 2" side it says "INSTRUCTIONS FOR ARMOURERS 1931 PLATES".
Inside there are 18 individual sheets of drawings with instructions & schematics for Machine Guns & Rifles to Swords & Daggers & everything in between it even has 2 sheets on the Mark IV Bicycle. The drawings were done by "Malby & Sons". I have searched the internet to no avail for info on this item but I did find this site so I'm hoping someone out there can help me. I would like to know the origin & of course the value. I'm Looking forward to hearing what knowledge is out there.

Thanks....Moe....

Information

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[Peter Laidler]

What you have are a part set of the drawings included in the written Instrructions for Armourers (IFA's) of 1931. They were updated fairly regularly. Every Armourer had a full up to date set issued to him when he finished his 2 years training course (as an adult) or 5 year apprenticeship if you started as a 15 year old apprentice.

They were in use until the now obsolete Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Regulations (or Instructions in Australia) replaced them slowly from 1948 or so.

A lot of the info relating to the No1 rifle and the Vickers MMG is out of date or has been supersceded so don't use the IFA's in relation to these weapons.

The AfI's served many other pourposes and were used in conjunction with AVI's and the old Ordnance Stores demand system. A bit complicated and long winded but when the war came, they all went on the bonfire and we got a better system...... that just got bigger and bigger - and worse! Some of the forms that the AfI's refer/relate to are still in use in a modified way, such as the AFG1045 and 1033 plus some more.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

My little boxed set was originally issued to an Australian Armourer on 2nd July, 1942, according to the packing note that came with the box. Interestingly, he is identified as "L. Sgt", a rank of some rarity in the system these days.

The "blue" of the box is somewhat "tired" and more "brownish" on the outside than when originally issued

The parts identification charts are absolute gems and are apparently "reduction" prints from larger, "full-sized" drawings. As armourers also maintained military bicycles, there was a chart for them in my set as well.

Your set should also have a large, "foolscap"-sized text document containing detailed specifications for the No.1 rifle (SMLE), probably the 1938 edition, as well as charts for such goodies as the Hotchkiss machine gun and other oddities.