How desperate are you to fix this SMLE front handguard?

[Roy]

Nice work, i've never used brake cleaner, I brush acetone through the crack to flush as much muck out as possible. On some real basket cases i've put a slip patch or two across the damage.

[Peter Laidler]

When we were apprentices - back in the bad old days of yore - , our woodwork instructors, Mr Reilly was the one that I particularly remember, would give you a particularly bad No4 or No1 handguard or even an SLR handguard in two pieces just to repair to serviceable condition. A real ball ache was a really bad Mk2 Bren butt that was clearly well beyond any sort of redemption. We'd wonder why but daren't ask of course. But he'd say something like that if you're fighting for your lives in the Radfan Mountains or Korea, you might be at the top of the supply chain importance, but getting them to you, the last leg of the chain, was the most difficult. So fix what you've got! Some excelled at it........ others were triers while others like me were mere also rans. But the one thing that I did learn from it was don't try to hide wood patching, show it off. Here endeth the lesson as they say in all the good books

[louthepou]

I am a tad late to this party but I must ask what it looked like before you set about repairing it?

The broken piece was completely separated, starting at the back edge of the band groove.

[eggwelder]

nice job on that lou. i found that oven cleaner gets a huge amount of grease out, especially on the really bad ones.

i have a rear hand guard that split in 2 thru the rivet holes. it will be fun to repair. then i have to make new rivets.

But the one thing that I did learn from it was don't try to hide wood patching, show it off. Here endeth the lesson as they say in all the good books

something like this? i don't know how to make the picture smaller