My new 1905 B.S.A. No 1 Mk I***

[RCS]

Always difficult to find in the USA, is the Mark 1*** that is "without" the Irish pre-fix CR or ER
(or even G) and a new serial number. This BSA 1906 also has the matching barrel, bolt, rear sight, fore-end but not the magazine

[artyldr01]

The safety acts directly onto the cocking piece at the rear of the bolt. There are two parts in there, one is the lever you see.. it has a rod that it pivots on that has a flat side at the end which engages or disengages the cocking piece to hold it back off the trigger sear. That way, when the safety is engaged, the trigger can be pulled with no resistance other than the spring. The other part winds onto it from the back with a multi start thread. If it hasn't been started in the correct position, it might be holding the safety lever out far enough to stop it working. If you undo the screw that is in the bottom of the dumbell spring, the whole safety will come out in your hand. If somebody doesn't beat me to it, I'll dredge up some pics a little later.

Yes.. it has a lot of history, that one.... May not have made active service in WW2, but could well have been a home guard issue. Not sure if the GF converted MkI's were declared obsolete when the plain rifles were. Someone here will know....

Well, I disassembled the safety and found an additional washer that I don't believe is supposed to be there (since it does have the volley sight). I can't tell if the locking bolt or safety catch have been broken or worn. Is the "safe" position to the rear or to the front? I am fiddling with the proper starting point of the threads. I have found every variation so far that allows it to not fire at all or to always fire but NOT safe in one position and fire in the other. I love a puzzle, just don't want to break expensive parts or wear the threads on the screw/safety catch.

[Son]

Ok... The half flat on the inside end of the safety shaft looks to be a bit messed up. Looking into the hole it goes in, you can see the bottom of the cocking piece is at the middle of the hole. In the fire position (the lever is forward) the flat on the shaft goes under the cocking piece. In the safe position, (safety lever right back) the shaft has turned 90degreesand will locate into a spot on the side of the cocking piece when cocked, that will move it rearward so the sear is not contacting it.
Terminology aside- (it will confuse the issue to try to use it)
To position the lever and the other bit, wind the other bit on all the way so stops in position for putting it in the rifle in the safety off position (Forward)
Leave the washer out,( not sure of it's purpose, but it isn't supposed to be there) and put the volley sight arm and the dumbell spring on, fit the screw. (Maybe the dumbell spring is bent and the washer was taking up the space???)
The top end of "other bit", when the safety is moved rearward to safe position, will wind inward locking the bolt body preventing it from being opened while the rifle is in safe.
If it doesn't fire when lever rearward, and the trigger should have only sear spring weight, no mainspring feel with the lever back, then the safety lever is doing it's job.

with any luck I haven't confused you too much... it's late here and probably shows in my description

[Steve H. in N.Y.]

A couple of pics which may help to illustrate Son's description. From left to right;
Safety off.
Safety on.
Locking bolt engaging cocking piece at the full cock position.
What an undamaged one should look like.

Attachment 40348Attachment 40349Attachment 40350Attachment 40351

[artyldr01]

Thank You Son and Steve.

I feel a bit ignorant, haven't looked it up yet, I'm sure it is on here somewhere, but how do you remove the Mk I bolt? With the sliding stripper guide it looks more complicated. I am trying to be careful and not do more damage in my haste.

As I look at the photos it does seem my safety is a bit worn / chipped.

[Steve H. in N.Y.]

Pull the bolt fully to the rear. With your finger, pull the bolt head up until it pops loose from the release spring. Push the charger guide to the rear and rotate the head all the way up and withdraw the bolt.

[artyldr01]

Steve H, thanks...that was simple. I'm attaching a couple pics. I did get the safety installed correctly so now it will prevent the bolt from being turned. However, when cocked and on safe, still fires. It seems clear that the end of the locking bolt is broken/missing and the safety catch seems worn. Also, there is significant slop in the trigger. It pretty much flops freely with about a 1/2 inch of travel when not cocked. When cocked the travel is much less and less sloppy but I suspect still more than should be. Making progress. Seems most things are drop in fixes. The trigger may be more complicated I suspect.

Unrelated question. It appears, if I am interpreting properly it appears my magazine is a 2nd variation converted to 3rd since the barrel is marked HV for the high velocity rounds. Am I on target? Any particular rarity or uniqueness to this?

Thanks all.

Niels

[Bear43]

If I am seeing the picture right then the end of the safety lever is definitely messed up. That being broken would cause the weapon to fire even on safe. You are correct that the magazine case was tweaked to become a 3rd variation case and it is for the reason you noted, a change in ammunition. When this rifle was first built it was calibrated to the Mk VI ammunition, so when the Mk VII became the standard some recalibration and tweaks were required. The magazine case was tweaked and if you look close at the rear sight base and compare it to untouched originals you would see that the ramps for the slider were ground down to recalibrate the sight to work with the Mk VII ammuntion.

[user1]

here's an original one

[artyldr01]

Thanks for the picture and input. Luckily Mk III safeties are prevalent on eBay. That is what is on there now.