Help with No.1 Mk3 safety

[Bruce_in_Oz]

What you have there is a mixture.

The "Dumbell" shaped thing is the "Spring, Safety Catch".

The screw should hold that part to the LHS of the "socket" of the receiver. Check that the thread runs freely; if not, you may have a screw from something completely different.

The "lever" thing DOES NOT belong on a No1 rifle. It appears to be the WW2 vintage "Bolt, locking, Mk ll ". This was a "rush" production job that was considered unsafe, especially if used in conjunction with the "emergency" Mk ll cocking piece that lacked a "half bent" notch. The Un-safety" catch assembly, if you will.

This Mk ll "Bolt, locking", was made without the multi-start thread that drives the actual "catch, safety, bolt, locking" into engagement with the bolt body to prevent its rotation. Without the "catch", there was nothing to stop the bolt flying open if bumped when cocked, except a bit of friction. The "half-round" section on the shaft is supposed to engage the little angled slots cut in the LHS of the cocking piece and, as the lever is rotated rearwards, draw the cocking piece and striker rearwards and thus ensure the tip of the striker cannot (hopefully) strike the primer.

These Mk ll "bolt. locking" components are quite rare these days. They were hunted down and withdrawn from service as quickly as "proper" components could be supplied. Parts "withdrawn from service", be they worn, defective or "obsolete", usually end up in a scrap bin that gets sealed up and sent to a smelter.

Interesting bit of history, but if I were you, building up a No 1 rifle, I'd be in contact with my friendly purveyor of fine Lee Enfield parts fairly soon.

Information

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[seabot2]

Thanks very much Bruce. I wouldn't have known where to find that information on the odd safety. I did find the correct safety components and install it on my gun. I'll make sure no one ever uses this MkII parts.