Quote Originally Posted by Patrick Chadwick View Post
Oh yes it has, as I mentioned previously. Take a careful look at the 5th/last photo in your 1st post. The stake mark should be right on the screw slot, the idea being to drive a bit of metal into the slot to lock the screw. A stake mark that is not on the slot will merely increase the turning friction a bit, but presents no problem to a well-fitted screwdriver, properly applied. The slot itself has been marred at a later date as a result of using a poorly fitting screwdriver to remove the screw - look at the burr on the left side of the slot, towards the stake mark. When the screw was tightened up, the slot then turned past the stake mark, as you can see in the photo. This is not surprising, as even the best matured wood will still shrink a tiny bit over a century!
Yes, the screw your referring to has been removed and was loose. It's the one in front of the mag well I'm referring to, I believe whoever broke the back one loose failed on the front and quit at that point. As for not being out of the stock, I'll stand by that claim after removing the hand guard and the barrel being still covered in undisturbed grease.

I'm a long time collector of Swissicon rifle, US and some Enfields, I've always used linseed oil (Raw, not BLOicon) and Turpentine mixture to oil my stocks initially and follow up with a new coat annually. I've been meaning to get the ingredients for the recipe from the Landesmuseum in Zürich and give it a try.

For walnut, clean the stock first;

30 % Gum Turpentine
30 % Linseed oil (raw not BLOicon)
30 % Fruit (wine) vinegar
10 % Bees wax