Quote Originally Posted by Frederick303 View Post
You really want a grungy forend. The Irish rifles were pretty well used and the indicating are that no SMLE MK I forends were ever sourced as replacement parts, though the handguards were. As such a rather will used forend will look better for a restoration.

In the area I live in the only forends available are Indian ones with the No4 pattern blackstrap. Cost for a set of wood (all 4 bits) is around 75 dollars, when you see it.
I agree the only reason I was looking for newish is the rest of the spare wood I have is newish looking. I suppose the best thing would be the sets springfield sporters have and the backstraps wouldnt really be out of place. It doesnt have a bolt so this is going to be a long rebuild waiting around for the right parts anyway.