Lee Enfield chamber reaming in the Great war?

[muffett.2008]

I remember discussing this before, this question is often raised on the Flat Earth Forum, the only chamber improvements made to the No.1 Mk.III was to increase the rear chamber Bevel to allow easy chambering with rounds contaminated with mud/blood.
This in conjunction with a relief groove around the base of the round sorted most of the ammunition problems of the time.
The Lithgow rifles had the bolt carriageway reamed to allow more clearance, as sand was binding the close tolerance actions and the increased leadin bevel was also done.
British actions had more tolerance in the chambers than the Australian ones, this often leads to false information in regard to out of round chambers and excessive headspace. At one time it was even claimed that the oval chamber was to allow monsoon rain to drain( maybe someone can resurrect that post, always good for a laugh) such is the rubbish posted on the mighty internet.

What needs to be remembered is that this was a fire and forget rifle, no fancy reloading techniques employed on the battlefield.
The case was sufficiently strong enough with a solid rear web that ensured sufficient safety to the user under the most extreme conditions, as opposed to the light soft brass cases used by the current reloading fraternity, using often undersized brass in generous chambered Milsurps leads to all sorts of weird case deformities, hence the continuous persistance of posts regarding chambers/headspace.

Proper reloading techniques and attention to the individual requirements of each Milsurp will ensure a safe and enjoyable time with these old ladies, do your research and do not be misled by some of the interestingly stupid things you read on the internet.

Information

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[Lee Enfield]

...snip...
The Lithgow rifles had the bolt carriageway reamed to allow more clearance, as sand was binding the close tolerance actions and the increased leadin bevel was also done.
British actions had more tolerance in the chambers than the Australian ones,
...snip...

My understanding was/is that in 1915 the tolerances were changed due (mainly) to experience in Palestine.

Supposedly the original SMLE bolt diameter minimum (-) was changed to become the standard, the standard dia was changed to be the max (+) diameter acceptable tolerance.

At the same time the standard bolt race diameter was changed to be the minimum (-), and the max (+) was changed to be the standard diameter.


This is supposed to be the reason why pre-1916 SMLE actions were preferred as the donors for the Australian HT program during WW2 (because they are toleranced tighter, not because they "Flexed better").