Help! Misaligned Pads on No 4.

[Peter Laidler]

Peter is thinking about this after browsing the photos and looking at the utterly dismal work of the so-called REME Armourer (of which I know more but prefer to stay silent). But while it looks a disaster area and a total waste of one of the very historic and last No4's produced, there might be an optimistic shred of hope. I will add more later. But it will take a real Armourer or gunsmith to fix it. So please, please please stay clear of enthusiastic amateurs and butchers who have absolutely no concept of the dynamics and mechanics of what you hope to achieve. Indeed, some will be offering you some, er......, what we call 'bullsh........, er....., bovine scattology.

Anyone can bolt a telescope to a rifle but not everyone can get it right. I'll come back later.........

LATER; If I was you, this is what I'd do. First, I'd accept that your rifle is now worth the sum of its parts BUT you can(?) salvage it like this. Remove the rear pad and see just how well the front pad is aligned. You do this by fitting the bracket with your telescope to the rifle. But ONLY do this after having first centred the optical axis of the tip of the graticle to the mechanical axis of the tube. A better bet would be to use/borrow a proper No32. I say this because this is the telescope that you will eventually (?) put on the rifle.

If the telescope can be brought into alignment as per the details I gave in the article I wrote, then you might be part way to seeing some optimism ahead.

Take your rifle to someone who knows what he's doing and ask him to slightly countersink the three existing BA and BSF holes and then silver solder steel threaded plugs into the existing holes into the rear screw holes. If your man can't do something this simple, go somewhere else or ask me and I will put you in contact with someone who can.

When the holes are plugged and filed flush, get the same person to start the rear pad operation again but this time, EXACTLY as detailed previously. Naturally you/he will now be drilling and tapping part into the original now securely plugged original holes put there by the blind idiot who butchered it to start with. I see you and several others teccies out there wincing at the thought........ But don't be afraid. Those motor racing 998 Mini's and MG Midgets/Modsport racers have been doing this offset plugging to extreme pressure engine blocks and cylinder heads since the 60's.

By silver soldering the threaded plugs in place they will be secure and the heat generated will be insufficient to affect the hardened locking lugs that you've got to preserve. Do not be tempted to use hard steel plugs for technical reasons. Mild steel is what you need.

When he's finished it, ask him to bead blast, phosphate and paint the body. You won't even need to un-breech the barrel.

That's all there is to it unless you need to ask any questions. Anyone of a more technical bent please, please feel free to question my idea. I appreciate that we'd just scrap the thing but needs must and all that.