Reproduction SMLE stock

[Bruce_in_Oz]

Making the furniture, especially the fore-end and, in particular, the hand-guards, is not a task for the faint-hearted.

AIA / ACA got a batch made in Viet Nam about a decade ago. These came complete with all of the "fittings" ready attached. They were HAND-Carved from TEAK. As with ANY furniture, they required a bit of hand-fitting by someone who knew what they were doing.

As far as I know, these were not a roaring success, except among competitive Service Rifle types who needed the "look" and appreciated the extra weight of the Teak.

You do not want to be trying to rivet the end cap to a front hand-guard unless you have the right gear and nerves of steel. (Unless you have some stashed away, forget about the "proper" tiny screws; they are a mongrel size and have a bastard thread; stick with the brass rivets that anyone can knock up on a baby Unimat lathe.). Ditto the spring clamp under the rear hand-guard.

Yes, a multi-axis / spindle CNC centre could do the job. I have sought out people in Oz who have such things. The catch is ALWAYS; "How many hundred of these do you want in the next month?

PROPER front hand-guards have a barrel channel that is TAPERED to match the barrel profile and was originally made with a very long, specially shaped cutter. CNC would enable some simplification, (variations) on this internal channel, ditto that in the fore-end. If you demand absolute authenticity where it can't be seen, be prepared to pay serious money for it.

There is a GENUINE "substitute standard" hand-guard that has a PARALLEL channel; VERY crafty set-up. It is cut so that the "TOP" of the radius of the channel runs parallel to the TOP surface of a standard barrel.

And finally, as the Goons astutely noted, "You can't get the wood anymore". Walnut, yes; Coachwood and Queensland Maple? Just how deep are your pockets?