Reproduction SMLE stock

[Flying10uk]

In Post 12 I mentioned that I had converted No4 top hand guards into SMLE top hand guards for my U.K. deactivated 1930s SMLE. I believe that Forum Members may be "missing a trick" here because I am not a carpenter or woodworker by trade or probably any more skilled than the average Forum Member. I am a metalworker and precision engineer and so I am very careful to measure correctly, double or trebble check my markings out before, hopefully, cutting once.

The main motivation for converting No4 hand-guards into the SMLE version was because I purchased a U.K. deactivated 1930s SMLE with no woodwork but I didn't feel inclined to pay the prices being asked for either original or "proper reproduction" SMLE hand-guards. The purpose of this little article is simply to show that it is possible to convert the plentiful No4 hand-guards into the not so plentiful SMLE hand-guard and hopefully to show other Forum members what is possible with a few basic woodworking tools and knowledge plus a little confidence.

A slight word of caution here as this conversion was carried out for a U.K. deactivated SMLE which is obviously only a show/display item. I don't know how well the No4 hand guard conversion would perform on a live rifle; this is something anyone trying this conversion would need to research for themselves.

This was the first time that I had tried out this conversion which I admit is not perfect but it is good enough for me. I thought that it would be possible because the No4 rifle was developed from the SMLE and all I have sort of done is to reverse engineer the hand-guards. The "new" rear SMLE is made from a No4 rear hand-guard cut and reshaped to size etc to match that of the SMLE. The "new" front SMLE hand-guard is made from a front and rear No4 hand-guard. You can see from my pictures the overlap/scarf type of joint. I further strengthened this by glueing thin slithers of wood on the inside of the "U". Obviously the combination was then cut to size and then shaped. I turned up a new steel "nose-cone" then sectioned out the bit which was needed for the front of the front hand-guard. This was then VERY carefully riveted to the hand-guard.

The purpose of showing what I have made is not to try to show off but to, hopefully show and to motivate other Forum Members of what is possible with basic tools and skills.

I was lucky enough to find a new old stock fore-end and I used a No4 butt.

This article is not intended to be a study of the U.K. deactivated rifle it's self, only the hand-guards