Reproduction SMLE stock

[Homer]

Sorry, I should have clarified: I was referring to SMLEs from all manufacturers, not just Lithgows. Truth be told I'm not particularly attracted to the Lithgow SMLEs - they're obviously well-made rifles but don't appeal to me quite the same way as the English or even Indian rifles for some reason. My point is, getting an SMLE Mk III* in Australia shouldn't cost what it does because they're not rare and not hard to find.

Good lithgows are not rare but getting harder to find. Let's be clear, I said good ones. Most of what you see advertised are average to poor or built up.
Please clarify, are the rifles in the Brisbane shop mostly his own collection or for sale?
Certainly a lot of what is advertised in Australia is overpriced because it's mostly rubbish at good gun prices, but I think four digit prices are in line for good quality matching examples, especially the the earlier years. Try find one!

[CINDERS]

As a guide a friend brought a sniper T from the US some years ago it added another $1,000/US to the bill to get to Western Australia at least that's what he told me when I asked him

[Colonel Enfield]

Please clarify, are the rifles in the Brisbane shop mostly his own collection or for sale?

They're definitely for sale. They have a website which lists some of what they've got in stock, otherwise you can visit the store and have a look in person.

Certainly a lot of what is advertised in Australia is overpriced because it's mostly rubbish at good gun prices, but I think four digit prices are in line for good quality matching examples, especially the the earlier years. Try find one!

The problem is most people can't tell/don't care about the difference between about a rare early model Lithgow Mk III and a generic 1942 Lithgow Mk III*. They're both "Old army rifles" - yet the prices on the 1942 Lithgow are heading towards the same ballpark as the early model rifles.

Is it possible for you blokes Down Under to pick up a rifle in another part of the world and have it shipped down there?
We do see Lithgows up here from time to time, (Canada) and wondered about the possibility of sending the odd one 'home'.

It's certainly possible - in my experience, the problem isn't getting them into Australia (At least in Queensland, the import paperwork is fairly straightforward to obtain) - it's getting them out of whichever country they're currently in. Shipping firearms internationally costs a lot of money and the export paperwork can be troublesome, depending on the country.

[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

[browningautorifle]

This was the first time that I had tried out this conversion

Nice looking handguard...might pass for correct...

[BushyFromOz]

It's certainly possible - in my experience, the problem isn't getting them into Australia (At least in Queensland, the import paperwork is fairly straightforward to obtain) - it's getting them out of whichever country they're currently in. Shipping firearms internationally costs a lot of money and the export paperwork can be troublesome, depending on the country.

Indeed. Finding a good quality Lithgow overseas seems to be fairly straight forward, but the cost of getting it imported and jumping through the paperwork will push the price up by 2 or 300%

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.

Handguard's are not a problem. Find a forearm that it in good condition is a problem. When Springfield Sporters, numrich etc had all those indian and british DP's timber for sale, I was spiting chips as they refused to export even when splitting it up over multiple purchases would get each package under $100

[mrclark303]

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

Well done F10, all nicely coloured to match too. Certainly a viable option for a display rifle as No4 woodwork is still very plentiful and relatively cheap, there still seems to be warehouses full of the stuff!

You can, I believe make the subtle alterations to the No4 butt to match the SMLE profile.

That said, as Peter, Mike and our other resident Armourers have said in the past, fitting a No4 butt is also entirely correct too.

[CINDERS]

Isn't that strange I google earthed Mexico in Australia and got 2 hits in Qld when you get down to it all it shows is empty bushland though it is close to Jericho airport 210klm's south off Faraday Rd from Jericho as the crow flies by my scaled ruler.
May be another pine gap kept off the satellite pictures, bit a secret service stuff out there BushFromOz................?

[Flying10uk]

May sound strange but I use leather die to die/colour match wood, the spirit based type or the environmentally unfriendly type, if you prefer.

[browningautorifle]

leather die to die/colour match wood

Not unusual, I've heard here about guys using food coloring.