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another no4 mki* refurb project
First post here, although I've been reading all the other refurb project threads for a week now since acquiring a 1942 no4. mki* long branch from a surplus crate. I found one at the bottom of the pile with no visible pitting on the receiver or any part of the bolt. Some finish wear and minor pitting around where the butt fits into the receiver behind the trigger, but plenty of rust on the stock furniture. the handgaurd ribbing is severely damaged in a large spot on one side. Quick google showed I can cheaply get new-old-stock or good condition pieces for all the minor furniture.
My goal is to refurb it to something fun to shoot that performs to the accuracy standards it was manufactured to meet. I'd like for it to also look as clean and neat as it would have during the 40's when carefully maintained by the dedicated soldier it was issued to. His name apparently was Doug.
The serial number stamped on the stock matches that of the rifle. Doug lightly scratched his name, upside down on the buttstock, in doodle-style with crosses inside the letters. I like to imagine a very bored, very young Doug, lonely and laying prone in a hole on night watch, looking over the right side butt and doodling his name with the tip of a round.
I took it home, put the gloves and apron on and started my disassembly and cleaning. It's now all apart but the barreled action. Swabbed the cosmoline out of the barrel with hoppes and patched dry - no brushes or JB yet. I took a peak with my Lyman borecam. I found 2 groove rifling, with brilliant shiny and sharp lands - almost like a mirror, and some carbon deposits in the groove around the throat. High hopes now!
I found several things that need addressed. I'll post as I go, hopefully with pictures. Here is the first major issue.
I began by scrubbing all the surface crud and dried cosmoline on the outside. Now it seems as though dried cosmoline was the only thing keeping the buttstock tight. It now jiggles slightly when twisted.
Fast forward - the buttstock bolt was frozen, but came out easily with 10 minutes of kroil. Tried tightening, but it won't go past where it was until I get the debri/rust off it. No rust in the receiver threads, plenty on the stock bolt.
Is there hope that this was loosened before storage and it will be tight when put back together? I'd like to save it if I can get all the grime off - if only for Doug.
How best to shim the buttstock tight when I reassemble?
On a related note, the recess where the buttstock fits had plenty of rust and minor pitting all over. When I get it all out, I think I will seal it with alumahyde II epoxy paint to keep any moisture in the wood off of the metal, unless someone has a good reason not to.
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01-24-2020 12:34 PM
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Advisory Panel
I'd use a wire wheel to clean the threads of the stock bolt, then use your BFS and tighten it...it'll tighten to tight. Don't worry. Pics...?
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Legacy Member
I'd use a wire wheel to clean the threads of the stock bolt, then use your BFS and tighten it...it'll tighten to tight. Don't worry. Pics...?
BFS ????
Big Fat Sister ?
British Fertility Society ?
Mine are not the best, but they are not too bad. I can think of lots of Enfields I'd rather have but instead of constantly striving for more, sometimes it's good to be satisfied with what one has...
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The Following 2 Members Say Thank You to #1oilman For This Useful Post:
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while the action soaks in penetrating oil - I started scrubbing the stock with Murphys oil and a blue dish scrubby. the grime is coming off...very slowly. You can't even see wood on the parts I haven't scrubbed.
the pile of corrosion on the barrel ended up being a combination of rust and swollen wood fibers. actual metal is seems easily pitted but serviceable. the pile of corrosion was a huge bubble several mm's high and I was worried the barrel was corroded too deep to salvage. penetrating oil overnight dissolved all of it.
I'll take pics over the weekend.
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Thank You to ssgross For This Useful Post:
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or preferably one of these.
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"...Big F'n screwdriver!..." That'd be a regular 12" screwdriver.
"... dried cosmoline..." Dried or not, Cosmoline is just thick petroleum jelly. Best dealt with using mineral spirits.
"...It now jiggles..." Most likely caused by the wood shrinking over time. Don't do anything until after you've cleaned the stock and see if Nature
re-moisturizes the wood. Just the cleaning will help that. Then, if it does not swell a bit, use either regular brass shims or a bit of leather. The thickness of said leather will vary with how much wiggle is left.
The hand guards will vary in colour and type of wood. Not all of 'em are walnut.
"...scrubbing the stock..." Soak 'em in mineral spirits too. Then wipe off the sludge(that does not get dumped in any drain), then use the Murphy's.
Spelling and Grammar count!
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Thank You to Sunray For This Useful Post:
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Some pics so far. I think I have all the rust busted off the outer barrel and inside the back of the receiver.
Attachment 105088Attachment 105089Attachment 105091Attachment 105093
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Definitely seen a bit of wet...
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As for the BFS:
Mr. Stanley, and no doubt others, makes a perfectly good, large screwdriver with a SQUARE shank. These are commonly available at all big, green, blue, orange etc. hardware sheds and most smaller outlets, as well. Thus, you can close your 26" Gedore Shifter / "Swedish Key" on the actual turning bit and wind away, without marring the screwdriver with "tooth-marks" from a Stilson wrench.
If you have a spare stock bolt, you can use it as a pattern / gauge to adjust the tip of your new BFS to precisely match the slot in the head; Bonus points for "hollow-grinding" the tip.
Interesting bit of trivia:
The thread on the stock bolt (7/16" BSW) is about the ONLY thing carried over from the No1 series. No1 stock bolts have a long "wasp-waist" section that stays well clear of the wood, but has that wonderful square tip that has been the death of many SMLE fore-end in the paws of the unknowing. Someone at Enfield obviously discovered "spring washers" during the development of the No.4.
Final carpentry point: the socket (ferrule) is tapered, as should be the mating surfaces on the wooden butt. If the but just flops in, it MAY be repaied by some crafty wood-working. Also, the "shoulder" of the butt should NEVER touch the rear end of the ferrule. ALL the recoil thrust MUST be transferred via that inner face. If you have firm contact only at the shoulder, it will not be long before the recoil impulses ON TOP OF the stress from compression imparted by the stock bolt, WILL start to chip and crack the timber at the wrist of the butt.
I recall that Peter Laidler fully detailed the correct fitting procedures hereabouts.
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