No4 Bolt head question

[Alan de Enfield]

MMmmmmm. Not quite sure about that. Fitting a longer bolt head? Wsa there a longer one on the No1 rifle in the, say, 20's ? And would fitting a longer bolt head cure the problem?

They go on to explain about fitting a 'longer' bolt head (either getting a used one out of the armourers drawer (used bolt heads did not count as a stock requisition) or get a new bolt head and grind down to correctly fit (instructions for grinding down are included in the instructions).

Agree - I cannot see how a longer bolt head alters the bolt overturn - but - another bolt head may/will have a different thread start point.


7. To fit new bolt-head to Rifles No. l.—(Spare part bolt- heads, marked “S” on the top, are longer at the front.) Assemble the bolt-head to the bolt, insert it in the body, and test with .064-inch No. 1 gauge; should the bolt not close over the gauge, remove the bolt-head from the bolt, and having placed a piece of emery cloth (No. F) on a flat surface, rub the face of the bolt-head on the emery cloth, maintaining a circular motion in order to preserve a flat surface, until sufficient metal has been removed to enable the assembled bolt to close over the gauge. The bolt should not close over the .074-inch No. 1 gauge. Care should be taken to keep the-face of the bolt-head flat and square. After fitting and adjusting, the top front edge of the face of the bolt-head is to be rounded to a radius not exceeding .02-inch.


Note.—When it is found that the bolts of several rifles turn over the 074-inch No. 1 gauge, the bolt-heads should be ex- changed among such rifles, as, owing to the varying lengths of bodies and bolts, bolt-heads which are too short in one rifle may be serviceable in another. Bolt-heads that have been replaced in rifles by longer ones, should be kept by the armourer and used whenever possible in rifles requiring the bolt-head replaced, so as to avoid unnecessary use of new spare part bolt-heads. Part-worn bolt-heads held as required by armourers in accordance with the foregoing need not be accounted for as part of the annual allowance of new spare parts.