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Advisory Panel
It originated out of Missouri and the current owner is in Nebraska.
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12-21-2014 03:49 PM
# ADS
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Contributing Member
Originally Posted by
gsimmons
Thank you!
wonderful work, you should be very proud of that restoration, looks factory fresh!
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Thank You to mrclark303 For This Useful Post:
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Contributing Member
Sorry, it's Brian's.
I was thanking him for posting it.
Yes, he did a very nice job on the restoration.
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Thank You to gsimmons For This Useful Post:
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Legacy Member
A little bit of armourers trivia, on fitting furniture to SLRs........
A not known fact, when fitting WOODEN Furniture to L1A1's, is that there SHOULD be a gap between the edge of the Buttplate. & the recessed section of the Wood Butt. Where the plate fit's onto it. ALL the way round, evenly!
This was checked with a 10 thou Feeler gauge, VERY carefully on your Final trade test by an Instructor. When you were doing your 'Final's Practical exam. At Training establishments.
The reason this was important was, if the plate touched the wood at this periphery. If dropped on hard ground, the wood would split, or a chuck would be broken out of the butt.
So, we were told 'Wood Protecting Metal. & Metal protecting wood'. We were informed by our Sage instructors!...
Why the stringent limit of 10 thou was maintained I cannot say. But I guess the old Armourers standard of continuity & neatness, Had to have a starting point somewhere!....
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The Following 2 Members Say Thank You to tankhunter For This Useful Post:
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Yep, that's right. It's the same reason why we always have a gap between the butt socket and the butt of the No4.
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Thank You to Peter Laidler For This Useful Post:
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Advisory Panel
10 thou as a measure to allow for compression over time maybe? To allow for sponginess created by oil? I once changed wood on a Longbranch #4 and used a new set of walnut. I didn't have the correct fit of the butt and a large scale came off at the top. Very sad...new walnut...
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We used to say the thickness of a junior hack-saw blade. Tankie and Skippy will also remember that the out-inspectors always wanted a similar gap between the top of the butt between the front face of the butt and the rear end of the TMHousing. Brian Sylvester always said that this was because this part of the butt was between the factory patched vertical inserts and therefore liable to snap away. I didn't understand it then and don't now either!
Last edited by Peter Laidler; 12-23-2014 at 04:33 PM.
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Thank You to Peter Laidler For This Useful Post:
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Legacy Member
We used to say the thickness of a junior hack-saw blade. Tankie and Skippy will also remember that the out-inspectors always wanted a similar gap between the top of the butt between the front face of the butt and the rear end of the TMHousing. Brian Sylvester always said that this was because this part of the butt was between the factory patched vertical inserts and therefore liable to snap away. I didn't understand it then and don't now either!
Pete, The Indian's modified their version of the L1A1 on the Butt. By having a stamped metal 'Cup'. Fitted to the butt, to sit over the neck of it. Where it bears up against the TMH. I have a complete Rifle in the collection with this item fitted.
It certainly does give more protection to the butt neck in this area. However, as you scratched your head over what Brian has stated. I too wonder why he mentioned this? The only damage I have seen in this area, is if something had impacted.
Sideways, or vertically downwards. Onto the butt, from an external force. IE: Dropped against something, of something falling onto the butt, in this area.
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Legacy Member
Butt Gap
Thanks Tankhunter and PL. Nice to learn something new.
In fact I'd never noticed the gap on the No.4, it measures 10 thou exactly. The rifle is a No.4 Mk 2 issued to the Irish Garda (who apparently didn't use them much) before I acquired it via Peter Sarony about 14 years ago. It has probably never been touched since it left Fazakerly.
I installed set of Mr Clark's excellent wood on the L1A1. The butt was a very tight fit, tapped gently home and tightened. The result is 25 thou.
PS - Superb rifle Brian!
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Legacy Member
We used to say the thickness of a junior hack-saw blade. Tankie and Skippy will also remember that the out-inspectors always wanted a similar gap between the top of the butt between the front face of the butt and the rear end of the TMHousing. Brian Sylvester always said that this was because this part of the butt was between the factory patched vertical inserts and therefore liable to snap away. I didn't understand it then and don't now either!
That may not have been a problem with British-made butts that came with the vertical inserts, but I can see it being a problem with Australian butts. They did not come from Lithgow with slip patches installed, and I have seen cracks in Australian butts in that area.
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