No4 butt srew seized! Tool help...

[Alan de Enfield]

Cheers,

Quick question... is the shank of the bolt a tight fit in the stock or is it just the head??

The 'head' sits on a 'ledge', below which should be a metal washer.
The shank is a 'push fit' thru the butt out to the butt socket. (so yes - the shank is also a 'tightish' fit)

Just a thought - you have removed the leather washer / cover from the top of the bolt haven't you ? ( I assume so if you have managed to get a screwdriver into the slot)

[Scout Sniper]

Nope, no leather washer. Removed already.

Earlier i was locating the screwdriver and hitting it to try and shock it. Also as the stock is slightly loose i stood it stock down and hit the end of the screw with a parallel punch.

Might just be me but i took a picture of the screw head to show you and it does appear to have a crack around the right edge so it may be freeing up? Gonna wait till i get a satisfactory tool before i try again.

Attachment 102473

[Peter Laidler]

FORGET HEAT............... for xxxx sake...... This was an everyday problem with No5's in the far east due to pillocks before-hand not doing what they were instructed to do. Take the bull by the horns. Butt in a vice, spanner on the square shank -o or socket and unscrew it. It WILL come, believe me. When you replace it grease the xhit out of the new bolt and inside the butt and that's the end of the problem for ever more.

[Scout Sniper]

Apart from having a better fitting tool Peter that is just what i did.

I could feel the driver twisting, and today i feel like i have pulled the muscles in my chest and arms from using all my strength. Shes in there alright, but im not the kind of person to give up easily. Better tool and try again is all i can do.

[RobD]

This is a familiar situation. The body of the stock bolt will have rusted and attached itself to the hole in the butt. It is not that the metal-to-metal fit is too tight. You need to make up a wide screwdriver and grind the tip so it is 1/10 inch thick and parallel-sided and preferably wide enough to just fit into the butt.
To make up mine I bought a cold chisel which just fits into the butt, and ground the tip to suit. I attached a spanner to the hexagonal shaft to get huge torque.
Others have had success grinding a tip on a cruciform wheel brace for a car.
Be sure the screwdriver tip is parallel sided or the laws of physics mean that as you twist it will exit the slot.
Rob

[Scout Sniper]

I have just brought a suitable cold chisel and a replacement bolt and washer.

As soon as it arrives are grind up the chisel and use the screw head as the gauge to ensure i get the perfect fit.

Are keep you all updated on my progress.

[RobD]

Scout sniper,
I noted in a previous post you mentioned your No 4(T) was a deact.
Do you have a Fire Arms Certificate? If not, it sounds to me as if you'd enjoy collecting live historical rifles and shooting them - am I correct?
If so, PM me, I'll outline for you the steps you need to go through. It's not difficult, but it takes about 6 months.
If you already have an FAC, ignore this!
Rob

[Scout Sniper]

Thanks for the offer, but ive lost interest in shooting these days and prefer collecting.

[Scout Sniper]

Success!!

I have to admit i was beginning to think it wasnt going to break free.

After not being able to find a tool i was happy with, and giving up on the cold chisel idea as once ground up and fitted, still wanted to move at angles when torque was applied. I already had one slip and couldnt afford to risk rounding it off i needed a tool i could trust.

After lots of digging i found "Drag link sockets" basically giant hollow ground flat blade screwdrivers for socket sets. Although hollow ground these have a parallel section where they enter the slot. I found an old Snap-On one for sale for £8, its 17.5mm wide so pretty much perfect and was for a 3/8 set. It required a long extension and 2 small extensions to reach down into the abyss.
I had to extend the rachet handle with a pipe for extra leverage.

The extension bars although look flimsy the knuckle joints actually acted as supports to keep it centred through the butt just like the brass cotton reel does on the genuine bit tool.

Once clamped it still took a fair bit of force and was holding on till the bitter end. The screw was in there solid and if you look at the pictures of the head it was even more rusty than it looked from above and im glad i decided to replaced it.
The spring washer was also a pain to get out as it didnt come out with the screw and need persuading with a parallel punch.

The action can now have the pads fitted...

When rebuilding i will pack it full of grease to stop this from happening again, although it looked like it hadnt been removed since being built in 1943.

Thanks for everybody's input and help.

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[Alan de Enfield]

I have to admit i was beginning to think it wasnt going to break free.

Well done - it just needed the right tool for the job.