How far should I disassemble my Enfield before taking it to the range the 1st time?

[Capt Mil Coll]

OMG. You better leave those brakes to professionals. Imagine takeing the springs off with a pliars. Or heaven forbid maybe someone having to hammer the shoes off. Ohh the horror. Ah well. Am working for an engine rebuilder now. We just machined the cam shaft and are ready to start reassembly of the Caddy engine we are working on. Laying the crank shaft and resetting the pistons today. But Ill be sure to never take another screw off my rifles every again. OMG is all I have to say.

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[jrhead75]

+1 on what Ridolfo, FredG et al have said...I have to very respectfully jump in on the side of knowing what you're shooting (fully aware of the damage an over motivated and under educated amateur can do). The vast majority of these rifles haven't been anywhere near professional maintenance in 50 or so years, and have very possibly been in the hands of other "enthusiastic amateurs" or worse during their post-service lives.

I'll gladly risk a broken spring in the pursuit of keeping all of my fingers intact (to say nothing of the body parts that I like even more than my fingers).

[mtbikerwvu]

and another guy walks away feeling like crap for posting a question. Hmmmmmm, seems to happen quite often in my short experience.

[Peter Laidler]

No Biker, he feels good for asking a GOOD question in my opinion. Ask a straight question and no excuses or beating around the bush, you get a straight answer from me and the rest of the forumers here. We might not like the replies, but we take 'em with good heart and spirit

I take on board what Milcol, JR et al have said, but as milcol explains, with a hint of irony in #14 above, he's fixing his engine because it's broke! What I and others are saying is if it AIN'T BROKE, don't fix it!

[Brian Dick]

Don't forget those who tighten a loose buttstock on an SMLE without removing the forend. I've seen so many otherwise nice rifles with shattered draws that it makes me sick. Then there are those who absolutely refuse to buy books. It's amazing what can be learned from the little $10 SAID Series booklets from Skennerton, let alone the "Cdn. Excerpts from Instructions for Armourers" and other very rare reprints I stock that have correct methods for working these weapons from the "horse's mouth" so to speak. The SAIS Series also have the CORRECT nomenclatures for parts with the wonderful exploded views from the illustrated parts list. Sorry, rant over. Ho hum.

[bigduke6]

Then there are those who absolutely refuse to buy books

A slightly over middle aged Gent on this forum gave some advice a few years ago when I first met him, "forget the rifles buy the books", it was at this time I had just bought Ian Skennertons Lee Enfield Bible, you can never digest all the info but its there at hand and I,ve lost count the times I,ve picked it up, probably the best book I,ve ever bought.

I,m probably one of the last few here who have purchased Peters books, and again I cant remember all the info there but they are an excellent read and reference, in fact these travel to work with me more and more (most recent flick through was at Scott arms auction)

It was only a recent purchase that pushed me to buy these, but it was the scope I was after but the rifle turned out to be ok and after shooting it, I felt it was time to learn more on the No4T and the No32 scope.

It was another old collector I know who once said, "a hundred items and 3 books is good, but a hundred books and 3 items is a lot better"

[Peter Laidler]

Brian, I couldn't agree more.......... Can you imagine the feeling of pure frustration when I tell of broken No1 and 2 pistol vee spring arms (and Mortar and signal pistols etc etc) that I have seen with my own eyes on many occasions........... And it's even there in black and white, in capital letters in the EMER's that you should use the correct tool so as to prevent breakages and damage. And then, someone who knows more than me makes light of it in a totally different context................... jees....................

Talk about just wanting to tell it like it is, but dear o' deary me........

[Brian Dick]

I've even got an Ishapore Mk.III here from a customer right now for an inspection and cleaning. He was worried the barrel was trashed but it cleaned up fine. The big problem I found is that someone tightened the buttstock bolt and crushed the draws from the rear because it needs a washer. It doesn't have the inletting and stock plate which means this can happen on No.4's too if you don't take the forend off first to see just how far if at all the bolt is protruding from the socket when tight. I could go on an on. I'll spare you.

[Rumpelhardt]

I'm always worried about damage to the bedding in these rifles so I try to limit the number of times I disasemble them. I check them over clean and oil them when I first get them mostly to help limit corrosion and after that probably once or maybe twice a year depending on the amount of use unless they get wet or are out in unusual dusty or dirty conditions. I thoroughly clean them asap in that instance.

[jrhead75]

Believe me, if I could hop a flight to the UK and purchase a nice old SMLE directly from MoD stores, I'd no sooner take it apart than I'd take out my own appendix. I very much agree with the "if it ain't broke..." sentiment. The problem is that the chain of custody with the professionals has long been broken and there are way too many charlatans and inept shadetree gunsmiths out there to take mechanical soundness for granted when so much is potentially at stake.