'42 BSA No4 Mk1 restoration project

[Agambard1990]

Salt Flat - Thanks for the reply. Yes, my barrel is the original length. And yes, I have also found that the fore stock is the most difficult and expensive piece to acquire. Would be great if someone would start making nice repro's, preferably out of walnut. I managed to purchase a full-stock set from Apex at what looked like an excellent price based on what I've seen elsewhere. I had been checking Apex and several other online surplus parts vendors for weeks and everyone was out of stock. Then I checked Apex's site early one morning and they showed just 2 in stock - so I jumped on one immediately! That's the good news.

The bad news is, in my haste to get the new (to me) stock on my rifle, I did not do any research on how Lee Enfield stocks work and fit. I had had some difficulty getting the action to seat in the fore stock so, after identifying a couple of interference points.....I broke out the Dremel tool and partially ground off the draws. This was several weeks ago and I have since figured out the error of my ways. So now, one of my top priorities is to fix my own "bubba-hack-job" and repair the draws. Fortunately, I didn't touch ANYTHING else with the Dremel and I have since put the Dremel back in the tool box where it belongs.

I've watched every video I can find about repairing the draws, but I believe I may need some one-on-one input from members here. I will post some pictures of what I now have to work with as soon as I have a chance to get back out in the shop to work on my rifle.

Thanks,
AT7WE2

As someone who is new to Enfield restorations as well, I feel your pain. It is easy to make mistakes, but few things are irreversible if you take your time. I've learned my lesson the hard way a couple of times. Don't beat yourself up. I don't have any specific advice, just some words of motivation! Good luck!

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[AT7WE2]

As someone who is new to Enfield restorations as well, I feel your pain. It is easy to make mistakes, but few things are irreversible if you take your time. I've learned my lesson the hard way a couple of times. Don't beat yourself up. I don't have any specific advice, just some words of motivation! Good luck!

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I really enjoy tinkering on stuff like this, but I cringe at the thought of messing up a historic piece.

---------- Post added at 01:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:22 PM ----------

Some one has started to make No1 MkIII ones they are advertised on usedguns here @$450 set. Do not know if they make the No.4 sets.

Cinders - I have seen those online. But I have not seen any reproduction No4 stocks - yet. I have seen a few original No4 Mk1 stocks go for about that price - OUCH!!

AT7WE2

---------- Post added at 01:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:24 PM ----------

The draws repair is a common requirement on Enfield forends. Suggest using oak as the replacement material as well as referencing Peter Laidler's "Worn draws" article. It is a really good reference & if you're patient & have basic woodworking skills the job will turn out well. Lots of forum members have done this work so there is no lack of information & support available. And, if all else fails Brian at BDL can do the job for you and it will be perfect.

gc1054 - thanks for mentioning Mr. Laidler's article. I've read his article and a couple of others. I've watched as many videos on the topic as I could find. At the end of the day though, I don't have the skills or the tools to pull that off. At this point, I am planning on "bedding" the action with an epoxy bedding compound. I'm not confident about this process either, but it at least *looks* like something I can do. That said, I'm still researching how to properly bed the action and do it in such a way as to achieve the correct pressure at all the correct points of contact. I'm still trying to figure that part out.

As for having someone do it for me, I may have to contact Brian and see if that's a better option. Thanks for mentioning him!