The ol no1 mk6 mid band question

[RJW NZ]

I'm just trying to clarify something for my long lasting restoration of the ol mk6. I hear rumors that the mid band on the mk6 was hinged in the same fashion as the no1mk3. Given the time period is it reasonable to assume they simply used bands from a no1 mk3?
The problem is that the no1mk3 band is a smaller diameter, about 1/8th all around, when laid over a no4 mk1 band, and there's no way I can fit one without digging deep into the wood.
So the question comes to;
If there were hinged bands on the no1mk6 were they a special larger diameter and therefore pretty much lost to history now?
How correct would a no4mk1 one piece be on the rifle at that time, they must have arrived on rifles about then too? Do we know for sure if they arrived on the first no4's or perhaps were about before that?

Thanks 4 your patience, she's getting there ...

Information

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[Peter Laidler]

What do you mean by 'the mid band' We have three original and untouched No1 Mk6's here. If you mean the band that formerly retained the top handguard to the fore-end, (as on the Mk3.....) then we have two hinged type and one unhinged. The unhinged one seems very slightly more proud than the unhinged examples.

[breakeyp]

I went and looked at five of the No.1 Mk VI family--MkV1 and early No.4 Mk1 exp production and found all to have solid bands with most having Enfield inspection markings. Interestingly, one MkV1 brought up to WWII standard had what appears to be a flat sheet steel solid band.

[Peter Laidler]

Well, between me and Paul, that's just about as clear as mud !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Any other offers out there?

[RJW NZ]

Thank you gents, very interesting. It sounds like solid bands were available on a daily basis at that time, thats reassuring for restoration purposes, we may never know if those hinged bands were no1 mk3's or a unique size. I might experiment with a broke no4 fore end and see just how deep a no1 mk3 band would end up, perhaps it wouldn't look out of place after all.

and yeah, mid bands hmm, lower band would the right word according to the schematic ... mid band would imply the middle of three, and that would either be a 1922 or 1853, lol, we must maintain eternal vigilance against the corruption of the english language by ... ebay, lol

[RJW NZ]

... found all to have solid bands with most having Enfield inspection markings.

uh oh, I just had a horrible thought, if production went over to Faz early in ww2 as I think I read here somewhere, does that mean that efd marked solid bands are chicken lips, hens teeth and rare as?
Another hunt to begin, in the meantime my Faz band will have to do.

Anyone want to trade their uk hinged front band for my hinged front band from canada?

[breakeyp]

... found all to have solid bands with most having Enfield inspection markings.

uh oh, I just had a horrible thought, if production went over to Faz early in ww2 as I think I read here somewhere, does that mean that efd marked solid bands are chicken lips, hens teeth and rare as?
Another hunt to begin, in the meantime my Faz band will have to do.

Anyone want to trade their uk hinged front band for my hinged front band from canada?

Wonderful! You figured it out without help. That is why I mentioned EFD markings. By the very nature of developing a new rifle at Enfield, all parts would be Enfield made and so marked. That is why it is hard to find EFD marked early No.1 MkVI rear sights and cutoffs. The same can be said for No.1MkV bands etc--of course volume production there may have put a few more out into the collector stream. For you to find a restoration part means a rifle had to die somewhere out there.

[RJW NZ]

Thanks BreakeyP
Hmmm, ok, this all leads so other questions and also good things.
I checked out the no1mk3 hinged band compared to an early F marked one, the average diameter difference is about that of a thick sheet of card, installed the visual difference in band height would be slight. The blatant difference is that the band is wider than a non hinged, so it would mean trimming off a good 1/8th plus all the way around the band channel, a bit of a brave move on a valuable fore end. However the advantage is there are a lot more efd marked hinged bands around versus slim pickens on the one piece efd band, so I could get it looking authentic if I go that route.
I know very little about Fazakerly, any ideas when they might have started making one piece bands, as in generally, what would be the oldest one piece band around with their name on?

Also, I have a Canadian no4 hinged front band, are they more common than the british ones? I assume they might be, but I know there aren't even many canadian ones to start with.
thanks