L42 Front Sight ?

[rgg_7]

Can somebody pls post a couple pictures of the L42 front sight with the sight protector removed. Front and side view would be great. Ron(Canada)

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.

[Lee Enfield]

Can somebody pls post a couple pictures of the L42 front sight with the sight protector removed. Front and side view would be great. Ron(Canada)

Or you could just measure the diameter of the barrel and ream the No4 sight block to a light press fit....as per the little book?

[rgg_7]

What little book are you referencing? Diameter and length of cut would be very helpful. Need to ream out sight block to fit. Just want to check barrel dimensions. Ron(Canada)

[Surpmil]

Mic the shoulder on the barrel at the muzzle and bore the sight base out to suit. This leaves a small gap on either side as the slots for the original sight base lugs are slightly wider than the diameter of the shoulder. I believe the bases were soldered on in view of the lack of lugs on the barrel. A cross pin would be a good idea.

[Peter Laidler]

Ah........... It all depends on what you really want RGG. The first XL42's came on stream with the muzzle machined down to the OD of the No4 barrel so that the No4 block, band foresight would be a tight snug fit on the barrel, secured with the tapered pin. But this was thought to have weakened the muzzle of the barrel, compounded by the tapered pin. This was thought to be the reason why most of the muzzles were bulged during the trials. This is one of the reasons why the first XL's were returned to Enfield (and the reason many/several of them appear twice on the production list.....) As standardised, the barrel was left a larger diameter and the 'bore' of the foresight block band machined out (don't even bother trying to ream it, it won't!) to suit. That there was a 'standard' for this diameter is a bit of a myth or someone couldn't read their micrometer because every muzzle seemed to differ by a few .001's. Be that as it may, the screw, protector foresight will now act as the cross pin. The BBF has a small groove machined inside the diameter and this allows the soft solder to run between the smalkl remains of the gaps left where the original mounting/positioning lugs were situated.

We did zillions of these over the years and each new block band foresight had to be machined to fit the barrel you were working on. Fit the BBF and foresight protectors upright using a sheet of glass and allow to cool

[Roger Payne]

I've done a few & the od of the end of the barrel has always been in the 0.670 to 0.675 range (speaking from memory). I opened out 1H marked foresight blocks using a boring bar on my little Myford. The soldering's easy - getting them plumb was the fiddley bit. You will need to file a hint of a transverse channel across the barrel so that the foresight protector screw does not foul the larger diameter 7.62mm tube.

ATB.

[Peter Laidler]

DRP is right. THere is a variance in the diameters and as I said, the new larger diameter was formulated so that the screw, protector foresight would act as the now absent taper pin. I'm not sure it would act as an anti rotation stop but maybe it'd prevent a loose foresight block coming free!

We used to get them square on the glass sheet as per breeching up. After all, if the new block/protectors are square with the backsight axis pin, what more can you ask for?

[rgg_7]

This info is very helpful on the OD. How about the length of the OD cut. Does the sight block butt hard against thecut or is there a space so the sight protector does not foul with the great diameter of the barrel at the step. Ron(Canada)

[Peter Laidler]

The sight block slides right back and the protectors will not foul the barrel as it's a smaller dia than the external dia of the block band foresight

[Steve H. in N.Y.]

Best I can do after clearing snow for two hours.