Old Pics from the Pattern Rooms

[Simon]

I've been rooting through some old pictures and found the attached if anyone can shed any light on them?

Apologies for the quality of the image but they're were taken at the Pattern Rooms way back when Digital Photography was a new fangled thing. Just in case the quality is that bad the detail is lost the pics show a green painted No32 and a Lyman Perma Centre scope in a machined bracket for the L42.

Cheers,

Simon.

Information

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[Warren]

One has a Pattern Room tag the other does not....hmmmmm
The scope can is interesting with the bumper on the lid......
plus the old (new) tools for the Mk.1 and 2

[Peter Laidler]

I looked at the item in pic 1 and to be honest, it looked like a bit of a mish mash of bits dumped into a tin, not necessarily all from the same scope/rifle. To be honest, it'd clatter about like a zombie like that. As for the rubber buffer, I asked myself at the time '.....what on earth for....., there's a big clamp screw to hold it down....' That lyman just happens to fit into the bracket. It wasn't part if it!

[Surpmil]

That's an interesting collection in the first photo: two pairs of the Canadian 'pliers' with the leather lined jaws, at least one of the matching flat bar wrenches for the lead screw locking rings, a MkI No32 tool in the bottom right corner, and then those two unique brassy looking 'wrenches'. The latter appear made to fit into the recesses on the heads of the 'thumb screws' and note the two slots filed into each 'thumb screw' to match the two lugs on the tapered heads of each of those weird 'wrenches'. The shaft projecting from each 'wrench' apparently has a thin 'tommy bar' to exert leverage when tightening the said 'thumbscrews' and someone obviously wanted them very tight indeed to go to the trouble of making those up.

The spring clip for the "Tool, Tel. Stg. No32 MkI" has been moved down into the left corner of the box where the tool will no longer fit into it, only the 'wrench' described above.

Some or all those bits may not have been in the box when in use of course. The rubber bumper added to keep the front thumb screw from rattling around when the case is closed, and the green paint, would suggest that someone used this to do more than pop off some rounds on the range.

All that in with an early Watson MkI, presumably dated 1941? That's an early looking Rose Bros. bracket by the look of it. The castings were much less finished later on. And hiding in the top left corner a little ziplock bag of MoD pattern no more than 30 years old?

And there's more: 14525 would probably be a very early Maltby with those nice R.O.F.M. No.4.Mk.I. 1941 markings they later dropped in favour of individual stampings by visually impaired spastics.

[Peter Laidler]

I noticed the slots across the thumbscrews too. That's the very LAST thing that you need. The torque that an average bloke would impart across a 1" or so knurled diameter down a 1/4" shaft will be enough to tighten a 'scope to a rifle. THat is the work of a butcher who wants to shear off the shafts of the thumbscrews. Just my observational 2c's worth

[jmoore]

14525 would probably be a very early Maltby with those nice R.O.F.M. No.4.Mk.I. 19141 markings

Dang, that's close to what might be the number on my ROFM's wrist! But my rifle's a just a tiny bit older, by a couple of thousand.

[Surpmil]

I noticed the slots across the thumbscrews too. That's the very LAST thing that you need. The torque that an average bloke would impart across a 1" or so knurled diameter down a 1/4" shaft will be enough to tighten a 'scope to a rifle. THat is the work of a butcher who wants to shear off the shafts of the thumbscrews. Just my observational 2c's worth

Someone with arthritis who couldn't grip the 'thumbscrews', but then probably couldn't grip a rifle stock either!

[Peter Laidler]

Probably wouldn't get onto the sniper course either.......