Brownells barrel clamp & action wrench - suitable for Enfields? Bushing fit?

[Thunderbox]

Hi all,


Is anyone using the current Brownells barrel clamp & action wrench set for work on Enfields?

I'm interested to hear feedback, specifically about the fit of the adaptor plate and bushings, namely:

1. The universal action wrench listed for the "SMLE" (SHORT MAGAZINE LEE Enfield Rifle ACTION WRENCH HEAD Complete SMLE Wrench - Brownells UK) has an adaptor plate that appears designed to trap the front magazine screw housing. Does this wrench have tight tolerance and therefore give suitable support to the receiver?

2. Brownells own universal barrel clamp is available with steel or aluminium bushing adaptors. There are 12 of these in each metal. Some are listed by specific rifle type, but Enfields are not mentioned. Does anyone happen to know if any of the tapered bushes are a close match for Enfield (not P14) barrel profiles, or close enough to work well with a bit of lead sheet, etc?


Yes, I know that there are probably better solutions than off-the-shelf Brownells kit, but here in UK the firearms industry is mostly dead and gone, and having this sort of gunsmithing stuff custom made is prohibitively expensive.

Information

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[bigduke6]

TB,

I,ve one of those action wrench's mine was the universal one ( the clamp was a a V block that screwed to the wrench), in the past I,ve made several adapters basically to fit the initial wrench part, but with the profile of the P14 / M1917, No4 etc actions etc, I would say in most cases I,ve had to use a cheater bar/ pipe (the pipe handle off my big trolly jack) to free up the action/body.

Can't vouch for the adapter plate for the SMLE/with the cut out ....

Its stood up to some extreme brute force in the past...... for what it is the price is a bit OTT in my opinion but you can adapt it even to use with MH actions, ( I bought mine on ebay years ago for peanuts) am sure a machine shop or apprentice training school / college or similar would knock up something for less cost, as for the barrel clamp etc, I,ve just made them....... (see second pic) the two clamps are made to take a square section of wood drilled and tapered to suit what barrel then the clamps with the wood are placed in a heavy duty vice, I,ve an all steel one made for the No4 barrel to fit the knox form.... (not pictured)

[jmoore]

Nothing in the Brownell's bushings selection works well. The action wrench can be made to work.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

I have had one of the Brownells kits for quite a few years.

It works well for pretty much everything except Lee Enfields.

The problem is not the basic design of the tool, but the horrendous condition and variations thereof, of many Lee Enfields.

And if you think they're bad, start playing with P-14s. The ONLY P-14 barrel that has ever exited easily on my workbench was in a Lithuanian, non-matching "re-work".

The problem with the Brownells kit is not so much the action clamping or the requirement for a substantial "cheater" handle extension, but the overly optimistic reliance on raw friction to grip the barrel without damaging it.

The "genuine" armourer's "barrel block" that I have in my toy-box is machined to grasp the Knox Form, and even has a hardened steel plate dovetailed into one of the blocks to mate with the rather obvious flat face on the top of said Knox Form. It is designed to be clamped up in a SERIOUS vise or even a hydraulic press.

The coolest barrel fitting / removing set-up I have ever seen is the machine designed for the M-1 rifle. It has lots of cool features to make the job quick and easy. I have NEVER seen one on the commercial market and probably couldn't afford one if it popped up.

[CINDERS]

So a question to those with the practical experience just how much force was needed to break the barrel/action bond. And how easy was it to bend the action thus ruining the rifle I seem to remember it being said they were a bin job if that happened

[ActionYobbo]

barrels come out very easy. I have an aluminum action clamp thats made from 2 20mm x20mm x8cm blocks thats bolted to a plywood bench with 1/4 inch mild steel bollts. my barrel wrench is also a 2 piece deal that locks onto the barrel at the knoxform. I would estmate the force I put on the handle to be less that 20kg. handle is only 50cm
I only do SMLE's and no No4's

[Steve H. in N.Y.]

I have the Brownell's action wrench. I had to "adjust" the adapter plate with a hacksaw & file to make it work and I'm still not really happy with the fit. I think for the price they charge for it in the U.K. one could have a better tool fabricated.

[browningautorifle]

barrels come out very easy.

I guess all the rest of us must be doing it wrong then.

[Brian Dick]

I always say they're easy or difficult with not much in between. I struggled with the Brownells wrench for years and to be honest, they're crap and it's very easy to crush the lip on the front guard screw threads if you don't make extra adapter plates, etc, etc. I finally landed a real RSAF vice with blocks, a steel 4' x 4' work bench that's lagged and bolted to the floor and a custom laser cut wrench designed to never touch the threaded area for the front guard screw. I have a 4' length of aluminum pipe that fits over the handle when necessary, (always!), and it works perfectly. I have dedicated slave bolts without extractors for the SMLE and No.4 and you never want to try to remove/install without putting one in place. That will eliminate twisting the receiver. Credit is due to my teacher who posts here from time to time. Without the 20 year, long distance Armourer's course, I'd still be lost in the woods.

[Surpmil]

The waterjet or wire EDM people should be able to cut out alloy steel blocks to fit properly over the Nock's Form. The mechanical advantage of grasping the barrel there is much greater than on the shank and twisting the barrel is almost impossible. A proper wrench can be cut from 1" alloy steel plate with the "keyhole" for the barrel ring cut loose enough to allow for brass or aluminum shims between the wrench and the barrel ring. I plan on a sort of diamond or ovoid shape overall. Steel studs of at leat 1" dia. for pipe handles or tube receptacles for bar handles could be welded on. If using round studs they could be machined intrinsic with the wrench itself, but not less than 6" long at least I'd say. That would avoid the heat of welding and resulting changes to the metallurgy of the steel plate. One would want some Sch.80 pipe or DOM tubing for the handles.

If the action is grasped only at the barrel ring in a proper-fitting wrench I don't see how any twisting of the action could occur.

What I'd like is a setup that would allow the force of breeching up to be applied in a controlled, incremental way, so that the sight block could be brought up to alignment gradually and the body and barrel held in such a way that the alignment can be monitored during the process. And that I suppose means hydraulics or a gear system such as you might find in some heavy duty differentials, rather than tube or bar handles and the "capstan" setup described above.

Just mentioning it in case anyone wants to work along the same lines.

This is what I'm working on for the action wrench.

Attachment 61373Attachment 61375Attachment 61374