Lee-Enfield No.4 RARE Bolt Head size 4

[jmoore]

The ROF(F) one I have also has "39" inscribed with an engraving pencil on the side where the extractor screw head is. When I measured it; sure enough, it's .639. I don't remember seeing any other bolt head marked this way with a "scratchy pen"....

Remotely possible it's one of my old spares. I had a pile of spare bolt heads at one point (No.1 and No.4 types) that I marked with the drop. No.1 type being larger, they usually got the full measurement, but No.4 type don't have as much "blank canvas". Most were in less than pristine condition, so didn't feel bad about adding the notation.


ETA: Only photo I found is of the No.1 type:
(Lower edge of upper bolt head. Looks like it's a .626".)


What I don't remotely understand is why the No.4 rifle incorporated a big ID chamfer at the forward end of the bolt body. The SMLEs have much more load bearing surface, sometimes twice as much! Not uncommon to find No.4 bolt heads with a worn ring on the back edge.

[Beerhunter]

Bizarre. If the variance is so great, why bother labeling with 0, 1, 2, or 3? These are clearly meaningless numbers.

Why not just designate with the last two digits.

This must had driven armourers crazy.

It may be the armourers to partly blame - present company excepted. Remember the whole idea of these bolt head was as a aid to MANUFACTURING , not repair in the field. So the bolt heads we see these days are old, used and of unknown provenance. (I'm guessing here with this next bit.) Many armourers would have be trained to fit SMLE bolts and so carried on using the same techniques on the No.4/5, especially if a there was shortage of bolt heads in that particular workshop, thus changing the characteristics of tens of thousands of bolt heads in the field.

Add to that simple wear and tear, plus thousands of Americans let loose with a set of gauges, no wonder we see such variations. :-)

[Peter Laidler]

It IS bizarre, that's exactly what I have been explaining for the past X years. DON'T rely on the number!

It didn't drive us crazy as we always knew it. It is the enthusiastic amateurs that fall into the trap and don't take on board what's been written...........

[CINDERS]

Peter L will never admit he is touched

[Peter Laidler]

Not touched, just frustrated Cinders.............

[CINDERS]

I sorta know where your frustration comes from Peter when I was training crane operators on different machines and different lifting capacities to the neophyte all is new and mysterious and trying to explain all the different things that make them tick became frustrating as I did not know there were so many questions with the same answer. On the bigger cranes when your talking about computer set ups, outrigger combinations, counter weight configurations, boom configurations, boom + fly combinations each one may have 7 or 8 load charts for them. Then chuck on top of that the understanding of boom deflection and working radiuses tipping and structural, then you get to the carrier which has just about the same amount of info to operate it. And that is just training them in a nice comfy yard not and in the real world of hire crane operations out on the sites and countryside.........?

Yes Peter I can comiserate with you but keep this part and understand what you teach us here will ensure that long after you and I are dust (flashed and ashed in my case) those left behind can keep the ol' girls running whether it is a K-98, Lee, SMLE or whatever milsurp. Its not that we are trying to frustrate but our knowledge is limited and we want to know because we have the passion.

[rgallant]

I will just say asking questions and reading this board saved me both time and money. My number 1 bolt is .642, I had thought about getting a larger size has my headspace is a little high.

But after asking what seemed to be a million questions got everything sorted out, left that bolt head in place and have a nice shooting Enfield, so yes some us will ask a lot of questions but it does stick every now and then.

[Ridolpho]

I will just say asking questions and reading this board saved me both time and money. .

Exactly- I think the experts that advise us here know how much we appreciate it. Having learned about this bolt head size situation quite a while ago on this forum, when I saw a Maltby with nice "been there" kind of appearance I wasn't put off by the #3 bolt head it was wearing. Although very dirty, the bore appeared to be very good and when I got it home I measured the #3 at 0.630inch so probably no need to worry about the body being ready for the bin. This forum is the best!

Ridolpho