'41 Fazakerley built with Enfield body

[Ridolpho]

Have had this for about a year and it's one of my favorites. Apparently one of 3000 No. 4 rifles assembled during '41 at ROF Fazakerley using " trials" parts from Enfield (note cutout slot). The barrel, also dated '41, and with serial matching the body, also has Enfield markings. In certain lighting the finish appears to be nitre bluing but hard to imagine it's original. The bore is very good or excellent (the fairly meaningless "Ridolpho bore index") but consistant with minimal use. The unnumbered forend was a disaster due to lateral warpage at the upper end so my other reason for posting this is to mention that I had some luck straightening it using torch-heated linseed oil. The bend was so bad I figured there was nothing to lose and it took a few applications but it has remained straight as an arrow for close to a year now through our wild humidity swings here in Alberta. I would definitely do this again to salvage a forend- works much better than trying to get enough heat into the wood with steam.

Ridolpho

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[breakeyp]

Absolutely very nice indeed.

[Bundook303]

Hello Ridolpho,

Would you mind elaborating on the method you used to straighten the forend? I would be interested to know how you used the linseed oil method. I have a similar issue with a recently acquired '44 Longbranch Mk1* project rifle that unfortunately has been ridden hard and put away wet at some point.

Many thanks

bundook

[Ridolpho]

bundook: You can find the youtube video that tipped me to the method by googling "Jack Rowe stock bending". In a nutshell, you wrap the portion you want to bend with cotton strips soaked in linseed oil and play the flame of a propane torch on it. If it catches fire just blow it out. The linseed oil next to the wood boils and seems to transfer a lot of btu's rendering the wood bendable. I found on mine that there was virtually no evidence of the work visible afterwards. Important to have a good jig setup to hold the hot wood in the corrected shape while it cools. As I said, I would definitely do it again.

Ridolpho

[Bundook303]

Great tip; thank you sir. There is much to be learned from the youtube videos featuring master gunsmith, the late Jack Rowe. I will be watching more of them.

[Richard Hare]

Grand and rare rifle, Ridolpho!

Used the hot oil on a front handguard and it too stayed straight afterwards.

[CINDERS]

Sadly Jack Rowe passed away last November I watched his videos when he was showing Harry Potterfield Midway USA how he made different things from scratch, getting shotguns side by sides back on the bight and so on, his mannerisms reminded me of a true English gentleman but what experience he had sadly lost I have no stock issues with my rifles but would not hesitate to use jacks methods to straighten a warp out

[Surpmil]

That's a rare one indeed. I see the backsight relief cut is not modified to the "Model C" spec - what became the standard No.4 Mk.I configuration - and there is a plunger fitted and 300/600 flip. I assume some modifications were made to the plunger or sight or both, as with standard parts that set up does not work on a trials No.4 IIRC.

https://www.milsurps.com/attachment....4&d=1480101374

From the sharp edges, such as on the rear left edge of the bolt way, it appears to have been built up just as received without some of the file work it would have got at Enfield and which is usually seen on later rifles.

I don't see a hole in the bolt knob so I assume it is a Fazakerly prodution, although the number and letter stamps look like those seen on the trials rifles.

The trigger and guard look like trials parts too - is the magazine Enfield marked also?

As that's not the typical Enfield "blue" so presumably the parts were shipped to Fazakerly "in the white"?

[Frederick303]

I have a similar one with one of the No1 MK VI actions built up by Fazakerly in 1941. serial number 278XA. Marked in the same way. The rifle I have had some mid war work done, it has the cocking piece replaced with one of the mid war smooth one.

Actually looking at the bolt I expect this rifle was reworked in the mid war period with a new bolt, as it does not have the hole drilled in the bolt knob like on the Trials # 4 rifles and has the flat un-milled cocking knob of the mid war No4 rifles.

Bands are milled.

[Ridolpho]

I don't see a hole in the bolt knob so I assume it is a Fazakerly prodution, although the number and letter stamps look like those seen on the trials rifles.

The trigger and guard look like trials parts too - is the magazine Enfield marked also?

Surmil: Thanks for the info! I've attached a few additional photos. There is a hole in the bolt knob and I've shown a closer shot of a small stamp outboard of the serial. It appears very similar to a stamp also on the barrel, along with clear Enfield stamps. Lots of other Enfield small parts on the rifle and a few that are not- rear sight is stamped "F". The magazine is a later replacement with a Savage serial stamped on it.

Ridolpho