King Screw

[shottist]

Just replaced the King Screw on my No 4 Mk2 with the third "Target Sling Swivel" and King Screw combo. Notice that when tightening down the King Screw on this combo that the screw seems to "bottom out" and comes to a full stop with no further movement possible. Stock appears to be tight as is the King Screw. My question is, is this normal and is the King Screw tight enough?
Thanks to all that respond.

Information

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[Alan de Enfield]

Peter Laidler did a sries of articles on fitting "woodwork" below is extracted the relevant part about "King Screws"

" ........Now it’s time to fit the trigger guard and Screw, rear, tie, fore-end if you have a Mk1/2 or 1/3. There’s a good chance that the rear of the trigger guard will foul due to the height of the new wood. If that’s the case, then simply scrape away the wood inside its seating to allow it to seat correctly all the way to the front. The trigger guard should not spring at the rear or front….., NO it shouldn’t! If it was meant to, it’d be made of spring steel! Now for a little tip. The COLLAR. You MUST have a collar and spring washer. This is what WE used to do. Put the front trigger guard screw into the trigger guard and body WITHOUT the washer or collar. Reverse it (that’s anti-clockwise …..) until you hear it click over the start thread and tighten it BUT COUNT THE TURNS UNTIL IT TIGHTENS AND LOCKS. Say, that it’s 7 ¼ turns to lock. Now do this with the collar fitted if it’s now, say 8 ½ turns, shorten the collar, a smidgin at a time, until the screw tightens up at exactly 7 ¼ turns. That way, you KNOW that the screw is tight, the fore-end is tight between the trigger guard and the screw and you are not crushing the living daylights out of the fore-end. And if it feels a little loose in a years time, then you can safely turn a few thou off the collar .............."

[Peter Laidler]

Sorry to be a bit pedantic chaps, but it's not a king screw but a front trigger guard screw or SCREW, front, trigger guard.

[John Sukey (Deceased)]

Yes, and it's a rifle, No5Mk1 and not a "jungle carbine"
Then we have folks calling them stacking swivels instead of piling swivels
Not to mention clips instead of chargers.

I do believe early on, the command was not fix bayonets, but rather fix swords.

However...........

[Patrick Chadwick]

"Fix swords" was the traditional command for the Rifle Brigade, dating from the Peninsula War, when the things really were short swords, because the Baker rifle was so much shorter than a musket, and needed more bayonet length to compensate. The effect on the aiming point must have been catastrophic, but in a situation where swords needed to be fixed, no-one would have needed to take long-distance shots anyway!

Patrick

[John Sukey (Deceased)]

Can vouch for the baker bayonet being a "sword" Have a replica rifle and bayonet. I would bet the rifle Brigade didn't bother fixing the thing, just used if for close combat as a short sword.
Then we have the Martini Henry Artillery carbine with a bayonet/sword just as long and with a D guard.