Interest in reproduction L42/4(T) Mount?

[Surpmil]

Thanks for your further comments, but I was referring to the "S&B bracket" caps in your drawing rather than the No.32 bracket.

IIRC the S&B bracket used socket head cap screws (hex head), with no counter-sink, so in that case you'd probably want to do the same? And maybe that's what your initial drawing shows?

If you're making them in steel, I would keep the weight down as much as you can and personally I can't see any reason to increase the ring thickness if using socket head cap screws.

As for the No.32 bracket, your drawing is patterned on the Chinese-made replicas I see, but the type I was referring is very well explained here: Lee Enfield Rifle Scope Brackets - Real (In Service) and Reproduction

Having owned a couple of No.4(T)s built on trials rifles and mated up to them for visual inspection various early and late brackets, IMHO there may well be slight differences in the relative positions of the bearing surfaces of the pads between early and later production rifles. Therefore if replicating the early type of bracket from original examples, one needs to make a choice about which pattern to follow in terms of the pad bearing surfaces.

As I expect you know, the pads were fitted to the receivers and the barrelled action was then put into a jig with the rifle bore as the control surface and the bearing surfaces on the pads machined to match. We know this because Peter visited the H&H factory and spoke to one of the workers who knew the process and actually saw the equipment used. That produced a pretty consistent product and hence the tendency of random rifles and brackets to collimate within acceptable limits. Point being that if those of us who come along later get our ducks properly aligned, the rest tends to fall into place.

When you get your first brackets from the makers, you'll want to have an original No.4(T) barrelled action on hand whose pads have never been refitted (no additional staking of the screws). That you mount in a vise somewhere you have at least 30 feet or so to a wall on which you put a "cross of Lorraine" whose lower cross bar you boresight the action on, using an empty unfired .303 case inserted into the chamber with the primer hole drilled out in a lathe to about 1/16". You may need a turn or two of Scotch tape around the case (complete turns only ) near the rim to make it fit snugly in the center of the chamber. The distance from lower to upper crossbar should of course be the same as the distance between the axes of the bore and the bracket. In my case I used a No.22C sight which has a fixed and centered reticule and with that suitably bushed out (in the case of a 30mm bore) and mounted in your brackets you quickly find out how well they collimate, or at least how consistently they have been machined.

The correct angle of declination is built into the design of all these brackets IIRC, but you might want to look into that too.

There are one or two other points to consider with a 30mm bore as I'm sure you can imagine...

Pricing in the PRC is still at a very different level from here in the West...

[bigduke6]

On the subject of brackets…… does anyone here have the details of the French guy ? Who had many varieties of Sniper Scope brackets snd mounts etc.
although not Enfield, I know a few who have interests in other Sniper gear, I’ve posted on the Mauser section, but an after scope, bracket, mount and rear sight for a Norwegian M59F1 .

[Roger Payne]

Geoff, I can't remember his name but I did have a couple of minor deals with him some years ago. He was standing over my shoulder when I picked up an original SMLE wire breaker & was busting a gut to take it from me, presumably so he would have a pattern to copy! He trades on fleabay, & whilst I'm not absolutely certain, I think it is under the name aassniper98.

[bigduke6]

Thanks Rog, I’ll have a look and try and contact him, if anyone has or knows of any bits regarding sights mounts etc for the M58F1 please get in touch.

[ReconScout]

As for the No.32 bracket, your drawing is patterned on the Chinese-made replicas I see, but the type I was referring is very well explained here: Lee Enfield Rifle Scope Brackets - Real (In Service) and Reproduction

Suprmil, the bracket repro is not made off of Chinese bracket, but modeled from HM No32 bracket engineering drawings (of however poor quality they are) available on this site. The only thing similar to Chinese brackets is a loft around the curve from the back bracket mount to the "body". As original brackets were cast and then machined the casting mold was done by hand and drawings did not specify how the transition is done (is it was simply hand carved int he mold). In addition, I believe that's where original molds had a casting sprue and was hand finished. (I may be off in my analysis, but that would be an obvious place)

As far as collimation, I'm quite familiar with Peter Laidler's work from this site (and his collimation techniques) as well as Skennerton books.

Obviously the issue is hand fitting of the pads to each rifle (either original or repro) which will play a large role in the collimation of the scope.

[Surpmil]

Suprmil, the bracket repro is not made off of Chinese bracket, but modeled from HM No32 bracket engineering drawings (of however poor quality they are) available on this site. The only thing similar to Chinese brackets is a loft around the curve from the back bracket mount to the "body". As original brackets were cast and then machined the casting mold was done by hand and drawings did not specify how the transition is done (is it was simply hand carved int he mold). In addition, I believe that's where original molds had a casting sprue and was hand finished. (I may be off in my analysis, but that would be an obvious place)

As far as collimation, I'm quite familiar with Peter Laidler's work from this site (and his collimation techniques) as well as Skennerton books.

Obviously the issue is hand fitting of the pads to each rifle (either original or repro) which will play a large role in the collimation of the scope.

I see; to my eye the bevelled flats on the face of the rear "leg" are distinctive to the Chinese made replicas. They are probably perfectly good for their purpose too, just not historically accurate as you know.

What I was trying to convey was that no one has made replicas of the early rounded and smoothed No.32 brackets we associate with Rose Bros. (even though not marked as such) The similar ones marked "JG" etc. have cast surfaces much rougher, either from the mold or because they didn't smooth them after, or both.

The smoothed brackets are seen on the early No.4(T)s and are quite different from what came later. As Roger has covered the N.92 Dalgliesh model I just thought you might want to consider using the earlier pattern that has not yet been replicated.

It does seem the originals were individually cast with the sprue joining the curve of the rear leg on what is the outside face. If there was a riser/vent perhaps it came off where the front knurled screw is fitted?

As long as our repro brackets collimate on the original rifles, the repro No.4(T)s can take care of themselves?

[ReconScout]

The prototype bracket (1in) is finished in 316 Stainless Steel, and with the Bushnell Tactical 10x40 scope centered mechanically using Peter Laidler's method (https://www.milsurps.com/content.php...-Peter-Laidler) collimated almost perfectly to my No4(T). Given the manufacturing tolerances small amount of ring lapping was needed (probably would have been fine without).

The production batch will have a slight change to the back of the brace (elimination of the little "step" behind the back ring)

The price point for the bracket in the raw (i.e. not painted) shipped in US will be US$350 through this site with a lead time of about 4 weeks for the first batch. Let me know if anyone is interested.

Other option depending on desire will be 30mm bracket as well as canted brackets (10 or 20 MOA) for those of who who want to try you hand at farther targets)