My SMLE Mk III * - Pics
- Thread starter TehGunky
- Start date
TehGunky, I noticed the rear triggerguard screw is odd- it is usually inserted from the left side, threaded into the right side. Your screw is not fully seated, you may want to look at it as somebody who didn't know what they were doing has removed/replaced this screw sometime in the past. The threads may be buggered in the body and the screw forced into place. It's a neat rifle, with some obvious history, nothing a bit of TLC shouldn't cure. Nice score.
Not only firearms, BSA made bicycles, and from 1910-1972 were one of the largest motorcycle producers in England if not the world. In WW2 , BSA produced over 126,000 of the M20 model 500cc flathead bikes, by far the largest supplier of allied motorcycles.
Yes, the threads on that screw are stripped. It was like that when I bought it, and it's a problem I want to repair. When I disassembled the rifle for cleaning, that screw (which was in backwards) didn't want to come out. I had to pry it with a second screwdriver and push it with a punch. It sits in there pretty stiffly when inserted backwards, like a pin. When I try putting it in the proper way, it slides in and out with no resistance. I believe the threads in the hole on the wrist guard are okay and would work fine with a new screw, but the threads on the current stripped screw get no purchase.
I've been looking on ebay and the like for new trigger guard screws, but they're damned expensive. I'm also missing a swivel mount screw on the butt, and the two large screws holding the butt plate in place are badly rusted. One of them is more or less fine and still has a firm purchase, the other is in bad shape and spins freely in its hole.
I may need to glue some new wood inside that hole and drill a new, tighter hole for a new screw. I do something similar with toothpicks and/or tiny dowels on my guitars when pickguard or tuning machine screw-holes get stripped. This repair would have no cosmetic effect on the rifle, and my goal is to use original LE hardware, but I'm still concerned that it might negatively affect the value of the rifle. Any pro advice?
Does anyone have a line on a good (preferably inexpensive) place to get original/NOS replacement parts?
Would quality "repro" screws have a significant negative impact on the overall historical value of the gun? I'm not super-concerned about this aspect, because a) I have no intention of ever selling it, and b) it's not a pristine gun to begin with: it's already been arsenal-repaired (butt stock) and the bolt doesn't match. But I don't want to harm it by cramming negative-value junk into it.
As for gluing in a dowel and redrilling the butt plate screw, that sounds like a perfectly acceptable, historically accurate and proper repair. It should not affect value in any way as it will be invisible externally, would probably increase value if done properly. I don't know if there are repro hardware as such, but some later Ishapore screws and parts are cheaper and easily procured and look identical. As long as you don't drill and re-tap a larger screw 
. If it's just the screw you should be fine, as long as you get the proper replacement, No 4 screws are different.
. If it's just the screw you should be fine, as long as you get the proper replacement, No 4 screws are different.
