Threading a 303 Brit barrel

I've got a friend with a no1 mkIII I put together for him. It was a mix matched parts bin rifle so the barrel was not mated to the receiver yet.
Had dlask do the barrel work , shortened to 19" and threaded 5/8x 24 with a recess crown and a 3 port muzzle brake installed.
Test firing that rifle was fun and I do think the brake improved the rifle handling during recoil but holy hell was it loud.
I hunt deer with a shortened down enfield and have built up quite a few of them now but I won't be wasting my money putting muzzle brakes on any of them. They are loud enough as it is LOL
 
tiriaq said:
6 port. Numrich used to have the muzzle units cheap. Cut off the gas block, turned and threaded the Lee Enfield barrel to suit.
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nice.

I built a muzzle device for an enfield that bubba put a 308 heavy barrel on. but that was before I got the milling machine, I may have to revisit that and make something better.

Bubba threaded the barrel 5/8' x 18 TPI, I guess that is the die they had ? I guess. It seems that it was at least done straight and fairly concentric, so I suspect it was started on a lathe and then cleaned up with the die.
 
woodchopper said:
Bubba threaded the barrel 5/8' x 18 TPI, I guess that is the die they had ? I guess. It seems that it was at least done straight and fairly concentric, so I suspect it was started on a lathe and then cleaned up with the die.
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It actually is possible to run a die onto a barrel completely straight .... but it requires a lathe to hold everything aligned correctly.

The best way is to at least single point the threads to maybe 3/4 depth or so and then finish with the die. I do that with taps for internal threads sometimes to ensure the thread meets the correct spec.
 
I Dont Care About You said:
It actually is possible to run a die onto a barrel completely straight .... but it requires a lathe to hold everything aligned correctly.

The best way is to at least single point the threads to maybe 3/4 depth or so and then finish with the die. I do that with taps for internal threads sometimes to ensure the thread meets the correct spec.
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yes that is the way I do most of my threading on the lathe, cut them close to finished profile then use a tap or die to cut the final profile.
 
A muzzle brake on it won´t be hilarious, honestly if I saw it at the range it´d just be another sporterised Enfield.

What would be far more interesting would be if you made a "Tanker" SMLE out of it and then maybe put a fake supressor on the end
 
Bratwurst said:
A muzzle brake on it won´t be hilarious, honestly if I saw it at the range it´d just be another sporterised Enfield.

What would be far more interesting would be if you made a "Tanker" SMLE out of it and then maybe put a fake supressor on the end
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That’s the other option for this build I love a little tanker no1mk3 tho idk how I’d even go about putting a fake suppressor on the muzzle cap, do they make repro rifle grenade launchers for them? Maybe one of those with holes drilled for a makeshift “flashider” and some copper wire wrapped around the handguard for that post apocalyptic look? Decisions decisions 🤔
 
fightinghamster said:
That’s the other option for this build I love a little tanker no1mk3 tho idk how I’d even go about putting a fake suppressor on the muzzle cap, do they make repro rifle grenade launchers for them? Maybe one of those with holes drilled for a makeshift “flashider” and some copper wire wrapped around the handguard for that post apocalyptic look? Decisions decisions 🤔
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Like my No4 in 9mm.

Couldn't make it look nice, so made it look like something from fallout.

Screenshot_20250802_104712_Messenger.jpg
 
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woodchopper said:
yes that is the way I do most of my threading on the lathe, cut them close to finished profile then use a tap or die to cut the final profile.
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You have to be careful with a thread die. They are adjustable and can easily cut threads oversized or undersized. A tap is not adjustable.


fat tony said:
Recently I saw annular cutters on the hooks at the local Princess Auto. The pilot would have to be precision turned to fit your bore. There was also another company selling annular cutters with various sized pilots available, advertised for use in barrel work.
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I've never used one of those annular cutters. On a lathe, you need to go slowly or it would be possible to induce chatter or vibration. Done by hand it would be possible to induce side torque on the cutter if used improperly.
 
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