Enfield Tanker project NOW 95% done

woodchopper

woodchopper

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Well its been a long time since I started a thread here :runaway: and I've been hashing around a bunch of projects in my mind but I think that I have a plan now.

So here it is, tanker lenght enfield in 308.

I think I have all the parts now, for this project. Pictures will follow as I get going on this.

I will be removing a 308 barrel from one reciever and removing the 303 barrel from another reciever and doing a bit of a swap there. I have some concerns about the dremmel work :mad: on the first reciever, which is sad because it has a matching serial bolt and is a Mk1 not Mk1* but bubba has had his way with it. Also its drilled and tapped :mad: but its got a heavy 308 barrel so it should ballance when cut to about 19" :D

So the second reciever is good just he barrel is crap, and I mean crappy, 2 groove and cut down. went to recorwn it and found that the bore was not centered in the barrel either. :confused: oh well just more parts for the salvage bins.

now for the stock I have several spare full lenght stocks but I plan to do a cut and splice to a sporterized (again by bubba) beach stock and using a beatup and bubba'ed Mk2 forestock to provide the extension. and I think I have a butt that matches as well.

So stay tuned for pictures as I get going on this project.

Oh I will have to make a reciever wrench and barrel clamp as well :rolleyes:
 
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You might want to take a look over on the CSP Enfield forum. There's a good thread over there by Peter Laidler, a Brit armourer with lots of LE experience about rebarreling enfields. It's fairly easy to twist the receiver so that it becomes unusable. Good luck with the project.
 
Woodchopper...I ended up with the Long Branch Tanker Enfield that Beater sold a few months ago...very nice rifle that.
There are some tricks to bedding the barrel in a shortened forend etc. I could send you some pics of what he did if you want.

You need the right action wrench and barrel vice, that is one tight torquing job and the action can be twisted and ruined. Peter Laidler just described the setup they used, they also put a dummy bolt in the action with no extractor on it.

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LongBranchShortenedandBubbaedvsRoss.jpg

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Also, there was the shortened 7.62 CA barrel rifle that my gunsmith put together on a No 4 Mk 2 action...the bbl was cut to (not by me) I think about 22", we put a FNC1 flash hider on it, and a 7.62 extractor, long ejector screw and Sterling mag. Ask Vimy Ridge how it shoots...
That's a nice looking rifle...

No47621.jpg

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Hey, look at these...(remove spaces in http)


ht tp://cgi.ebay.com/lee-enfield-ACTION-WRENCH-smle-barrel-removal_W0QQitemZ180187604848QQihZ008QQcategoryZ73962QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

ht tp://cgi.ebay.com/lee-enfield-BARREL-VISE-smle_W0QQitemZ180187607227QQihZ008QQcategoryZ73962QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247
 
man thats a nice looking tanker.......

actually WOODCHOPPER, talk to hungry, he has a #4 i sold him with a 7.62 bbl cut down with a JC wood and flash hider on it. i used a A2 mag modified to fit the #4 action. i also tuned up the extractor, and it kicks them out perfectly. he was wanting to sell it i think, if he hasnt allready. it was one very neat, good shooting lil rifle.
 
Ok I hope this picture works.

Now I have picked out one of my bubba No4's for this conversion.

Starting with digging into my stockpile of ssporterized stocks I picked 2 that were closely matching in both wood and grain, (birch) one was a mk1 stock while the other was off a mk2. By cutting the end of the Mk1 stock square and then salvageing a chunk of the mk2 stock and gluing it with construction adhesive I ended up with a mid lenght stock.

However the part I glued on was from near the reciever so it needed extensive thinning to match the standard contour of the stock. so a lot of work with a chisel and then the belt sander followed by a final go with a sanding block.

Still to do:

cut and crown the barrel to an appropriate lenght, its looking like that will be about 21 1/2".

bore out a front sight base to fit the thicker barrel,

making of the top wood, which I've been thinking that I can use an original rear top wood cut back, but that would ruin original wood. The other option is to take one of the many bubba sanded and recontoured butstocks (with matching wood of course) I have and try to salvage enough material to make my own top wood.

If this picture works you will see a No5, EAL, Project tanker, and a No4



n674748850_610903_424.jpg
 
OK an update on my project.


First I decided to do it the hard way and not chop up any more un-bubba'ed wood, so I selected a butstock that had been sanded and re-contoured in a nice bubba rounded fasion. I then split it down the middle horizontally, using a large hand saw as it provided me more control. With some more wood working I got rid of a whole lot of wood that I did not need, using the saw and a wood plane.

You can't see the inside because I forgot to take photos but it was widened out very carefully with a router and then a lot of chisel work and sanding.

Very sharp chisels are important, :D and bandaids, :redface: can't bleed on the wood :rolleyes:

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then trimmed them up to lenght to match my spliced foreend

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and with a whole lot of cutting and sanding, thank god for a belt sander, which by the way I clamped in the vice and moved the wood bits, you get a lot more control this way. A table or bench sander would be better but I don't have one.

you end up whith this, you need to have some original wood to measure to get the ends close enough to fit the barrel bands, then just remove all the other wood :D easy :rolleyes:

n674748850_631845_4694.jpg


compared to some original lenght wood uppers.

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Ok lets take a step back, Splicing the foreend... you see how by carefully cutting to match up the lighting groves in the stock, and some more chisel work allow for a nice hardwood block to get glued in. Keeps everything straight and gives a much larger gluing surface.

n674748850_631846_4972.jpg


Now with the wood cut I measured how far a normal enfield barrel sticks out past the wood, then I chucked up my enfield in the metal lathe and with a little cutting ended up with this. Oh I blued it as well with cold blue.

The beveled contour on the outsied is close to the original enfield and the corwn is only 2deg negative, I could of put a big counter sunk crown like a normal enfield but I like the nearly flat crowns. Personel preference and since I'm running the lathe I can do whatever I like :D

I aldo bored out teh front sight base to match the barel thickness, but took off a little too much .010" or so. So I pinned it sitting high and will use some JB wele to fill in the spaces around the sight and where the lugs would be on an original sight base.

n674748850_631847_5262.jpg


Ok now all stocked up with barrel bands, and a few comparisons to another enfield I have. I still need metal nose caps to go under the front barrel band. I dont have a source that sells them seperately from the wood so I may give-er a go on making them.
n674748850_631848_5634.jpg


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So I think I'm about 80% done

still to do:

metal nose caps

Set the front sight base better

a little sanding of the wood to get the profile a bit better

Treating the wood with BLO

Oh and making a little JB weld pad in the forestock at the muzzle end to get the proper bedding.

then its just a mater of installing the rear sight and front sight ears and I'm done

might use a little cold blue to touch up the barrel bands as well.
 
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woodchopper said:
OK an update on my project.
First I decided to do it the hard way and not chop up any more un-bubba'ed wood, so I selected a butstock that had been sanded and re-contoured in a nice bubba rounded fasion.
Click to expand...

After all the grief you gave me :slap:
I have a buttstock in mind for your project :D

Hurry up and slap that wood on the rig, I want to see how sharp this tanker will look, though I am still waiting for that other certain person to do a P17 tanker in 300WinMag :dancingbanana:
 
Thanks for the comments,

I could of turned down the barrel to fit the front sight but then I would have a stepped barrel and that would just look funny to me. Just as easy to bore out the sight base.

Ah Dosing, always good to give you a hard time. :D But if its allready bubba'ed you really can't do any more damage.

I guess now I'll have to start looking for a few more bubba rifles and stocks to use and make another tanker.

Oh and the barrel is 21 1/2" long so it should not lose too much in terms of muzzle velocity.
 
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