Background: I purchased the above rifle from a newbie on CGN. I got snookered, but partially my own fault for not asking the right questions. He was not a bad guy and I don't think he meant to deceive anyone, he just didn't know enough about older military surplus rifles and he got some suspect information from some local guys. If anyone has an informed opinion on the value at time of purchase, please chime in.
The good! The metal is in lovely shape and it has a very low round count, judging from the amount of wear. The butt stock is LB and "L" marked, which I need for my length of pull. Everything was LB marked except the lower forestock which was POF. Surprisingly, the barrel is dated '43 and LB marked but it's 5 groove rifling which is odd considering that I was led to believe that most were 2 groove as a time and cost saving measure. The rear sight that came with it was a micrometer adjustable Singer sight, but it's English marked.
The bad! Some doofus had bought a brand new '43 Long Branch and tapped and drilled the receiver for glass and cut down the stock. Someone else had tried to de-sporterize the rifle but couldn't or wouldn't go to the trouble of finding a Canadian fore stock. The upper stocks were English, and a mix of walnut and birch. Some idiot had also tried to remove the sight blade retention screw and deformed the front of the sight block.
The restoration! Thanks to my brother, I got a walnut LB lower forestock that has a minor wood repair but very few other dings. I had the upper stocks in walnut from an earlier restoration job. As I mentioned, all the metal pieces (ie: stock bands, sling swivels, etc. were LB or CA marked)
Step one, fill in the scope mount holes. I had screws with the correct thread from other jobs so I filled the 2 holes in the receiver and the one in the charger bridge with the screws and used LockTite to secure them. I drilled holes in a piece of thin shim stock and secured the screws through the shim into the receiver. My intent was to file down the screws and when I started to abrade the shim stock I'd go to very fine files and/or sand paper so as not to mar the receiver. When the shim stock was paper thin, I'd remove it and VERY carefully file and sand the metal down to flush with the receiver and touch up with blue. CAUTIONARY!!!! If any of you ever do this, learn from my mistake. The 2 screws I used in the receiver were flat head hex screws. HOW THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THE DAMNED HEX HOLES ACTUALLY WENT ALL THE WAY DOWN INTO THE BODY OF THE SCREW!!!! This was the first time I'd had to fill in screw holes and it never occurred to me to check the depth of the hex socket. So what happens? I file the screw down flush and I still have 2 holes in the receiver!!! Much smaller holes, mind you, but holes nonetheless. I used megametal compound to fill the holes since I couldn't remove them without drilling them out thanks to the Lock Tite. Fortunately, I used had a slot head screw in the charger bridge and it worked fine (see pics). The fore sight block was an easy fix. A few gentle taps with a hammer put it back to round and you'd never know it had been dicked with
Step two. I took down the stock with a cabinet scraper (my favourite method), sanded it all very nice with 400 grit and then oiled it back up. I waited for the oil to polymerize, dulled the sheen with 4 zero steel wool, and it was good to go.
Step three. Final assembly. I put a PH 5C target sight on it as I mean it to be my primary shooter when I'm putting .303 down range. I have a pristine 1950 Long Branch that's too nice to shoot often. So gentlemen, check it out. Feedback, pro or contra, is more than welcome.
The good! The metal is in lovely shape and it has a very low round count, judging from the amount of wear. The butt stock is LB and "L" marked, which I need for my length of pull. Everything was LB marked except the lower forestock which was POF. Surprisingly, the barrel is dated '43 and LB marked but it's 5 groove rifling which is odd considering that I was led to believe that most were 2 groove as a time and cost saving measure. The rear sight that came with it was a micrometer adjustable Singer sight, but it's English marked.
The bad! Some doofus had bought a brand new '43 Long Branch and tapped and drilled the receiver for glass and cut down the stock. Someone else had tried to de-sporterize the rifle but couldn't or wouldn't go to the trouble of finding a Canadian fore stock. The upper stocks were English, and a mix of walnut and birch. Some idiot had also tried to remove the sight blade retention screw and deformed the front of the sight block.
The restoration! Thanks to my brother, I got a walnut LB lower forestock that has a minor wood repair but very few other dings. I had the upper stocks in walnut from an earlier restoration job. As I mentioned, all the metal pieces (ie: stock bands, sling swivels, etc. were LB or CA marked)
Step one, fill in the scope mount holes. I had screws with the correct thread from other jobs so I filled the 2 holes in the receiver and the one in the charger bridge with the screws and used LockTite to secure them. I drilled holes in a piece of thin shim stock and secured the screws through the shim into the receiver. My intent was to file down the screws and when I started to abrade the shim stock I'd go to very fine files and/or sand paper so as not to mar the receiver. When the shim stock was paper thin, I'd remove it and VERY carefully file and sand the metal down to flush with the receiver and touch up with blue. CAUTIONARY!!!! If any of you ever do this, learn from my mistake. The 2 screws I used in the receiver were flat head hex screws. HOW THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THE DAMNED HEX HOLES ACTUALLY WENT ALL THE WAY DOWN INTO THE BODY OF THE SCREW!!!! This was the first time I'd had to fill in screw holes and it never occurred to me to check the depth of the hex socket. So what happens? I file the screw down flush and I still have 2 holes in the receiver!!! Much smaller holes, mind you, but holes nonetheless. I used megametal compound to fill the holes since I couldn't remove them without drilling them out thanks to the Lock Tite. Fortunately, I used had a slot head screw in the charger bridge and it worked fine (see pics). The fore sight block was an easy fix. A few gentle taps with a hammer put it back to round and you'd never know it had been dicked with
Step two. I took down the stock with a cabinet scraper (my favourite method), sanded it all very nice with 400 grit and then oiled it back up. I waited for the oil to polymerize, dulled the sheen with 4 zero steel wool, and it was good to go.
Step three. Final assembly. I put a PH 5C target sight on it as I mean it to be my primary shooter when I'm putting .303 down range. I have a pristine 1950 Long Branch that's too nice to shoot often. So gentlemen, check it out. Feedback, pro or contra, is more than welcome.
