Enfield Barrel removal - building tools

woodchopper

woodchopper

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So enough was enough.....

I had an EAL that some ham head drilled for a scope base and drilled 2 crooked holes in the receiver with one that went through the receiver into the chamber. I want to do something with it and the barrel was going to come off. So after heat and messing around the last 4 months, building barrel blocks with aluminum inserts and the barrel spinning in the blocks and a 3/8" grade 80 bolt snapping off under tension... I was fed up with it.... it was time for something a little more drastic......

30" pipe wrench and a 3' cheater... Barrel was already damaged so not much to lose getting it loose.

So with the wrench snugged up on the knox there was not a lot of damage to the top of the barrel and just some groves from the wrench on the bottom that I could file out if I wanted to set back the barrel.

with that done I looked around the shop.... Oh an Ishy rifle that I got as salvage because it was a drill rifle that the buyer just wanted the wood for another project. Hardened steel pin blocking the chamber. Well looks like its poorly welded on one side only and a little proud on the other... lets see what the 10T press will do... well the pin popped out with minimal effort, I suspect less then a ton, happened so quick I didn't even have time to look at what the gauge was reading. Into the receiver block and another twist with the pipe wrench and cheater and that come off fairly easy.

I think the solution for taking off enfield barrels will be to build a specific wrench that is exactly the same profile as the barrel knox and have an insert welded in to match the flat, going to need one for the No1 and one for the No4 as they seem to be slightly different.

Big pipe wrench is fine for buggered up barrels but I have a few other ideals in my head and I will need to screw on a barrel in the near future

(C No 7 NOS receiver and barrel just sitting in my parts bin)


Yes pictures of the receiver block will e posted later.
 
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so here is the receiver block I built, oh all steel blocks and I like stamping them with what they are for and what bolt size and TPI

block LE.jpg

and here is how it holds the receiver, machined out so that I have access to the entire knox

block LE w No1.jpg

and a family picture of other blocks for barrels and inserts that I have been working on

blocks 3.jpg
 
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ok yesterday I built wrenches that fit snuggly to the barrel knox for the No1 and No4, they are different profiles and breach up a little different.

used blocks 2" x 3" x 1" thick and set up in the 4 jaw chuck and set up the cross side to bore out the holes.

then cut out a 1/2" slot to match the flat on the knox and welded in a block, then cleaned them up.

tested the one for the No4, worked really easy.

I'll post some pictures later, I didn't have my phone with me in the shop.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but is that not a gas vent hole for incase of a case rupture to direct gasses away from your face? The three holes on the rail are for a mount.
 
That punch is through a hole in the barrel into the chamber. It shouldn’t be there. The one in the side of the receiver is the one to vent gas which is behind the barrel. That receiver has holes drilled in the left side plus holes drilled into the top of the receiver ring.
 
in all may forty years of smithing i have come a cross 6 or 8 bbl's that have been drilled through the chamber a simple fix is if it is tapped 6/48 tap it thru into the chamber get a long 6/48 screw thread it flush with the chamber use red lock tite polish chamber good to go
bring it on text book techs
 
struff55 said:
in all may forty years of smithing i have come a cross 6 or 8 bbl's that have been drilled through the chamber a simple fix is if it is tapped 6/48 tap it thru into the chamber get a long 6/48 screw thread it flush with the chamber use red lock tite polish chamber good to go
bring it on text book techs
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same, plug the hole in the barrel with a screw.

But then I got the crazy ideal to make a 308 out of it. But that is down the list of projects.

First is finish the Savage 340 in 357 Herrett then a No4 MkI done up in 44 Mag.
 
struff55 said:
in all may forty years of smithing i have come a cross 6 or 8 bbl's that have been drilled through the chamber a simple fix is if it is tapped 6/48 tap it thru into the chamber get a long 6/48 screw thread it flush with the chamber use red lock tite polish chamber good to go
bring it on text book techs
Click to expand...
Not a text book tech by any means, by flushing with the chamber, I suspect you mean running the screw all the way through and "flushing" the nub to the profile of the chamber with a reamer???

I have done this as well and if it's done carefully, the fired cases don't show any sign of it.

It can happen easily to anyone. Usually the hole doesn't go all the way through, just enough to allow a "dimple" to form in the chamber.

The last one which came in had a lovely/very expensive, Lilja barrel on a Model 70 Win, chambered for 338-06. I used a piece of drill rod, and threaded it 6-48, then profiled the bottom to be close to the bottom of the hole. Then, I used a punch to push the dimple as close to the profile of the chamber as possible. After that was done, I ran my reamer into the chamber and cleaned up the very slightly proud bit. Only a few thou.

I cut a slot for a small screwdriver in the bit of threaded drill rod and after putting a bit of Titanium Putty into the base of the hole, screwed it in.

The Titanium Putty filled any orifices and acted like your red LocTite.

The nice thing about this was the same threaded hole can be used to secure the scope base with the original screws, which had to be shortened a bit.
 
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