Giving my No4 back some self respect... (pic)

Thanks for all the compliments folks, If I could snap better pic's you all could see that I'm really not such a hot carpenter... Things look better when viewed through a soft filter... :D

I have the butt cap mostly fitted, Man it was harder than I expected. Trying to get the right double radius so the cap fits tightly all the way around is a royal pain. Thankfully only the outside will show when done so I can fill my mistakes and pretend they never happened. I think I'm going to cut into the butt plate a bit with my belt sander to get a nice fit then bead blast and paint it after.

On with the show...

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I'm planning to keep it fairly light in color (I love the look of blond Enfields) but I did pickup some darker colors to see how they'd look. I picked up a few little sample packs of stain recently and I'll test them on a piece and post the results before I do the stock. I have five Varathane Premium Wood Stain samples... Light Walnut, American Walnut, Cabernet, Ipswich Pine and Chestnut to try

I'm back to trade school tomorrow so I likely wont get any more done until next week end.

MB
 
For the finish you should try traditional finish. Enfields were usually finished with linseed oil (I heard boiled linseed is better then standard). Its easy to apply, its cheap, and it adds a light sheen and it will not wear off like other finishes would. like any finish it will fade over time, but it takes less then an hour to apply and usually will set over night. I heard it will darken the wood over time but it may add an aged look over time. But whatever you chose its your rifle so whatever.
 
happydude said:
How did drilling the hole for the butt screw go? You know, that sounds a little dirty.
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Since the stock is laminated you can make it out of an even number of laminations and just rout a channel in the two center laminations before gluing together... Voila, instant pilot hole...

The trick is to make the channels with a 1/4" round nose bit so you can lay a few drinking straws in before you glue it up, that way the channel doesn't become full of glue. Most hole saws use a 1/4" pilot bit so you can then take a 12" long 1/4" drill bit and use it to drive a 7/8" hole saw down your pilot hole to make the bolt passage. I intended to do just that but a had a router bit with a pilot bearing that worked the same way on the same drill extension I used to sand out the knox form inletting.

MB
 
That is some great work. How do you think the stock will hold up under fire? I know there are laminates out there but I know nothing of the process. Could you give us a little more detail other than wood glue and a crap load of clamps, or is that really all there is to it? I vote linseed oil, or tung oil topped with linseed oil after, I've used that on a couple old stocks including a SMLE and it doesn't darken the wood too much, with a little polishing it shines up real good.
 
Reminds me of an old desk slogan:

"The damn fool didn't know if couldn't be done, so he just went ahead and did it!"

Good for you!
 
hannibal said:
That is some great work. How do you think the stock will hold up under fire? I know there are laminates out there but I know nothing of the process. Could you give us a little more detail other than wood glue and a crap load of clamps, or is that really all there is to it? I vote linseed oil, or tung oil topped with linseed oil after, I've used that on a couple old stocks including a SMLE and it doesn't darken the wood too much, with a little polishing it shines up real good.
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Well, I hope it will hold up just fine... The only other stock I have done was for an airgun so it wasn't seeing much recoil. I have no doubt about my glue joints, as for the factory laminations time will tell. I do try to compress the wood fibres a bit at the socket where the butt joins the action, my hope is that if the socket sees even pressure when firing it's less likely to hammer its self loose. To that extent I plan to bed the socket as well as the typical accuracy bedding points.

The glue up process just involves good wood prep (sanding and cleaning with a tack rag) I am very careful to get an even coat of glue over both surfaces to be joined by using a wide brush or roller. Before I glue I pre-drill a few holes (in spots that will be cut away later) around the perimeter of the wood for long screws to help pull the laminations together and also keep the pieces aligned while the camps are tightened. I suppose one lamination should be done at a time but I tend to do it all in one shot, glue two pieces and clamp them with a few clamps to get a decent bond then remove the clamps and add two more laminations. I make sure to install the clamps for the final set up from as close to the center of the piece outward as not to trap any bubbles and to ensure the bond is even all over. I leave the screws loose until I get the clamps to the particular area. It's really just "glue 'er up" with a bit of care to the process.

The fun part is shaping the stock and seeing if your glue up was decent... And finding the hidden voids and knots...

MB

"The damn fool didn't know if couldn't be done, so he just went ahead and did it!"
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...story of my life...
 
There are no more unissued No.4 stocks left. You could make a pretty penny turning them out, and charging several hundred bucks for each one. There IS a market out there, even at a high price point because literally nobody is doing it, and there are so many Enfield owners out there in the US, UK, and Canada.

You might consider turning them out. At the very least it would finance Christmas and Vacation time for you every year as a Cottage Industry.

Excellent work. This is one thing that I admire about Canadians. You guys get in there and make it happen one way or the other if you can't get it off the shelf. It's the way people all over used to be. Everything great really does come from a garage, or small workshop, by a guy who was--as a previous poster put it--"To foolish to know you couldn't do it!" Be proud sir. You've really done something wonderful there. You have every ounce of my respect, and admiration!

I look forward to seeing this thing progress even further.
 
Corpus said:
There are no more unissued No.4 stocks left. You could make a pretty penny turning them out, and charging several hundred bucks for each one. There IS a market out there, even at a high price point because literally nobody is doing it, and there are so many Enfield owners out there in the US, UK, and Canada.
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Agreed, and even more so for No1 stocks.
 
Really interesting project! Nice work and a great use for a sporterized No 4 rifle.
First time I've seen a one piece handguard like that on a No 4.

That'll look awesome finished up...please update this thread.

BTW, be carefull...you're going to find yourself doing this for a living for about 500 guys on here that'll want one done...:)

Is that wood hardwood or softwood?
 
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