No1mk3 needs new buttstock

Maverick22

Maverick22

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Interior, BC
A few years ago I acquired this SMLE and I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. The metal is in great condition and the wood has lots of character. The bore in nice and shiny and I've taken it out a few times and was immediately impressed with the accuracy (despite the short comings of the old style sights). As you can see in the photos, the major shortcoming of this rifle is that the buttstock does not match the rest of the rifle. I am looking to see if anyone has information on the correct wood-type I should be seeking, and any suggestions on where I could find it and make it match the rest of the rifle. Also, if anyone has any information regarding the markings present on the rifle that would provide background and history, that would be awesome. Thank you for your time and your comments/suggestions/questions are always appreciated.

Enjoy the photos! (click on picture for full size photo)

























It has the arrow stamp on the receiver and the rear sight, which I am told means it was accepted for military service



 
I would stain the butt stock using a leather dye in a colour close to the forend. Afterwards, you can use BLO on all stock parts to preserve the wood. There are many posts here on how to properly apply BLO to the stock parts. Remove the stock disc before staining.
 
Shoot me a private message with your cell number or email and I'll send you some photos of a butt stock I've had lying around for a while now. If you like the colour, pay shipping and it's yours.
 
You don't say whether it's size Normal, Long or Short. Looks like somebody has used some bleaching agent on it to lighten it. I'd be tempted to say it's a No.4 one, from the buttplate.
Rifle appears to have been to Australia at some point.
 
RifleDude said:
I would stain the butt stock using a leather dye in a colour close to the forend. Afterwards, you can use BLO on all stock parts to preserve the wood. There are many posts here on how to properly apply BLO to the stock parts. Remove the stock disc before staining.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Would tung oil work instead of BLO? And can I apply it directly to the rest of the wood as is? or does the wood need prep work to start? I don't want to ruin the heritage of this beauty by doing this wrong.
 
Mk VII said:
You don't say whether it's size Normal, Long or Short. Looks like somebody has used some bleaching agent on it to lighten it. I'd be tempted to say it's a No.4 one, from the buttplate.
Rifle appears to have been to Australia at some point.
Click to expand...


I honestly wouldn't know the difference between normal, long, or short. I will have to research it further. May I ask which of the marks makes you believe it has been to Australia?
 
I see an MA on the breech somewhere and the holes in the nosecaps wings are typical of late Australian refurbishments.
 
Maverick22 said:
Thanks. Would tung oil work instead of BLO? And can I apply it directly to the rest of the wood as is? or does the wood need prep work to start? I don't want to ruin the heritage of this beauty by doing this wrong.
Click to expand...

Tung oil works great too. Apparently, the Americans stopped using BLO and started using tung oil at some point either close to the end of WWII or shortly after. And yes, you can use it on the other stock parts as well. I would wipe the butt stock down with lacquer thinner before applying the stain to ensure it's clean and to remove any exposed oil residues.

I had a No1Mk3* with handguards that were several shades lighter than the butt stock and foreend. I managed to match the hand guards by staining them and they match very closely now.
2isKAful.jpg
 
Fyi: there are products sold as "tung oil finish", which are not what you want. Be sure to get 100% tung oil. Lee Valley sells it.
 
RifleDude said:
Tung oil works great too. Apparently, the Americans stopped using BLO and started using tung oil at some point either close to the end of WWII or shortly after. And yes, you can use it on the other stock parts as well. I would wipe the butt stock down with lacquer thinner before applying the stain to ensure it's clean and to remove any exposed oil residues.

I had a No1Mk3* with handguards that were several shades lighter than the butt stock and foreend. I managed to match the hand guards by staining them and they match very closely now.
2isKAful.jpg
Click to expand...

i used Feibings medium brown leather dye and it didn't matter what colour the original wood was, its all the same colour now, decidedly reddish. as it is an alcohol based dye, wiping to remove oil residue is seemingly unnecessary.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. Mcminn is sending me a nicer buttstock (what a gentleman!) and I’ll give restoring the whole stock a go. I’ll give it a good wipe down with a thinner to get rid of the oils, likely try to stain it all an even colour, and finish it off with multiple applications of Tung oil
 
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