- Location
- Beaverlodge, Alberta
Yes there are a few producing them in very limited quantities now. Stoggie on here is one of them
Restoration Sticky.
- Thread starter LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1
- Start date
Yes there are a few producing them in very limited quantities now. Stoggie on here is one of them
Expensive no doubt?
- Location
- Beaverlodge, Alberta
I don't think he's too bad actually. There's a long wait though
I got time. Worth exploring anyway.
I'm having trouble finding Stoggie's PM. Maybe he can PM me and give me some deets.
Last edited:
In case there is some one here who hasn't seen it yet.
http://bobsstuffandnonsense.########.com/2011/06/my-ongoing-project-1941-long-branch-no.html
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Hey!! You've got my rifle!!!
Seriously, nice work Rumpelhardt. Here's some pics of my last project. I just finished it this week. I had a frustrating time hunting up Long Branch parts, but I was lucky for the most part. You can see what it looked like when I got it, and what it looks like now. It's almost identical to your build.
I was wondering if anyone was looking for any Enfeild 1917 parts, I ordered some by mistake and I can't do a return. If interested email me shane.rhodes.sr@gmail.com not looking for a fortune just have no use for them
- Location
- Beaverlodge, Alberta
Well here's my Lady's Christmas present, a thoroughly refurbed Cooey Carcano. I put in a ton of time on this one, a couple hours a day for about 2 months. I stripped, steamed and sanded the stock, pulled all of the old oil out, repaired a poorly done repair, stopped and plugged a crack, raised and buffed the grain then sealed it and did a hand rubbed BLO finish which took about a month and a half to complete. It has pretty well cured now and is a nice dull sheen and has very nice depth. It can be done, just takes a few cc's of the oil per coat and a good bit of rubbing to get it to start drying then leave it until its fully dry before applying the next coat. I think this was about 5 or 6 coats done that way. The rubber butt pad was already there and will be a nice feature for her, this is her first centerfire and I dont want her to develop a flinch! It was way oversized and looked really gross so I did the best job I could of re fitting it. They are not easy to sand.
Then I started on the metal. I re surfaced as much of it as I could down to 600 grit paper, got rid of as many machining marks as possible and tried my best to make it look uniform and perfect. The rear sight is a Savage aftermarket sight, it mounts in a dovetail cut in the barrel. The sight is in rough shape and I need to figure out a replacement for her. Does anyone have any ideas on a sight to replace it? She'd like something that would work well for target shooting.
Then I degreased it all with acetone and removed as much of the remaining crud and rust with RB-17 as I could, followed by a nice express rust blue using the Radocy solution. This stuff was super easy to use and not that time consuming. I like to really take my time with things like this and this one was done in about 10 hrs. Dunked it in some really dirty Diesel engine oil for two days then cleaned and assembled. I did as Smellie said and bedded the action solid up to under the chamber, but left the barrel floated for now until we see how it does. If it needs it I'll bed the fore end tip with a few pounds of up pressure.
Then I started on the metal. I re surfaced as much of it as I could down to 600 grit paper, got rid of as many machining marks as possible and tried my best to make it look uniform and perfect. The rear sight is a Savage aftermarket sight, it mounts in a dovetail cut in the barrel. The sight is in rough shape and I need to figure out a replacement for her. Does anyone have any ideas on a sight to replace it? She'd like something that would work well for target shooting.
Then I degreased it all with acetone and removed as much of the remaining crud and rust with RB-17 as I could, followed by a nice express rust blue using the Radocy solution. This stuff was super easy to use and not that time consuming. I like to really take my time with things like this and this one was done in about 10 hrs. Dunked it in some really dirty Diesel engine oil for two days then cleaned and assembled. I did as Smellie said and bedded the action solid up to under the chamber, but left the barrel floated for now until we see how it does. If it needs it I'll bed the fore end tip with a few pounds of up pressure.
I have a nice Finn M27. It has a 2 piece stock, the back half being from a WWI captured rifle, so it's old. It's very dull and the grain is a bit open in places, so somewhat dried out.
Should I leave it alone and just keep it clean and dry, or is it best to apply some oil?
I know it's not a common rifle, and I do not want to do anything to impact it's value, since its not been dicked with to this point - my uncle bought it right out of the crate years ago, sold it to a guy who shot it a few times, got it back at auction a few years back, and passed it on to me now.
Should I leave it alone and just keep it clean and dry, or is it best to apply some oil?
I know it's not a common rifle, and I do not want to do anything to impact it's value, since its not been dicked with to this point - my uncle bought it right out of the crate years ago, sold it to a guy who shot it a few times, got it back at auction a few years back, and passed it on to me now.
- Location
- Beaverlodge, Alberta
I've been trying to find some nice leather stain to try on my next one. I've been using water based stains. They have to be water based or the raw linseed oil you use to finish them removes your stain when you apply the oil.
A small restoration, bought this Uzi stock off the EE. Cleaned up quite nicely, a few more coats of BLO and it is done.
If you boil the stock in some water with some dish soap and let it dry slowly the dings and dark spots will be less noticeable.
- Location
- Beaverlodge, Alberta
Better photos of a very bubba'd Ross I took a liking to:
Sorry for the smudges on the stock, it was -31, -45ish with the windchill this morning. My hands created smudges instantly.
Sorry for the smudges on the stock, it was -31, -45ish with the windchill this morning. My hands created smudges instantly.
Italian Vetterli-Vitali 1870.87.15 dated 1890 at Brescia
Here is one of my newest restorations and an odd piece at that, an Italian Vetterli-Vitali in 6.5x52mm. I recently purchased this old girl off a fellow CGNer. He had mentioned she had been a wall hangar for a number of years but I figured I would take a chance and see if I could get this old girl working and, ultimately, see if I could get her out on a range trip with some hand loaded ammo.
At present, I own another Vetterli-Vitali in 6.5x52mm so the process of disassembly and maintenance was relatively straightforward. I also was able to keep an eye out for certain things, one of which, proved critical to noticing before taking this girl out to the range as you will soon see. With the help of the seller, I was able to locate a replacement part and fit it to the rifle with no further issues.
Here is a list of the issues I took note of upon initial inspection:
It took about 2.5 weeks of careful work, combined with some elbow grease with some steel wool to remove the varnish from the metal, but she is now completely functional again with a replacement bolt handle. The metal, has a lovely patina finish above the stock line. The cleaning rod and front sight blade have been fixed so they sit in their respective positions. The trigger is now completely functional along with the safety lever. The magazine catch retains and releases a clip of 6.5x52 without binding and finally the bolt retaining key slides into it's position and allows the magazine cut off ring to rotate with jamming.
I managed to remove most of the varnish from the wood and applied a new clear lacquer coating that I lightly buffed down later with some steel wool. The markings on the wood were saved and, as a bonus, the rifle decided to reveal some of her past service marks with some chunks of missing wood along with dings and dents that were otherwise covered over in the previous varnish layer. The magazine wooden inserts were fixed into position with the help of some "Gorilla glue".
Special thanks to the seller for his help in acquiring a replacement bolt handle for this rifle.
Next step is to get to the range with some hand loads and have this wall flower sing once again
.
Before Photos
You can see the difference in colour, the dark areas being the heavy varnish and lighter areas where the finish had been rubbed off. The stock had numerous areas where this rubbing had occurred.
The wooden inserts for the magazine were floating around loosely as the original glue had dried up over the previous decades. Here you can see them as they were before some "Gorilla glue" was used.
It may be difficult to see but if you look around the receiver you can see a greenish varnish layer present. This layer covered every bit of exposed metal above the stock line. As annoying as it was to hold, I will admit that this varnish layer protected the metal from further degradation over time.
The dry underside of the barrel and receiver with some light corrosion on the bottom that easily rubbed off with some steel wool.
You can see the dividing line between the varnish layer and the original metal finish.
After Photos
The cleaned up receiver.
You can also see the new finish I applied to the wood that brings out the walnut's beautiful colour and grain.
A few specks of varnish remain on the metal but otherwise the markings all came out beautifully crisp and clear. Here we see the engraving "P P" that denotes interchangeable parts for the Vetterli production.
Maker and date mark for Brescia in 1890 respectively.
The front sight base had a considerable amount of corrosion around it while the blade was half out of it's groove. Some steel wool and a careful application from a towel wrapped punch put the blade back into it's spot again and removed the corrosion from around the front sight.
The wood inserts are secure in their positions now.
This stock was matched to the rifle during her long service with Italy and was rescued from another Vetterli at some point.
Here is the restored Brescia next to her older sister from Torre Annunziata in 1874. Her older sister has been through much more and I did not consider her safe to shoot. This was one of the primary reasons in acquiring the Brescia.
Next to the Brescia is an original Italian WW1 helmet and Vetterli-Vitali 1870.87.15 bayonet that also have seen their fair share of service.
This is why every shooter, young or old, who shoots the newest rifles to the oldest ones should visually and thoroughly inspect any firearm they plan on shooting. This bolt handle suffered a metal fatigue crack some point in the past and to the point where the metal broke away. I do not consider this handle safe for shooting. With the original seller's help, I was able to find a replacement piece that is next to the damaged bolt handle in the picture.
I hope you all enjoyed the pictures.
Here is one of my newest restorations and an odd piece at that, an Italian Vetterli-Vitali in 6.5x52mm. I recently purchased this old girl off a fellow CGNer. He had mentioned she had been a wall hangar for a number of years but I figured I would take a chance and see if I could get this old girl working and, ultimately, see if I could get her out on a range trip with some hand loaded ammo.
At present, I own another Vetterli-Vitali in 6.5x52mm so the process of disassembly and maintenance was relatively straightforward. I also was able to keep an eye out for certain things, one of which, proved critical to noticing before taking this girl out to the range as you will soon see. With the help of the seller, I was able to locate a replacement part and fit it to the rifle with no further issues.
Here is a list of the issues I took note of upon initial inspection:
- Front sight blade was half way out of it's front sight grooves
- Cleaning rod would not thread into it's retaining nut
- Magazine clip release would bind during operation
- Trigger sear would become disengaged and become stuck half way through the trigger pull
- Bolt retaining key was stuck in position
- Bolt handle had a chunk of metal missing from between the locking lugs
- All the external metal and wood was covered in a heavy, thick varnish
- Magazine wooden inserts were floating around loose in the magazine area of the stock
It took about 2.5 weeks of careful work, combined with some elbow grease with some steel wool to remove the varnish from the metal, but she is now completely functional again with a replacement bolt handle. The metal, has a lovely patina finish above the stock line. The cleaning rod and front sight blade have been fixed so they sit in their respective positions. The trigger is now completely functional along with the safety lever. The magazine catch retains and releases a clip of 6.5x52 without binding and finally the bolt retaining key slides into it's position and allows the magazine cut off ring to rotate with jamming.
I managed to remove most of the varnish from the wood and applied a new clear lacquer coating that I lightly buffed down later with some steel wool. The markings on the wood were saved and, as a bonus, the rifle decided to reveal some of her past service marks with some chunks of missing wood along with dings and dents that were otherwise covered over in the previous varnish layer. The magazine wooden inserts were fixed into position with the help of some "Gorilla glue".
Special thanks to the seller for his help in acquiring a replacement bolt handle for this rifle.
Next step is to get to the range with some hand loads and have this wall flower sing once again
.Before Photos
You can see the difference in colour, the dark areas being the heavy varnish and lighter areas where the finish had been rubbed off. The stock had numerous areas where this rubbing had occurred.
The wooden inserts for the magazine were floating around loosely as the original glue had dried up over the previous decades. Here you can see them as they were before some "Gorilla glue" was used.
It may be difficult to see but if you look around the receiver you can see a greenish varnish layer present. This layer covered every bit of exposed metal above the stock line. As annoying as it was to hold, I will admit that this varnish layer protected the metal from further degradation over time.
The dry underside of the barrel and receiver with some light corrosion on the bottom that easily rubbed off with some steel wool.
You can see the dividing line between the varnish layer and the original metal finish.
After Photos
The cleaned up receiver.
You can also see the new finish I applied to the wood that brings out the walnut's beautiful colour and grain.
A few specks of varnish remain on the metal but otherwise the markings all came out beautifully crisp and clear. Here we see the engraving "P P" that denotes interchangeable parts for the Vetterli production.
Maker and date mark for Brescia in 1890 respectively.
The front sight base had a considerable amount of corrosion around it while the blade was half out of it's groove. Some steel wool and a careful application from a towel wrapped punch put the blade back into it's spot again and removed the corrosion from around the front sight.
The wood inserts are secure in their positions now.
This stock was matched to the rifle during her long service with Italy and was rescued from another Vetterli at some point.
Here is the restored Brescia next to her older sister from Torre Annunziata in 1874. Her older sister has been through much more and I did not consider her safe to shoot. This was one of the primary reasons in acquiring the Brescia.
Next to the Brescia is an original Italian WW1 helmet and Vetterli-Vitali 1870.87.15 bayonet that also have seen their fair share of service.
This is why every shooter, young or old, who shoots the newest rifles to the oldest ones should visually and thoroughly inspect any firearm they plan on shooting. This bolt handle suffered a metal fatigue crack some point in the past and to the point where the metal broke away. I do not consider this handle safe for shooting. With the original seller's help, I was able to find a replacement piece that is next to the damaged bolt handle in the picture.
I hope you all enjoyed the pictures
.
- Location
- Beaverlodge, Alberta
Very very nice save Nabs. How is the bore on it? Be interesting to see how it shoots!
Lee Enfield LEC1 Carbine
Thought you might like to see my latest restoration project. I don't have any "before" pictures. This project started as a barreled action without a bolt or magazine. I was able to scrounge a bolt and converted an SMLE magazine. The magazine pictures show the converted magazine next to an original Lee Metford magazine with a milled follower.
The butt and forend are modified SMLE wood. I am fortunate to have an original to use as a pattern. The upper handguard came out of part of a scrap SMLE butt. It's pretty nigh impossible to find appropriate English walnut. The nosecap is a reproduction from a chap in New Zealand. He starts with an investment casting and does excellent work. The band was probably the most challenging part of the project, but I am pleased with the result. It was cut from a piece of 1/2" steel plate. Sure wish I had more than a drill press for machine tools!
It is missing the dust cover and band retainer. I have yet to find a dust cover and am still trying to find a photo of a band retainer out of the wood. I am also still trying to determine how it is attached. If someone could provide some help, it would be much appreciated.
I have read several inquiries regarding stains. I use a variety of commercial and home-brewed products. This one is done in what is probably my favorite commercial product - Fiebings leather dye. There was a pretty wide variation in the underlying wood color and I used a mixture of dark brown and black to bring it together.
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Thought you might like to see my latest restoration project. I don't have any "before" pictures. This project started as a barreled action without a bolt or magazine. I was able to scrounge a bolt and converted an SMLE magazine. The magazine pictures show the converted magazine next to an original Lee Metford magazine with a milled follower.
The butt and forend are modified SMLE wood. I am fortunate to have an original to use as a pattern. The upper handguard came out of part of a scrap SMLE butt. It's pretty nigh impossible to find appropriate English walnut. The nosecap is a reproduction from a chap in New Zealand. He starts with an investment casting and does excellent work. The band was probably the most challenging part of the project, but I am pleased with the result. It was cut from a piece of 1/2" steel plate. Sure wish I had more than a drill press for machine tools!
It is missing the dust cover and band retainer. I have yet to find a dust cover and am still trying to find a photo of a band retainer out of the wood. I am also still trying to determine how it is attached. If someone could provide some help, it would be much appreciated.
I have read several inquiries regarding stains. I use a variety of commercial and home-brewed products. This one is done in what is probably my favorite commercial product - Fiebings leather dye. There was a pretty wide variation in the underlying wood color and I used a mixture of dark brown and black to bring it together.
angrysoldier
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- under your bed
wow, now that is a pretty rifle. nice work.
