Seeking No.4 Restoration - Lower Mainland BC

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7ECA

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Evening all.

I recently purchased a fairly nice FTR'd No.4 Mk.I sporter, which seems to fit the bill for a restoration. As such, I purchased a full stock set and the required bits and bobs from Lee Enfield Parts & Militaria in the UK (Dean Boyce).

I've got the fore-end 80% roughed in to fit the receiver and it is a "drop in" fit. Drop in, as in the fore-end will snugly fit onto the barrelled receiver - before anyone gets any ideas...

But, there's more fitting work to be done to get it up to snuff and I lack the time and confidence to get the job done right. My preference would be leaving the fore-end as-is (as much as possible), and a light bedding job to get the receiver snugged in as well as the trigger guard (as per Roger Wadham's book).

Are there any experts in the Lower Mainland of BC, with a proven track record of stocking up No.4s in the OEM military manner?
 
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Outside of the gun shops, the only reputably good gunsmith I know of that still operates here with a business front is Barry Jensen of Bits of Pieces: www.bitsofpieces.com
He can do basically all the things you listed as well as more, but be aware that it will not be a quick thing, you may have your stuff at his shop anywhere from 3 weeks to six months or more, and you may not get regular updates on the progress until it is done, but that experience is not atypical for most gunsmith shops.
 
Alright, so we have a dead guy, a store in Ontario, and a business that hasn't updated their website since the Bush Jr. era. I'm going to go out on a limb and say this isn't the most promising situation at the moment. I might just have to deal with the fore-end myself.
 
7ECA said:
Alright, so we have a dead guy, a store in Ontario, and a business that hasn't updated their website since the Bush Jr. era. I'm going to go out on a limb and say this isn't the most promising situation at the moment. I might just have to deal with the fore-end myself.
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I would suggest simply making it a project and doing it yourself. "OEM" in this context means three-point bedding of wood on metal with no modern bedding materials required. The good news is that, if you make a mistake, all you have to do is chisel out the problem area and insert a new piece of walnut. Patches are commonly seen in the draws area, the barrel channel at the reinforce (this is part of the middle bearing), and even at the forend-tip. If you do it yourself you'll always know how to fix it if accuracy falls off in the future.

milsurpo
 
I’ve rebuilt a few. Not all that hard to do. When I use reproduction wood it has been from Prestigious Wood Stocks. Done properly no bedding is required. If Dean’s stocks are anything like PWS internals should be perfect. The rear at the back strap will need some wood removed and draws may need some scraping to fit. Should be a snug fit when the stock is pushed on. Take your time and do it yourself. Learn something new.
We have two military surplus stock makers in Canada. Both in Alberta. Prestigious Wood stocks, Drayton Valley and Ross Rifle Reproductions in Edmonton. PWS is excellent. Haven’t dealt with RRR.
 
These days you are better off just buying an original No. 4 . Restoration is expensive especially if you have to pay for someone else to do it. Restored ones seldom look right and there are plenty of originals to be found at reasonable prices if you shop around.
 
The internals are good, other than a few minor adjustments needed around the bolt release plunger and the nub where the No.4s missing cutoff plate would have been hinged.

From my reading, and especially Roger Wadham's book/videos, there's some accuracy to be gained by ensuring more solid contact under the trigger guard as well as under the receiver. In theory, it should also help protect the fore-end in the event of any rough handling in the future.

Hence my interest in some light bedding work, albeit keeping the so-called "OEM" style floating barrel until the last three inches of the fore-end.

Having said that, if this is a real sharp shooter it may end up getting centre or mid- bedded to chase that accuracy bug.
 
55recce said:
These days you are better off just buying an original No. 4 . Restoration is expensive especially if you have to pay for someone else to do it. Restored ones seldom look right and there are plenty of originals to be found at reasonable prices if you shop around.
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I'm aware, but this was a hobby idea that bit...

Dean is known for the quality of his reproduction fore-ends, and has a one stop shop for hardware and other accessories. He also installs the end cap and back strap on his reproduction fore-end which is a bonus.

From my research the quality of Prestigious reproduction stocks appeared to be a bit hit and miss. Dean's seem to be more consistently rated, hence why I went that way. Surprisingly, even with shipping from the UK, it worked out to be less expensive than buying domestically.

He also did a fantastic job matching the wood grain and colour of the stock parts. The NOS hand guards are a fairly close match to the reproduction fore-end, as is the NOS butt stock. A little bit of stain and oil on the fore-end and it will be a seamless match.
 
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