Yet another Enfield headspace question

[droid1963]

I recently inherited a 1917 No. 1 Mark III, it was missing the bolt and the mag. I found both online, and notice that the bolt head cannot screw fully into the bolt if it is to be put into the action.

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There is a space of about 1/16" when the lug on the bolt and the lug on the head line up.

(sorry for the cell-phone pics, but you cane see the space here)
Consequently, when a cartridge is chambered, the the bolt handle will not go all the way down.
Is it possible to shorten the bolt in order for the head to fully thread and close that 1/16" gap and return the lugs to alignment?

There is a "U" stamped into the bolt head, not a number code like on the heads form No. 4's.

Any help from those more experienced in these matters greatly appreciated.

 

[tiriaq]

SMLE boltheads are not interchangable. Sometimes they will not screw in far enough, as is the case with your bolt. The bolthead you received with the bolt was not original to the bolt. The letter stamped on the bolthead has nothing to do with bolthead size.
You don't have a headspace problem, you have a bolthead problem. You will need to try boltheads until you find one that will line up. Once you have done that, you will have to cross your fingers and hope that the bolt assembly will headspace in your rifle. Then you will find out if you have a headspace problem. If it doesn't, its back to square one. Is there a long established gunsmith in your area? Usually these shops will have a number of boltheads picked up over the years.