Thread: Still confused about bedding an SMLE...
Retrieved: 06/18/2014
A couple years ago I picked up a 1943 Lithgow SMLE from kooky old man at a gun show. As I was counting out twenties he spun a yarn about purchasing the rifle in the 60's and how it was such an ugly, heavy and unwieldy club until he "improved" it. You can guess what he did... chopped up the coachwood forearm, sanded the crap out the rest of the stock, and dunked the whole thing in polyurethane until the finish was about and 1/8" thick. The only saving grace was that the parked finish is beautiful and bore is near mint. The follower in the mag looks like its never had a round in it. I paid $120 and it stayed in the back of my safe while I figured out what to do with it.
A couple weeks ago I finally nabbed a Parker Hale PH5A and I knew it was time to dust off the Lithgow and turn it into a "Super SMLE". So I ordered a stock set from Sarco and Huber Match Trigger. My goal isn't a 100% correct restoration but an outwardly appearing "stock" gun with all the internal tricks to make it a tack-driver.
When I opened the box from Sarco I was shocked, they didn't send me a filthy Ishy stock set off of some DP rifle, they sent me a filthy Aussie Coachwood stock set! Mixing a matching new and original pieces netted me a pretty decent stock set buried under grease and filth and poly.
I now have all the pieces cleaned up and ready for some BLO, but I'm still trying to grasp the concept of bedding SMLE stocks.
I know that the fit must be snug on the rear lugs of the receiver, even with the plates my new stock is a little loose, so I intend to add some thin aluminum shims behind the brass plates to snug it up. Also, both screw holes are drilled crooked so I intend to drill them oversize and then fill holes with acra-glass. I'm hoping this will give me a set of very strong threaded holes in the stock that allow a perfect flush fit with the recoil plates.
Other than that I'm still a little lost. How should the fit be on the face of the buttstock socket (forearm side)? How tight should the bedding be on the forward receiver lug? Around the knoxform? Should the barrel float except for the inner band and the spring stud?
I've read Accurizing and Shooting Lee Enfields... but IMO it is very lacking both pictures and detail (unless you want to see all the fancy armourers tools you will never be able to find). Some pics of a bedded stock would be awesome.
I have every material you could think of at my disposal, aluminum, acra-glass, regular epoxy, card stock and sheet cork in my "bedding kit".
I'm an avid Enfield collector and shooter but this is first time I've really jumped into a full refurb of one. I have a handful of fine shooting Enfields that were more or less "perfect" when I bought them, all I've done with them is kept them fed with BLO and enjoyed them. But I also have a growing pile of rescues that I have saved from the hacksaw that are awaiting their turn to be restored.
JeffinNZ
Sep 23, 2010
Here is what I did to my SMLE. I am not a collector. I am a shooter so have no qualms about epoxy bedding.
I bedding the action paying attention to the rear bearing points and the front of the receiver where the barrel screws in. I left the Knox form free. The barrel floats from the knox form up the barrel band. From the barrel band to the muzzle I have heavy card top and bottom holding the barrel firmly. In real terms the barrel in front of the barrel band is clamped in the wood. The fore end does not make contact with the butt socket area.
My SMLE is now a 2 MOA rifle with cast bullets and a PH5A sight.
Your mileage may vary.
Tikirocker
Sep 23, 2010
I strongly recommend you do not epoxy bed your rifle stock... apart from harming the value of the rifle, it isn't necessary. Read this sticky on the No.5, pay attention to the bedding locations of the body bedding to the action... disregard the data on the barrel channel as this applies only to the No.5. There are a couple of simple methods for bedding the barrel of the No.1... center bedding being the most common. If you do a search of this forum you will find it discussed before.
P.S All of the bedding in the tutorial is non destructive and does not permanently alter the rifle - this way you can always adjust thing as you go, or put the rifle back to stock if you ever want to sell it without loss.
YoungSurplusNut
Sep 23, 2010
I only plan to use Acra-glass to correct the mis-aligned screw holes for the brass recoil plates and to repair the stripped out butt plate screw holes. I also have a crack under the stock bolt plate on the back of the forearm, what is the best way to repair this?
I have a ton of thin cork sheet and card stock that I intend to use for everything else.
lee_enfield223
Sep 24, 2010
Lithgow used to bed their snipers like this, I know as I have an original lithgow sniper. No.1 rifles are best bedded by simply floating the barrel for the full length. Make sure you remove that silly metal band that clamps the barrel down into the wood as it plays hell with your point of impact as the barrel heats up, then make sure you leave the spring and plunger inside the nose cap as this dampens the barrel vibrations and keeps the barrel in the same place from shot to shot, and I know Tikki said don't use epoxy in the forend and he is correct!, but if you only want it for a shooter then put a very thin coating under the front of the action and this will help to hold it snugly and stop your forend from splitting, this is why the Indians installed screws in all their forends. I have my own Lithgow SMLE setup this way and it shoots into 1.5 inches or less at 100 yards all day long, but the most important thing is good handloads using a very slow powder.