D-Day for the Enfield No.4 (an S&S Enfield build)

Have you read through this thread viewtopic.php?f=13&t=17132&hilit=enfield ? it's not quite the same as it uses genuine woodwork, but definately worth a look.

Yeah had a thorough read through anything 'Enfield' related on the forum; that thread in particular formed a very good basis for ideas going in to the build. Thanks for the heads up though.

I've also built a bloody great big 'Dadio' sign in the back garden to shine in to the sky in case of emergencies.

meanwhile in a secret location just outside the sprawling metropolis

I would have thought that the S&S kit comes with a prepped varmint? If that is the case then you would be better to use it and have 2 working guns rather than butcher the VSR? The only downside of the varmint is that theres no upgrade route for it, a stock VSR isn't a better gun, it just has more upgrade potential. If at some future time you have a reason to change things to VSR internals, it should surely be possible to do so?
I have just opted for the other DIY Lee Enfield kit, the Matrix/Iron airsoft SMLE that's virtually guaranteed to need some work to get it to function properly. I look forward to comparing notes

I would have thought that the S&S kit comes with a prepped varmint? If that is the case then you would be better to use it and have 2 working guns rather than butcher the VSR? The only downside of the varmint is that theres no upgrade route for it, a stock VSR isn't a better gun, it just has more upgrade potential. If at some future time you have a reason to change things to VSR internals, it should surely be possible to do so?
I have just opted for the other DIY Lee Enfield kit, the Matrix/Iron airsoft SMLE that's virtually guaranteed to need some work to get it to function properly. I look forward to comparing notes

the issue of witch gun is best is all to do with the future , the Varmint is based on VSR design internals that are off spec in size , the VSR is notoriously fragile in regard to the trigger sear's and standard VSR sear's do not fit the Varmint ,as with all airsoft guns it's a question of when thing's break not if they are going to break ,with that in mind i'd all way's opt for a base gun that can be serviced with stock part's and in this case that's a VSR with TM compatible internals.Just my 2 Pence worth ,if it comes with a Varmint then there may be leg's on the idea of using it for the upcoming Normandy based games this year just so there's no rushing to finish it but in the long run i'd use the VSR ,plus if the Varmint included is un-touched it could be sold .

Well, the kit turned up on Tuesday.

On unboxing (very well packed; no risk of anything get spannered), you find a wooden stock with a piece of wood still attached to the butt and two pieces of top wood as well as a little bag of parts (receiver casting, trigger guard and magazine, front barrel band, etc etc). Varmint is also included as the donor gun.

The stock is rough when you get it; I'm not entirely sure what I expected. The 'rear' top wood was essentially a solid chunk that requires a fair bit of milling out to get a good fit.

We've opted to use the Varmint as the donor gun for now; grandad didn't want to dissect the VSR and since this is our first home build a degree of caution was probably the way to go. Doesn't really matter as I can always stick something else in there later and it's a useful learning curve. I'd add that so far messing about with the donor Varmint in the garden it's fine; obviously though you're buggered when it comes to spares so when it's dead it's either a new Varmint or time to switch up.

I've therefore managed to make a start.

So far I've prepared the woodwork and sanded everything down. Initially I started with an extremely coarse sandpaper (60 grit) and worked over the entire stock and upper wood. Once sanded down I gave the wood a wipe down with a damp cloth before gently (and briefly) running a hot air gun over it to highlight any areas that needed additional work. Researching on t'internet I've found a lot of videos of stock restoration that advocate this so figured what the Hell...

I then moved on to finer and finer sandpaper; at the end of each stage repeating the damp cloth/hot air gun approach.

The result so far is finish I'm very happy with. It's extremely smooth, albeit it did take f*cking hours. When you're new to something like this you're aware that one cataclysmic balls up and it's Goodnight Vienna. Still not 100% finished with it, but so far, so good.

The casting that sits over the receiver is resin and will require a fair bit of work to clean up. It was plastered with mould lines. This was cleaned with files, sandpaper and an extremely small hobby knife I got at Hobbycraft. To be honest, I was really unhappy with it at first, but it does clean up very nicely.

So far, so good.

I'm missing the 'business end' and front sight casting that Warren stuck in the post this afternoon.

Still to do...

Sand down the butt to accept the butt plate; which is a fairly slow job with hand tools.

Tap the wood. I've made a start with the screw behind the bolt and that now sits firmly without any wobbling.

Fit the trigger guard. Should be fairly straight forward.

Fit the magazine... to do this requires tapping the stock and the resin magazine to accept a small screw that will keep it all tightly together.

Fit the 'real' mag catch. Had a brief look at it. This looks like the hardest job and most important one to get right. Currently the housing isn't sitting flush in the wood (the magazines catch on the plastic when putting it in), so it'll require some gentle cutting to get in there properly. The mag well is already pre cut and it's a perfect fit; you just need to get the release catch right. as otherwise it'll cause a pig load of problems down the road.

My Grandad has started work on a metal band to go around the stock and fit on to the trigger guard, and a small metal piece at the front. It has been suggested that these can be painted on, but I don't fancy that. I've also ordered a rear flip up sight just to complete things.

I'm probably about halfway through and so far I've not titted anything up. There's things that could have been done better or differently, but we all have to start somewhere.

I am not sure where you live but if you are thinking of going to War and Peace this year you will find a chap hidden away selling Enfield parts dirt cheap. It takes a while to find him, I think the sign above the door is surprisingly enough 'Enfield Spares'. Any how he is the chap I bought 90% of the parts that Dadio used to build my Enfield. It's the one Dadio built using S&S budget parts, although to be fair the only S&S part on the entire gun is the bolt handle and even that Dadio modified heavily.
I bought all my original parts from this guy.. all the woodwork, sights front and back, trigger, bands etc.. ( However not the magazine) and it came to less that £60.
He does not sell on the web and refused to give me a contact number when I spoke to him last year, but my God he has lots of stock.
Regards Chris.
Ps. He looks and sounds like a grumpy version of uncle Albert from 'only fool's and horses'.

I am not sure where you live but if you are thinking of going to War and Peace this year you will find a chap hidden away selling Enfield parts dirt cheap. It takes a while to find him, I think the sign above the door is surprisingly enough 'Enfield Spares'. Any how he is the chap I bought 90% of the parts that Dadio used to build my Enfield. It's the one Dadio built using S&S budget parts, although to be fair the only S&S part on the entire gun is the bolt handle and even that Dadio modified heavily.
I bought all my original parts from this guy.. all the woodwork, sights front and back, trigger, bands etc.. ( However not the magazine) and it came to less that £60.
He does not sell on the web and refused to give me a contact number when I spoke to him last year, but my God he has lots of stock.
Regards Chris.
Ps. He looks and sounds like a grumpy version of uncle Albert from 'only fool's and horses'.

I saw it at San Marino... and a beautiful bit of kit it is too.

I'll be going this year, so I'll definitely pay him a visit and pick up a few bits. Thanks for the heads up.

Looking good and not used the Dadio signal yet?
My SMLE meanwhile seems to be somewhere over the Atlantic on it's way to me.

Dadio signal is on standby.

I'm going to ask him to extend the bolt, though the receiver sits further forward than on a real Enfield. Not much I can do about that without serious copping and changing.

I think the key is striking a balance between what I'm able to achieve with my limited skill set, the S&S parts (which, with the best will in the world, won't come close to real steel parts in terms of quality), and a robust rifle I can skirmish with. Like Martin with his No.4, I'm not going to be smashing thousands of rounds through it; it'll see use six or seven times a year if that and if it lives up to that I'll be happy. You have to be a bit pragmatic when you start on anything like this, if you expect perfection straight away you'll be grievously disappointed. I've been painting miniatures for twenty odd years, had pictures published in different magazines, won competitions and I still know next to nothing.

Best thing about doing it yourself is you learn and gain confidence; you'll experience the same with your SMLE when it turns up and you start work. Looking forward to seeing that.

I've also loved building this so far with my Grandad, as we've had a bloody good laugh and I've got to hear a load of stories from the war I never knew about; specifically him nearly getting lynched in Johannesburg. The line 'the hardest fights I had during the war were with the South African Military Police', I'll remember to the day I die.

The line 'the hardest fights I had during the war were with the South African Military Police',

And a brilliant line that is too

just a suggestion should have made earlier , save some sawdust from sanding the stock , if you make a bit of a mistake mix araldite and sawdust to make a good filler that will stain very much the same as the rest of the stock , if you don't need it just bin it at the end.looks nice so far

just a suggestion should have made earlier , save some sawdust from sanding the stock , if you make a bit of a mistake mix araldite and sawdust to make a good filler that will stain very much the same as the rest of the stock , if you don't need it just bin it at the end.looks nice so far

A neat little collection of Sawdust has already been stockpiled.

Magazine catch fitted after a fair degree of 'ow doz dis work'. It required a bit of sanding to get a good fit. It's still extremely tight, very difficult to get the mags out with your fingers so I'll adopt the 'tape around the mag' approach where I can pull it out whilst depressing the catch. I didn't like the magazine spring so I've ditched that for a better quality one of the same size that's far easier and provides more give. I was pressing the button previously and bugger all seemed to be moving.

Fitted the 'real' resin magazine and trigger guard and started work on the stock band. The trigger guard screws in with a screw at the front whilst you drill through the stock in to the resin magazine to attach that. All very solid.

Sights and front barrel should be with me next week.

Last thing I need to do is get the butt plate fitted then I can think about staining and painting the metal parts.

i like the idea of the metal stock band ,i never liked the painted wood idea

The key is to try and mould it in a way that doesn't interfere or foul the action. Not a lot of room for the bolt to slide back and a trial run yesterday looked great, but I couldn't cock it.

I bought some thin modelling foam that's extremely pliable and looks virtually identical to metal once spray painted black. That's a standby option.

Like you though, painting the wood I just don't fancy. I think that'd irritate the life out of me.

the way i do tricky stuff like that is with cardboard from an old serial box ,wrap it round and cut to shape then use it as a template , the real breach is quite flat on the top behind and has a concave groove below the bolt .[link][/link]

Just need to decide on a stain now.

Suggestions?

Unboiled linseed oil made a good job on my carcano, and its non toxic

Unboiled linseed oil made a good job on my carcano, and its non toxic

I'm not sure about the wood on this; doesn't seem to take it very well. Tried some 50/50 Terps and Linseed Oil on some wood I cut off the stock and to be honest it didn't pish. Very anaemic.

Wondering about a Pine stain first.

Your Enfield build was great by the way; had a good nose through that!