De Lisle Carbine Build

Looks like it will work, I think someone else has made one on here.

S&S sell them I believe.

Yeah I had a look at the shoot ‘n’ scoot de lisle last year but I wanted the fun of building one myself.

I have begun to make the body of the gun concentrating on making sure everything is as solid as it can be. I started with two plates that form the sides of the body and used the bakelite material between the plates.

I attached the stock using a piece of 10mm steel and also attached the body to the VSR. I’m very happy with the result, the whole gun is very sturdy and there is no wobble at all. Next job is to add the wood cladding onto the body and shape it.

The cosmetic surgery began this week with the fitting of the wooden panels that hide the metal body. I bought some 5mm thick American walnut which once stained should match well with the stock. I cut out the pieces and fitted them to the body, I then shaped them the best I could. Apart from the screws to hold the pieces in place I’ve managed to get them close enough to the original gun for me to be happy.

At the moment it resembles something from the Wild West but once the other two guns have caught up I will begin on the metal work around the body. With a bit of welding, a lot of grinding and a whole heap of luck I am hoping to make the magwell trigger guard and ring between the body and stock as a single piece.

Just a quick update showing all three guns are up to the same point now. Unfortunately I only have two VSR guns at the moment.

Next up is the silencer tube.

If anybody has some tips or can point me in the direction of a good example of how to modify the VSR bolt to look a little more like an enfield it would be much appreciated. I at least want to change the cocking handle if nothing else.

If anybody has some tips or can point me in the direction of a good exaple of how to modify the VSR bolt to look a little more like an enfield it would be much sppreciated.

I just machined one from steel in 3 pieces, and brazed them together.

I’m still waiting for the steel for the silencer tube to arrive so in the mean time I have made good progress on the steel parts for the body. I have used a real steel magazine to ensure the measurements are correct.

Sorry for the poorer quality photos I only had my phone with me today and not my camera.

All I need to do is weld all the parts together and blend the welds. To simplify the build considerably the 1911 magazine will be welded in place and will not be removable.

Thanks for the Kind words

Over the holidays I managed to find time to get out the welder and fit all the parts together. I have made a good start on finishing the metal but I am planning to wait to do the final finish and prep for bluing once all the parts are made. The other two guns are not far behind they just require a little more cleaning up of the welds.

The steel has arrived for the silencer tube and I have an idea about how to do the end caps without the need of a lathe. So hopefully in a few days it will begin to look like a De Lisle.

wow!

I have made some progress with the silencers but am waiting on a few things to complete them. In the mean time I got cracking on the front sight. I decided not to make the sight adjustable and couldn’t find many helpful photos of what the original one looked like. I have based it on the few photos I did find.

Hopefully by the end of the week I will have the last things to finish the silencers. Next week I will be working on the rear sights and fitting the silencer to the body.

To make the silencers I used a section of steel welded pipe and made “end caps” which are welded on in such a way to hide the welds. I then drilled and tapped a pair of holes in the front and inserted two short bolts to look like the long bolts that hold the real silencer together. I have also mounted the front sight and rounded the front edge of the silencer. The photos I have been using as a reference both show the rounded front edge and a front sight that I think I have recreated fairly closely.

So far I’m happy and surprised how well the project is going. It’s been a rather steep learning curve having never welded before or worked with much metal.

The front hand guard is really the only major piece missing now. There are a lot of smaller bits and bobs to do though and I have to make a complete new magwell and feed system to accommodate the smaller mags.

“(Bad) Joke of the day”
What’s the difference between a male deer and a short witch?

Ones a hunted stag and the others a stunted hag.

Just a quick update, the sling loops and butt plate have arrived. The butt plate fitted perfectly but the sling loops were a tad bigger than the pre routed slot on the stock. Simple fix with a dremel though.

The silencers are fitted and the whole gun is really solid with not wobble and I’m fairly certain it can handle the trauma of a skirmish or 50. Please excuse the rather awful looking metal work on the silencer after a good going over with the power file it will look much much better.

Also I would like to introduce the “The gun part that most resembles an animal of the day”

Pigface

By melfin at 2011-05-11

The wood has arrived for the hand guard and I have begun carving out the channel for the silencer. Once they are shaped and fitted it will look almost complete.

The rear sight unfortunately is going to be one of the areas that this gun differs from the original quite drastically, I couldn't get hold of parts to make one like the original nor do I have the skill to replicate one so I have had to go with constructing a rear sight using parts from a Mauser rifle. It might look different but I'm hoping it will still fit with the gun enough not to detract from the overall finish.

One quick question, does anyone know if this gun would be used with the standard 37 pattern rifle sling as used on the 303 or did they use something different?

Isn't the rear sight just a SMLE tangent sight?

It took a little longer than I had hoped but I finished the handguards today. All the major parts are made now and the guns are looking almost finished. I am going to stain the wood this week and see if I can get as close a match to the stock as possible.

I have also got the material to make the front sling loops which I hope to do later on this week.

I have stained the wood on the first gun which has turned out almost perfect. The match between the stock and the rest of the wood is great. I have also only given the wood a single coat of the stain so far, I plan to do at least another 2 coats to darken the wood a little more.

The wood is a lot darker in real life the lights in my office don’t play nice with the camera.

Oh and the pig face is no more.... Its grown horns and turned in to a BULL

By melfin at 2011-05-18

Hehehe, awesome!!!

It’s been rather busy at work and I've been out of the factory for a few days which means I haven't got as much done of the guns as I had hoped. Not a lot to show but I have completed the front sling loops.

Nothing fancy I know but they will be mostly hidden by the sling anyway. The loops themselves were made from steel rod and welded to form the ring.

Hopefully I should finish the rear sight this week.

all looking really good,well done that man