lee enfield no4/vsr build

What rear sight is that? Looks more like a SMLE tangent sight than a No.4 ladder type.

the photo was in profile so a bit misleading it is a ladder but not the uber rare version on the earlie ones.

its still in packing grease so a little messy ,same with the brass butt.

I wouldn't say the Mk1 sights are rare.

cant do a lot but i thought i'd get the outer barrel made and the sight fitted,its in ally but actually go's blue with all black,ahh......so nice not trying to use ally black on pot metal.

the woods going to be stained a mutch darker colour but it is an original period wood set,might be post war but for £45 who's worried
still need to fit a sight blade too.

the donor gun arived today so work can now begin in earnest

lookin forward to seeing this conversion!

got cracking today and started by shortening the vsr outer barrel to just long enough for the bolt and hop-chamber and cutting out the forestock to fit the breech and shortened outer barrel.was pleasantly supprised that the rear barrel band that holds down the rear of reat top hand guard fits perfectly over the vsr breech .i elongated the front mounting hole on the trigger guard and was able to put a screw up into the original mounting hole in the vsr breech makeing it all nice and secure.made up an extension piece for the rear of the bolt so the cocking handle is in the right place but retained the function that stops trigger pull when cocking by cutting the ends with a tounge to fit into the handle at one end and a slot at the other for the catch to enter,im also going to fit a stub on the extension that sits in the place that the cocking handle used to sit so it holds the bolt from moveing back by sitting in the slot in the breech that the bolt handle used to fit in.havent cut the mag-well yet or made the stock mount but thats for another day.

detail of extension to bolt

vew of shotened mag and trigger guard with elongated hole for screw

vew of convienient sized rear hand guard band

side vew showing the shortened outer barrel

front outer barrel showing holes in top that the screws go through to mount it

all together showing the bolt handle in correct position .

should allso mention that the bolt extension has a steel internal extension to the rear of the bolt makeing it all work as per the original so it clicks into position nicely when you lift the handle.

looks brilliant so far mate keep up te good work

Looking good. It's a similar approach to my own ongoing (for the last 3 years ) project but yours has been carried out with more engineering skill. Are you planning bayonet lugs?

im not planning bayonet lugs,il duce wanted a fairly basic no4,haveing said that the bayonet will fit quite firmly without as i learnt with my own no4,they coyld easily be added at a later date as either screw mounted or useing lumiweld.

finally got a bit more done ,the mag well now cut and the catch adjusted to fit tm mags.the magazines arnt as flush as with the k98 due largly to the more curved cross section on the bottom and the no4 is slightly shalower .

this shot with the tm mag fitted

and this one with the clone mag fitted,strangley the clone mag sits further up.after modifying the mag catch to fit tm mags i had to slightly mod the clone mag to fit and feed but in the long run it will mean its compatible with tm mags whitch are easy to come by.on the bright side the mags are easy to change without haveing to cut recesses for finger access.

finally got the stock mount fabricated this afternoon,its still in the raw but will be modelled up in a tough epoxy puttey called quick steel to look the right shape.its basically a piece of steel tube that ive cut and re shaped to fit the stock with a bar weleded inside with a mut welded on to secure it to the stock,at the front its welded to the trigger guard and at the top ive drilled out the mounting hole in the back of the breech and countersunk it so a countersunk screw goes into the top of the stock mount.its verry secure and an exact ternaround of the original whitch was part of the breech and screwed to the trigger guard at the bottom.






just realised i forgot to put the mag in ,i thought it looked wrong just couldent place it

tarted up the stock mount now just got to wait for paint to dry.not a lot left to do now,fit front sight blade and mount the rear sight then stain the wood and its done,must say the blond wood is starting to grow on me and im not sure if i'd stain it if it was going to be my gun,at first i thaught that it didnt look right but now im not so sure,ill duce wants it darker so the choice is made.

ill duce wants it darker so the choice is made.

Just rimind him that Lee Enfileds today that are 'used'/deac' are far darker than NOS (new old-stock) wooden stocks because they've had 70 years of oiling and handling - if he's going to reenact/period airsoft with it, then him being issued the rifle from war production stock in the 40s, it would look lighter wood!

I'm not going to stain my NOS stocks when I build my rifles (well, one of them isn't even NOS, it's just from a gun that had had little use before being stripped; but still had been used! It's very nearly as light in colour than my unused stock).

So I'd recommend not to stain it, il duce mate.

painted with first coat,needs a few more coats but will have to wait till shops open


also think im going to have to shorten the bolt extension because the vsr bolt handle angles back and i didnt take that into account when i measured and it looks wrong even allowing that its the wrong shape.

finished the stock mount and moved the bolt handle foreward 5mm,looks better but may move it another 3mm but thats as far as i can,also ally blacked the extension.fitted the front sight blade now all left to do is mount the rear sight and finish the wood.


may also try makeing the round part behind the bolt handle a little more no4'ish as it really looks more wrong than the handle, its also to long.

there's at least 2-3 people on here who do better work than mine,i try to fulfill orders to the level and price that a particular customer wants.with a few exceptions the guns i make are more useable than perfect replicas as there's nothing so disapointing as a beutifull gun that doesent work well in the field.i am flattered and pleased as allways that what i've done is well recieved.

well this one is going to be about £320.00 ish but due to the vaguaries of obtaining real steel parts i cant guaranty that price and this one was to be done as a basic gun not a highly detailed replica so i've focused of it working well and fitting the proportions.if you wanted something that is more detailed then it would be higher priced.the price break down is like this £100.00 for the donor gun £120.00 real steel parts £100.00 labour and sundries,a higher detailed gun would have a mutch higher labour cost as it would entail far more work on the breech and cocking handle than this one and the donor gun could be a higher spec if required again upping the price.one of the things about ordering a one off custom gun is its spec is up to you and you have to choose what you want from it and i will try to fulfill the requirement but its all down to choices.the other thing to consider is this is my hobby not my job and i work in my spare time,i dont tout for trade people generally approach me in one way or another.allso over 18 and with vcr exemption .