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1910 SMLE Mk III.
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fross View Drop Down
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    Posted: March 30 2022 at 1:16am
he!!o buddies

Some weeks ago, I won this old warhorse on an auction.
Incomplete (no bolt), rusted, extremely dirty, but in an intouched condition.
Right out of the WW1, probably stocked into a french barn for more of 100 years.
It's regimented to the King's Rifle Regiment.



Spider webs are original LOL




Correct #3 magazine.


December, 1911. 1st batallion of the King's Rifle Regiment, weapon #153.


The restoration begins Wink



Francois
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I found out a spare bolt and a NOS screws set.

Dismantling the rifle has been a hassle. 
Nearly all screws were stucked by rust. 
I had to drill most of them. 




Wood parts are in very nice condition. No cracks, no chip, no worm.
Just had to be deeply cleaned
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Well done. A fantastic piece of history!
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Thank you Terrylee. It's for sure a fantastic witness of WW1. 
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Next step, rust elimination.
Luckily, it was only a rust of surface and underneath, the metal and blueing are in an incredible nice shape.

Before :



After : 


Before :


After :


The most rusty part was the nose cap :


After electrolysis :

After a diamond file and cold blueing job on ears :


It's now ready to go back onto the rifle Smile


The swivel is incorrect, it's a sling swivel. It will be replaced by a correct stacking swivel Wink
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Please do not over-restore. No file, no sandpaper, no re-bluing.
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Originally posted by terrylee terrylee wrote:

Please do not over-restore. No file, no sandpaper, no re-bluing.

Was only on the outside faces of the nose cap ears . Really too much deep rust there.
No sandpaper or file job elsewhere on the rifle. And above all, no blue
Only steelwool and gun oil Wink


Francois
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Under the rust, the original blue is amazingly beautiful
Cleaning the inside of the receiver was very difficult and very long. Lots of rusted old hardened grease and dirt for 110 years. It was like concrete.
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I hope that you did not damage the threads when drilling the screws out. They are all specific to Enfield and the taps and dies are unobtainable  as far as I know.
I would have attempted to release them with a mix of transmission fluid and acetone. 40% trans' and 60%acetone.
However I fear it's too late for a light restoration. 
I would just have cleaned up the wood with linseed oil and turps. 
But obviously your rifle and  your choice. How is the bore?
It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!
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I’m surprised how good it looks after removing the surface rust.  Well done!
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nice job. Did you use a hydrolisis(?) method to remove the rust?
Loose wimmen tightened here
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No, the threads have been spared. All the NOS screws I found out in GB can be screwed on.

For the wood parts, I never use  linseed oil. I hate it.
Once clean, the parts have been feeded with balsamic wax cream.
This cream doesn't not dark the wood, it restore the original color, add a satin finish and it's not greasy.

About the bore, the rifling is sharp but the grooves are slightly oxydised. I will try to clean this. 
Not very important as I do not shoot my rifles.
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Now, this Mk III is reassembled.

I had to find a correct transversal nose cap screw as the NOS screw set purchased in England did contain a "large head" screw.
On a 1910 Mk III, the correct screw is of the "small head" model.





I also found a 1917 web sling



Here's it :









Francois
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Points: 80 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fross Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 30 2022 at 4:55am
Originally posted by hoadie hoadie wrote:

nice job. Did you use a hydrolisis(?) method to remove the rust?

I used electrolysis method. Very efficient
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very nice job. Do you have the pointy bit for it as well?
Loose wimmen tightened here
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it turned out very nice , i notice the volleys are intact - i could see from an early photo the rear was saveable but it wasnt till the later photos that i could see the condition of the front , very well done 
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