Lee Enfield No. 4 Stock and barrel

P

Polinese

New member
I just picked up a Lee Enfield with the CIA markings to it...

Anyways there is some play between the barrel and the pieces of the stock near the muzzle and i was wondering if it's supposed to be like that or if I should try shimming it with something to tighten it up. Also if I should try shimming it what would be a good material to use?
 
The barrel should be centered in the bottom of the barrel channel & have 5~7 pounds of pressure needed to separate it from the wood.
#5 ("Jungle Carbine") models should have free-float barrels, not #4 rifles.
First trick is to re-coat the stock with linseed oil, if this hasn't been done for a while the wood can dry, shrink & warp away from the barrel.
If that doesn't fix the problem you need to check the big bolt in front of the magazine is tight, really tight.

Shimming the wood is a final option, & a bit tricky so try the easy stuff first.:D
 
Ok thanks for the tips. I'll try that stuff first. If it does come to shimming what should i use to shim it?

On another note, after buying a screwdriver long enough to take the buttstock off i still can't get the darned thing off. When I look in there I can't even see the screw it looks like it's covered in gunk any recommendations for this problem?

Lastly most of the stock is pretty dark (oiled too much correct?) will soaking it in the mineral spirits help with this?
 
The stock bolt may well be under a felt washer ( used to stop the cleaning kit rattling), see if you can get a light shone down in there & see if that's the problem. I usually use either a bore light or the fiber-optic attachment for a mag-lite.
If there is a washer make a small hook from stiff wire & fish the felt out with that then try the bolt.

Shimming:
Don't shim at the muzzle, that won't help. The right place for shims is in the REAR of the action, on top of the 2 flats in the stock where the rear of the receiver comes into contact with the wood. It works by slightly changing the barreled action's angle, tipping the muzzle down into contact with the wood. Before this check the sleeve round the main bolt is the right length to allow a little "crush" between the floorplate, barreled action & wood. Fix that first with shims between the floorplate & stock bottom, not the top. I like strips cut from alloy soda cans they are thin enough you can build shims to any thickness needed with simple tools! You can take the can, some strong scissors & do the whole thing at the range, adjusting as you shoot for the best results.:cool:
 
Glad I asked because I would've tried shimming at the muzzle.

As for the buttstock, I took a light to it before I had trouble and I couldn't see anything that looked like felt or a washer like I'd seen in some disassembly instructions online. The rifle has had quite a bit of dirt and gunk all through the rifle and it seems to be the same stuff gumming up the bolt for the buttstock.
 
What wogpotter said! Don't touch the hand guards until you are sure the foreend is fit correctly. I believe you can find a few excellent threads with pic's on surplusrifle.com on fitting the foreend collar.
 
Can you actually see a slot in a bolt head down in the hole?
Lots of folks have tried to undo that bolt & given up, or broken something. There could be just about anything down in there from a grease & dirt soaked felt to a note from the last squaddie that had it issued.:eek:

I'd say if you can't see a slot then go fishing for mystery crud:barf: till you can & then try unbolting.:D
 
I can see a little bit of the bolt head... but just a tiny amount, can't see the slot or the rest of the bolt head. I was thinking of pouring a lil bit of mineral spirits in there and letting it soak to hopefully break the stuff up a bit and maybe take some kind of wirebrush or steel wool in there to try and break it up further thoughts?
 
Denatured alcohol & fishing for treasure would be my bet. If you can't see the slot & head something needs to leave the hole so you can get to the bolt itself.
 
I can see a little bit of the bolt head... but just a tiny amount, can't see the slot or the rest of the bolt head.
Click to expand...

You probably have a leather or felt like "washer" covering the butt stock bolt head. They kept the oilier from banging around and making noise. They can get as hard as a rock after years of crud, oil and everything else that lives in butt holes. Straighten a metal coat hanger and put a 3/16 90* hook on the end. Use it to grab under this washer through the center hole and dislodge it.
 
How often do Enfield owners remove a handguard to look for rust- about every year or so, even on guns (i.e. regular #4s) which are supposed to be free of problems?

I only learned months ago about the problem with some Malaysian #5s (bought mine in Sept '09), and was fortunate to find no rust anywhere. What a relief...

The problems can be deep rust, near the chamber or on the barrel, hidden under the wood.
 
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