Accurizing the old Enfield works.....

[303carbine]

I did a couple hours of research on how to properly do the bedding on my No1Mk111. I found a few more complicted ways to do it, but I found something simpler that worked the first try.
I took some paper off the back of one of my notebooks and cut a strip about 1/2 inch wide, I cut it long enough to fit around the barrel after I took the wood off the rifle.
The site I was on said to wrap the barrel with the cardboard under the sling band and the area under the muzzle. I wrapped the paper around the barrel right behind the front sight and slid the nosecap back on. At first it was too tight, I took it off and peeled some of the cardboard off and then rewrapped it.
The nosecap went back on with a little gentle tapping with a rubber mallet, the middle band didn't need any coaxing and tightened up nicely.
I just got back from the range, the bedding procedure worked and tightened the group a lot. I shot 10 rounds of 150 SP's and 10 rounds of 174 RN, the 30-40 Krag brass that I loaded were fired for the second time after the firefoming process and they look perfect, no brass bulge or anything. I annealed the Krag brass after the fireforming, I am going to shoot them three more times and then anneal them again and keep track of the number of times I have reloaded and shot them. I love it when a plan comes together...[smilie=s:

[Ithaca Gunner]

I did something like that once to a Model 70 Winchester using card stock about an inch behind the fore end after other more conventional methods had failed to tighten up the grouping of that finicky rascal. A gentle pressure point under the barrel was all it needed.

[Multigunner]

I mark the rims of my .303 cases and on second firing I turn the rim 180 degrees. This insures equal expansion so from third firing on these cases center perfectly to prevent canting of the bullet at origin of rifling. That alone can cut group size by half.

I've noticed that the thin cork lining of some wooden coasters and the message board above my phone can begin to peel after awhile. I've been considering peeling the cork from the message board and trying out the cork pack method on my SMLE.

[303carbine]

I have heard of the cork bedding for quite some time, the cardboard method I also read about.
But not having any thin cork, I tried the cardboard method and I'm happy that it worked as good as it did.
Maybe my method wasn't as good as an armorer would do, but it sure worked good for me on my first try at it.
This is also my first try with 30-40 Krag brass in my 303, that also worked better than I thought it would.

[303Guy]

I have an idea the cork was set into cut-outs in the barrel channel so it was quite thick. I have seen a No4 with such cut-outs but the material in it was decayed to the point I couldn't identify it.

[xa-coupe]

If you want to do it properly, you need to make sure the draws ( where the action sits into the stock ) is nice and tight. Attention to this and the bedding of the barrel ( as you've figured out ) will get it going well.
What you've done works and apparently works well, but it is only a stop gap measure. If you're interested, there's heaps out there on the internet about bedding and accurising these things properly.
I love the enfields, it's always good to see someone getting out and using one!

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

One thing you might want to do before doing any bedding: Restore the wood as much as possible to the original dimensions. To do that, you need to clean the 100 years worth of grease and oils out of the wood, then soak the wood thoroughly in raw linseed oil. This will restore the wood to original dimensions and you may not have to do any sort of bedding.

Used to be an old British guy on one of the milsurp forums who strongly advocated doing this. Turns out he was some sort of armorer for the British military when these rifles were last in use and knew what he was talking about. The raw linseed oil is slow to dry, but is the most effective at what he called "maintaining" the wood/stock dimensions. And no, boiled linseed oil is not a suitable "modern" replacement. It will not help restore the wood/stock to it's original dimensions. It will make it look nice though.

[303Guy]

How does one do that? I have cleaned a stock by soaking it in paint thinners. The end result was a very nice fresh wood appearance after coating. That was a 1947 Remington 512 Sport Master 22. I've also boiled a Lee Enfield forearm in a liquid dish washing detergent solution. The stock was quite a bit lighter after drying!

[303carbine]

If you want to do it properly, you need to make sure the draws ( where the action sits into the stock ) is nice and tight. Attention to this and the bedding of the barrel ( as you've figured out ) will get it going well.
What you've done works and apparently works well, but it is only a stop gap measure. If you're interested, there's heaps out there on the internet about bedding and accurising these things properly.
I love the enfields, it's always good to see someone getting out and using one!

I wanted to see if I was on the right track by placing the cardboard in the area that was mentioned in the article I read. I shot a ten shot group consisting of five 150 gr. and five 180 gr. bullets.
I got all ten into a 2 inch cluster at 50 yds., now that I know it works, I can find a more sophisticated material to use. This was my first attempt at bedding the No1Mk111, also my first using 30-40 Krag brass in the 303, it all came together quite nicely.

[Multigunner]

How does one do that? I have cleaned a stock by soaking it in paint thinners. The end result was a very nice fresh wood appearance after coating. That was a 1947 Remington 512 Sport Master 22. I've also boiled a Lee Enfield forearm in a liquid dish washing detergent solution. The stock was quite a bit lighter after drying!

To draw out all old oil and solvent residue first use common paint and varnish stripper to remove any surface finish. After rinsing place the wooden parts over a heat source, not too hot, just enough to let oil seep out of the wood. After you get as much as possible out with heat mix a strong solution of tri-sodium phosphate (available in powder form at paint and hardware stores) and apply the liquid to the wood with a paint brush. Let each application dry. As it recrystallizes it draws dirt,oil and grease into the crystal which then forces its way between the wood fibers to carry dirt to the surface.
Rinse the crystals away using house hold Hydrogen Peroxide 2% solution. Repeat applications allowing surface to dry completely between steps.

Once the surface is clean the pores will open and usually more oil will come out when the wood is warmed.

Defurr using 0000 steel wool. Make sure no shreds of steel wood remain caught on splinters before applying any finish.

I've found that rubbing the clean wood with a cloth moistened with Balistol solvent will chemicaly age the raw surface, darkening the wood and bringing out the grain.

[mikeym1a]

I did something like that once to a Model 70 Winchester using card stock about an inch behind the fore end after other more conventional methods had failed to tighten up the grouping of that finicky rascal. A gentle pressure point under the barrel was all it needed.
My old gunsmith told me the same. I had tried full-length bedding, and he suggested that I sand the barrel channel a bit, and put a one inch square of paper under the barrel, right at the tip of the stock for just a little pressure to stabilize the barrel. I did as suggested, and the gun is really accurate. That was nearly 40 years ago. Old tricks do work. [smilie=s:

[303Guy]

With the SMLE having a barrel band midway up the barrel, when sporterized, i.e the fore-end shortened, does the barrel band need pressure or can it simply hold the the barrel onto the fore-end in an 'at rest' state?

I have one such rifle (that I have finally paid for) that I am told by the seller, shoots accurately with Highland ammo. I've seen the seller shoot and he is quite good with open sights so I would think it really is OK. I haven't checked anything on this rifle - all I've done is fire-lap out the rust from the last time he shot it! No serious damage done. I'll test it as is before doing anything to it.

The various pressure points may be acting to change the barrel harmonics in a way as to stop the muzzle from pointing off the line of bore as it vibrates i.e. keeping the muzzle vibration parallel to the line of bore.

[Multigunner]

Only SMLE sporter with barrel band I've worked on shot fair but nothing to brag about till I put plastic washers under the band to give upwards pressure at that point rather than drawing the barrel down. After that the group sizes shrank remarkably.

I've heard that the Remington Model 30 with barrel band in fore end did not shoot well unless it was done in the same manner.