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Replacement Bolt Assembly

Printed From: Enfield-Rifles.com
Category: Enfields
Forum Name: Enfield Gunsmithing
Forum Description: Submit any how-to's or other gunsmithing suggestions here.
URL: http://www.enfield-rifles.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7927
Printed Date: March 18 2024 at 10:36pm
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Topic: Replacement Bolt Assembly
Posted By: AJ Dragon
Subject: Replacement Bolt Assembly
Date Posted: February 26 2016 at 9:25am
Hi
 
I'm getting a replacement bolt assembly next month from Springfield Sporters, and I was wondering what do I need to look for in order to make sure it fits properly. 



Replies:
Posted By: Bear43
Date Posted: February 26 2016 at 12:50pm
It's the locking lugs. The locking lugs should both bear evenly and you need to mark the lugs on the bolt body to check that. Once you ensure the locking lugs bear evenly then you can start to look at headspace.


Posted By: Canuck
Date Posted: February 26 2016 at 1:53pm
I mirror what Bear43 said. We can help you in your quest, just keep asking as many questions as needed, many here will respond.

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Castles made of sand slip into the sea.....eventually


Posted By: ikesdad
Date Posted: February 26 2016 at 2:08pm
For a SMLE or a #4 ?

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Pro Deo et Patria


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: February 26 2016 at 2:32pm
Locking lug engagement, head over rotation, & headspacing.


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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: Bear43
Date Posted: February 26 2016 at 2:45pm
ikesdad, the fitment procedure for either a SMLE or a No 4 is the same.


Posted By: AJ Dragon
Date Posted: February 26 2016 at 11:19pm
Hi
 
I have the No4 Mk1.  Are you talking about these.
 


Posted By: ikesdad
Date Posted: February 27 2016 at 12:22am
Originally posted by Bear43 Bear43 wrote:

ikesdad, the fitment procedure for either a SMLE or a No 4 is the same.
 
Yeah, I know but was only curious which he had. I'm starting to get into the SMLEs a bit after a garage wall full of #4s.


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Pro Deo et Patria


Posted By: AJ Dragon
Date Posted: February 27 2016 at 7:56am
Hi
 
I take it that I'll need to get some of that blue contact liquid so that I can make sure the lugs are making full contact at the same time on each side of the receiver?


Posted By: Bear43
Date Posted: February 27 2016 at 9:41am
My apologies, ikesdad, I misunderstood your post.

AJ, yes, that is exactly it. Those lugs on the bolt must both bear evenly on their respective recesses in the body.


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: February 27 2016 at 2:25pm
Yes, the lugs having the similar (if not the same, which is better) contact is vital.
However!
Don't be put off by a little bottle of chemicals. Candle smoke, Magic marker dye & so on will do the same thing, verify how much bolt is locked to how much action body.


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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: ikesdad
Date Posted: February 27 2016 at 4:13pm
SS is currently closed for awhile. Death in the family as per their site.

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Pro Deo et Patria


Posted By: Zed
Date Posted: February 28 2016 at 9:44am
I recently fitted a new bolt to my SMLE. I would strongly recommend reading articles by Peter Laidler regarding bolt fitting. It certainly helped me.
I used an Arkansas stone (better than carburundum) to remove the high spots to get contact on both sides and tapped some beer can metal around the bolt to avoid scraping that when using the stone on the lugs. Make very careful and slow process so you don't overdue it! To get good head space you don't want to be removing too much off the lugs. You fit the bolt lugs to match the rifle! do not try and alter the rifle receiver lug area.
There is a thread here regarding my bolt fitment; but I'm an amateur and rely on the articles written by the pro's.



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It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!


Posted By: AJ Dragon
Date Posted: March 09 2016 at 4:40pm
Hi
 
Thanks for the tip about the articles by Peter Laidler.  The next thing I need to get is the stone, the head space gauges, and the blue dye.


Posted By: Zed
Date Posted: March 10 2016 at 10:27am
The stone I bought online; you'll be better served in the USA for that.
You definitely need the proper head space gauges; I bought a full set of Oakie gauges. Having the set of 3 helps because you need to know how much metal you can remove; and it's not very much! literally a couple of thousandths of an inch. 
I managed to get contact at both lugs and pass the Go gauge (70 thou) test, which gives me 4 thou to spare before the Field gauge fail at 74 thou. If I hadn't had the 70 thou gauge it would be too easy to end up very close to the field gauge limit, which was where the original bolt was!

It will be difficult to get the same size contact area on each side; so go very carefully and keep checking it after every couple of stroke of the stone. You really do need to take the time; it's easy to wreck the bolt. once I got contact on both sides, I stopped. Then test fired it with a few rounds to settle it in a bit, then rechecked the contact. 

Best of luck, 
Zed.


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It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: March 10 2016 at 1:25pm
Make sure you get MilSpec headspace gauges (like the Okies mentioned.) Many are SAAMI which is a different spec & not correct.


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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: AJ Dragon
Date Posted: March 10 2016 at 4:24pm
Hi
 
Would this be the right gauge set to get?
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Enfield-headspace-gauges-4pc-set-GO-NO-GO-FIELD-PIN-head-space-303-British-/262224668697" rel="nofollow - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Enfield-headspace-gauges-4pc-set-GO-NO-GO-FIELD-PIN-head-space-303-British-/262224668697


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: March 11 2016 at 5:40am
Yes they'll work as well. The critical dimension is the 0.074".


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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: AJ Dragon
Date Posted: March 13 2016 at 8:34am
Hi
 
Well I got the bolt assembly in, and I seem to have a problem.  I can put the bolt in, calk it and then rotate the assembly to lock it just fine but when I go to try and rotate it without it calking " it wont rotate.  Would not having the trigger and trigger guard be the problem?
 


Posted By: AJ Dragon
Date Posted: March 13 2016 at 9:43am
Hi
 
Never mind I figured it out, every thing is nice and tight on the bolt assembly and the calking piece needed to be broken in.  I just wasn't applying enough pressure to cause the calking piece to move backwards to allow the bolt assembly to rotate. 
 
On another note, only one locking lug is making contact with the bolt assembly fully locked and cocked.  So the next step will be to get the gauges and stone so I can properly seat the bolt.  The gauges were easy to find but I have know idea what to look for when it comes to the stone.


Posted By: Zed
Date Posted: March 13 2016 at 11:33am
Here is a link to one supplier for Arkansas stone. The triangular shape is good for this job. The one I have is square section; so I wrapped some thin tin can metal around the bolt next to the lug to avoid scuffing it.
You need to get the very fine one and use oil with it.

http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Triangle-Arkansas-File-P376C105.aspx

The figure showing the lugs and receiver in an earlier post seems incorrect to me; the long lug is on the right hand side of the receiver when the bolt is closed and the short one is on the left hand side.

You need to check that with your new bolt you have some margin to work with. Which is why the 3 gauge set is useful.
 Luckily for me the new bolt would not close on the 70 thou gauge by a reasonable margin, so with the Field gauge limit being 74 thou; I knew I had a couple of thou to work with; without getting too close to the Field limit.
My original bolt would stop the on Field gauge about 2mm from full closure when measured at the wrist. 
Which was getting too close for comfort.


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It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: March 13 2016 at 11:53am
If you pull the trigger & hold it (or push UP on the sear inside the receiver) as you close the bolt it wont cock.

The drawing of the bolt is correct, it just looks odd because of the angle & the fact the bolt handle is raised, turning the bolt body.




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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: Zed
Date Posted: March 14 2016 at 8:27am
It was the description of lug A and B that appear to be inversed. The long lug is on the RH side when the bolt is closed.


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It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: March 14 2016 at 12:41pm
You're right, I was busy looking at the image & missed it.


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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: AJ Dragon
Date Posted: March 15 2016 at 8:09pm
Hi
 
Thank you for the link and I will be getting the gauges next month along with the stone file.


Posted By: halsem
Date Posted: March 19 2016 at 7:25am
I am also looking at headspace.  I pull the trigger when closing the bolt to release tension on the bolt. 
I fear that the tension to close the bolt, without doing this, would prevent me from feeling resistance on the gauge.
Is there a problem with this approach?
I a concerned because the bolt 'almost' closes on the field gauge.


Posted By: AJ Dragon
Date Posted: March 30 2016 at 10:40am
Hi
 
Will this stone also work or is it too fine of a stone.
 
http://ads.midwayusa.com/product/1565537218/norton-hard-arkansas-sharpening-stone-ultra-fine" rel="nofollow - http://ads.midwayusa.com/product/1565537218/norton-hard-arkansas-sharpening-stone-ultra-fine


Posted By: Zed
Date Posted: March 30 2016 at 11:30am
That's a similar type of stone  to the one that I use. A very fine stone will give you a polished finish; and not remove too much !

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It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: March 30 2016 at 1:28pm
Probably fine, "slower finer & smoother" with minimum removal of material is the goal.


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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: AJ Dragon
Date Posted: April 05 2016 at 5:18pm
Hi
 
I got the gauges today, I still need to get the file to seat the bolt properly but here are some pictures of the bolt fitment as is.
 
With out any gauges.
 
With Go gauge
 
With No Go Gauge


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: April 06 2016 at 8:36am
It looks to me like the rifle passes with the NO GO gauge?
Maybe its the angle of the picture though.


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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: AJ Dragon
Date Posted: April 06 2016 at 9:56am
Hi
 
I found this YouTube video showing how to use the gauges.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CbjuHPq90U" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CbjuHPq90U


Posted By: Zed
Date Posted: April 06 2016 at 12:00pm
I assume that this is your new bolt assembly that requires fitting.
From the look of the 3 pictures, it appears that it's not quite closing fully on the "Go gauge" as there appears a very small gap between the RH side of the bolt and the receiver. It should close fully on the "Go Gauge". Maybe it's just the photo; but worth examining properly.
There is a reasonable pass on the No Go gauge. Now you need to check the surface contact of the bolt lugs but stoning the bolt will remove some of that margin you have on the gauge. So go carefully and keep checking the surface contact at very regular intervals.


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It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!


Posted By: AJ Dragon
Date Posted: April 06 2016 at 2:13pm
Hi
 
Before I started there was just a thin line on the little lug. I did a little filling with a fine metal file and a metal finger nail file, and here are the lug contact points.  The bolt closes all the way now on the Go Gauge. 
 
I used Permanent marker on the receiver contact area to make it easier to see the contacted area 
 
and I used a silver paint pin on the big lug, as you can see some of the Permanent marker ink transferred over to the bolt and vice versa.
 
I used just a permanent marker for the small lug
 


Posted By: Zed
Date Posted: April 07 2016 at 11:52am
That's looking good. It is difficult to get identical surface areas on each lug for us amateurs. But in my bolt fitting, when I got contact on both sides and head space good; I started testing carefully at the range and inspect after a few rounds. We cannot replicate the pressure of recoil on the lugs unless it's fired; so it needs to be checked regularly to see how its settling in. I expect the contact area's to enlarge a little over time as the bolt; but only have about 20 rounds fired with the new bolt so far. So I will be keeping a close eye on how it's doing over the next for range visits. 

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It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!


Posted By: AJ Dragon
Date Posted: April 10 2016 at 5:42pm
Hi
 
Well I messed up on the bolt and filed it to far, it now closes all the way on the field gauge.  But I think there is something wrong with the receiver.  This is how the big lug if making contact with the receiver.  If you look strait down into the receiver this is how it looks.  I will have to see about getting it checked out before I start buying more parts.
 


Posted By: hoadie
Date Posted: April 10 2016 at 6:28pm
oh oh..I bin watchin this. (I'M about to learn more)


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Loose wimmen tightened here


Posted By: Zed
Date Posted: April 11 2016 at 10:55am
That's unfortunate AJ. 
It looks like you may need to get the receiver tested and measured properly by an Enfield specialist.

What was the contact area like on the original bolt? Close examination of that may help ascertain the condition of the receiver contact area. If the original bolt was good on both lugs, then it should be possible to make a new bolt fit.
However if the receiver has been filed then it's probably gone through the case hardening; that would make it a wall hanger!
There really isn't much room for error even with a new bolt. Personally; I think using files instead of a stone has probably removed too much too quickly. 


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It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: April 11 2016 at 1:06pm
That would be my thought too. Its a delicate procedure, not something to go at like a bull in a china shop.


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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: AJ Dragon
Date Posted: April 11 2016 at 11:46pm
Hi
 
I made a mistake, it was the big lug that had the angle on it and not the receiver. Which would explain why I could see contact marks on the small lug but never on the big one.  It turns out that the contact area on the big lug was right in the very corner where the lug and the bolt meet together.  I should have realized something was wrong when the contact marks on the small lug disappeared and there still were no marks on the big lug.  I wont make that mistake again with the next bolt.


Posted By: Zed
Date Posted: April 12 2016 at 4:14am
It really is a question of very fine adjustment; so go slowly and constant checking. The fine stone will not remove so much material, but you still need to be careful.
It took me some time to do my bolt; having been almost too careful and re-checking after evry couple of strokes of the stone. But the result is worth the effort. I fired another 10 rounds with it at the weekend and it's showing reasonably good contact on both sides. I think it will probably take more rounds to get it fully settled in; so I'll keep checking it and the headspace after each outing.
Don't be put off though. Everyone makes mistakes; it's how we learn!


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It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: April 12 2016 at 6:54am
Yes. Zed has it nailed its a slow careful process.
Mark.
Stone the HIGH points
Re mark
re test
Stone a little more (if needed)


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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: AJ Dragon
Date Posted: April 12 2016 at 9:40am
Hi
 
The next bolt I plan on inspecting very closely and taking it a little bit more slowly. Unfortunately I cant do any test shots because it's still missing the trigger guard assembly.  I was expecting the parts and two books on the Enfield's from a guy on another forum two months ago, but the USPS damaged then lost then found then sent it back to sender "when it was only a couple of miles away from where I live" and then lost it again for good this time.  I am now on my third Mail Recovery Center Search Request form hoping that they will find the parts.


Posted By: Bear43
Date Posted: April 12 2016 at 9:54am
Whatever you do don't get discouraged. You are not alone in making a mistake. The first time I ever replaced a fore-end on a No 1 Mk III* I put on a very beautiful walnut NOS fore-end. However, I didn't get the draws fitting right and I ended up with matchsticks after 10 rounds. Most of us have been right in that boat with you, AJ. Wink


Posted By: Zed
Date Posted: April 12 2016 at 12:13pm
At least in the USA the parts are cheaper and easier to find generally. A new bolt in Europe will probably be more than double the US price.

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It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: April 12 2016 at 12:50pm
Keep the dinged bolt too. Its still usable for "training" & some of the home made jigs for L-E's are made from bolt sections.


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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: AJ Dragon
Date Posted: April 12 2016 at 4:50pm
Hi
 
Is it suppose to be easy to remove the firing pin.  When I took the bolt assembly apart I found that I could unscrew the firing pin by hand if I turned the cocking piece counter clock wise allowing it to move forward. 


Posted By: Bear43
Date Posted: April 12 2016 at 5:24pm
It can be easy. In service the end in the cocking piece could be peened or hit to force a distortion in the threads to prevent turning, which makes the striker hard to turn and remove. If yours wasn't peened or distorted like that then they are fairly easy to remove.



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