"Fixing" a No.4 Mk2 Fore stock

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   Ive got a No.4 Mk2 Enfield. Upon close examination I found  a +.020 gap between rear surface  of the forestock on the L/H side (only L/H side) to the foward contact surface of the "butt-socket". Per the Canadain Maintenance Instructions.... this is not good.

I removed the front sight protector, both barrel bands and both HGs. I remove the Rear Trigger Guard (thru) Screw and found that the Trigger Guard "sprung" downward.  I removed the Front Trigger Guard Screw, Split Washer and then the Trigger Guard. The Bushing stayed in the Stock. With very minimal effort I pushed the Forestock straight down and off the rifle. I feel certain that the Fore Stock was NOT properly secured to the gun.

I throughly cleaned the parts in turpetine and found a crack in the Fore Stock inletting from the L/H  side of the magazine well to the hole in which the Bushing is located.

I would like to know what I can do to repair this forestock  to get it to fully contact the "butt-socket? I've read that the cause of the crack is due to poor fitting metalwork to Fore Stock. Correct? 

It appears that the R/H side was manufactured "longer" thus allowing it to contact the "butt-socket' but preventing the L/H side from doing so.  If I remove wood on the R/H side (to make both sides equal in lenght) Im certain I'll have a gap on both sides to the "butt-socket" unless there is a way to "move" the Fore Stock to the rear so it DOES make full contact with the "butt-socket".

I'm certain I can repair the crack but what should I do to get the Fore Stock to properly mate to the "butt-socket"? And what is needed to prevent the crack from reoccuring?

I've viewed several sites about repairing the draws but I dont find anything about "fixing" this lack of contact problem.

Thoughts please.

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ptf18 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: December 26 2010 Location: texas Status: Offline Points: 21	Post Options Post Reply Quote ptf18 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: "Fixing" a No.4 Mk2 Fore stock Posted: February 14 2013 at 11:52am
	Ive got a No.4 Mk2 Enfield. Upon close examination I found a +.020 gap between rear surface of the forestock on the L/H side (only L/H side) to the foward contact surface of the "butt-socket". Per the Canadain Maintenance Instructions.... this is not good. I removed the front sight protector, both barrel bands and both HGs. I remove the Rear Trigger Guard (thru) Screw and found that the Trigger Guard "sprung" downward. I removed the Front Trigger Guard Screw, Split Washer and then the Trigger Guard. The Bushing stayed in the Stock. With very minimal effort I pushed the Forestock straight down and off the rifle. I feel certain that the Fore Stock was NOT properly secured to the gun. I throughly cleaned the parts in turpetine and found a crack in the Fore Stock inletting from the L/H side of the magazine well to the hole in which the Bushing is located. I would like to know what I can do to repair this forestock to get it to fully contact the "butt-socket? I've read that the cause of the crack is due to poor fitting metalwork to Fore Stock. Correct? It appears that the R/H side was manufactured "longer" thus allowing it to contact the "butt-socket' but preventing the L/H side from doing so. If I remove wood on the R/H side (to make both sides equal in lenght) Im certain I'll have a gap on both sides to the "butt-socket" unless there is a way to "move" the Fore Stock to the rear so it DOES make full contact with the "butt-socket". I'm certain I can repair the crack but what should I do to get the Fore Stock to properly mate to the "butt-socket"? And what is needed to prevent the crack from reoccuring? I've viewed several sites about repairing the draws but I dont find anything about "fixing" this lack of contact problem. Thoughts please.

muffett.2008 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: December 09 2011 Location: scone. nsw Status: Offline Points: 751	Post Options Post Reply Quote muffett.2008 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: February 14 2013 at 4:40pm
	Sit your forewood back onto the rifle, refit the trigger guard. put the rear tang screw and mainscrew back in and just nip the mainscrew up. Now have a look at where the barrel sits in relation to the barrel channel, does it lay in the centre? or bear right or left? Now the next check, take the nosecap and slip it onto the barrel and forewood. Does it slip st raight on? Or do you need to push the barrel slightly sideways? (pushing down on the barrel is ok) If it passes both those with no need to realign, then we get to the harder part, the draws. With the forewood removed, inspect the draw area for damage, if copper recoil lugs are fitted, are the marks on their faces even? or has one been more heavily marked than the other? If no copper inserts, has the timber face suffered more on one side than the other? Check the area where the recoil lugs actually seat, are they beaten back more than 1/16", and is the timber around the mainscrew spacer intact or is the hole elongated or cracked out? These are the main points in determining the correct fitment and condition of the forewood, repairing any one of these fail points will require a bit more though, this is a good place to start.

muffett.2008 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: December 09 2011 Location: scone. nsw Status: Offline Points: 751	Post Options Post Reply Quote muffett.2008 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: February 14 2013 at 4:54pm
	Now, before anyone starts crapping on about this not being a No.4, the initial checks for alignment are the same except for the nosecap. If your stock has taken a beating around the mainscrew spacer, this tells us that the forewood is loose at the draws(named as they draw the forewood back against the wrist and recoil lugs) and is free to move around on recoil, driving the spacer further foreward and splitting the timber. If the timber is marginally damaged, then it will be repairable, the split can be glued and pinned, the timber at the draws can be replaced with a hardwood insert and the damage at the spacer can be repaired. If the rifle is not an all matching collectable, it may be easier to just replace the forewood, bearing in mind that if any of the previously mentioned checks are not passed, you could be back to square one. So let's just take it a check at a time and see what we can come up with.

ptf18 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: December 26 2010 Location: texas Status: Offline Points: 21	Post Options Post Reply Quote ptf18 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: February 14 2013 at 7:41pm
	Muffett.2008 Thank you. I'll check the rifle when I return from work this evening. I find no damage of the wood in the area of the draws and NO previous repairs (metal or otherwise.)The forestock does move (slid) fore and aft very slightly. The mainscrew spacer bore in the forestock appears to be round BUT the crack does go from the L/H side of the Magazine well to the spacer bore. The rIfle is a well worn (at least the suncote finish? forgot the proper name) No.4 Mk2 "irish" with matching s/n stamped into the wood work.