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 

Correct #3 magazine.

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

The restoration begins 

Francois

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

Just had to be deeply cleaned

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 

The swivel is incorrect, it's a sling swivel. It will be replaced by a correct stacking swivel 

Francois

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.

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?

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.

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

I used electrolysis method. Very efficient

And the P1907 bayonet.

Francois

Some additional accessories (sorry for the flash photos, I'll make some better ones in the daylight)

An Enfield made oiler, and some Mk I and Mk II clips

Clip in place. The .303 Cartridges are WW1 period.

Francois

   My 1911 SMLE is marked tot eh Kings Royal Rifle Corps same as yours ( now known as the royal green jackets) .

    

I agree with you, if it's light patina, OK for saving it but there is a difference between patina and sh*t. 

In this case, it was not a patina, it was 100 years of heavy dirt, earth, rust, spider webs, from storage in a barn or a henhouse. Absolutely no relation to a normal military use.

I never sand my rifles stocks. I don't try to remove the dents. Only mild leaching and feeding with a wood wax.

Like that, all markings are preserved.

For the screws, I tried to soak them with oil and kerozene for 4 months, but except for two of them, they continued to resist to any unscrewing. They were totally soldered by rust. The slot for the screwdriver didn't resist and it soon appeared that drilling was the only solution.

Luckily, I've been able to preserve the threads and the new NOS screws could be screwed on without any trouble.

So, yes, I restored this SMLE, but I think that I didn't over-restored it. 

Francois

PS, I would be very happy to see some pics of your KRR SMLE 

Code you explain your recipe and method for the rust removal please . I'd like to try that on some bicycles I'm restoring.

Plus facile en français 

Il n'y avait que de la fleur de rouille sur le métal, hormis l'embouchoir.

Pour l'éliminer, j'ai d'abord nettoyé les pièces à l'acétone, puis juste passé de la laine d'acier et de l'huile (pour armes et surtout de coude)

Par endroits, un petit coup de brosse douce Dremel m'a un peu aidé.

Le bleuissage d'origine était étonnement beau et préservé, même s'il reste par ci, par là, quelques tous petits cratères d'oxydation.

Au plaisir

François

En Anglais, machine translation.

Great, nice translation... 

Do you also use the expression "elbow oil" in english? 

im one that seldom touched the items i collected/accumulated as well , only wiping down and very modest cleaning , like others here i do not like to see the sanded and steamed stocks , im not inclined to strip and reblue it never looks original , the only time i like to see these things are with items that have been sported beyond salvage , that said - having seen the miracles worked by those that know how to do it ive changed my thinking enough to closely look at what is done and the presentation before/after , this one ill accept and honor with respect , 

i am on record as liking this one a lot , enough that i wish i was in a position to make him an offer for it --it would be a perfect mate for my 1910 hookie , its a proper restoration 

 That is the method and recipe that interests me in particular. I've read about this process some time ago and tried once without success; probaly becaus of incorrect ingredients or voltage/power supply.

My oldest rifle is this 1918 SMLE in .22 it's all original wood and matching numbers.

All it's had is a clean and light application of linseed oil for the wood and gun oil for the metal.

It get's a lot of use; it's so much fun to shoot.

The cool thing about this rifle is that it appears it had not gone thru any Arsenal repairs or rebuilds.  It may well be an “as issued” rifle.  A shame the bolt was lost.  I for one like how it now looks, the stock cleaned and waxed and the brass polished to make it look like it would have looked if it was maintained properly.

But, I’m not a collector, I’m a shooter who really likes old military rifles (particularly the LE) and uses them in vintage rifle matches.  I did do metal refinishing to a No. 4, but only because it came to me with the finish already sanded off.  The look of bare metal full of scratches from 120 grit sand paper did not appeal to me…so I finished the job, sanding with 400 grit paper to remove the scratches and remaining finish and blued with Birchwood Casey Perma Blue. 

"Do you also use the expression "elbow oil" in English?"

Close to it.

"Elbow Grease"

(graisse)

It's the case. This rifle has been losted during WW1 somewhere in France and probably the tommy got rid of the bolt before throwing the rifle into a ditch.

So, no rebuild and of course, no parasite post WW1 marking. This rifle has never seen the Weedon arsenal.

It's a SMLE and not a N°1. 

François

Séchage, huilage, c'est fini

Yes, I got rid of the deep rust with electrolysis.

It's very simple :

A glass pan, a 12V battery charger, tap water with a pinch of sodium bicarbonate.

You immerge the rusted piece into the water.

The (-) connector of the battery charger clamped on the piece, The (+) connector clamped on a metallic wire which is also immerged into the water. Of course, this wire must not touch the piece.

You plug the battery charger and nearly immediately, some bubbles will appear on the rusted piece. It will form a whitish, rust-colored moss on the surface of the water.

A couple of hours later, The piece is completely rid of the rust

Drying, oiling, it's over.

François

Thanks Shamu 

I will try that method for rust removal. 

Will any type of metal work, or does it need to be copper? 

Any metal will work, yes

HT i sympathize , but like us here some of your countrymen voted for him , also like you i hope they are wondering what the he!! they have done - if not to their friends and family - to themselves , is that really what they voted for ? if so maybe we dont need those neighbors anymore ,