Should I sand and refinish my 1945 lee enfield #4 mk1?

Doco Overboard said:

Warm soap and water with a moderately stiff bristle brush for hard to move extra grimy areas. A medium scotch brite pad. Go easy, don't submerge the wood and wipe the crud off with some paper towels as it migrates off the stock.

If you could get the butt stock off that would make the whole thing easier to manage. Remove the fore stock by tapping down on with a rubber mallet or hardwood drift made form a dowel just in front of the butt stock socket. There will be a little ledge either side of the action body on the sides. Couple light raps will allow removal. Dont pull off by rotating the front of the fore stock downwards. That will/can cause damage to the bearing points.

Use penetrating oil on the butt stock bolt that is accessed through the trap at the rear of the stock. You'll need a stout common screw driver long enough to reach the bolt. Use penetrating oil at the front of the screw where it comes through the wrist socket. Sometimes there is a leather washer on top of the head of the bolt. Fish it out with a piece of thin wire and save it if you can.

Once its all clean I would flood the internal of the wood parts with boiled linseed oil to restore some lubricity to the wood fibers. It looks pretty dry and would probably drink it right up. (looks like its spent time on Africa)

Theirs a whole bunch of other things you can do to inspect, safety check clean and tidy up the appearance of your rifle if you wish.
A no 4 is a good milsurp rifle to go over and bring back to fighting shape. A strange mix of simple and complexities that make them interesting to fiddle with.

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Red1917 said:

Before you start putting stuff on and brushing it I’d try putting it in the sun or somewhere warm, or even in the oven on a low temperature and just let it sweat out naturally and wipe it off. Just a suggestion it’s worked well on mine that felt greasy.

Glad you decided not to do anything drastic it’s a nice looking rifle, I’d take one like that over a pristine looking refinished example any day

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Clovis said:

What I see on this rifle is the big "Ishy screw" in front of the action in the fore end. As far as I know that was only done in India or perhaps Pakistan. I believe it spent time either in India or Pakistan and I would think more likely Pakistan because the Indians usually had their own made #1MKIIIs to use although I have seen photos of both rifles in hands of India troops/police. Through Africa, maybe, but India/Pakistan I'm pretty certain of.
As far as repairs and cleaning Mr. D. Overboard gives good advice and I would follow his ideas first.
Still trying to research the manufacturer of the rifle as to which factory it came from originally.

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bigmancrisler said:

Is that the screw on the left side of the receiver?


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Clovis said:

Couple of questions...Does the number on the back of the bolt handle match the receiver number? What number is on the bolt head (0,1,2 or 3)?

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Clovis said:

Crap...I was worried when I saw the hollow bolt handle. They were made for the #5s. As far as I know #3 is the largest bolt head for the adjustment of headspace.

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Doco Overboard said:

However far those primers are protruding from the case, + however less the rims are of those federal cartridges are from spec, is about much headspace you have.
They, the (rims) could only measure from somewhere from .057-.061
.060-.062 would be a good number for in spec cartridges.
Carefully polish the chamber walls then try some HXP, MEN or PRVI ammo and see if the primer protrusion problem from the cases goes away.

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Clovis said:

If it were mine I would take it to a gunsmith who was familiar with the lee-enfield system and hope he can find a way to make it safer. You may be able to check the size of the head with a micrometer and it may be worn and shorter than it should be, but I haven't tried to order parts for a Lee in years and have no idea what is still available out there.

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Doco Overboard said:

Bolt heads come in various sizes, are usually numbered but have overlapping dimensions.
You could have a "0" bolt head that is actually longer than a 1 and so on from 0-3.
They need to be fit to the rifle in a way that allows the bolt to not close on a .074 gauge.
Even then a bolt that does not close on a .074 gauge, that is fit incorrectly can beat either the face of the bolt sleeve, compress the bolt head threads or at worst collapse the induction hardened surfaces of the bolt lug seats.

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Doco Overboard said:

Bolt heads come in various sizes, are usually numbered but have overlapping dimensions.
You could have a "0" bolt head that is actually longer than a 1 and so on from 0-3.
They need to be fit to the rifle in a way that allows the bolt to not close on a .074 gauge.
Even then a bolt that does not close on a .074 gauge, that is fit incorrectly can beat either the face of the bolt sleeve, compress the bolt head threads or at worst collapse the induction hardened surfaces of the bolt lug seats.

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bigmancrisler said:

What is a micrometer?


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