| Carpetsahib |
| (.333 member) |
| 22/10/08 12:47 AM |
Re: Lee Speed Sporter
|
Quote:Yes, I have the Williams Publication you refer to - How To Convert Military Rifles. They do have a nice article on the SMLEs and No.4s.
Carpetsahib, there was a picture in the 1964 edition of "wiliams Gun Sight Catalog" of a #4 that has a similar treatment regarding the removal of the charger bridge. Made the difference between night and day as to how the finished rifle came out. Spoke to a gunsmith about this and he said as long as you keep pressures at factory then one would have nothing to worry about.Frank
You will note how I reduced the height of the left hand rail to approximate the height of a No.1 action. I had in mind to radius the entire top of the No.4 action like unto a No.1, but the presence of the charger bridge hole eliminated that option. I'm sure that would be feasible if one were to weld the holes, but I didn't have that option (didn't want to spend the money).
Another thing that I like to do is to reduce the magazine capacity by 3 rounds or so. That is, I cut the bottom of the magazine off parallel to the factory line, such that the bottom line of the magazine is tangential to the radius of the trigger guard bow. When I first started working with No.1s and 4s, I cut the magazine off at the stock line; that just never seemed to look right. The shortened angled magazine seems to be sleeker and more appropriate.