Need Size #4 Bolthead for Number 4 Lee Enfield -- Where to Find One?

[roselsr]

Does anyone know where I can find/buy this part. Help Please!

roselsr

[M1Garandy]

Out of curiosity, what makes you think you need a size four? Size threes are hard enough to turn up these days. Are you using SAAMI or UK Milspec headspace gauges?

You might take a look here for info on exactly how hard a size 4 bolt head will be to find: https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=53886

A couple of good articles about Enfield headspace and bolt fitting:

http://photos.imageevent.com/badgerdog/generalstorage/peterlaidlerpostsleeenfieldforums/Cartridge%20Headspace%20_CHS_.pdf

http://photos.imageevent.com/badgerdog/generalstorage/peterlaidlerpostsleeenfieldforums/Fitting%20rifle%20bolts%20-%20CHS%20and%20boltheads.pdf

[milboltnut]

BDL LTD

[Sunray]

No such thing. No. 4 bolt head sizes run from 0 to 3.
If the bolt closes completely on a No-Go gauge(Field gauges were not used by CF weapons techs at all. They are by the rest of us though.), try the Field. If it closes completely on the Field, the headspace is excessive and the only way to fix it is to try another bolt body(and get really lucky) or have the barrel shank shortened by machining(at over $100 per hour).
Go to M1Garandy's Milsurps forum link and read post #4. However, why India would have made a bolt head for a rifle they didn't use is a mystery.
Not seeing any parts listed on BDL's site. No bolts heads found by their search function or any parts either.

[JB White]

No such thing. No. 4 bolt head sizes run from 0 to 3.
If the bolt closes completely on a No-Go gauge(Field gauges were not used by CF weapons techs at all. They are by the rest of us though.), try the Field. If it closes completely on the Field, the headspace is excessive and the only way to fix it is to try another bolt body(and get really lucky) or have the barrel shank shortened by machining(at over $100 per hour).
Go to M1Garandy's Milsurps forum link and read post #4. However, why India would have made a bolt head for a rifle they didn't use is a mystery.
Not seeing any parts listed on BDL's site. No bolts heads found by their search function or any parts either.

With all due respect I beg to differ on some points. For all practical purposes, as far as any of us are concerned, you're correct. Size 4 boltheads are as scarce as gold plated rocking horse turds. Technically though, there were a couple of size 4's spotted in armorers kit as one of those "just for the heck of it" things.
India didn't produce the No4 but some, somehow, ended up in surplus from there. Nowadays it's tough to tell whether that Ishy screw might actually be a Paki screw, and the internet is full of stories.

BDL doesn't list parts and I don't know that he ever did. Brian supplied me with a few scarce things (only a few) I needed a long while back, but I had to contact him in person. He needed time to rummage through his shop spares. I wouldn't waste his time by asking for a Size 4 head. If he happens to have one, it's likely part of his collection.

Roselsr, Please carefully read the links provided above by M1Garandy?

In a nutshell: If you think your rifle will digest a size 4, then there could be more going wrong with it than merely needing another bolt head. All that might do is mask an underlying problem. Not fix it. That is of course if you are checking HS with the proper milspec gauges. Go by the numbers and not the name on the gauge. A SAAMI FR title isn't the same since those are for commercial 303BR chamberings.

[Merc]

My No.4 Mk1* has a #2 bolt head and did well on a UK milspec HS field gauge (.074”) but closed completely on a commercial HS field gauge (.070”). I temporarily extended the length of my commercial HS field gauge from .070” to .074 by applying a two layers of .002” thick scotch cellophane tape to the end which lengthened the gauge by .004”. I later found and purchased the correct UK milspec HS field gauge. If you use tape to increase the length of your commercial HS field gauge, check it with a micrometer to be sure the dimension is correct.

These rifles are notorious for having been built with an overly spacious chamber so separated cartridge head/cases are common. The Brits even made a broken case extractor to remove them from the chamber. I’ve shot and reloaded hundreds of .303 cases with only one separation.