Who has the best deals on No1Mk3 furniture?

[frankenstein]

The rifle was built at RSAF Enfield in 1917, and the wood is a darker reddish-brown, even on the underside. These cracks have been glued once already. The wood is pretty beat up. I think the rifle needs new(er) wood.

[JB White]

The rifle was built at RSAF Enfield in 1917, and the wood is a darker reddish-brown, even on the underside. These cracks have been glued once already. The wood is pretty beat up. I think the rifle needs new(er) wood.

That may be corrected if properly done. Once again, photos would help immensely in steering you in the right direction. We have no way of knowing whether your rifle is wearing original wood, WW2 replacement, early Ishapore walnut replacement, later RFI post-'51 timber..or something else. There are simply too many variables involved. You must also keep in mind that there are no drop-in replacements. New wood MUST be fitted. Used wood..you may get lucky but odds are you'll need to scrape, chisel, and/or shim or replace wood at the draws to get it shooting right.

With photos, you might be better off replacing than repairing depending upon overall condition. We can't see therefore we don't have a clue. What may be 'beat up' to one person is valueable history to the next. (actually most if you want to maintain resale value)

[dogtag]

Well, I'm English and as far as I'm concerned "furniture" is
something you sit on.
As for the rifle, I have only one, therefore I'm not qualified to offer an opinion.

[Vi Shooter]

Furniture

When I was a boy some of the real old-timers referred to horse tack as "furniture." The idea was that "furniture" was something you added to make something that was already useful even more useful.

An empty house is useful as a shelter. Putting "furniture" in it makes it more useful.

A rifle without a stock is not generally very useful, so the stock is essential to the rifle's usefulness and is not, therefore, "furniture."

The English word is derived from French and Middle English words that mean "to supply" or "furnish." Hence the word should only be used for add-ons that make something more usable, not for the essentials that are necessary for basic use.

Just my 20 Mills,
Vi

[JB White]

Good feedback but brings up the subject of perspective. Fireams are lock, stock and barrel and the terminology is older than we are. Therefore a firearm is useless without a stock of sorts. Anything added to make it more useful like a patchbox, thimbles, rear sight etc are the things which make it more useful than before.

Not arguing. Simply bringing up what someone else eventually will and getting it out there first.

[Clark Howard]

To answer your question, I would start with Springfield Sporters. Sportsman's Guide has had SMLE wood. Get a copy of Shotgun News. Try Gun Parts Corp.

[jgaynor]

Gorilla Glue's chief claim to fame is that it is highly waterproof. If you decide to use it follow the label directions precisely and APPLY SPARINGLY!!.. When setting the glue foams up and tends to push the joint open. Also work your clamping strategy out in advance.
A moreforgiving product like the widely available Titebond or Elmers should be satisfactory for most gun work and a lot easier to use.

One final note if using GG wear disposable rubber gloves. Any glue left on your fingers has to wear off ( 2 to 3 weeks) - nasty brown stains.

[maq]

Unfortunately, no one store has everything you need. You can wait around and pay 250 to 300 dollars for a complete stock set without the metal parts from Ebay. Or, you can start picking up piece by piece from different stores. I have recently restored a No1Mk3 and found a good deal of my metal parts and wood at Sarco. At sarco I found front hand guards and and rear hand guards for 1/4 the price they were on ebay.. they look new. They also had about 2/3 of the metal parts I needed and a really nice Butstock for 19.00. It also looks new. I found a walnut forestock at numerich for 59.00 It is new.(cheapest I could find) Numerich is out of complete stock sets they had for 89.00. Last I used Libertytreecollectors.com. , for some metal parts noone else had ie the nose cap with front and rear screws.. the nosecap nut, i got from sarco. Lots of people have the nose cap. Some have the front screw and nut, but none have the rear screw.

Everyone else seemed to be pretty much out of stock on everything I needed. I just got the last piece in I needed today and will start refinishing the wood to my likeing and cleaning and spot bluing all the parts that need some.. My 1918 No1Mk3* was sporterized and so I had a lot to replace. The rifle was given to me and ended up kinda being a money pit.. But, in the end I'll have a very nice rifle for 1/3 the cost of an already completed rifle. The enfields just have a lot of parts to the stock and metal pieces. I hope this helps someone.. It took me a month or so to figure this out on my own. Maq

[Guamsst]

Try contacting Dave Sandlin "The Enfield Man" at dsandlin@argontech.net

Parts are getting really scarce but he can probably hook you up for a fair price.