Enfield No4 Mk2 bolt head ?

[Frederick]

At Century 200yd electronic yesterday. Fired 20 factory PPU 174 and 10 handload using 40g of n140 .

Everything went fine, nothing unusual, another great day shooting.

While cleaning my rifle I spun the bolt head a few turns . It felt gritty so I took it all the way off . It seems a small section of the thread has come away, see photo. 

It was very tight to screw back on so I didn't force it . Instead I gently used a fine needle file to smooth the jagged thread. It screws on now but still dosent feel as smooth as it used to . The striker protrudes .046 ( when in fired position) and the gap between the cocking shoe and bolt body is .053 , about perfect.

Had anyone had a similar experience? 

[Andrew]

Have a couple of dozen Lee's in many configurations and have seen a chip gone out of the threads before. Never caused any issues. Did you find the pieces? has your rifle been refinished?  Wouldn't the chipped area be expected to be bare grey metal? ~Andrew

[Frederick]

On 8/11/2022 at 4:43 AM, Andrew said:

Have a couple of dozen Lee's in many configurations and have seen a chip gone out of the threads before. Never caused any issues. Did you find the pieces? has your rifle been refinished?  Wouldn't the chipped area be expected to be bare grey metal? ~Andrew

I haven't found any pieces , probably ground into dust ?

It came from SA , has a replacement bolt .

I thought bolt heads were made of white cast iron ? The broken area is grey coloured , I'm not sure if white cast actually appears greyish or whitish ?

[Popsbengo]

6 minutes ago, Frederick said:

I haven't found any pieces , probably ground into dust ?

It came from SA , has a replacement bolt .

I thought bolt heads were made of white cast iron ? The broken area is grey coloured , I'm not sure if white cast actually appears greyish or whitish ?

SMLE bolt heads were allegedly white cast iron,  I think No.4 would be steel, metallurgy had moved on from turn of the century Victorian practice.

[Frederick]

3 hours ago, Popsbengo said:

SMLE bolt heads were allegedly white cast iron,  I think No.4 would be steel, metallurgy had moved on from turn of the century Victorian practice

Steel wouldn't crumble like this seems to have , would it ?

Must admit the damaged bit looks like cast iron .

[Andrew]

Is this the first time you've had this bolt apart? Order a new bolt head if this one won't function. ~Andrew

[Twodogs]

The letter nearest the bolt face, is it a P or a poorly struck D?

If what we can see is the extent of the damage then personally I wouldn’t worry, however it could be an indication of material flaws. The reason I ask is because if the stamp, as enquired about above, us in fact a D it would all tie in nicely to materially damaged part.

If the bolt is a replacement then one must question whether it has been correctly fitted, the bolt head being an intricate part of this.

If you go down the new bolt head route, remember they are not plug and play, apologies if you already know that.

 

[Twodogs]

The most common, in use, cause of damage to bolt head threads is due to the incorrect set up of bolt head to bolt body.

When the bolt head is screwed fully onto the bolt, the bolt head lump, should not rotate past the long rib. During the Second World War a wartime allowance was made which allowed the bolt head to overturn by no more than 20 degrees. Any overturn places the recoil stresses on the bolt head thread.

[Frederick]

On 8/13/2022 at 1:58 PM, Andrew said:

Is this the first time you've had this bolt apart? Order a new bolt head if this one won't function. ~Andrew

I have had the bolt apart several times . Because of the firearms law in the UK , i cannot order another bolthead (in very short supply ). It would have to be a gunsmith and the rifle would probably require re- proofing.

[Frederick]

On 8/13/2022 at 7:29 PM, Twodogs said:

The letter nearest the bolt face, is it a P or a poorly struck D?

If what we can see is the extent of the damage then personally I wouldn’t worry, however it could be an indication of material flaws. The reason I ask is because if the stamp, as enquired about above, us in fact a D it would all tie in nicely to materially damaged part.

If the bolt is a replacement then one must question whether it has been correctly fitted, the bolt head being an intricate part of this.

If you go down the new bolt head route, remember they are not plug and play, apologies if you already know that.

What do the P and D actually refer to ?

 

[Twodogs]

DP - Drill Purpose.

Parts of a weapon that were deemed unfit for use in live firing weapons due to some issue, but serviceable enough to be used in a drill only weapon. The issue is rarely obvious and would have been deemed such many years ago by very experienced examiners with experience, tools and knowledge now lost to us.

Parts deemed such were stamped with the letters DP.

Whilst not plug and play many civilians randomly swap parts paying little regards to the markings, something that would never happen with a military armourer. 

The letter P may also be part of a proof mark, usually in conjunction with the crossed pennants.

[Frederick]

13 hours ago, Twodogs said:

DP - Drill Purpose.

Parts of a weapon that were deemed unfit for use in live firing weapons due to some issue, but serviceable enough to be used in a drill only weapon. The issue is rarely obvious and would have been deemed such many years ago by very experienced examiners with experience, tools and knowledge now lost to us.

Parts deemed such were stamped with the letters DP.

Whilst not plug and play many civilians randomly swap parts paying little regards to the markings, something that would never happen with a military armourer. 

The letter P may also be part of a proof mark, usually in conjunction with the crossed pennants.

Thanks 😀