repro bayonet is loose fit on original Enfield

[Dutchman Dick]

I bought a non-defarbed (with no markings whatsoever) Enfield bayonet from Blockade Runners Sutlers to go with my original P1853 Enfield (defarbs and originals are way too expensive for me at this point). Problem is, the bayonet is a very loose fit on my gun's barrel. Is this a common problem with repro bayonets? Or were the originals loose, too (hence the locking ring)? And is there anything I can do with my current bayonet that won't cost so much that I may as well have bought an original or a Blockade Runners defarb?

[Pvt.Tyler]

Re: repro bayonet is loose fit on original Enfield

Same thing with my repro springfield 61 bayonet. When I run with it on my musket it moves around. I have tried tightening the locking ring but nothing seems to work.

[Andrew Kasmar]

Re: repro bayonet is loose fit on original Enfield

Hi,

My Enfield bayonet did the same thing. Like Tyler, nothing that I have done to fix the problem has worked.

[LeftCoastYank]

Re: repro bayonet is loose fit on original Enfield

I had this same problem with about my P53 Enfield and bayonet - and a lot of other reproductions I've owned for that matter; I never found a way to fix it either. Curiously, though, an original bayonet I happened to own fits my piece like a glove. That's what I use now.

[gilham]

Re: repro bayonet is loose fit on original Enfield

Tightening the locking ring wont help unless you are strong enough to actually compress the steel socket.
The problem with repro byonets on original arms is that repro barrels are thicker than originals.Of the original arms I have seen myself the barrels are quite thin at the muzzle.
You will have the opposite problem with using an original bayonet and a repro arm. I carry an original bayonet and to get it to fit my repro Enfield I had to buff the inside of the socket. It dosnt take much to get them to fit. To buff it out I used 200 grit emory cloth wrapped around a dowel. I used the dowel so I wouldnt miss shape the socket.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: repro bayonet is loose fit on original Enfield

Hallo!

Yes...

Italian repro Enfields and Springfields are typically larger than originals, AND
the repro bayonets made for them (whether Italian, Indian, or Pakistani) are typically made for the larger reproduction arms.
Plus, the Indian and Pakistani bayonets vary considerably amongst themselves, which is why lads recommend taking the musket or musket barrel along when shoping like trying on shoes.

However, a similar problem existed with the BSAT and London P1853 3rd Model Enfields which were not standardized with inter-changeable parts. Meaning, just having an original Enfield bayonet is not a guarantee that it will fit. Most/many times, it will not.

Yes. As shared, the locking ring does not compress the socket to make the socket smaller.
Making a socket a smaller diameter can be done, but it is not an easy modification that a lad without tools can effect. The inside of the socket can be shimmed with thin metal shim stock and soldered in and fitted to teh gun. But if you have to pay to have that done by a professional, IMHO it will be cheaper to take your musket with you and go shopping for a new bayonet fitted to your particular gun.

Curt

[Dutchman Dick]

Re: repro bayonet is loose fit on original Enfield

Thanks, all! Guess I'll have to live with a rattling bayonet until I can afford either one of B.R.'s defarbs (they have 2 sizes, one of which they claim will fit original guns), or get a screaming deal on an original.

[gilham]

Re: repro bayonet is loose fit on original Enfield

Original bayonets are fairly cheap. Running from about 75.00 to 120.00 from the ones I have seen for sale here on the west coast.
Also as Curt mentioned repro sockets can be made to fit an ariginal. Although the way I would do it is different than what was describbed by Curt. As it is an envolved process and requires some welding and machine skills I wont get into it here. If you are interested in it though semd me a PM and I will tell you how to do it.

[nick19thind]

Re: repro bayonet is loose fit on original Enfield

Be careful as even original bayonets won't always fit your gun. That's the case with mine.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: repro bayonet is loose fit on original Enfield

Hallo!

"However, a similar problem existed with the BSAT and London P1853 3rd Model Enfields which were not standardized with inter-changeable parts. Meaning, just having an original Enfield bayonet is not a guarantee that it will fit. Most/many times, it will not."

Curt

[Western Blue Belly]

Re: repro bayonet is loose fit on original Enfield

Taking your gun shopping with you is the best advice thus far. I'm done with trying to fit an original bayonet to my Enfield via internet shopping. I bought an original bayonet not long ago. It wobbles around on the barrel something terrible.

[Dutchman Dick]

Re: repro bayonet is loose fit on original Enfield

Think when I get the barrel on my musket recrowned (it's a tad uneven - doesn't help accuracy a-tall!), I'll see if the gunsmith can weld up the ends of the socket and grind it to fit properly. While he's at it I'll have him blue the socket up to the blade "shoulder", just like the originals. Or, if he can't weld it (or bush it) without it costing a small fortune, I'll just have him blue the sochet, and just live with it as it is. Heck, if even an original bayonet wobbles on an original gun...:confused_

[Pritchett Ball]

Re: repro bayonet is loose fit on original Enfield

Going on the suggestion of contacting a welder...

I wish I had a bayonet that had the same problem that the original poster described. I would love to work with it as if I was NOT a welder, but could try things with what was on hand. You can heat up a thin tube/pipe in a bed of hot coals, let it cool, and it will shrink in diameter somewhat.
I wonder if modern epoxies like JB Weld could be applied inside the socket, let set, then be shaped/sanded to fit properly onto the barrel?

Being a welder...I have done some unique "things" to bayonets, rifles, barrel bands, sling swivels, lock plates...but only because they tolerate me doing things with a TIG welder in my work area at break time. Some projects take a long period of time, and it would not be profitable for me to go into the business of altering things for folk.

The picture posted is a not so great repro bayonet I worked on to try to make it look like an original Enfield bayonet; using measurements a friend gave me from his original.

I had to shorten the shank coming out of the socket going to the blade, weld a bunch of metal and grind/reshape that shank to the shape of an original, grind, grind, and grind more on the "blade" to get the shape desired.

So after all the modifying, altering, heating/welding...it didn't fit! Not being surprised, I knew that was going to be a problem. I had to re-shape the socket, tweaking it till it was round again. Then out came the Dremel Tool, to open up the "tight" areas so it would slip back over the barrel.


Respectfully:

Kevin Dally
A welder in this Mess, Mess (with scars to prove it!)