Greetings and Salutations!
Soooooooooo… Gretchen and I spent the entire day yesterday running around from Doctor to Doctor, having her checked out. I began to feel like it was some sort of video game where we finally got the the “Final Boss” who just happened to be one of only three Surgical Ophthalmologists? in the state. (Edit: I should say “..only three who deal with issues this bad in the state… most won’t touch something like this)
After numerous testing, pix, probes, ultrasounds… you name it, they did it, the conclusion was Gretchen, for lack of a better word is fucked. Seems she had a retinal tear that developed (over time) into a full blown detachment which only finalized the other day when she lost vision in the eye on Monday completely.
Hence why we went to the Doc.
Now the problem was/is she didn’t tell me the severity of the issue. Unless I know what’s going on, and because of my Infantry “FIDO” background (FIDO meaning Fuck It, Drive On) unless the broad was bleeding out from her eyes, ears, nose, mouth or asshole, I figure she’s good to go and can Charlie Mike (continue mission). In this case I should have asked moar questions.
Seems because it started like six months ago, there’s a lot of scar tissue in there that’s got to be resolved BEFORE they can even start ‘welding’ the retina back in place. THEN it’s going to be three weeks with her ass in the air, face down with like NO movement.
So yeah
She’s now scheduled plus or minus a month or so as the damage is already done, and there’s no rush. That and she’s got -other- business to attend to that I may or may not get into. OPSEC is the watchword here, and that’s all I got for you on that.
On the OTHER Hand However:
I got in the ‘supposed to be stripped’ Lee Enfield Receiver.
In actuality, as you can see, it’s got the sear, mag release as well as the bolt tension spring still mounted. Not in bad shape either, with about 60% of the bluing intact.
I’m still going to strip it ALL the way down and start fresh.
It’s GRI Mk1 Mod 3 made in 1950. The GRI refers to “Georgius Rex Imperator” which is what the Ishapore (Indian) made Rifles were stamped before the country gained independence from Great Britain. It is an interesting date in that it is right at the time of Indian Independence but still using GRI (King George Emperor) rather than the later RFI. I read on a few of the boards that the Indians didn’t re-tool the machinery until around 1952 to ‘RFI’ which stands for Rifle Factory India, as the 2A1 I did earlier last month.
Another interesting aside is how ‘clean’ the stamping is compared to the RFI Stamp on the 2A1:
The letters seem ‘off’ and out of line as opposed to the GRI stamp, which, as stated, is clear, crisp and clean:
Guess the Hindus dindu so well at making a clean set of stamps for their rifles when “King and Country” bailed on them.
Annnnnd since I’ve ‘folded the envelope’ as DeadDad used to say, and gone Full Retard… or is it Full Enfield? I went and saved my pennies and got the tooling to do the barrel and receiver swaps:
It set me back $200 but as far as I know, I am literally the only gunsmith within a 200 mile radius who now has the ability to do barrel swaps on Lee Enfields. The reason I know this? Well as tried as I could, I called around to ALL the BIG gunsmiths around the I-75 corridor to see if -someone- had the proper wrench and vice to do this job.
I really didn’t want to drop the ducats.
I figured if I could find someone with the tools, that I could get a ‘professional courtesy’ extended to me, and let me go there and use their gear to slap the new barrel and receiver together. Instead, after numerous calls and chasing down leads, whelp…
Looks like I’m Number One with a Wrench and Vice now for anyone who wants or needs a barrel swap on a Lee Enfield I suppose. I have to fully mount it to the bench, and I also have to do some work on the aluminum collets, as I don’t like how they’re set up for now. Leave it to me to figure out improvements on the fly amiright?
Also: The wrench itself?
That thing is a pure-dee Murder Club should the need arise. I am not exaggerating when I say it’s about 7 pounds of solid stainless steel. It’s a skull crusher for damned sure.
Guess I need to get that C&R FFL now if only to be able to get ‘legal’ in case I start getting jokers who want work done. Speaking of which, I got a guy who reached out and wanted me to do a muzzle brake swap. Hit me on the DM again man… sorry that you dropped off the radar… things have been busy-busy here as you can see.
SO that’s what I got for now. More interesting stuff to follow, as I go to pick up the ‘donor rifle’ during lunch tomorrow. GunGirl called today and told me that the grossest and nastiest rifle she has ever seen showed up today in a box with my name on it. It’s the one I got from J&G that one of y’all had pointed out to me. Many thanks for that as I saved $50 on getting another D&P from Atlantic… Once I get it, I’ll take pics and we’ll start the whoooole nasty process again for a new Mk3 build.
So More Later
Big Country
I lost my left eye in a motorcycle crash in 1974. It is not to bad once you get used to it. That being said if they can fix hers, go for it. I would love to have the left one back but I am pretty used to it.
Hope yours turns out ok.
Best of luck and skill to Gretchen and her doctor(s) for the eye repair.
Maybe you can get some of your money back (slowly and eventually) on those barrel swap tools by “renting” them out to other like minded gunsmiths. (at your place, under watchful scrutinizing and supervision). After all, what were you willing to pay if another ‘smith had those tools?
There’s been a lot of detached and torn retina going around and the problem is people don’t know the symptoms or the urgency of getting it fixed. Hired man said “I keep seeing this flash and weird shadow. Must have some junk in my eye or a migraine.” Nope “You are shutting down the equipment and calling the VA, you have a retina problem and they need to be waiting for you. You are going NOW!” Saved the eye.
I suffered a series of significant retinal tears last year. Multiple surgeries. They used gas bubbles in my eyes to stabile the retina while it healed. It worked. I couldn t see for 2 months but it was worth it. You should ask about that.
Yeah, had a blue flash like a welding arc in my eye on an overcast day. Then a floater showed up. Eye doc said, “do not pass go, do not collect $200. I’ll be waiting for you. Get here now!” He didn’t even talk to me after the inspection, just turned, called a number, spoke into the phone and made some notes. “You will be here tomorrow morning at 0800.” Passed me the address and name. Next day, got the OptoDoc’s verdict, and the day after I was welded. Found out we have a fambly history, too.
Praying for your missus. It’s scary when the world goes dark. Watch out for her walking into door jambs. Depth perception and distance takes a while to get right.
Poor Gretchen-she cannot seem to catch a break!! I’m praying that her eye is able to be healed. Never fool around when your eyes start something funny-whatever it is. Get to an opthamologist and wear the stain of “just over reacting” rather than losing the eye.
Prayers for you as well as the missus. As far as the pics go, a really quick glance had me do a double take. I first thought it was an original proto pipe.