Lee Enfield oil bottle

[John Elstob]

I have just purchased a Lee Enfield brass oil bottle. I'm hoping to be able to use with some form of food grade oil as a multipurpose item. I've seen a few posts online of people getting metal oil bottles and burning the old oil out. I'm reluctant to do this with brass in case it damages it anyone got any ideas on how to clean out any old oil residue if there is still such inside the bottle when I receive it

 

[Broch]

Do you mean the little cylindrical brass tube with a screw-in top and 'oiler' spatula? Personally, I'd keep it for using just with machine or gun oil; they're are lovely pieces to have

 

[John Elstob]

Do you mean the little cylindrical brass tube with a screw-in top and 'oiler' spatula? Personally, I'd keep it for using just with machine or gun oil; they're are lovely pieces to have

Yep that’s the one. I saw a you tube vid ‘MCQ Bushcraft’ and he had walnut oil in his used for maintenance of any carbon steel tools mainly but could cook with it if needed


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mesquite]

If you really want to use it for food grade oils (personally I'm with Broch) you can rinse it out thoroughly with white spirits or similar.

After that then give it a damn good washing out followed by boiling it multiple times until you don't see any oil sheen on the water or smell it.

 

[Toddy]

My only caveat about brass is that it in itself can leach into the oil.
If it's arsenical brass (usually rather shiny) then that can be a problem. Arsenical brass is more resistant to water. Which is why Indian brass teapots are tinned inside.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[John Elstob]

Ty for the information it’s given a lot to think about

 

[British Red]

Do you mean the little cylindrical brass tube with a screw-in top and 'oiler' spatula? Personally, I'd keep it for using just with machine or gun oil; they're are lovely pieces to have

Mine is under the brass hatch in the butt of my No 4 mk II . Along with a pull through & some "four by two"

Lee Enfield No.4 MkII by British Red, on Flickr

 

[dean4442]

British Red why do you have to show me lovely things like that!! Now I've got to stop myself looking at auction sites, although personally I want the sniper version with the cut down front woodwork!!

 

[John Elstob]

It is beautiful piece I have to say

 

[British Red]

British Red why do you have to show me lovely things like that!! Now I've got to stop myself looking at auction sites, although personally I want the sniper version with the cut down front woodwork!!

I actually have all the fittings to make it into a No 4 (T). I also have a complete set of foresights and armourers tools to zero it at any range. Then there's 50 stripper clips, 20 original magazines, both original patterns of bayonets, sheaths and frogs & even some original 1943 headstamp ammunition and a whole bunch more. It's an absolute mad collection.

 

[Kav]

I HAD a Smelly from 1914- three sight systems including volley, magazine cutoff for controlled firing, a barbed wire cutter and long bayonet for parrying Prussian lancers on horseback. I also had a Birmingham best grade commercial with three leaf sites.
Both went to a noted collector. He shared his collection of Lee-Metfords from the 1890s.
Curious, Berdan primers and the later rifling were American but we went with Boxer primers. He also had rare explosive and incendiary rounds used against the zeppelins.
It’s more a Canadian round and was chambered in the Ross rifle and 1895 Winchester.
A Scottish tail gunner in Lancasters
Is credited with 9 night fighters. He loaded only AP and Incendiary; to track his burst and let the Germans know he was on to them. They developed a maneuver that dropped the Lanc and exposed the German to the tail and dorsal guns instead of unprotected belly.
Idiot at the range laughed at my Only 10 round ‘ haystack farmers’ bolt gun. I put 10 rounds rapid fire into the black @ 50 meters before he got his damned AR15 to shoulder.