There are three kinds of hanguards that can be found on Commonwealth L1A1 or C1A1 rifles.

 

The Type 1 is all-wood and has metal reinforcement plates over asbestos inserts (resembling shims) beneath the metal.  The Canadian C1/C1A1 handguards have no cooling slots, while the Australian and British have two oblong slots near the front.

 

The Type 2 is wood or laminated wood with metal ends that attach to the gas block and a metal lip for the handguard retainer.  These handguards have a heat shield bonded to the interior.  Type 2 handguards have three cooling holes near the front.  They were used on Aussie and Brit L1A1 rifles.

 

The Type 3 is made of plastic and only found on Brit L1A1 rifles.  These handguards have the metal ends bonded to the the plastic handguard shell.  The interiors of the shells ahve reinforcement ribs.  There is no heat shield and there are two oblong cooling slots near the end.  The plastic handguards are black with a pebble-grain finish.

 

For L1A1/C1A1 shooters that would like to replace their well-worn or cracked and dented Type 1 handguards, there is a source for new ones: Matt Shuster of Ironwood Designs, Inc. is producing bolt-on replacements for both L1A1 and C1A1 rifles (as well as metric-pattern).  Good as they are, the IWD handguards do not use the metal reinforcement plates and asbestos liners.

 

I decided to modify my IWD handguards to install the original parts from donor original-issue hanguards.

 

 

The first step is to salvage the metal escutcheons (bushings), plates, and liners from the donor handguards.  To do this, remove the rolled-over lip of the escutcheon on the inside of the reinforcement plate.  Remove the rivet heat on the inside of the reinforcement plate.

 

Below:  Donor handguards showing parts to be salvaged for reuse. 

 

 

 

Carefully remove the plate and the asbestos liner beneath.  (You may have to use a hobby knife to free the asbestos liner from the handguard.)  Push-out the right escutcheon seat for the handguard screw (right handguard) and the threaded escutcheon (left handguard).  These parts can be refinished with a spray-on finish such as GunKote or Aluma-Hyde.  These are epoxy-type finishes that require baking at 350 degrees for one hour to cure.

 

 Above:  Removal of parts for salvage and reuse.  Remove the rolled-over edge and rivet heads on both ends; separate the parts for reuse.

 

The next step is to remove the brass threaded insert from the IWD handguards.  This is a 10-24 insert and it can be unscrewed to remove it.

 

Next clamp both handguards securely together and put them in a milling machine.  Mill the tops for the reinforcement insert.  Mill out the ends of the handguards to receive the asbestos liners and metal reinforcement plates.  Mill the inlet for the reinforcing plate tab (outside of handguard).  [No.  I do not have any commercial interest in Coca-Cola -- it is just the background table cloth for the camera.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, fit the asbestos liner (or use cork if the original is too degraded for reuse).  Then fit the reinforcing plates with the liner in-place.  (This step requires a lot of fussing and sanding and filing to accomplish. 

 

 

 

 

Fit the escutcheons (bushings) to the handguards.  The right handguard gets the one that accepts the screw head; the left handguard gets the threaded one.  Test fit the handguards to an L1A1 barrel.  Unlike the originals, they will not be swaged into the reinforcement plates.  Note any areas requiring adjusting and remove the handguards.

 Above:  Fitting the handguards to a barrel.  The Escutcheons do not require swaging as they will be retained by the screw that goes through the gas block.  Note that the rivets have not been installed at this time.

 

After fitting is done, install the liner and reinforcing plate.  Use the plate as a template and position the handguard so that a 1/8-inch drill bit goes through the rivet hole and comes out by the edge of the handguard flat.  Use an end mill or equivalent to counter bore the rivet hole on the outside of the handguard to take the pop rivet head.  Trial fit so that the pop rivet head is flush or below flush with the outside of the handguard and projects about an 3/16-inch into the inside of the reinforcement plate.

 

Heat the rivet with a hand torch and coat it with Aluma-Hyde.  Set aside to dry.  Bake at 350 degrees in an oven for one hour.  Install the pop rivet to retain the liner and reinforcement plate.  Check the fit of the handgaurd to the test barrel and make any adjustments as required.