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DOUG'S "BLOGS"
Misrepresented Receivers
(4 Jan 09): I have received reports of semi-finished receivers being resold
or offered for sale which are claimed to have been made by me. I appreciate
that people think my receivers are the best available and so the claim that
I made the receiver enhances its value. But there are two problems caused by
this. Firstly, is the fraud involved in taking advantage of the buyer’s
ignorance. And secondly, is the injury caused to me by my being associated
with a lesser quality receiver than I make. Except for some rare exceptions,
every receiver I have ever made is engraved with an “R” on the bottom,
either in the bolt cavity area or in the grip mount pocket. Receivers made
in 2008 and on have the “R” in the grip mount pocket. In every case when I
have received a call to confirm that I made a particular receiver being
falsely claimed to be one of mine, there was no “R”. I will include a note
about this in my next catalog description of my receivers.
Receiver Wrenches (26 Dec 08): The bodies got made in the new shop. They are made to a new design but work exactly as before. I already had the rest of the parts. I have to do a black oxide run so that will finish the wrenches and get some old orders shipped. Unfortunately, I am barely able to function because of my broken back, so everything is moving at a crawl. I'm going to convalesce in Belize with Madalon until January 21 so nothing more will get done until I get back.
When it rains it pours (24 Dec 08): I didn't have electricity for a week. Internet access has been out for 1-1/2 weeks. Miserable weather for 2 weeks. And I fell down and fractured a vertebrae so I can barely walk. Good news is that parts are being made at the new shop.
Models Book (08 Dec 08): I managed to get my new book finished just in time for the SAR show. I am quite pleased with the way it turned out. I have already been told by some advanced collectors that they didn't know some of the models shown in my Models book existed or how the models and accessories related to each other. I think this book will become the reference book for identifying Thompson models just as my Drum book and Box Magazine book have become the standard reference for the mags. I know it's true because everyone who has written about mags since my books were published has copied from them. Some don't even bother to use their own words, they just copy verbatim. I guess I should be flattered but it would be nice if I were given credit as the source.
SAR Show (8 Dec 08): Another great event. Best show in the West. It was nice to meet some of you people there.
Collector's Armoury Thompsons (8 Dec 08): My friend and inspiration, Tom Nelson of gun book writing fame, showed off his newest import Thompson "replica" guns. Check out the ad sheet under "Collector's Armoury Thompsons" on this website.
Kahr Trigger Housing Wanted (23 Nov 08): I'm going to build a working semi-auto pistol with one of my 2SP receivers. So if anyone has a complete Kahr trigger housing assembly for sale or trade, let me know.
SAR (17 Nov 08): The SAR gun show in Phoenix during the first weekend in Dec. is a must for all of you who can manage to attend. I will be there as will Gordon Herigstad, Tim Polston (SA Ordnance), Bob Bower (Philadelphia Ordnance) and the usual suspects all together. Polston has informed me that he has joined with Bower to manufacture his semi-auto Thompson. They are finalizing the design to ready the gun for production. At the last SAR, I had suggested to Bower that he seriously consider getting involved with Polston on this project. I think that the Polston/Bower combination will work. Polston says they want to talk to me at the show about getting involved, but the only part of it that I am interested in is supplying special upscale receivers for his gun as I have done in the past. Those of you who are interested in the Polston gun will have a great opportunity to find out everything about it.
2) The second problem is that there is inadequate contact information given in the order. I open the mail, check the orders and, if there is a problem, I immediately telephone or FAX or e-mail. If there is only an address, the order goes into a separate file for me to write letters when I get a chance, which may take a couple of weeks, and then drop the letter off at the Post Office which may not be for 2 more weeks.
American Gunsmith Magazine (20 Oct 08): An article featuring my barrel tools is reproduced on this website under the heading "American Gunsmith Magazine Article". It seems that Thompson popularity is beginning to be recognized by the rest of the gun world.
Shop (16 Oct 08): Finally got the last of the machinery moved into the new shop.
New Stuff (10 Oct 08): I have added three new "Dear Doug" items and Trigger Housing Assembly Pins Instructions in the Tool Instructions section. When ever I add or change something, I will put the alert in this Blog section because people have told me they check the Blogs regularly. So by my mentioning an update, those who are interested can go straight to the update without having to check the entire website for changes.
Catalog #62 (30 Sep 08):
Catalog #62 is available now. I am very pleased to have finally gotten all
the receiver configurations documented. The semi-auto page is now updated
to show the 2S and MS
receiver components. Except for the complete guns section, the entire
catalog has been updated. I am not in a position to offer the complete guns
at this time and when I do, I will probably only offer 1928 (& 21) Savage,
1928A1, M1 and M1A1. Unless I can put the "Colt" trigger housings back into
production, I will be unable to build "Colt" guns. M2 receivers are "Shop"
type only so display guns can not be built on those receivers. Therefore,
even if I do offer the guns again, there will be only four types. I have
kept the gun pages in the catalog primarily for information. Probably, on
the next edition of the catalog, I will revise those pages and delete the
others.
Shop Status (18 Sep 08): The shop won't be relocated until Oct. 1 and then won't be up and running for a while after that. I really didn't need this but it will be a bigger and better shop in the end.
I've decided to call the 2M receiver designed to use either an M1 bolt assembly or M1A1 bolt assembly, the model 2MM. I'm spending time working this out because I believe that once people understand exactly what these receivers offer, they will become very popular. I now have all my receiver configurations finalized (at least for now) so the next effort in the office will be to revise the markings section of my catalog then the guns section.
Shop Homelessness (25 Aug 08): Hopefully I will have a new facility soon for making receivers. My associate who was providing me with a work area sold his business and retired leaving me shop homeless. It will probably work out better than before but moving and resetting up is not easy and consumes a lot of time which I don't have any to spare. Just when I thought I had solved all the problems and would soon catch up on making receivers, this happens. "It's always something!"
Orders Shipped (30 Jul 08): Every order was shipped today except receivers, Headspace Gages and Assembly Pins.
Actuators (26 Jul 08): I give up. There is no hope that my associate will finish the actuators any time soon if at all. Unless I make them, they probably won't get made. Every time I rely on someone else, it turns into a disaster.
Headspace Gage Plugs & Assembly Pins (26 Jul 08): These items are being made now.
Receiver Order Categorizing (21 Jul 08): I now file all receiver orders by type not by customer. If you contact me about your receiver order, I need to know what you ordered in order to find the information. Model, Display or Shop and for "Colts" whether round or square end actuator slot.
I'm trying to eliminate as much none essential stuff from my life as possible in order to do what I really want to do. I'm completely out of catalogs again, have a new product to post, trying to finish up the selection of the parts necessary for my semi-auto receivers, clear up all the questions on the last batch of receivers sent out before I left, finish up some barreled receivers for the movie prop shop and post some pictures of some of the receivers just finished.
Of course, moving the shop is just a small detail.
Customer Comments (20 Jul 08): Check out the new section. I was told I have to have customer comments to be part of the e-market. Good or bad, I'll post them. But they have to be about my service or my products, not third hand or about other people.
Return (19 Jul 08): I have returned to the U.S. from Belize. People think it was a vacation. I worked 16 hours a day every day. Got a lot done but got back to find out that the shop where I make the receivers is being vacated and I have to leave. It's always something. So I'm shut down until I can find a new place. Apparently, there was no big mix-up in all the receivers I sent out which is a miracle considering the pandemonium here at time trying to leave.
Receiver Shipments (30 Jun
08): I shipped every receiver and barreled receiver order that I had
requested full payment for and other miscellaneous orders which did not
include Headspace Gaging Plugs on Monday June 23 before I left for home in
Belize that night.
I was only able to call a few people before I left to tell them that their
receiver had been shipped. They should all have arrived by now. Apparently,
there were no problems since I have not heard of any. Please do not keep
asking me when I will ship a particular receiver. I don’t know. If I haven’t
asked for full payment, don’t be looking for a receiver in the mail. I can’t
do better than I’m doing.
Comments (30 Jun 08): I’m told that I need a customer comment section to bring me into the world of internet marketing. So, I’m pulling comments and responses out of my files and will post the good as well as the bad. If there is anything you want to say about my products or services to others, this is your chance. The postings will be limited to 1 or 2 sentences and will not include names other than the names people call me.
Savage 1928 (22Jun08): There seems to be some misunderstanding about this gun. This gun was only made for the British. Therefore, if you specify 1928 Savage markings, you will be getting a British gun. I'll put a note on this in my catalog. I assumed people were doing their homework before ordering a receiver but apparently not as many people ordered this marking thinking it was on U.S.Army guns. If I ever get my new book on Thompson models finished, this info will be readily available.
Calling me to repeatedly ask when a receiver will be finished is a waste of my time. About the 3rd time I'm asked, I wait for an opportunity during the conversation, such as a statement that "I wouldn't have ordered if I had known it would take so long." to establish a firm delivery date - for their cancellation refund.
I had 2 people recently who had ordered "Colt" receivers which I cancelled. One had only waited 6 months. They wanted to get to the head of the list by paying extra or some other tactic. I said to get to the head of the list they had to wait the longest. I don't know where they think they are now going to get a "Colt" receiver, but it won't be from me. I can't do more than I'm doing, so don't waste my time by asking. Watch this website. If I have anything to say - I will say it here.
The M2 receiver is how an M1/M1A1 receiver would look if I (or perhaps Colt) had designed it. The bolt handle slot is located on top like the 1921/1928 receiver and uses the same modified M1 or M1A1 bolts as the 192M. The trigger housing rail walls are extended to the back like the 192M. Side radii are dimensioned to properly blend together and match the trigger housing. The upper sides are continued forward to the front end to produce a sleeker looking receiver. The nose of the receiver is relieved on the sides below the barrel area to better match both horizontal and vertical foregrips. It is available with two styles of rear ends: 1) The standard M1 shape to match M1/M1A1 trigger housings and 2) an optional 1921 shape to match 1921/8 trigger housings. It is also available with the top rear edges non-radiused to accept a Lyman adjustable rear sight. This receiver is interchangeable with any TSMG receiver. It is available in both “Display™” and “Shop™” versions.
1) All receivers are shipped by Priority U.S. Mail which gives 2-3 day delivery.
Anyway, what I do is notify a person when I have identified a receiver that is the type they want and has all the machine work done. It still has to be finished, engraved and blued. If the receiver is a custom one, I ask for full payment before I start. If it is a standard one, I ask for $100 deposit. If it is to be engraved with any custom markings including a serial number, I ask for full payment before it is engraved.
The master pattern for "U.S.PROPERTY" got made. So, that marking is now available.
Receiver Finished (5 May 08): Calls went out all day today advising people that their receivers were nearing completion. I make these calls within 30 days of the ship date. This is the first batch that was done during the pre-production phase. There is every configuration, even some I will never make again. They were allocated in accordance with what was available in order of order date. What that means is that some people got receivers before others who had waited longer, usually because not every marking style was available. From now on things will be a lot more organized because all the configuration and manufacturing development has been done. I didn't know until just before I made the call that that person would be getting a receiver so don't call me and ask me when yours will be ready because I don't know and I won't spend the time to try to do the research to make a guess.
1928A1 #A.O.42458 (5 May 08): I need the person who ordered this receiver to call me. 310-457-6400
MS Receiver (29 Apr 08): Due to a cancellation, I have one MS (semi-auto) receiver finished and available now.
Colt Receiver Prices (28 Apr 08): The prices for all new orders for Colt receivers will be $10 higher. That means Colt Display receivers will be $495 and Colt Shop receivers will be $445. This covers the extra cost of the smooth finish that I am now putting on the Colts. I decided to make the extra effort in order to duplicate the original Colt receivers as much as possible. The receivers with the new fine finish really look good. WW2 receivers will remain unchanged. They have a dull black finish.
I should have finished receivers to show at the Kingman Show & Shoot although they will not be for sale because they will go to those who have been waiting. I realize that it seems to take forever, but I have come a long way toward getting caught up. As soon as the present batch of receivers has been shipped, I will be making batches of one type of receiver at a time which will speed things up. The receivers really look good so I hope everyone will feel the wait was worth it. It seems like every day someone calls me to complain about a receiver they got from someone else and wanting me to fix it. Of course, I don't work on receivers not made by me. But at least no one will be calling someone else to fix my receivers and that's what is most important to me.
Once I get the these finished and sent out, I will resume starting more receivers and will be making batches of the same type.
At that time I will attempt to determine approximate delivery dates. It is a shame I have to stop one thing to do another, but there is still only one of me and I am wearing out.
Receiver Lock Ramps (27 Feb 08): Manufacturing includes the machines that do the work, cutters that the machines use to remove metal to make the part, programs that tell the machines where to cut and fixtures that hold the part in place in the machines. When the machine has made the part, gages are used to determine if the part was made in accordance with the drawing. This photo shows the gage used to check the location of the lock ramps in relation to the front face of the receiver.
Receiver Production (15 Feb 08): Apparently, people still do not understand that I do not buy a piece of steel and then make one receiver for a particular person. I make a lot of this kind of receiver and then a lot of that kind of receiver, etc. which is precisely what I'm doing.
When a batch of receivers gets finished, I then look into the production order file to find the earliest order for what ever I have available to ship.
Regarding that, I am still trying to get all the old orders finalized on the Receiver Order Form. So if you haven't done that, you need to call me at 310-457-6400 to get it done. The Form was removed from the website because people were trying to use the Form to place new receiver orders in spite of me repeatedly stating that the website is not a Catalog.
Do not even try to order a receiver without the Catalog information because I will not take time away from receiver production to read the Catalog to someone. There is just too much information about receivers and Thompson's in general in the Catalog.
Also, please do not ask me when
your receiver will be shipped because I don't know.
I still do this as a hobby and can not predict when I can work on receivers
or how long things take. It's unfortunate that I was out of commission for
so long but I am catching up. I can tell you that the receivers I am making
now surpass anything I have made in the past. I am extremely pleased with
the way they are turning out.
This means that the only difference now between an M2 receiver and an M1 receiver will be that the trigger housing rails on the M2 will continue all the way to the back as before which is the same way I make the rails on my 192M, 192S and MS receivers. This is how the M1 should have been made in the first place but WW2 production used as much of the 1928A1 fixtures and tooling as possible and so the 1928 style rails (which were necessary for the oiler) was carried over into the M1.
My M2/192M,192S and MS rails creates a better and stronger receiver without changing the outside appearance. (M2 style rails can be modified to be M1 style.) M2s will continue to have the top mounted bolt handle as standard but the M1 style side bolt handle slot in lieu of the top slot and the breach entry chamfering cutter clearance, which is necessary with the side bolt handle slot, will be optional at no extra charge.
I will continue to offer the optional 1921 style rear end shape and Lyman sight flat as before. For those people who want an absolutely authentic M1/M1A1 Display gun, my M1/M1A1 Display receiver should be ordered.
For those who intend to make a shooting M1/M1A1 gun, I recommend ordering an M2 receiver with the M1 side bolt handle slot. I will continue to offer M1 Shop receivers but I believe the M2 is the better way to go. The shooting gallery people will particularly benefit from this recommendation since they have been experiencing receiver failures with standard original M1 & M1A1 guns after a lot of use.
If you want the other drawings you need to refer to the assembly drawings to determine the drawing (same as part) number and order by drawing number and description. All parts also have additional material, heat treatment and finish drawings. Don't worry about that as I will note that information on the part drawing as a courtesy. If an item is an assembly that is not field strippable, there will be an assembly drawing but you won't be able to find the number from the gun or magazine assembly drawings. If an assembly has a subassembly within, you will also not be able to find that number from the assembly drawings. For those drawings, include payment and I will be able to locate those drawings from the other drawing numbers ordered. Drawings are filed by drawing number and should be ordered by drawing number and description. If you want me to research the drawing numbers from the descriptions, I charge an extra $20 to do that for a reasonable number of searches. There are hundreds and maybe thousands of Thompson drawings and I have most all of them.
Start with the full size assembly drawings and go from there. I offer these drawings in hopes that if someone is going to make a Thompson part, that at least they have the information to do it properly. If someone offers new made Thompson parts and I ask to what drawing number they were made and they tell me they don't actually have the original drawing then I say then you are not making Thompson parts - just more junk.
Receiver Production (8 Nov 07): I am absolutely ecstatic. Yesterday the first receiver since January 2004 was completed. It is a 1928 Display with lock ramps & bevels. I don't know if anyone else includes extractor slots on their receivers, but I have always included the slot as a standard feature. But, cutting the extractor slot was always a problem because it meant subcontracting the work out, sometimes took up to a month and occasionally ended up with receivers being destroyed because the set up was botched. So I re-engineered the slot procedure, designed new cutters and made new fixtures that literally make it impossible to screw up. It took a couple of minor fixes to the cutters but yesterday the first receiver extractor slots were cut using the new procedure. This means I now have complete control over the time it takes to make a receiver because I'm no longer having to rely on complicated outside help. So, it's done. I'm now ready to start full production. I have to concede that I totally underestimated what it would take to resume production after a 4 year shut down. But, I saw no sense in doing less than the best that the time, new types of cutters being available and my own increase in technical capability would allow. I also had to remake about half the existing fixtures and make many more new ones. Also, people were wanting new things like the lock ramps and a "Shop" type receiver to be offered. But, it's done and full production is starting.
Receiver Orders Finalization (4 Nov 07): I now need to know everyone's final order. A number of receivers are nearing completion as part of the pre-production manufacturing effort. There is a variety except there are no 21/28 Shop and all 21/28 receivers have lock ramps & bevels. Call me at 310-457-6400 or e-mail me directly at dougwr@dslextreme.com if there are any changes to your original order. This is not a maintained address or for general Thompson communication.
Bolt Handles (29 Oct 07): All configurations of bolt handles have been made. The 21 & 28 dummy bolt handles for the display receivers have been changed to have a smooth straight shank. Older Richardson receivers must be modified (most anyone can do it) to accept the new style handles. The old screw in design is no longer available.
Receivers (7 Oct 07): More
problems solved. Now twenty (20) receivers are in process.
Actuators (7 Oct 07): We finally
got the knob checkering as close to Colt as is probably possible. No one has
ever gotten it right before so I am quite pleased. That was the big problem
with the actuator. Maybe we can now make some real progress.
Receivers (3 Oct 07): We are now going through the
files and creating a summary list of people who have receivers on order,
receiver type and date of order. I want to make sure that receivers are sent
out in accordance with the order date as much as possible. However, that
doesn’t mean that everyone needs to call me or write me- -(please don’t). No
receiver will be sent out without me calling the person in advance to
confirm all aspects of the order so as to incorporate any changes desired.
The effort right now is to make receivers for inventory.
Receivers (2 Oct 07): The first 1928 “Display (tm)” receiver was completed
today except for the extractor slot. It included the lock ramps & bevels. It
disclosed a few manufacturing problems which I am fixing now. I am also
trying to revise my method of cutting the extractor slot in order to be able
to do that in house as well. The problem is that if I am ever to catch up,
everything must be as efficient as possible. I am extremely pleased with the
receiver made. It really looks good. I know people have been waiting a long
time so it is important to me that everyone ends up feeling that the wait
was worth it.
Whereas I am not interested in becoming a gun manufacturer or being involved in large quantities of any thing, I am interested in supplying "Shop" style receivers to those who want to have a special Polston gun. The idea being that I would supply the receiver ready for finishing to the owner of a parts kit and that person would send it on to Polston for finishing. I have already made the first Polston receiver production sample.
Don't bother contacting Polston at this time because he does not have a shop capable of doing this or the manufacturing license yet. I will keep you posted.
Even if the person never intends to make the gun work, the satisfaction of having a gun that good makes the cost acceptable as opposed to using an aluminum or low grade steel receiver which can never be anything more. For that person I offer my standard "Display (tm)" receiver.
However, there is a growing demand for receivers that are intended to be finished with the proper approvals for a full-auto and semi-auto receivers. These receivers don't need some of the features that my "Display (tm)" receivers have such lightening holes to yield the original gun weight, clearance to enable the trigger housing components to function and provisions for a dummy pilot and bolt handle. Therefore, I have decided to offer a new category of receivers which, for lack of a better name (suggestions?), I will call "Shop" receivers.
These receivers will have every Thompson feature as my "Display (tm)" receivers have but none of the extra features necessary to create a ready to go display gun without further work. I will offer the standard Thompson models of 1921-1928A1 and M1 & M1A1 as both "Display" and "Shop" models but all others will be offered only as "Shop" models. The cost of the "Shop" receivers will be about $50 less than the "Display" receivers. Everything I have published heretofore about the "Display" receivers stands. Check "New Products" for for "Shop" Receivers.
Just today I made a change in the bolt handle slot design for the semi-automatic N/K style receivers to eliminate a machine cut that heretofore would have had to be done buy the user. A small thing but a better product for the user.
Then there is the manufacturing engineering. That develops the whole production process. Machines, fixtures, cutters, programs, materials, etc.- - everything it takes to turn the receiver designs into finished products. That has been done but, again, changes go on forever. Yesterday I revised 3 of the cutters to speed things up.
Then the actual process of turning steel material into finished receivers begins. That is where I am now. The first receiver in the process shows up problem areas in the manufacturing cycle. Even if it makes it all the way through to become a finished receiver, it is slow. Maybe it doesn't make it. Whenever things go wrong, another is started. Right now 6 receivers are making their way thru the cycle. I'm hoping that this weekend at least one receiver will have made it. After that it goes fairly fast.
But no receiver is made to fill an order. All receivers are made for inventory. Eventually, I will be able to ship from inventory the day I receive an order. So what happens is that I will continue to make receivers. Since I have to send them out for things I am not equipped to do, I have to have enough receivers to send out at one time to make the cost of the outside work reasonable.
So just because I have finished with a bunch of receivers doesn't mean they are ready to ship. When I have receivers ready to ship I will call people who have ordered the type of receivers I have available to confirm their order and shipping information.
If there is something special about the receiver ordered such as serial number or marking, before I do the special work on a finished standard receiver, I will call the customer to confirm the details.
My point is that I do not and can not, buy a piece of steel and then work on a particular order.
If I call you and tell you that I have the two 1928A1 receivers you ordered and you tell me you changed your mind and now want two 1921s and one M1A1, or now you want the lock ramps, it doesn't make any difference to me.
If I have what you want, I'll send it, if not, I'll call you when I have what you now want. It just doesn't make any difference. Naturally, those who have waited the longest, get priority.
What I don't need are endless calls and e-mails which only slow me down. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Receiver Tools (12 Sep 07): Apparently, cutting the lock ramps is too difficult for most people, which I can understand. Probably, most machinists would have a problem with it considering the trigonometric calculations involved. So I don't think I will offer the special cutter for that. However, the basic cutters for finishing the rest of the bolt cavity may be of interest to the do-it-yourselfers. The most important, expensive and hard to find is the 1/4" wide staggered tooth x 1-1/2" diameter TIN coated long shank cutter used in forming the 1921/8 bolt cavity roof. I can supply that one for $175 which is less than the listed price. Because the original guns are so expensive, the new phenomena of making your own with a manufacturing license is growing and therefore, creating a demand for more tooling, etc. but I don't know how great that demand will become and so I don't know what to try to offer.
Receiver Fixtures (27 Aug 07): Unbelieveable! I stayed off the phone for the most part and got lucky. Theoretically, all fixtures necessary to restart receiver manufacturing have been made or refurbished. I was going to work on the fixtures as I needed them, but decided to go for broke and get everything ready to go at once. Unless there is an error some where, everything is ready to go.
Aug. 25, 2007
August 23, 2007