RECEIVERS

“NON-GUN" RECEIVERS

I call my Thompson receivers “Display™” or “Shop™”. I do not use the term “80%” because it has no legal meaning nor does it accurately reflect the percentage of completion. Nor do I use the term “Dummy” as used by others to refer to the receivers they make which are substantially less finished and of lesser quality and are never intended to be completed into working guns.

My Thompson receivers are as complete and finished as allowed to still be classified as non-guns by the BATF. They are made from steel bars having the same alloy (SAE 1141) and are heat treated to yield the same tensile strength and hardness used in the original guns. The steel is also stress relieved to prevent twisting during machining. The bars are machined on fully automatic, computer controlled machining centers. Computer controlled machining enables edge radii to completely follow the front end contours and to properly radius the 1921/1928 drum slots and magazine cavity edges. To assure the most accurately made receivers, centerline coordinate machining is used with one set-up for all four sides, edge radii and interior in order to eliminate tolerance and error cumulations caused by changing set-ups and reference lines. The quality of these receivers exceeds the originals made by Colt, Savage or the real Auto-Ordnance Corp. (Bridgeport) or anyone else.

All my receivers are COMPLETELY finished except for the internal bolt cavity and blued (black oxided) like the originals. (Thompsons were not Parkerized when manufactured.) Pilot hole, bolt handle hole and slot and bore are finished. Barrel threads are properly formed square style. Ejector hole threads are fully qualified (timed to rotation) for proper wind up of the ejector. The extractor slot is fully formed. Feed ramps are completely finished, FLAT and smooth. “Colt” receivers have a smooth sanded surface finish. Other style receivers have a machined finish. “Colt” markings can only be ordered with “Colt” receivers.

“Display™” receivers are specially designed to incorporate features which enable them to be assembled into a display gun without further machine work. “Display™” receivers include lightening holes in the bolt cavity area to cause the weight of the receiver assembly to be the same as an original TSMG. Clearance is provided to enable the trigger housing components to function. Rear sight holes are drilled and tapped and special sight mounting screws are included. (The screw holes can be drilled out later for standard TSMG rivets if desired.) These receivers will accept all TSMG parts except the pilot/bolt/handle assembly. Since neither the original bolt handle nor pilot can be fitted, holes are drilled and tapped to accept an optional dummy bolt handle and dummy pilot. However, none of these features prevents a licensed manufacturer from completing a “Display™” receiver into a working SMG. “Display™” receivers are only available in standard 1921-1928A1 and M1/M1A1 configurations. The models 1921-1928A1 receivers are dimensionally identical as are the M1 and M1A1.

“Shop™” receivers are like “Display™” receivers except that none of the special features needed to assemble a display gun are incorporated. Rear sight attachment holes are pilot drilled for rivets and Thompson sight rivets are included. They are expected to be completed in the shop into working receivers. (Full-autos require a manufacturing license.) “Shop ™” receivers are available in all models.

The 192M(M1) receiver is a 1921/1928 receiver except that the pilot hole is sized and positioned like the M1/M1A1, the bolt handle slot has been lengthened slightly rearward and the trigger housing rail walls have been extended all the way to the back end to increase rear end strength. It is meant to have a bolt cavity identical to an M1/M1A1 except that side pockets similar to a 1921/8 receiver are recommending for weight reduction. This combination enables an M1 or M1A1 bolt, modified to have a top mounted bolt handle, to be used for simple and more reliable (especially with blanks) slam fire operation. This is particularly advantageous to studio prop shops, shooting galleries and other NFA manufacturers who wish to make an operating 1921/1928 style gun with a minimum of time and expense.

The 192M(21) receiver is essentially a 1921/1928 receiver with the trigger housing rail walls extended all the way to the back for strength like the 192M(M1) receiver and the pilot hole sized like an M1 but in the 1921/1928 position. This receiver is designed to be finished to accept a 1921 or 1928 bolt/actuator/lock assembly but eliminate the oiler so that a modified M1 pilot and Richardson 2M(21) Urethane Buffer can be used for ease of installation and better recoil spring control to create the ultimate 1921 or 1928 gun.

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(M1) receiver. 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.

For those who want to build a semi-auto gun, I offer my 192S and MS (“Shop™”) receivers which rely on the Numrich/Kahr (N/K) gun design approval. (There is no approved design that allows a TSMG receiver to be made into a semi-auto.) These receivers are 1/10” less high than a TSMG receiver and are interchangeable with the corresponding (N/K) 1927 and M1 semi-auto receivers except that the firing pin clearance groove in the top of the N/K trigger housing must be extended rearward. This is because my 192S and MS receivers are meant to have a bolt cavity that extends all the way to the back of the receiver like a TSMG. This has nothing to do with the gun being semi-auto or full auto. This is done in order to use the extra bolt travel to absorb the recoil rather than depend on ultra stiff recoil springs to do it. This requires the recoil springs holes in the bolt to be deepened to enable the use of longer pilots which are necessary to retain the recoil springs. To accommodate the extra travel and to eliminate the problem on N/K guns of the bolt handle being able to twist and jam when it reaches the hole at the end of the bolt handle slot, the bolt handle slot is also extended rearward. These receivers require a modified N/K bolt assembly, special springs (3), special Recoil Springs Pilots & Plate. A standard M1 Pilot is used as the Firing Pin Spring Pilot. My 2S and MS bolt handles are recommended. The 192S and MS receivers also differ from their N/K counterparts in that they are made from the same steel used in my TSMG receivers, the rear sight is properly positioned and the quality is much better.

NOTE: April 19, 2007 Receiver production has started after being dormant for 3 years. That doesn't mean that receivers are ready to ship or that everyone needs to call me about it. It means that I am working on it and I have a long way to go. Don't ask me when they will be finished because I don't know just like I didn't know when I would be able to start again. But at least it's happening in spite of the announcements by others of my death and/or permanent blindness. So it's no longer "IF" or "WHEN", it's NOW.

THOMPSON DISPLAY™ GUNS

These “guns” were made by fitting surplus Thompson Submachine Gun parts and dummy bolt handles and pilots to Richardson DISPLAY™ Receivers. DISPLAY™ receivers come finished and blued ready to be assembled. Assembly takes less than 30 minutes. The “gun” models shown are:

(1.) 1921 Colt with 100 cartridge Type “C” drum magazine.
(2.) Early 1928A1 with 50 cartridge Type “L” drum magazine. If this gun were fitted with a vertical foregrip, it would be a 1928 Savage.
(3.) Late 1928A1 with 20 cartridge box magazine. This version eliminated the barrel fins and all knurling of the operating handles, and replaced the adjustable rear sight with a stamped one.
(4.) M2 with stainless steel receiver fitted with an M1A1 trigger housing, electronic red dot scope, and 30 cartridge box magazine.
(5.) 1927A1 Semi-Auto fitted with a modified 1928A1 TSMG trigger housing, special Richardson barrel, and 30 cartridge semi-auto box magazine.
(6.) M1/M1A1

DISPLAY™ GUNS MADE WITH RICHARDSON RECEIVERS

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