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new member here, I bought my first semi Thompson back in 1976. that should tell you im an old guy. I have a new tm1 on the way. I do a lot of british reenacting with my grandson and have been wanting a Thompson for awhile. so my first question is when I get the sbr, can the 16.5 barrel be cut down to 10.5 inches and the front sight reattached? hate to have a wasted barrel laying around. and how hard is it to remove the barrel? thanks for any information peter

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Welcome! I'm confused with your statement - you indicate you have a AO/Kahr TM1 ordered and then your question starts with "...when I get the sbr... Do you already have an SBR? The TM1 is not an SBR since it has the 16.5" barrel.As such, it does not require application for an ATF Tax stamp. Converting the TM1 to an SBR, either by cutting down the barrel or swapping barrels would require that you go through the legal process with ATF first to acquire the tax stamp before you shorten/swap to a 10.5 inch barrel.

 

I included the links for both the TM1 and the M1SB - you can see the note on the M1SB page describing the process for acquiring the SBR-version as opposed to the normal purchase process for the TM1

 

http://www.auto-ordnance.com/firearms/thompson-tm1.asp

 

http://www.auto-ordnance.com/firearms/thompson-m1sb.asp

 

I know there are folks here who have done the conversion so they can pitch in on the process. You might also search the threads here for some guidance.

 

Be prepared to do some tweaking on the TM1 when you shoot it. The Ao/Kahr's are notorious for needing fine-tuning. My M1SB was actually pretty good when I got it but still needed a new sear and some other tweaks by the Kahr armorer - I got random 2 and 3 round bursts on my first time out with it.

Edited by Devious6
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The profile of the barrel doesn't lend itself to cutting and reinstalling the sight. Also, I think the barrels are loctited on so it's not really a easy task for an individual without the proper tools to remove anyway. You will want to send it out to someone qualified to do it. There are several people here on the board.

 

Others with more knowledge and experience with doing SBR conversations will chime in.

 

Andrew

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Actually you can cut down the barrel and with some machining fit the front sight ... I initially did this when I received my tax stamp, but I should have been patient and had it done correctly with a new barrel ... I ended up having it rebarreled with a 10.5 barrel and had to purchase a new compensator as the old one no longer fit ... Too large.

 

You can see the improvement in the looks with the proper barrel.

 

 

post-260006-0-81567800-1515679660_thumb.jpgpost-260006-0-17980600-1515679741_thumb.jpg

 

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I should clarify myself. I ordered a new tm1 with the 16.5 barrel I was just wondering after I sent off and received my sbr back if that barrel could be cut to 10.5 inches and still work with the fixed sight installed. if I didn't have to spend another 200 or so bucks for a new barrel that would be great.... I do have several sbr weapons ive had for years and I know about that wait time. my third one took 9 months.. I may just go with the philadephia ordnance barrel that only shoots blanks and do the quick change barrel setup ive read about on here... thanks to all of you for your quick responses. you will be seeing more questions from me in the near future. peter

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Yes, it can be done. When I SBRd my M1 I removed the original barrel which no one is going to buy. I then cut and crowned the barrel, machine the end for a bushing so that I could install the original sight. I'll look for pics and post when I can.

I am interested in trying this after I get the stamp. Can you post some pics? Also, what machining did you do in order to refit the front sight? Thanks.

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  • 3 weeks later...

The 16" barrel on new Thompsons can definitely be cut back to 10.5" and the sight pinned in place. Morgan at class3machining did a set of them. Cut the barrel, machined a spot for the sight, pushed the sight back, pinned it, and threaded them for suppressors. All for less than you'd pay for a new barrel from greenmountain. This set has the compensator on it that got machined off to make room for the threads.

 

Screen_Shot_2018_10_02_at_8_12_11_PM.png

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