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Thompson Repair


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Five years ago I was looking to get a 1928 west hurley repaired, the word was go to Paul Krogh. Contacted Mr. Krogh and was told the wait was 5 years and he would put me in his que. I figured I could wait seeing as I had another working Thompson. On December 12th Mr. Krogh notified me by e-mail that he was semi-retiring and would not be able to work on my gun. After the shock and disappointment has started to fade I am now looking for a gunsmith who handles Thompsons ( I now realize I should have been reaching out 5 years ago). So if any of you knowledgeable fellows have any suggestions please let me know, Thanks Jeff

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PK did one for me about a year ago and I could not have been more pleased. I had no issues with the gun, it ran fine, but WOW PK's work was something to behold. I will never regret having had him do his magic on my Tommy.

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I can attest to Dan Block doing awesome work and I’ve referred several friends to him. He made the Thompson run well. I can also attest to Andrewski being a fantastic gunsmith and down to earth too. If you’re looking for Blish slots to be fixed then Andrewski is your guy since PK isn’t taking new additions to his list.

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Not attesting to the capabilities of any Thompson gunsmith suggested.

 

The WH Thompsons are unique in that many, not all, have issues that were there from the factory, see post #15 of this thread posted by PK, text copied here.

There are other threads on this topic, including other posts from PK. One post I remember was specific to inspecting the blish lock channels, sorry I looked but did not find it YET! Will look more.

EDIT

FOUND it thanks to David Albert, see link toward the bottom.

 

If I owned a WH and wanted repair, I would be asking specific questions of the potential Thompson gunsmith, to understand their capabilities to inspect and potentially correct any issues with the blish lock channels.

 

http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=10998&st=0

 

POST from PK, #15 in the link above

I am sorry to be getting into this so late, but appreciate the opportunity to contribute.


My experience leads me to believe that 95% of all WH 28’s have malformed and or misplaced locking slots in the receiver. This malady will result in increased bolt velocities because the Bliss lock can’t do it’s job, and that translates into additional stress at the back of the receiver when the bolt is arrested by striking the pilot flange. This force can be sufficient to crack the receiver with just normal use.

This fault requires serious reconstruction and it alone mandates a full restoration of the gun in my opinion. It is clearly understood by most Thompson fans that the WH guns were not made well in general and are plagued by a plethora of poorly performed operations on the manufacturing floor. When we refurbish a WH Thompson, all important features and dimensions are brought up to the GI standard, insuring not only proper function, but also longevity. Needless to say, such comprehensive treatment will require refinishing. When so treated, the WH gun will look and work as well as any.

This month the queue for major corrections surpassed two years for the first time; this will vary of course, demand has decreased with the recent economic circumstances. Interested parties are placed in line and contacted when it’s their turn for service. After I receive a gun it will usually require about 3 months total to work it through the system with the others in that group. I work groups of guns to combine operations and reduce costs for everyone.

Because each gun is a unique combination of faults, it is impossible to predict a cost. All work is done on a time and materials basis, I will not quote a figure for either time or cost because I’d be guessing. If I guess low, I loose. If I guess high, you loose. Not fair to anyone. A typical fully refurbished gun can take 20-40 hours and parts. I usually advise folks considering the purchase of a stock WH 28 to consider $2800 for correction during negotiation.

Considering the time and effort required, the value for dollar spent is considerable, and the resulting gun will be a joy to own and shoot for a lifetime. I can’t afford a GI gun let alone a Colt, but my WH is doing just fine, thank you. smile.gif

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity I have had to work with so many of you, it is always a pleasure. My true reward is the satisfaction derived from a good Thompson.

 

 

FOUND the reference thread on Blish Lock Inspection.

http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12622

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Sig,

Well said.

Thankful that you put to print what I was thinking.

A doctor that is an expert at curing athletes foot may not be the best for brain surgery.

Likewise a gunsmith that excels at blueing may not be up to remaching Blish locks.

I feel sorry for WH owners that are in need of this service, but they had better ask a lot of questions before leaving their WH with a 'gunsmith'.

Jim C

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I want to thank everyone for your help and suggestions, I will be contacting the people you recommended this week. And Sig, you hit the nail on the head. That is exactly the situation with my gun. I will post when I feel I have found a qualified gunsmith familliar with Thompsons and also post the eventual outcome. Thanks again.

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+1 for an excellent post and summation by SIG.j I hate to hear PK. is now semi-retired. I do hope he is still doing some re-manufacturing for the AOC West Hurley Thompson guns. Perhaps, he will chime in and let us know his future plans. His work is simply the best!

 

I do agree that the improperly machined Blish lock slots is likely the most serious problem and the most labor intensive to correct.But there are other problems with the WH guns too, i.e. pilot hole out of round or improper size.

 

I have heard great things about John Andrewski and his gunsmith skills. However, I have never seen a picture of the Andrewski corrected Blish lock slots on a West Hurley 1928 Thompson gun. And I have asked for pictures several times on this forum. Would someone please post a picture of his work. Thanks!

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it is my understanding that the recievers for the WH - numrich guns were made by a subcontractor for numrich, i wonder if numrich got any of the original tooling or inspection gages when they bought out the thompson package ? anybody got any idea ? anybody know of anybody who worked at numrich at this time ? just wonderring

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+1 for an excellent post and summation by SIG.j I hate to hear PK. is now semi-retired. I do hope he is still doing some re-manufacturing for the AOC West Hurley Thompson guns. Perhaps, he will chime in and let us know his future plans. His work is simply the best!

 

I do agree that the improperly machined Blish lock slots is likely the most serious problem and the most labor intensive to correct.But there are other problems with the WH guns too, i.e. pilot hole out of round or improper size.

 

I have heard great things about John Andrewski and his gunsmith skills. However, I have never seen a picture of the Andrewski corrected Blish lock slots on a West Hurley 1928 Thompson gun. And I have asked for pictures several times on this forum. Would someone please post a picture of his work. Thanks!

I retract my recommendation to use Andrewski. I have additional weapons that need repaired by him and his wait list will be absolutely horrible if more folks use him. :D

Edited by NFA amnesty
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After a lot of careful consideration during a troubling last couple of years I decided that a review of was in order, and determined that the current queue was too large. I therefor chose to advise the latest entries that it was unlikely that I would be able to service them, believing this was the honest and decent thing to do. I did not say that I was semi-retired, but in truth, with age and time, I have slowed down a bit. If you did not receive the notification mentioned above then you are still in queue.
I’m sorry for any confusion I may have caused, and for any unfulfilled expectations.

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I also received this bad news for my WH M1. I am not complaining and appreciate everything PK has done for our community. I think it's agreed by all that he is the best Thompson smith in the world. As PK's career slows I hope his vast amount of knowledge and experience is transferred to another gunsmith that will keep the business going. For my next steps thankfully the M1 is working ok so no big hurry, and less issues without the blish lock slots. I have heard the main issue with Hurley M1 series is the magazine area of the receiver being out of GI spec. I will probably reach out to Andrewski, he did wonders on a Winchester BAR for me a few years back.
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  • 2 weeks later...

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