Welcome to 1928 Navy #7976

[GaryKeim]

I recently took possession of #7976 via respected member auto-ord-co. Ive fired it and (1) it is so smooth, (2) I think the Cutts contributes to that, and (3) I really need a recoil spring tool badly... took me 15 minutes to wrangle that thing in place.

 

Edited September 8, 2019 by GaryKeim

[LSU Tiger]

Very nice example!

[deerslayer]

Very nice looking gun! Great that you enjoy shooting it! Worth mentioning just in case you're not aware.. Don't use the original actuator... Get a later GI one to use, protect the valuable original colt part.

[GaryKeim]

Yes, Bill graciously included a 1928A1 actuator for shooting.

 

He also include a good amount of historical documentation but a mystery persists... it was originally sold as a 1921A but somewhere along the line it was sent back to the factory and converted to a Navy.

Edited September 8, 2019 by GaryKeim

[Kilroy]

Nice Thompson, it looks beautiful. Im unfamiliar with the 'recoil spring tool, what is that? I have a much later 28A1 and I just use a pin, but maybe I dont know something about Colts.

[huggytree]

Use a paper lip to hold your recoil spring during assembly

 

Should take you 5 seconds once you figure it out

 

Beautiful gun

[Sig]

Use a paper lip to hold your recoil spring during assembly

 

Should take you 5 seconds once you figure it out

 

Beautiful gun

 

 

I personally have never owned a Colt Navy, just 21's but as far as I know. If the buffer pilot is original, as in a "in the white" Colt original, then I do not believe there is a hole to insert a paper clip for purposes of spring retention during installation. At least parts I have seen were as such.

[Merry Ploughboy]

Extremely nice Thompson. Congratulations and enjoy.

 

What I did when I had an original Navy buffer pilot (i.e., no hole) was to buy a small lock jaw pliers and grind the outer edges of the jaws to fit in the receiver channel when clamped on the buffer pilot. The inner griping surfaces of the jaws were taped to prevent damage to the buffer pilot. I eventually bought a WWII era buffer pilot.

 

Be well.

[Petroleum 1]

Nice thompson Gary good luck with it !!

[huggytree]

swap pilots,save your original and use the paper clip trick

 

I was wondering if colts had that hole or not(didn't know)

[mnshooter]

Beautiful Navy!

If you're using the original no-hole pilot, it probably means you're also using the original red or gray lifesaver sized buffer;

it's next to worthless as a buffer.

So, stop using both of them!

 

Use your newly acquired 28 GI pilot along with a modern buffer that actually buffers.

TD had both of these parts at the last TATA: Maybe he still has some?

If he doesn't, Phil Askew probably does.

 

Curious: which style Navy Actuator do you have?

If you don't know which one, you also still need to buy TD's excellent new book: "Colt Thompson's for Dummies" -or something like that.

Edited September 9, 2019 by mnshooter

[rpbcps]

I recently took possession of #7976 via respected member auto-ord-co. Ive fired it and (1) it is so smooth, (2) I think the Cutts contributes to that, and (3) I really need a recoil spring tool badly... took me 15 minutes to wrangle that thing in place.

 

Beautiful Thompson, something to be proud off.

 

Is this the recoil spring tool you are talking about?

 

http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14652&page=2&hl=%2Bstripping+%2Btool&do=findComment&comment=121685

 

If so, Richard Garcia, (rgarcia on this board), had one for sale:

 

"Original WW2 British manufactured but send to Norway 1928 recoil spring tool used to hold the spring compressed while installing it back into the Thompson".

 

Stay safe

 

Richard

Edited September 8, 2019 by rpbcps

[GaryKeim]

Beautiful Navy!

Curious: which style Navy Actuator do you have?

If you don't know, you also still need to buy TD's excellent new book: "Colt Thompson's for Dummies" -or something like that.

This post was about a spare I acquired, and I dont really need since I have the original and wont be shooting it, but the original is the same. Theyre both type 1.

 

http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=22356&p=196922

 

I actually acquired a complete set of upper spare parts. The spare buffer disk is hard as a rock but the one in #7976 is still partially pliable.

Edited September 8, 2019 by GaryKeim

[El Duce]

That is beautiful!

[reconbob]

Yes, that is a gorgeous gun. It's good to know that they are out there.

Question for the experts - is the finish on the wood the correct factory finish?

Or did it maybe pick up a coat of shellac somewhere along the way? I am

asking because the finish is so thick there is no longer any grain of the

wood visible and so shiny that it could be urethane. I don't see enough

primo condition Colts to know but the few others I recall seeing did not have

such a thick and shiny finish.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Bob

[gijive]

Yes, that is a gorgeous gun. It's good to know that they are out there.

Question for the experts - is the finish on the wood the correct factory finish?

Or did it maybe pick up a coat of shellac somewhere along the way? I am

asking because the finish is so thick there is no longer any grain of the

wood visible and so shiny that it could be urethane. I don't see enough

primo condition Colts to know but the few others I recall seeing did not have

such a thick and shiny finish.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Bob

Bob,

 

I recall seeing the gun when it was owned by the person the current owner purchased it from. I do not remember the shiny shellac or urethane finish. It was the natural linseed oil finish on the gun. I haven't seen the guns for over ten years, however. I believe the current finish is somewhat recent.

[GaryKeim]

recall seeing the gun when it was owned by the person the current owner purchased it from. I do not remember the shiny shellac or urethane finish. It was the natural linseed oil finish on the gun. I haven't seen the guns for over ten years, however. I believe the current finish is somewhat recent.

 

From the docs I received with the gun: "... some may think that the gun was refinished but it was not. The black walnut stocks have been treated before I owned the gun, with a product called Tru-Oil, I believe. This product gives them a slightly more glossy finish."

[Chopper28]

Had a recoil spring tool made using a steel .45 pistol cleaning rod. 5.5 inches long, tip is .5 inches long. tip diameter is just under the size of the hole in the buffer pilot, works great and looks like the original. All you need is the rod and a lathe {or a friend with a lathe}. Takes just a minute or two to turn it. FWIW

[aut-ord-co]

I owned this Colt Thompson for forty years from January 1979 until it sold last year. The finish was as stated as far as I know.

 

I showed this gun to a couple of as described knowledgeable stock finishers at The Forks of the Delaware show in Pennsylvania in July 2001. Their independent observation was Tru-Oil on the stock.

 

So for 40 years in my possession that was the finish on the gun and no secret about it and no changes ever made. Though it may look like it in the photo, the finish is not thick at all. I can't get some earlier photos to post from

about 9-10 years ago right now for some reason.

 

Light, angle, cameras, etc., always make a difference when taking a photo.

[motorgun]

I have re-finished several shotgun stocks with Tru-Oil and they look exactly like 7976's wood. Tru-Oil fills in the grain and if enough coats are applied, begins to look like a urethane finish. It appears to me that only one, or very few, coats of Tru-Oil were applied to 7976. The boiled linseed oil I'm currently using on my 28's wood, following the instructions in TD's book seems to absorb into the wood and leave a low gloss finish, with the grain still present.

 

If Gary were at all concerned about the glossy finish, which I don't think he should be, I bet a clean and re-oil of the wood following TD's method would restore it to the factory, low gloss, look without damaging the wood in any manner. This is predicated on whether or not the acetone used in the first part of the cleaning process will remove the Tru-Oil.

 

TD, what do you think?

[GaryKeim]

If Gary were at all concerned about the glossy finish, which I don't think he should be...

 

I think it looks great, and the grain is very visible in person.

[Player_To_Be_Named]

Awesome, Gary. Thanks for sharing the photos and history.

[gijive]

I owned this Colt Thompson for forty years from January 1979 until it sold last year. The finish was as stated as far as I know.

 

I showed this gun to a couple of as described knowledgeable stock finishers at The Forks of the Delaware show in Pennsylvania in July 2001. Their independent observation was Tru-Oil on the stock.

 

So for 40 years in my possession that was the finish on the gun and no secret about it and no changes ever made. Though it may look like it in the photo, the finish is not thick at all. I can't get some earlier photos to post from

about 9-10 years ago right now for some reason.

 

Light, angle, cameras, etc., always make a difference when taking a photo.

Bill,

 

You are correct, of course, light, angle, camera, makes a difference. I guess my memory was failing me, I didn't recall the finish appearing shiny. Of course, the gun was always a beautiful specimen!