Doug Richardson Update

[reconbob]

Posted by Bob Bower for Doug...

BEGIN DOUG'S TEXT

Help is being provided me to salvage my website, www.ThompsonSMG.com. It seems

that the problem was that the format was so old, there was no support for it.

It will take a while but everything will be transferred to a new format that

I will be able to maintain or so I am told.

I will return to my shop (from Belize) on July 4. I hope things will be better

than the last time I returned about 5 months ago. I was sick, all my help was

sick and it seemed like everyone in California was sick. I got almost nothing

done. This time I am returning with a new wife, Rosemary. She is not really

new. Besides being 80 years old, I married her the first time in 1961. She is

also not new to Thompson. She was a partner, along with Edmond H.

DelaGarrigue, in the manufacture of the half size Thompson guns back in 1962.

She mostly made the foregrips. She will be a big help to me since my vision

is so poor.

Since I can not do much myself any more, I have had a lot of time to think.

I have made a few minor changes to the receiver manufacturing programs which

should result in reducing manufacturing time, made some changes to the

configurations of the receivers I offer and have made some major upgrades

to my semi-auto design. I am trying to hire someone to work part time in

my shop to make the semi-auto prototype as well as making some of my products

like Screw-On Grip Mounts, Thompson grip mounts, barrels, M1 & 2B Urethane

Buffers, Colt front sights, Display Pilots & Handles and 2B Pilots. I also

need help with the receiver manufacturing. It is very discouraging though

because it seems like no one wants to work any more or even has shop skills.

People are always coming along who want to partner with me but then can not

seem to focus on anything long enough to get the job done. It is also very

surprising to me that there are so many people around who have incredibly

inflated ratings of their value and capabilities. There were a couple of

indiduals in particular who claimed that my whole problem was that I would

not let them come into my shop to let them show me how to do it. I gave

them that opportunity only to discover that they were not capable of doing

much of anything.

I do not have much to report on receiver progress. It keeps moving forward,

but ever so slowly, while I try to find someone to take over from me.

Sales of my M1 and M1A1 Parts Kits are slow but steady. I guess I have the

only supply of parts kits left in the world which is really a shame. It is

basically the end of the Thompson WW2 surplus parts era. The Thompson will

never die but the increasing cost will prevent a lot of people from ever

enjoying that remarkable gun. I remember when you could buy a never issued

(new) 1928A1 surplus Thompson for $175, pay the tax and have a completely

legal transferrable machine gun. Rosemary probly remembers that I did just

that a few days after we were married the first time. She was upset because

I had spent so much money on a gun while we were "starving students" at the

University.

It is unbelievable that the Workshop Manual did not get printed the last

time I was in California. Talk about incompetence!!!! I have already

called the printer to try to get some movement there. That will be my

#1 priority when I get back. This is ridiculous.

END TEXT

[Paladin601]

Great to hear

[Blanksguy]

Yes.....great to hear.

 

RichardS

US Army, RET

Michigan 48706

[colt21a]

Doug glad you are still around.Lost another two buddies last month my contact list is less and less every year.hang in there.

Colt21aRon