TennesseeTaylor95 Posted July 26, 2022 Report Share Posted July 26, 2022 Good afternoon everyone. I recently purchased a fully machined, partially marked, and unfinished 1928 trigger frame that Numrich used to sell years ago. I purchased this with the intent of it going on my display Colt thompson that I am slowly piecing together. I have done the metal prep (filing and sanding) to the trigger frame and now I am reaching out to you guys about who you would recommend that I send the stripped trigger frame to for some engraving (adding the Colt/Savage style two-row "Full Auto" marking along with the "Single" marking with the arrow above it as well as have the SN on my display gun engraved on the bottom of the trigger frame in the proper location where 1921/1928/1928A1 thomspon trigger frames were marked from the factory) and having it hot dip blued. So, with all of that explaining out of the way, who would you recommend that I get in contact with to have these tasks done? I have reached out to Howell Arms inquiring about this job with no response and I haven't been able to find an email for Tom Hanson at Las Cruces Gunsmith to ask him about the job, so I am all ears on who you recommend for this. Here is a photo of the trigger frame so you can see that it lacks some markings and a finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RachetGun85 Posted July 26, 2022 Report Share Posted July 26, 2022 Here is Tom Hansons number 845-901-1270 he does really nice work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted July 26, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2022 Thank you very much RachetGun85! I will give him a call tomorrow. I have been eyeing up his 1921 style safety, rocker pivot, and magazine catch as well so maybe he can be a one stop shop for me with this build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Countryboy77 Posted July 27, 2022 Report Share Posted July 27, 2022 Recon Bob of Philidelphia ord I was told would do it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Countryboy77 Posted July 27, 2022 Report Share Posted July 27, 2022 So you got that frame fron gunguyr? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted July 27, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2022 Ok thanks for the info Countryboy77, I will have to reach back out to reconbob to see if he would be kind enough to help me out on this. Yes, I was able to get the trigger frame from him after a couple months of waiting due to his work load at the time didn't allow him to get it to the post office and he didn't want to receive payment on it until he was able to send it. I got it yesterday morning and spent yesterday evening removing all of the deep scratches and milling marks so now it is ready for the next step in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted July 27, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2022 Well I just got an email response from reconbob and he is unable to assist me in the engraving/marking task. He enlightened me on how he engraves his trigger frames which he does while they are still in block form in order to not potentially crush or deform any part of the trigger frame once it is milled. So now that he is out, it is up to Howell Arms, Las Cruces Gunsmith, or someone that has a good pantograph machine that could manually engrave the markings but I would have to figure out how to make the arrow marking since I would imagine that it isn't a standard symbol in the pantograph letter sets. Or maybe I can find someone with a laser engraver that can do it.There's a few options out there; I just have to look hard enough for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giantpanda4 Posted July 27, 2022 Report Share Posted July 27, 2022 You might try GotUzi on the Board here. He has the capability to letter the frame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got Uzi Posted July 27, 2022 Report Share Posted July 27, 2022 Guess it helps to have a CNC mill sitting in the shop huh......? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted July 27, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2022 Thank you for the recommendation giantpanda4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted July 27, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2022 Got Uzi, you definitely have one up on me (and probably many, many more) with having access to a CNC mill (maybe one day I can get a hobbyist milling machine or find an affordable used knee mill, but that goal is further down the road for me). Would you be willing to put these markings and serial number on this trigger frame for me? I would be happy to discuss this further over PM or email if you are willing to do the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motorcar Posted July 28, 2022 Report Share Posted July 28, 2022 Deerslayer Dan Block had a line on laser engraving, he had a post on it with photos, looked really nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted July 28, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2022 Thank you Motorcar for the info. I have my WH 1927A1 at his shop for some work right now and that trigger frame is waiting to be hot dipped by his guy so maybe his contact still laser engraves and could engrave mine and then Dan could send both off to get blued at the same time. I will have to reach out to him about this possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerslayer Posted July 28, 2022 Report Share Posted July 28, 2022 The laser guy is different than the bluing guy...lol. bluing guy is about 30 minutes from me. https://m.facebook.com/213808252447504/ Roe defense. Ffl/sot dealer I've worked with on a few projects. They are about an hour away from me. Last laser project was to replicate British and other proof markings on a receiver. Then we went and drove tanks at another nearby dealer. Nice to have talented folks handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted July 28, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2022 Thanks for the reply deerslayer! I was about to send you an email asking about this. Thanks for the link to the laser engraver's Facebook page. I will try to reach out to them tomorrow about this to see if I get an estimated cost and turnaround time for the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJX Posted July 31, 2022 Report Share Posted July 31, 2022 Sounds like a great project.I did not see if you mentioned a serial number range of your receiver, so this thought might not be appropriate. Instead of the two-row "Full Auto" marking, have you considered the earlier "Automatic" and "Semi Automatic" markings? Would go well with the 1921-style fire control levers and magazine catch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted August 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 Good suggestion on the earlier rocker pivot markings, but they wouldn't be correct for the serial number that I had applied to the display receiver. I went with the number 15,607 for my receiver and trigger frame for the very reason you mention as to not be seen as a forgery or counterfeit Colt 1921AC. The SN is outside of the Colt SN block and is in the very early Savage model of 1928 serial number block so it wouldn't be mistaken as a correct, original Colt trigger frame. Although the rocker pivot markings are correct for both Colt and Savage, the way the SN is laid out on the trigger frame it is different from how Savage marked their serial numbers on their trigger frames with a S prefix. When you add in the couple of machining differences on my trigger frame (squared T slot for the magazine rib that you would see on M1/M1A1 or later made thompsons, and a radiused part of the trigger frame above the back of the grip where the grip area transitions to the stock slide portion) and compare them to an original, it should be quite easy for someone that is knowledgeable in thompsons to pick out as red flags. As for the markings, a trophy shop that is just down the road from my house said that they could apply the markings and even allowed me to oversee the engraving to ensure that it would be placed properly. So by the end of the day on Thursday, I had the trigger frame engraved. With that hurdle out of the way, I decided to have a go at rust bluing the trigger frame to save some cash hoping that I would be able to make it blend together with the hot dipped P.O. 80% receiver. Mind you, it has been maybe 4 or 5 years since I last rust blued anything and I lost my Pilkington rust bluing instructions (can you see me already getting my excuses prepared for a lack luster job? Haha), so I tried my best to remember what process worked best for me. Fast forward to now, I just got done carding and applying wax to the trigger frame as it is looks pretty close to the finish on the receiver and I felt that another application of rusting solution would probably not yield much of a darker finish. It isn't the greatest job that I have done, but it works and it is close enough to the receiver finish for me (I have always had Pilkington's American rust bluing solution leave more of a dark blue/grey finish rather than a dark blue/black finish no matter if I go through 2 or 5 rounds of rusting/boiling/carding; I will get it figured out one of these days). So here is where I am at with the trigger frame (sorry for the poorly done pictures). The next step is to either place an order at Las Cruces Gunsmith for a 1921 Colt style magazine catch, rocker pivot, and safety, or order a 1921 Colt profiled barrel from thompson barrels.com. It is slowly coming along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giantpanda4 Posted August 1, 2022 Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 (edited) Interesting that you selected serial number #15607. Any reason why? -never mind - I see it! Edited August 1, 2022 by giantpanda4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted August 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 Part of it was to get a number close, but out of the Colt SN block so I started with a number in the 15,xxx range since Colt stopped at 15,040 if I remember correctly. Then, I just made the hundreds, tens, and one place value of the serial number a representation of my birth date (June 7th; 6 for sixth month and 07 for seventh day) so all together it comes across as 15,607. Nothing special, I just didn't have a better SN thought up off the top of my head at the time reconbob wanted my SN for the receiver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bug Posted August 1, 2022 Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 I wonder where Savage 15607 is today... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted August 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 Boy, I sure would love to know. Hopefully it is still around somewhere and didn't wind up getting melted down or thrown into the ocean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now