ken51

Interesting. The serial number on the parts kit I got from Sarco earlier this year is AO 42812. That is very close to the serial number on the kit that just sold. AO 42208. Ken

After seeing this thread yesterday I dug out my bolt from the lend-lease parts kit I got earlier this year. I used the parts kit for a display gun with one of Bob's 80% recievers so the bolt was in the same condition as when I got it. To my surprise when I tried to manipulate the extractor it would not move. With some more effort I was able to get it to move, but it was very stiff. When I removed the extractor I found that it had been glued in place by whatever lubricant they had used that had dried and turned to something like varnish. After a good cleaning it seems to work fine. I don't know if this is what Bob could have run into, but I am certain that my bolt in its original condition would have caused a malfunction. Unfortunetly without a functioning gun I have no way to test the extractor now to see if it would function properly. No answers, just more questions. Ken

TD. is right. It is a trap we all fall into from time to time. I think the one thing we can all agree on is that the only rule on thumb is there is no rule of thumb. Ken

Roscoe Your right, LMR is Line MaterialCorp. Marlin barrels were marked "Marlin". I don't know what I was thinking. There was another barrel supplier, Buffalo Arms, that were mostly used for rebuilds, but I'm not sure how they were marked. There still is debate if any BA barrels were used on new rifles. When there are sub-contractors involved there is alot of grey area. Ken

I have a vested interest in this thread as I recognized the last barrel as mine. I wondered why it had no manufacturer's mark, too. All of the rest of the parts in the kit were clearly new and were clearly marked with the Savage s. I know on other weapons of that time, besides the prime contractor there may be several sub-contractors to supply parts the prime contractor may run short of, such as barrels. Marlin was such a sub-contractor for barrels on the M1 Garand. They were generaly marked LMR, but not always. Some had nothing but a drawing number. I wonder if anyone knows if there were any sub-contractors for the Thompson, and if so, Who they were? Any info on this would be helpful. Ken

Good morning gentlemen. This my first post on this board, but I have been keeping up with the topics for a while. This subject is very interesting. I have just recently purchased one of these 1928A1 kits from SARCO and am waiting for an 80% receiver from Bob at Phily Ordnance. The question that comes to my mind is, If these kits are from refurbished guns, who used them? The only ones that could have used TMSGs in these quantities would be the US military, but there are no ordnance acceptance stamps on my kit or others I have seen. Another question. The trigger frame from my kit is renumbered, but it shows no signs of wear and all of the internal parts are new. It seems strange to me that not a single serviceable used part is found. If these guns were refurbished, it seems a very exspensive way to go about it. The one thing that came with my kit that wasn't original to the gun was the stock. The stock that I got was an unfinished replacement and used butt plate. All of the other parts, including the bolt, actuator, blish lock, pilot rod ,oiler,and barrel are Savage marked and appear to be new. It would be nice to find the real story about these guns. Seems a shame that so many seemingly new Thompsons were cut up, but it does give us something to talk about. This is a great board with alot of interesting topics and a wealth of information. Keep up the good work. Ken