Jump to content

Connor

Regular Group
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    37

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Connor

  5. New Thompson Barrel Removal/install tool

    in Thompson Semi-Auto Discussion Forum (West Hurley & Kahr Semis)

    Posted

    On 2/24/2025 at 6:35 PM, jonnyjon88 said:

    Got the latest iteration of the barrel wrench in today, and just spun the barrel off my m1 thompson. It worked great! Thank you sir for making these! 

    Hey! Thank you for following up and sorry for the late reply! I’m happy it worked for you, it’s always good to hear back from customers and their successes. 
     

    side note (and quick plug) I made a first gen handled Thompson barrel wrench for a customer this week and made a spare so if anyone is in need for an original wrench it is $175 shipped in the us. I almost always stock the latest gen that is compatible with the 1/2” breaker bar and those are still $120 shipped. 
     

    Thanks again for the business John!

  6. New Thompson Barrel Removal/install tool

    in Thompson Semi-Auto Discussion Forum (West Hurley & Kahr Semis)

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Vettom said:

    I have a barrel wrench from a Doug Richardson design. To make sure you don't chance a mark on the barrel mine needs a paper business card to insert between the barrel and tool. FWIW 

    Appreciate the concern. I usually recommend a barrier as well. I’ve used paper and / or painters /electrical tape as an intermediate surface. A business card might be too thick for my wrench. 

    the Doug Richardson wrenches work great. I’ve thought about reproducing them but it’s slightly cost prohibitive. 
     

    Connor

  8. Semi Auto PPSH-41 SBR Build from a polish parts kit with pictures

    in Russian Submachine Gun Forum

    Posted

    On 9/17/2024 at 7:00 PM, signal_4 said:

    Great Build !!!! I just got my form 1 back on my 1944 Molot. Got the kit from Appalachian Arms.  My bolt is striker fired. I had Justin Polhamus, JP machine, do the conversions bolt, lower,and FCG and I did the rest. Trigger set is still original. Used a KP products 9mm barrel. 

    IMG_4918.jpeg

    IMG_4916.jpeg

    IMG_4917.jpeg

    Awesome build to you as well! Hardly looks like a reweld. There is something to be said about doing the striker fire build. I really like the markings and year of mfg on your receiver. I was lucky enough to have both those areas blown out from torch cuts. 

  10. New Thompson Barrel Removal/install tool

    in Thompson Semi-Auto Discussion Forum (West Hurley & Kahr Semis)

    Posted · Edited by Connor

    Well I am changing things up a bit and I think this will benefit most customers. The new standard barrel wrench will be compatible with a standard 1/2” breaker bar. This brings my material cost down, reduces welding time, and will allow me to use standard packaging. These new wrenches are going to start at $120 shipped in the lower 48. All wrenches come with 1/2” aluminum receiver spacers and instructions. 
    I will still offer the last wrench style with the built in handle if you prefer. Please see the pictures attached and feel free to ask any questions. If interested, please inquire at patriotfabanddesign@yahoo.com

     

    Breaker bar not included. 

     

    IMG_0305.jpeg

    IMG_0306.jpeg

    IMG_0307.jpeg

    IMG_0308.jpeg

    IMG_0309.jpeg

    IMG_0310.jpeg

    • Like 1

  13. New Thompson Barrel Removal/install tool

    in Thompson Semi-Auto Discussion Forum (West Hurley & Kahr Semis)

    Posted

    I’ve started making two different types of barrel wrenches. One is a “shorted” version for removing SBR barrels, MG barrels, or parts kits barrel stubs. There is no benefit of using my original 4” barrel wrench on 10.5” barrels because the barrel taper on 10.5” barrels starts around 2”. So I’ve made a 3” “shorted” (shortest I could make it). One additional benefit to the “shortened” wrench is that it is easier to get around the grip tang then the 4” model, less room for it to bind before the grip tang returns to its home position. The original 4” wrench is still the suggested tool for removing S/A 16” Kahr barrels to maximize barrel surface area contact, but either wrench will work for installing your new barrel, whatever the length.
    Let me know if you have any questions! I also currently have wrenches in stock ready to ship!

    Thanks!

    -Connor 

    IMG_9912.jpeg

  15. Semi Auto PPSH-41 SBR Build from a polish parts kit with pictures

    in Russian Submachine Gun Forum

    Posted

    On 9/4/2024 at 6:35 PM, PMW6769 said:

    How hard was the receiver to weld back together? Also does the barrel just float inside the shroud except for the bottom being attached to the trunion? 

    Receiver was fairly easy to weld back together. The outside of the receiver was very easy to clean up post weld but the inside was much more difficult. I’ll definitely be using a welding jig next time to prevent over penetration on the inside. I used a grinder to clean up the majority of the work and dremel to fine tune the welds on the inside. 
     

    the barrel is just floating in the shroud. It’s held in place by the front trunnion, the barrel slightly over laps the start of the primitive muzzle break. 
     

    Hope this helps!

  16. New Thompson Barrel Removal/install tool

    in Thompson Semi-Auto Discussion Forum (West Hurley & Kahr Semis)

    Posted · Edited by Connor
    Typo

    For anyone who is curious, I am still making these. I am very grateful for the response thus far and I have been trying to keep these in stock. I’ve made a few changes lately to optimize performance that I wanted to post about.
     

    1.  I have switched over to grade 8 hardware to handle higher stress applications.

    2. I also began welding the nuts to the bottom side of the wrench so that only one box wrench or socket is needed to tighten the clamp.

    3. Lastly, I added a mfg process to turn the ID on my lathe to add a nice bevel prior to welding the wrench together. This bevel aids in installation for all Thompsons but this addition was fairly necessary when working on 1928 models with the square profile fins. The problem comes from trying to stay concentric to the fins while fighting the grip tang. If you have one of my wrenches and have a 1928, this bevel can be added with about 10 minutes of dremel work with a 1/2” diameter 60grit drum sander.

    The cost for the wrench is $150 + shipping. This includes the receiver spacers which can be used to “space” the nose section of the receiver off the vice or shop press. 

    If you are interested, please send me your shipping address and information to patriotfabanddesign@yahoo.com and I’ll get a shipping quote for you. I usually have a few in stock and continuously replace them but my lead times are a few days to a week if it gets busy. Wrenches are built in Reno, Nevada and generally shipping is $12-15 on the west coast and goes up to about $20-$25 on the east coast. Note: I am not going to be doing anymore international shipments. 

    I will also have a new YouTube video posted soon about removing a 1928 Thompson barrel from a customers parts kit. This was a fun experience. 

    Please feel free to let me know if there are any questions. 

    IMG_9512.jpeg

  18. Semi Auto PPSH-41 SBR Build from a polish parts kit with pictures

    in Russian Submachine Gun Forum

    Posted · Edited by Connor

    Sharing my hammer fired PPSH design here. Been meaning to post this for over a year but it’s taking this long to work out some kinks. Finally, I am ready to post about the lessons learned. 
     

    Picked up a polish parts kit from Robert RTG in 22’ as well as a 9mm barrel from apex. The kit was freaking nice, probably unissued. 
     

    submitted my form 1 immediately, approval took about 30 days back in spring of 23’. I got started working on the trigger mechanism while I was waiting for the form 1 to be approved. Many guys do the striker fired design, nothing wrong with that, I was just determined to make a hammer fired mechanism work. I read that an sks trigger group will work but never saw a good write up on it. So I bought an “incomplete” sks trigger group for $40 on apex and made it work with the ppsh trigger housing. I didn’t make any mods to the sks trigger at first, wanted to see what would work /fail first so I pinned the sks trigger housing to the ppsh trigger housing. 
     

    I then had to machine the lower receiver of the ppsh to make room for the sks hammer and disconnect or to protrude through. I welded an extension to the disconnector so that it engaged with the ppsh bolt, it just needed to be .200 longer and .060 to one side, talk about precise welding. This disconnector is important bc it prevents someone from pulling the trigger while the bolt was out of battery. I welded in a simple blocking bar to the lower, and notched the ppsh trigger housing accordingly and wala I had a semi auto lower. 
     

    Now for the fun part: The bolt modifications. I still removed .900” from the back end of the bolt just like a sticker fire design but didn’t reuse the cut off material. I removed the fixed firing pin, turned my own firing pin housing on a lathe that fit the same hole (thru hole was for an ar style firing pin), relocated the recoil spring to the side of the bolt by machining a pocket with a ball end mill that the recoil spring drops into, machined out the base of the bolt with a ramp that would cock the hammer after being fired, started with an AR firing pin but ended up having to modify it slightly, made a firing pin extension out of tool steel for the hammer to strike, and lastly welded in a blocking bar to the upper receiver as well as a respective slot on the bolt for it to ride.
     

    Many guys who run 9mm in ppsh mags have nosedive issues as well. The .220” difference is cartridge length is the culprit. I was no exception to those flaws. I have modified my drums with .187” steel spacers that I welded in place but haven’t gotten around to modifying my stick mags yet. The spacers worked good after I dremelled the each spacer into an acceptable feed ramp.
     

    No issues welding the receiver back together, it’s straight enough, I see flaws but most guys don’t. I recommend using an aluminum or brass backing plate to minimize cleanup on the inside of the reciever. It’s hard to clean up welds on the inside of the receiver with a grinder, a dremel works but it’s time consuming.
     

    fitting the barrel was simple enough. I cut the 1/2-28 threads off the front. I wanted an “original” length barrel to utilize the primitive muzzle brake. If you leave the threads, the barrel sticks past the front of the brake. Didn’t worry too much about recrowning, just lightly sanded the muzzle. You must match drill the barrel to the trunnion. I set the barrel to my desired depth in the trunnion. You could bottom the shoulder of the barrel out on the trunnion, which is probably what you would do with a tok barrel, but I placed my barrel closer to the magazine due to the .220 difference in cartridge length of the 9mm. The barrel was soft enough that a new TiN coated 1/2 drill bit worked great, go slow. 
     

    finished off the build with armor black cerakote and she’s looking good.
     

    All in: 

    $650 parts kit (now they are $500 with a 9mm barrel on Bowmanarms.com)

    threaded barrel from Atlantic: $150

    sks trigger group from apex: $40

    3 drums($80ea): $240

    3 stick mags ($50 ea): $150  

    Tax stamp to the man: $200

    Total: $1430

    Honestly this was a big project in my book, I was happy to take it on but I easily have a few hundred hours invested. Nothing cooler than shooting my ppsh though next to some guys at the range that just dumped over a grand into their PCC. The ppsh draws some cool attention for sure. 
     

    over 1000 rounds of 147gr AAC through it at this point with many hick ups. Most of my failure to feed issues improved though after I modified the drum feed lips. Running much better now. 

    Happy to answer any questions about this build, just had to get this off this off my chest. 
     

    cheers, 

    IMG_4857.jpeg

    IMG_4691.jpeg

    IMG_4690.jpeg

    IMG_4689.jpeg

    IMG_4653.jpeg

    IMG_4650.jpeg

    IMG_4651.jpeg

    IMG_4652.jpeg

    IMG_8966.jpeg

    IMG_8967.jpeg

    IMG_8968.jpeg

    IMG_8971.jpeg

    IMG_8972.jpeg

    IMG_5163.jpeg

    70095422513__74ABAC20-4A9C-48A6-B55F-C90813634917.jpeg

    • Like 2

  19. Running 9 Para in a PPSh Drum?

    in Russian Submachine Gun Forum

    Posted · Edited by Connor

    I too have nosediving issues in drums and stick mags. This was my solution for the drums. I drew up a quick .187 spacer that fit the profile of the feedlip, had a local laser cutter cut these out for me with extras. Welded them in place on the drum, and dremelled the feed ramp back to the point that looked right. I chambered about a dozen rounds and they all fed. Planning on some testing this weekend, hopefully with some good results, it looks like it should work. 
     

    I don’t quite have a solution for the stick mags yet b/c you can’t weld spacers from the inside of the stick mag like you can with the drums. This spacer also doesn’t interfere with the drum follower… it would interfere with a stick mag. 
     

    if they work, I’ll drop the file here incase anyone else wants to do the same thing. 

    IMG_8966.jpeg

    IMG_8967.jpeg

    IMG_8969.jpeg

    IMG_8973.jpeg

    IMG_8974.jpeg

    IMG_8972.jpeg

    IMG_8971.jpeg

  24. New Thompson Barrel Removal/install tool

    in Thompson Semi-Auto Discussion Forum (West Hurley & Kahr Semis)

    Posted

    Hey man, thanks for sharing. 

    That is an interesting option. Is the barrel you put back on a finned barrel or un-finned? Only curious because I imagine a smooth Thompson barrel would have less friction with the wire leash than a finned barrel would. 

    Im glad it worked for you but I too would have my doubts that it would always work. Not hating on the idea, it’s a cheaper option that might be worth trying. I will say it is nice having a dedicated tool that you know works every time. 

  25. New Thompson Barrel Removal/install tool

    in Thompson Semi-Auto Discussion Forum (West Hurley & Kahr Semis)

    Posted

    I just posted a quick tutorial video on YouTube on using this wrench. I know I am a visual person and it makes way more sense watching the video than it does following the instructions that I send with each wrench. 
     

    I know there are other wrenches out there, such as the Doug Richardson wrenches, which I believe have more pieces and they are machined out of a block of tool steel. No doubt those wrenches are more solid. I developed these new wrenches to be a cost effective alternative to Doug’s awesome and proven design. 
     

    Some pertinent info:

    - This wrench will work with

           - finned or non finned barrels.
           - barrel diameters from .970-1.005. 
           -1927, 1928, M1A1 receivers  

    Reach out with questions or comments. 
     

     

    • Like 1
×
×
  • Create New...