Doug Quaid Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 It occurred to me that I've never seen anything "official" saying that drums need to be packed solid with grease. Is there such a document that indicates this? Maybe an army manual? Maybe it's one of those things where everyone just assumes that someone else researched it. Like all the board members of Theranos assuming that the other board members did a scientific test of Elizabeth Holmes' invention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Quaid Posted March 12 Author Report Share Posted March 12 The reason I ask is because it seems to me that if you were supposed to grease the drums there would be an "official" tool out there. Like some brass gizmo from 1921 or a special army lube gun. Also, I am trying to think of any other instance where a gun component is packed with grease and I cannot think of any. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurencen Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 good question, can not recall any mechanical assembly you pack with grease, from factory they should have been lubricated and assume its good for life, well expected lifr, has any drum failed due to not being filled of grease? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 Excellent post, not only about TSMG drums, but Suomi, PPSH and others, none of which I have ever seen packed with grease (although cosmoline is used for storage, even then not packed). Drums are rather simple and have tons of play in the parts, so I bet they'd run perfect with no lube at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFisch Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 IIRC, I thought the drum lubrication was primarily for the Taiwanese reproduction drums. Maybe somebody earlier commented that they had no grease at all in them and thus could use some? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeRanger Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 ...and we're not packing it solid with grease. We're merely adding a light coat to the spindle where the rotor turns on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bug Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 The only benefit I could ever see from packing the rotor chamber with grease would be to buffer the spring free wheeling after last round. I don't. Bob D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 A few drops of 3 in 1 machine oil could not hurt the spring/rotor, but I've been shooting mine for years now, never a mechanical issue. Now loading them is a different thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motorcar Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 You could go back and search the threads on these Taiwan drums, as I recall the first batch that went for sale that still had the Crosby and Thompson names on them were looked at closely for quality by board members here. That was before Kahr made them remove the trademark names. The consensus of opinion at the time was they were very well reverse engineered off of an original Crosby drum. The only issue was there was galling showing up in the rotor housing from the clock spring having no lubrication during multiple uses. An easy way to pump some grease into the rotor without major disassembly was devised. A little lube goes a long way. That is how I remember it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridgeport28A1 Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 I put grease in my L drums at the recommendation of Merle Bitikofer the "Drum Doctor". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reconbob Posted March 15 Report Share Posted March 15 I also thought that the purpose of the grease was to soften the stress on the spring when the last round was fired and the spring instantly was free and un-wound. Packing it with grease acts as a buffer and slows it down. It’s not for lubrication. Bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Quaid Posted March 16 Author Report Share Posted March 16 Looks like it's time to take my unfired, pristine WWII drum mag apart and hose all the grease lube out of it. Forget about the grease - is there any official bulletin of any kind that references drum maintenance? There must be some sort of official discussion somewhere. Everything on earth eventually needs maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Quaid Posted March 16 Author Report Share Posted March 16 By the way, this is an EXCELLENT forum. A true brain trust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timkel Posted March 16 Report Share Posted March 16 Wasn't it to protect the mainspring if the drum were dropped in water? I feel better with the grease filling the mainspring pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Quaid Posted March 16 Author Report Share Posted March 16 (edited) On 3/12/2024 at 4:04 PM, StrangeRanger said: ...and we're not packing it solid with grease. We're merely adding a light coat to the spindle where the rotor turns on it The way I did it, about a half pound of grease went in. I'm pretty sure I filled the whole cavity. I tried to find a picture of what the inside looks like and all i could find was this: I suppose that a complimentary question about this topic would be: is greasing the drum a good idea? Is it better than not greasing? I guess the only harm I can think of is that eventually the grease may dry out and harden. which does happen sometimes So once you grease the drum, I suppose you should pack it full again every so often and squirt the old grease out Edited March 16 by Doug Quaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridgeport28A1 Posted March 16 Report Share Posted March 16 A copy of a post of mine from June 8, 2013 For your drum greasing reading pleasure.... http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9464&hl=%2Bdrum+%2Bgreasing&do=findComment&comment=80671 http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9518&hl=%2Bdrum+%2Bgreasing http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=10259&hl=%2Bdrum+%2Bgreasing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted March 16 Report Share Posted March 16 4 hours ago, Doug Quaid said: The way I did it, about a half pound of grease went in. I'm pretty sure I filled the whole cavity. I tried to find a picture of what the inside looks like and all i could find was this: I suppose that a complimentary question about this topic would be: is greasing the drum a good idea? Is it better than not greasing? I guess the only harm I can think of is that eventually the grease may dry out and harden. which does happen sometimes So once you grease the drum, I suppose you should pack it full again every so often and squirt the old grease out Ouch! I could have repacked my truck bearings with all that. I stay away from grease in general because if the metal get hot (like setting it on a table in the sun at the range), the grease will liquify and make a horrible mess. I say a spritz of machine oil will work just fine. The unit is mostly sealed so I see no reason to overdue it. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Quaid Posted March 16 Author Report Share Posted March 16 4 hours ago, Bridgeport28A1 said: A copy of a post of mine from June 8, 2013 For your drum greasing reading pleasure.... http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9464&hl=%2Bdrum+%2Bgreasing&do=findComment&comment=80671 http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9518&hl=%2Bdrum+%2Bgreasing http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=10259&hl=%2Bdrum+%2Bgreasing Thanks. I see a lot of guys talking about greasing drums, and greasing drums might be a swell idea. But what I curious about is where the idea came from. Did AO decide to do it in 1921? Or some guy named Herbert in 2012? If the former, then is there any documentation showing it? It doesn't seem like a bad idea, but I'm wondering how AO shipped them out in 1921. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sterling Thompson Posted March 19 Report Share Posted March 19 Hello Mr. Quaid, On the copy of machinist drawings I have number D6535504 titled "Rotor Assembly" there is a note that states in all capitol letters quote, "SPRING CASE TO BE PACKED WITH GULF SUPREME CUP GREASE #3 OR EQUAL BEFORE ASSEMBLING TO ROTOR." This was done after the rotor spring was riveted to the rotor spring case and the hub pin was staked. I hope that this will clarify your concerns as to if this was done originally. Sterling Thompson 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inertord Posted March 19 Report Share Posted March 19 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry Ploughboy Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 I'd guess that the rotor shafts were initially greased and at some point in time it became apparent that oiling was sufficient. In a similar vein, rotors were initially nickel plated and at some point in time it became apparent that bluing was sufficient. MHO, YMMV, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD. Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 Sterling Thompson, Welcome to the Thompson forum. Wow! That is a great first post! And answers a lot of questions. +1 from me. I do know the Thompson guns were to be coated with "sperm oil" prior to shipment to Great Britain and abroad - see pages 47 & 48 in, Great Britian - The Tommy Gun Story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 6 minutes ago, TD. said: Sterling Thompson, Welcome to the Thompson forum. Wow! That is a great first post! And answers a lot of questions. +1 from me. I do know the Thompson guns were to be coated with "sperm oil" prior to shipment to Great Britain and abroad - see pages 47 & 48 in, Great Britian - The Tommy Gun Story. I was wondering where all that surplus "sperm oil" went. Any idea how it was harvested? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reconbob Posted March 21 Report Share Posted March 21 Yes, great post on the grease #3. It’s interesting that this topic was beat to death years back, somebody was making and selling drum greaser fittings, etc. and nobody found or noticed that note on the ordnance drawing. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurencen Posted March 21 Report Share Posted March 21 if I recall correctly some said fill with grease until it comes out the crimps around the assembly, have to be honest I made the grease adaptor, tried filling and regret it as the grease is now turning almost liquid and leaking out, not a lot but enough to be a pain, fortunately its never going to be used in my lifetime here up north the second drum I pumped 4 or 5 shots and its good. one can only guess with the rotor filled up with grease in cold weather it must slow down the rate of fire, be easy to see shoot a drum, put it in the freezer and try again. interesting this not was never quoted until now have a great week everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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