1928 Grip mounts

[Mk1992]

Hello to everyone, I need your opinion about these two original grip mounts.

In particular I need your opinion about the grip mount at the bottom, compared to the one at the top is too curved... the one at the top it's perfectly straight.

Maybe the one at the bottom was it ruined? Was it bent on purpose or by accident? Or simply it's 100% normal, maybe especially made for finned barrels.

The one at the bottom have a marking like a square S.

Thanks !!!!

 

[Rekraps]

Let's see if my $0.02 is even close to correct. The bent one is, well, bent. 

I didn't spend 5 years in the fourth grade for nothing!

[spall]

Savage grip hanger, likely bent in service. Don't see why straightening with some soft jaws and a lead hammer wouldn't work.

[StrangeRanger]

The square S means Stevens, Savage is a rounded S.  It looks like it's got 2 bends one bending upwards just in front of the retaining lug and another  bending downwards father forward just behind the lug that contacts the barrel

Those grip mounts are heat treated alloy steel.  I don't have a clue how you would go about bending one (or unbending) one.  Once bent there is a possibility that straightening it could cause it to break.  I suspect that you have a paperweight

[reconbob]

         The bent one is correct. The idea is that the grip mount flexes/presses against the barrel

for a secure mounting of the forend. A while back before he passed away Doug Richardson made a

special vise for fitting/removing barrels that had built into it a device to retract the grip mount so it

did not make a spiral scratch on the barrel when you screw it in or out.

      That being said, the flat one is certainly original and for whatever reason is not bent. I just

looked at ordnance drawing #6147676 and there is no note that the grip mount is to be bent.

Interesting.

Bob

[TD.]

+1 for reconbob. He knows his Thompson parts!

Did a company in the past make a run of grip mounts with the bend in the wrong direction? I seem to recall something about this several years ago.

[StrangeRanger]

I'm a little confused.  The retaining lug on the grip mount in my M1 TSMG broke a few years ago and we replaced it with one from Waffenmeisters.  IIRC the broken one was S marked which matched the receiver.  Both the one that came out and the one we replaced it with were flat and in both cases the front lug was tight against the barrel.  What am I missing?

 

[Mk1992]

If I mount the model bent at the bottom I don’t know how I can screw the finned barrel.

In my opinion, it’s too bent.

Maybe this curve was made because the frontal part who touch the barrel it must rest between the two barrel fins, correct?

 

[StrangeRanger]

Here's mine and as installed it appears to be sprung slightly downwards due to contact pressure with the barrel.  The last thing it would need is to be bent upwards

Edited June 20, 2024 by StrangeRanger
added info

[StrangeRanger]

8 hours ago, Mk1992 said:

If I mount the model bent at the bottom I don’t know how I can screw the finned barrel.

In my opinion, it’s too bent.

Maybe this curve was made because the frontal part who touch the barrel it must rest between the two barrel fins, correct?

 

With a correctly machined barrel the front lug touches the fins, it does not fit between them

[PK.]

The Early AO drawing notes the following, with an arrow pointing to teh bottom below the retaining lug "Bend grip here before heat treating to throw forward end up .10" to insure firm seating against barrel"

In my opinion, based upon observation, all Colt made parts had the bend, as did parts in all 1928 guns.  I think the bend in the milled parts was likely eliminated with the M1, and the subsequent multi part assembled grips mounts did not have the bend.

[Rekraps]

2 hours ago, StrangeRanger said:

Here's mine and as installed it appears to be sprung slightly downwards due to contact pressure with the barrel.  The last thing it would need is to be bent upwards

I too am confused guys. are these to be bent, or not bent. 

[Rekraps]

55 minutes ago, PK. said:

The Early AO drawing notes the following, with an arrow pointing to teh bottom below the retaining lug "Bend grip here before heat treating to throw forward end up .10" to insure firm seating against barrel"

In my opinion, based upon observation, all Colt made parts had the bend, as did parts in all 1928 guns.  I think the bend in the milled parts was likely eliminated with the M1, and the subsequent multi part assembled grips mounts did not have the bend.

Gotcha, I'm taking my 1928 AO apart and will look at it today.

[reconbob]

     This is Doug's barrel/receiver vise showing the retractor for the grip mount.

In absence of one of these you can get the barrel partly screwed in then press

a wood carpentry wedge between the barrel and the grip mount and wind together

with the barrel as you screw it in to keep the tip of the grip mount from scarring the

barrel. 

Bob

[Rekraps]

On 6/19/2024 at 3:42 PM, Mk1992 said:

Hello to everyone, I need your opinion about these two original grip mounts.

In particular I need your opinion about the grip mount at the bottom, compared to the one at the top is too curved... the one at the top it's perfectly straight.

Maybe the one at the bottom was it ruined? Was it bent on purpose or by accident? Or simply it's 100% normal, maybe especially made for finned barrels.

The one at the bottom have a marking like a square S.

Thanks !!!!

 

So guess what! See the pics of my 1928 AOC OEM gun rail. Same bend, right at the 2" mark.

Edited January 25 by Rekraps

[Rekraps]

6 hours ago, StrangeRanger said:

With a correctly machined barrel the front lug touches the fins, it does not fit between them

Exactly how my sits. See the pics above. 

[Mk1992]

7 hours ago, StrangeRanger said:

Here's mine and as installed it appears to be sprung slightly downwards due to contact pressure with the barrel.  The last thing it would need is to be bent upwards

Exact, I agree with you, I can't understand why mine is bent so high, I don't even think I would be able to screw the barrel in, you would have to bend it really hard downwards to screw it in.
What I think happened, it was intentionally bent upwards by someone during or after the war to fit some other barrels or put the angle between the fins...

[Colt Chopper]

When replacing the barrel, using the Richardson tool, the grip mount bar flexes more than you could really ever imagine. The first time I saw it done I was stressed that it would break.

[mbc230]

I find this post very interesting and Fascinating. I have a Colt Grip Mount with Front End Nose Section For Serial Number 2978. See the below pictures:

 

The front grip mount is bent as well and I never noticed it until I read this post. Great Information and good observations. Cheers!

Edited June 22, 2024 by mbc230

[Motorcar]

Nice to see PK chime in! Glad you are still out there, was just putting a bit of oil on my Diamond K stamped the other day.. 🙂

[Rekraps]

Totally agree, the bend is  indeed interesting. 

[Mk1992]

Interesting... maybe are the early made grip mounts or late war made.

[laurencen]

I have 3 grip mounts from M1A1 and they are not bent the one from a 1928 has a slight bend however up until now I figured the bend was from use being dropped or to keep it tight on the barrel

[Rekraps]

On 6/25/2024 at 2:54 PM, Mk1992 said:

Interesting... maybe are the early made grip mounts or late war made.

My AOC 1928 is a 1942 gun. See pics above. 

[spall]

 

Stumbled across this thread... Doug Richardson explained that the "bent" ones were intended for the vertical grips.

 

I wonder... is that how the Colt grip mounts are?