20 Round Magazine for a WH Thompson model 1928

[Glawre]

I can't seem to find magazines for my thompson. 1928  I tried Auto Ordanance and Numric but no go.  Mags are available for model 1927's but not for a WH, or any 1928.  I actually have mags but the springs are failing causing the gun to not load. Does anyone know where I can get springs for these?

 

Thank you,  Gary

[timkel]

RTG has mags

https://www.robertrtg.com/store/pc/showsearchresults.asp?pageStyle=H&resultCnt=&keyword=thompson+magazine

Apex

https://www.apexgunparts.com/thompson-smg-magazine-body-20rd-mixed-mfg-good.html

Wolf springs

https://www.gunsprings.com/THOMPSON/Magazine+Springs/cID2/mID115/dID350

[spall]

I've not compared my 30rd and 20rd mags springs... are they the same? Do you cut down a Wolff 30 spring for a 20rd mag?

[68coupe]

whatacountry.com has used Thompson 20 & 30rd mags for various qualities and prices.

FWIW, Karl, 68coupe

[Bill in VA]

Wow! They’ve certainly gone up in price, dramatically! I remember buying 30 rounders at 10 for $50 at the local shows. I bought a barrel for $55 from old “Doc” Davis. Times do change…

[APEXgunparts]

I don't know about changing times, but I do know about changing availability!
With little to no US origin surplus allowed to be imported the supply of these old parts and magazines is dwindling.
I get a lot of requests for Thompson parts every week from customers trying to replace a broken or worn part or trying to restore a gun they have.
APEX recently obtained a bunch of parts and wood from another established importer who is going a different direction.
They brought this material in 20+ years ago, and we paid a premium to obtain it.
Some has already been restocked, other parts will hit the web in time.
WW2 20 round magazine  pouches we have in good supply, but not the magazines, just a few.
Thompson Magazine, 20rd
For some reason they took apart a bunch of the mags and we have a lot of the 20rd mag bodies (linked above)
We have yet to find any springs, followers or floorplates.

Richard

 

[Glawre]

Thanks guys for the reply.s  Unfortunally 20 round mags, or replacement s[prings for a 1928 are just not available at this time.  if anyone runs across either please post it.  Thanks again,

[Chip]

Not mine, and rather pricey but for sale

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1061029620

[68coupe]

I have searched in vain for replacement springs for my 20rd mags. If anyone would provide the length dimension of a spring for a NOS 20rd mag, I'm quite certain that I'm not the only one that would appreciate it. I'm equally certain that the Wolfe springs could be trimmed to work.

V/R  Karl, 68coupe

[spall]

15 minutes ago, 68coupe said:

I have searched in vain for replacement springs for my 20rd mags. If anyone would provide the length dimension of a spring for a NOS 20rd mag, I'm quite certain that I'm not the only one that would appreciate it. I'm equally certain that the Wolfe springs could be trimmed to work.

V/R  Karl, 68coupe

While length is the unit of measurement for recoil springs, I'm thinking about getting some Wolff 30s and simply cutting them to the same number of coils as my original 20s.

Might order some this afternoon and volunteer to be the guinea pig. Though I'd be very surprised if this hadn't been tried before...

It looks like my 20s have 13 coils, and my 30s have 20 coils. Spring is the same diameter (a little more than 0.05" with my cheap dial caliper), and they seem to be formed identically, aside from the additional coils.

[bauerdb]

Why so dramatic for a WH?

THOMPSON SMG MAGAZINES AND CLIPS (northridgeinc.com)

What A Country, Inc. - Search

 

Cutting springs isn't rocket science.  Cut to the number of coils.  Load 20 rds.  Easy.

Springs for Magazine Springs Rifles & Shotguns (gunsprings.com)

 

 

[68coupe]

3 hours ago, spall said:

While length is the unit of measurement for recoil springs, I'm thinking about getting some Wolff 30s and simply cutting them to the same number of coils as my original 20s.

Might order some this afternoon and volunteer to be the guinea pig. Though I'd be very surprised if this hadn't been tried before...

It looks like my 20s have 13 coils, and my 30s have 20 coils. Spring is the same diameter (a little more than 0.05" with my cheap dial caliper), and they seem to be formed identically, aside from the additional coils.

 

I used to consider myself a reasonably smart guy. Now, what I'd like to know is, why I couldn't think of that.....It's so simple. Nobody needs to make me look foolish. I can do it all by myself. Geez

Thanx, Karl, 68coupe

[Dpedersen]

You can try to stretch the strings back some and see if that fixes the feeding issue. Stretch them some equally and then stretch the side of the spring that sits in the front mag (the part that sits under the projectile) slightly more. It will have a curved shape some, think like a banana. Stretching up equally will help hold all the rounds up tighter against the feed lips. The stretching in the front will help the follower hold the front of the bullet higher so when its picked up by the bolt and introduced to the feed ramp, it wont want to bind as much and miss feed. Give that a try! You might be able to rehab some of the mags and extend their life some.

Edited August 19, 2024 by Dpedersen
Spelling

[68coupe]

19 hours ago, Dpedersen said:

You can try to stretch the strings back some and see if that fixes the feeding issue. Stretch them some equally and then stretch the side of the spring that sits in the front mag (the part that sits under the projectile) slightly more. It will have a curved shape some, think like a banana. Stretching up equally will help hold all the rounds up tighter against the feed lips. The stretching in the front will help the follower hold the front of the bullet higher so when its picked up by the bolt and introduced to the feed ramp, it wont want to bind as much and miss feed. Give that a try! You might be able to rehab some of the mags and extend their life some.

All told, I have 12 20's and 5 30's. All but two randomly malfunction. A few of my mags clearly have feed-lip issues. The only ones that never give me fits are the 2 NOS ones that I bought a long, long time ago. The springs are the issue with most of them. Some cause stovepipes, others stubs. Some may have sticky followers. I've never taken them apart to individually diagnose their problems, but I'm not against buying springs to see if that helps. I just wish Wolff made them for 20's to save me time and effort of trimming.

I feel so dumb that I didn't think to count coils, rather than measure length. It just never occurred to me.

Rant over, Karl, 68coupe

[spall]

2 hours ago, 68coupe said:

All told, I have 12 20's and 5 30's. All but two randomly malfunction. A few of my mags clearly have feed-lip issues. The only ones that never give me fits are the 2 NOS ones that I bought a long, long time ago. The springs are the issue with most of them. Some cause stovepipes, others stubs. Some may have sticky followers. I've never taken them apart to individually diagnose their problems, but I'm not against buying springs to see if that helps. I just wish Wolff made them for 20's to save me time and effort of trimming.

I'd recommend taking them apart for a deep cleaning. I've found some really interesting stuff inside used mags. (Especially soviet era battlefield pickup stuff). Lots of dirt, sand, fine gravel, dead insects, rust, etc. All contribute to binding followers, even in mags that look decently clean on the outside. Depending on what's inside, scrubbing with kerosene or just a hot, soapy water scrub (best for dirt and sand), followed by lots of compressed air and then oil does wonders. Dents and bent feed lips can be fixed, and new mag springs are never a bad idea. I replace the ones in my carry gun every few years, so why not the ones that might've been carried 80 years ago on some salty, rainy island in the Pacific?

I just bought 20 Wolff mag springs and will be replacing all of my springs to see what that does for general reliability.

[Ad Lav]

Have you looked abroad for the 20rd magazines?

I know here in the U.K. the 20rd mags are about £20 each.

[spall]

The left two springs are new Wolff 30rd springs, vs. various (presumably original) springs from my other mags.

The leftmost spring is a Wolff 30 that I cut down to 13 coils to match my other 20rd mag springs.

 

I moved floor plates and followers around to put my mags into their correct configurations according to Roger Herbst's book. I also wound up straightening some bent followers and scrubbing out old cosmoline while replacing all of my springs.

Fingers crossed...