dutigaf Posted July 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 thanks guys and i'll be back to give you a few updates as we go and if it gets sent in for approval or not. oh and this was never intended to be a bash at Kahr or anyone else...... it jst turns out to be a cheaper alternative. looking for my next project & thanx sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elbow Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 (edited) oh and this was never intended to be a bash at Kahr sean Why not!!! I really don't think anyone here likes or respects Kahr in anyway shape or form. Kahr = crap products and crap customer service. They are the modern day corporate thieves. <_> Edited July 6, 2008 by Elbow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilOhio Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 Congratulations, Sean. If it runs this way with a drum, and if you have shot about 325 rounds through it, you are probably over the hump. All that remains is to see if there are minor places where wear develops, or where you may need to make small changes in a part, or where you see a way to simplify something to make it easier to build, etc. Doesn't it give you a ot of satisfaction when something like this works out so well, and you did it yourself? That's what I constantly encourage everybody here to do. If it doesn't work the first time, so what? Just fine tune it and try again, or try another approach. Sooner or later, you'll get it. What kind of drum are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutigaf Posted July 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 the Kahr thing: well i like to think mines gonna work every time we shoot it... but instead of bashing the Kahr Product, just chose not to buy one. it was really a lot of the reason to go ahead and do this conversion. an alternative to those. Philohio: yeah as you can tell im REALLY proud of this one, probably more so than most of my other conversions.... cause this baby & the layout is my idea from stem to stern. put another drum full today thru it. yes the fine tuning yesterday really picked up the cycle speed a good bit. just looking for wear spots inside now as we go. not too worried about the FCG as the AR stuff is pretty reliable and easy to replace if something did wear out, but they last a good while. just making sure that bolt set up and FP are staying true and good. yeah that last bunch was with the drum, ive got a "real" thompson drum.... but only 1... (im poor) and then ive got a couple of the cheapy ones, not tried yet. got a pile of stick mags, and for some reason i like the shorter mags better.. the gun doesnt seem to mind either one. no 100 rnders for me! way out of my price range. im more interested right now to see how it runs with different brands of ammo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyfivecal Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 nice job dutigaf! i admire your, " how can i make this work " perspective. have you and kali figured out how to get his M1 with its side cocking set up to operate? do you see any problem getting an 80% receiver to work with your design? for those of us with access to mills, but not welders. again, darn nice job! are the neighbors lining up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutigaf Posted July 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 (edited) hey 45. Kali is started on the M1, but he is looking at the bolt a little closer.. yes my lower set up will work with it cause the overall height is the same. its all about how he wants to get that FP set up and then the bolt handle. no reason you couldnt use a Phila Ord receiver for this if you have a mill to work with.... you wouldnt have to really take all that much out if you wanted a strip down version and that would automatically give you the smaller ID you need. ive got a few more 28 kits, but no M1 kits or id try one of them.... probably a good thing for me eh? it would scare you to death to hear hwo many people have been flooding my email with requests to do these already. it scares ME!! just not sure if its something im gonna do or not.. wouldnt even have a clue how much to charge for the work/time that goes into it. Edited July 6, 2008 by dutigaf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyfivecal Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 dutigaf, thanks for taking time to reply. my reference to neighbors lining up, was to have a turn at shooting your thompson, but i'm not surprised that there are folks that want you to do a build for them. i've wanted to build an M1, but was curious how your design would work out with the actuator in that position. where did you source your non-sbr barrel? thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutigaf Posted July 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 no problem bub!! thats what this hobby is all about. your right my neighbors come over quite a bit... but they always want to shoot the 50 bmg.... the lower shouldn't have any trouble with the M1 bolt set up, its all about getting it drilled for the FP and a spring. im not gonna do "builds".... if this gets approved, then may offer the conversion part of it on the bolt and lowers. nothing more. but as we mentioned... what should the time it takes for this cost? the build itself is pretty reasonable this way... but the time is the key. my kids are young and involved in lots of sports, so you know how that goes. the barrel came from numerich(egunparts.com) its $120 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyfivecal Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 dutigaf- i understand, have fun with your kids, they get older when you're not looking lol, yes, i imagine the .50 is a party favorite. still, the thompson is a legend in its own right, it is a recognizable part of history. and history rarely can be picked up and held in your hands. how much of your lower frame and bolt mod's could be jigged and fixtured? when you get your approval, the time invested in fixturing could reduce that time factor you mentioned. that is if you want to make more than the one you have. thanks for the info on the barrel you chose, i have an M1 lower frame and stock that i used to verify that stands i'm making will work with all thompson designs. reading your build has me thinking about completing it the way you have yours. keep up the good work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutigaf Posted July 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 (edited) 45, the lower is the easy part. i dont have a jig per say, but would make one if this becomes a habit. what i found out right away is that the location of the holes for the FCG is different with different brands of hammers & triggers.... now before someone jumps on me... read this twice: yes the spacing is always the same from hammer to trigger pins and vertically. but the thickness of the hammer bottom(round part) is NOT and neither is the bottom of the trigger. ive got 3 different brands and they all MIC just a few K's different. this doesnt sound like much?? well its just enough to not have clearance in that lower and it changes what you "mill out". not really a big deal, but its enough that if you dont check it before you drill it you can get too far into the mag release spring housing and then your dragging on that spring.... nothing good will come of this long term.. so if your gonna do your lower this is a grade school way.... but it works. lay it out on the outside and follow your hammer swing path and make sure the bottom of the hammer doesnt get into the spring. likewise on the trigger, if you get it too low there will not be enough room for it to toggle on the bottom lip and/or enough for you to remove without getting into the grip screw. then theres that other part: if you get too low in the lower.... you wont be able to use those factory pins & selector cause you will be cutting them into.. if your too high? same thing you will be cutting them into & your hammer will be too high and not be able to make the correct swing path to hit the FP and you wont be able to clear the top part of the bolt. hope this helps. its the old go slow thing. i spent many hours grinding/filing a little at a time on those pins and selectors to get it to all work. if you got any other questions just ask away... sean Edited July 8, 2008 by dutigaf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyfivecal Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 sean, i'm sure i'll have a question or 2 when i get into a build, a thought to pass along though. if, when you gain approval, you decide to market, lowers and or bolts, you might consider, if you haven't already, all the legal ramifications. simply put, if something go's boom instead of bang, so you aren't liable, for any reason. i remember you saying you've been swamped with requests, and that it scared you, i understand. wouldn't want to see all your hard work and approval complicated by issues. btw, your 7 year old daughter is a pretty good camera hand ps, do you think you'll be at kc this october? if it isn't swamped again, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilOhio Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 Some people try to limit their liability exposure by selling plans and instructions only, but in my opinion, even that is a minefield. It's for braver souls than me. Others sell only one or two hardware components which are difficult to make at home and which, they think, could not possibly lead to an accident or any other kind of legal problem. That works well, if your crystal ball has a truly bullet proof warranty. I guess this is just another chapter on what has happened to those gifted with creativity and initiative in this country. Maybe simple knowledge, on any subject, will come to be something exchanged only via some sort of Internet underground. How ironic, when we have the most effective and efficient information proliferation tool that mankind has ever seen. It only remains for government and the legal community to torpedo it. ...as we are seeing every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutigaf Posted July 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 45, just say the word bub..... im all for people getting builds done. thanks on my 7yr old..... it was funny as it do fling the brass and she was in her little saftey glasses and hear-gear. both my girls love to shoot the 1919 and maxim. if ya wanna see some vids just let me know. PhilOhio< bub get the feeling you've been burned before too?? :-) and yes i truly will help anyone who wants to do this get going in the right direction. al they gotta do is ask away. sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyfivecal Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 absolutely! would like to see those vid's. nice to hear also that you instill proper safety rules. dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutigaf Posted July 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 45, yeah my girls are very safety conscious at every thing they do..... seatbelts, drugs are bad, smokers need to quit, motorbike riders are organ donors........ mommy has them on a very "straight path" thats about all you can do. anyone who knows me from all the boards knows my story.... anybody who has lost a child under any circumstance is very very very protective if they are blessed enough to have more children. but lets not get depressive. vids with my girls are posted over at weaponsguild & beltfedshooters.com as they arent really thompson related. now back to building a tommy! saw a new semi offered today by someone in pistol only config so they could use the short barrel.... anyone else see it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilOhio Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 PhilOhio< bub get the feeling you've been burned before too?? :-) and yes i truly will help anyone who wants to do this get going in the right direction. al they gotta do is ask away. sean No, I haven't been burned, and I'm trying to keep the record perfect. I'll share my knowledge and experiences, and might add a warning or two, but I don't do hardware sharing. I encourage anybody who wants to tackle these things himself. Those (us) are not the people who often go crying to the office of some personal injury lawyer with stars and dollar signs in his eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutigaf Posted August 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Hey guys, just thought id drop in and give you all an update. im up to 575 rounds and just havent had time to shot much more since then (work), gun is still running fine and i had 1 Fail to feed with the wolf steel case. was just trying to see how far i could stretch it without cleaning between shooting and it finally didnt chamber it all the way. stopped there went and cleaned it up and then went on thru with no troubles. picked up a couple of more drum mags and so far they all work! will post some updates when i hit 1k thru it. sdk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyfivecal Posted August 7, 2008 Report Share Posted August 7, 2008 sounds like a solid build, way to go dutigaf. are your new drums the taiwan L's? any issues with lubrication? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUNGUY45 Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 im up to 575 rounds sdk That's better than I got when I bought my WH semi in 1990! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtdew Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 dutigaf, I think I reconize you from the g-co boards. I came here looking for help with my tommy gun build and now I have found it. Hope you dont mind if I steal some of your ideas or even copy it compleatly. thanks. THE ORIGINAL MTDEW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutigaf Posted August 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 dutigaf, I think I reconize you from the g-co boards. I came here looking for help with my tommy gun build and now I have found it. Hope you dont mind if I steal some of your ideas or even copy it compleatly. thanks. THE ORIGINAL MTDEW ok just got back in.... the drums i got are bridgeports.. but they are the "thin feeling" ones, they had got wet on a shelf and had a little surface rust so im sandblasting and rebluing them..... thanks for the compliments guys. MTDEW: yes im the same dutigaf/sdk1968 that you see on GUNCO,weaponsguild,militaryfirearms,1919a4.com & beltfedshooters.com LMAO im just a board whore. ask away or whatever else you need. im not gonna send this in until ive got at least 1k rounds thru it, but ive done a second one now and have a friend who is using this same set up on his 28 and just a small change or 3 for his M1 set up. this has really convinced quite a few other people (that it can be done safely & reliably) who are now in the middle of semi builds on tommy's and a really nice fellow out in idaho named "weasel" is doing one with the bliss lock set up still in use and its coming out really nice as he's keeping me up as he goes. the more we can do to get these built the happier it makes me. sdk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyfivecal Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 hey dutigaf, what changes did your buddy have to make to his M1? are the changes described on another forum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutigaf Posted August 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 hey dutigaf, what changes did your buddy have to make to his M1? are the changes described on another forum? Kali Komrade is doing the M1 and both of our tutorials are posted over at beltfedshooters.com. he's not all the way finished yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutigaf Posted September 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 (edited) latest update: im now over a thousand rounds!! for a "auto guy" thats only a few minutes of shooting.. but for us "semi guys" thats a good chunk of change. so far the gun is running fine and needs no adjustments. im going to make the ad-on of a bolt hold open out of the unused lever and will post that when its done. (right after soccer season for my girls) my friend Weasel also now has a conversion using a different set up and anyone interested in it can check it out (right next to mine at weaponsguild.com) heres a link: http://www.prexis.com/sten/homebuilder/ind...hp?topic=1251.0 (if this breaks any rules just remove it) Weasel's build uses the lock set up and the whole nine yards, its a bit more involved than mine and you need better skills than my level to do it. he's a very accomplished builder, he just doesnt post much and it took a good bit of coaxing to get him to post it all... it works! and thats the main thing. more and more of these parts kits are gonna come back to life, and to me thats a good thing. sdk Edited September 7, 2008 by dutigaf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry Ploughboy Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Let's see, there are semi Thompsons done or in the works by dutigaf, Orin, Weasel, Polson, and Kahr. Any others? Sounds like market saturation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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