Drum beat!

[G.T.]

Hi to all, well, I have been revising drums as fast as I can, and as a result, I've been able to send NUMRICH a quantity of 40 units, (drum and loader sets) for retail sales. I am working on another 60 plus, which will be delivered sometime in June or July... After that, it's anyone's guess if I will continue the revision process or no... It is incredible amount of work. But, I am still getting a lot better at it then when we started. For example, on the bench test portion of the drum function check, 40 drums tested, 1280 rounds cycled, no failures to feed! Anyway, if your going to pursue buying one, now is the time. I sent them out last week, next week they should be in stock? Good luck and best to all, til....lat'r....GT

[Bill_in_VA]

Thanks for doing this, GT. I bought one from Numrich some time back and it has been great. You’ve done a real service to Luger collectors and shooters.

[HerrKaiser]

I bought one of the drums from GT directly and can confirm. A treasure and massive gift to all involved with Lugers that know him and work with him.

[G.T.]

You know, as mentioned above, the drum revision is a mountain of work, but most of it is boring and repetitive. So, for the most part i just have to quit procrastinating and get busy!
Not so much when making the main spring! First, I have to break the sharp edges on the spring steel, and then coil and uncoil thru the different stages of manufacture, add to this the last several operations require lot'sa grease and effort! Kinda like trying to shove an angry cat into a boot! (also a lot harder the second time!) It never goes well even when it goes well! So, after a particularly frustrating day, I came into the house from the garage to see my German Sheppard Rocky barking and growling at the ceiling fan! I told him to be quite, and as always he ignored me. Instead of continuing to scold him, I sat down and watched him for awhile and noticed that when he had his fill, with a few low short growls, he walked away and ignored the fan from then on... I thought about it a bit, went back out into the garage over by the spring assembly bench and barked and growled at the spring material for awhile, until I though I'd done enough..... when I quit,...... I felt better! ......Best to all, til....lat'r.....GT...

[MFC]

That'll teach em!!! Smooth sailing from here on out.

[Deputywood]

Knowing that I would own one, I bought your drum well before I found a LP08.

Woody

[tomaustin]

are the raw materials available only on a large order basis..?

or, in the alternative, if you need spring material, how hard is it to get?

my point being, set your pricing as high as you need and based on the true cost of production---materials and LABOR..

no special deals for friends...the work is the work....and you are entitled to a fair profit to make this a meaningful endeavor.....

if you are bored with doing them, stop.

find an apprentice, farm out to a GOOD production person or place, cut your workload......

the forum appreciates your quality, but it is your decision.....

Tom

[tomaustin]

and, as an addition to my previous post...

I would not like to think any of your purchasers would be buying these from you and taking them to their local gun shows, without your permission, and marking them up and selling them....which eliminates you from the additional profits.......

you do damn fine work....hope you find your answers..........

[G.T.]

Hi Tom, I appreciate your insight and support on my drum revision adventure! The process I established has been getting better and better for me as experience comes into play. Operations that at first seemed necessary are now improved or combined with other operations to cut time and materials and strengthen the bottom line as far as payment, and product improvement is concerned. My whining is more for entertainment on the thread, and at this point, any serious issues I might still encounter have been mostly ironed out! As for boring, sometimes it is so... But most of the time, the challenge to make the parts a good as possible keeps me motivated.
When I accepted the revision offer from Numrich, I ordered a large quantity of blue tempered 1075 spring steel, pre cut to the appropriate length and width. I could not afford to have the edges broken or radiused to make the spring steel manageable, so I had to fabricate a machine to do just that and did so successfully.
I have had a great on-going relationship with Numrich and I think they are pleased with my efforts! At any rate, the satisfaction of making a perfectly usable and functioning drum for our less fortunate luger collecting brothers still motivates me to go forward... Thanks again Tom for your input, it is appreciated... Best to all, til....lat'r.....GT...

[cirelaw]

Our Hero!