As part of my research on National Ordnance and Alpine I interviewed their founder, Bob Penney, who turned National Ordnance over to John Arnold about 1963. Also interviewed Bob Brenner, founder and owner of Sumdac, Cadmus, and Federal Ordnance before his death a couple years ago. Also met with Wyant LaMont, manager of Sumdac, Cadmus and Federal Ordnance
The folding stock was modeled after the concept of the
German
MP-40 stock. The inventor was Jack Karnes, who worked with Brenner off and on since Golden State Arms. Karnes died before I started the research.
If you are not aware of it, National Ordnance under Arnold was next door to Federal Ordnance and Brenner in the late 60's and into the 70's. They worked together on various projects.
The first under folder Karnes came up with was sold in 1963 under the name Sumdac Corp in Hollywood, CA. Cadmus is Sumdac spelled backwards. By the 1970's Federal Ordnance was selling them. I believe there are a total of 4 variations of this stock that occurred over time. The example below was the last one, sold by Federal Ordnance.
Shotgun News September 15, 1967
Attachment 65183
Attachment 65175 Attachment 65176
The design's biggest weakness is the metal tubing at the point it meets the large metal circle that contains the release button. The forces exerted when folding and opening the stock puts pressure at these points and eventually the metal cracks at this location.
Universal Firearms and Iver Johnson used the Federal Ordnance stock for one of their carbine models in the early 1980's.
The telescoping stock shown above was made for/by Plainfield for their carbines. It's biggest weakness is when firing a carbine with the stock extended and against the shoulder the wood the tubes slide into tends to crack at the point where the tubes enter the wood.
Plainfield Machine catalog 1969
Attachment 65182
Attachment 65177 Attachment 65178 Attachment 65179
The 3 pics above aren't mine, not using them to illustrate.
Another wood telescoping stock was designed and made by Bianchi in the mid to late 1960's. this one held up better.
Shotgun News September 1, 1967
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ATI copied this Bianchi design using a polymer stock with telescoping metal rods.
I have info on a lot of commercial stocks of various types. My focus being the companies and carbines along with my other work these have taken a 3rd tier priority for addition to the website.
I also have info on three commercial
M1A1 folding stocks currently being sold. Trying to ID the manufacturer of the one used by Auto-Ordnance and the other being sold by Numrich and Fulton Armory. I'm out of time so won't post pics at the moment.
Just to get your brain working, here's a mystery for you ... not folding but interesting. Before passing judgment, this stock was designed in the 1960's when civilians had yet to gain access to the AR-15's in any kind of quantity. Who made the stock for the designer was Fajen. Never marketed and pretty rare.
Attachment 65185
Jim
Originally Posted by Sleeplessnashadow
As part of my research on National Ordnance and Alpine I interviewed their founder, Bob Penney, who turned National Ordnance over to John Arnold about 1963. Also interviewed Bob Brenner, founder and owner of Sumdac, Cadmus, and Federal Ordnance before his death a couple years ago. Also met with Wyant LaMont, manager of Sumdac, Cadmus and Federal Ordnance
PM
