Bellow you will see an original first-section made by Phil Seberger. This is an example of what was used in the early OPS INC suppressors.
You can see that it looks like it uses parts that can be found at a common hardware store, because it does. When Phil started making suppressors he did not have the manufacturing capabilities we see with modern suppressors companies. Instead he used common pipes and washers that were easily accessible.
While Phil was great at designing suppressors, he was a poor machinist. This is one of the main reasons he brought on Ron Allen. When Ron joined OPS INC in the 90s, he made many changes to the manufacturing process. One of the changes was to overhaul the design of the first-section. Instead of using pipes and washers that were pressed/welded together, Ron started using a single piece first-section that was easier to manufacture, more consistent, and higher quality. Rons redesign was used on the remaining OPS INC suppressors and is still used today.
Although this first-section is so old that it does not represent any currently produced suppressor, it most closely resembles what is used on our current M4 suppressor. These older OPS INC suppressors used a locating collar that didn’t have the taper interface, rather a Nord-lock washer. Later, when Ron updated the first-section he also introduced the taper lock feature. This allowed for repeatable alignment and a more secure retention.
This shows an important part in the history of Allen Engineering. While the overall design of these suppressors have remained relatively unchanged, Ron implemented many improvements to the manufacturing process that helped push OPS INC forward.
