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5pins
15 February 2012, 17:32
I had two interesting rifles come into my shop today. They were both M16A2’s with BALIMOY MFG CO. lower receivers. From my limited research on the web, the receivers were made as M16A1 replacement receivers for Anniston Army Depot. The two that came into my shop were then converted to A2’s at some point. You can see form the pictures that the number one from the A1 was removed and the number two stamped in its place. Also the AUTO was milled out and BURST was stamped in next to the selector switch.

The reason they were in my shop is also very interesting. The two rifles have duplicate serial numbers with two other M16A2 somewhere in the Army. I had to stamp an A at the end of the serial numbers to differentiate them


http://generalcartridge.net/images/SANY0160.JPG
http://generalcartridge.net/images/SANY0161.JPG
http://generalcartridge.net/images/SANY0162.JPG

Gator
17 February 2012, 06:03
Very nice looking lower. I love lowers that dont have animals, symbols or any other graphics rolled into them.
I did a little reading on Balimoy upon finding this thread... From what I've read they're just that, replacement lowers, nothing else... not a contracted manufacturer of M16s like GM as I previously though. Very interesting.

Optimus Prime
18 February 2012, 01:25
I carried a Colt A2 with the same type of markings on it in Afghanistan in '04-'05.

markm
17 April 2012, 10:00
Wow. That's interesting.

Muddyboots
18 April 2012, 18:38
Interesting history!

Tech question for you 5pins: When you stamped the "A" did you use a special magwell mandril and arbor press or just "back it with a plate and whack the stamp with a hammer" ? Is there any danger of structural damage from hand stamping a small number of characters? I'm curious because of a couple local Sheriffs Office lowers I've seen locally that were hand stamped with 32 characters of 1/16" font. The Monkey behind the stamp had good paws and eye but I wonder about the stress on the lower. Any insights? No, I'm NOT the Monkey.

Muddyboots

markm
19 April 2012, 05:47
Good question..

5pins
19 April 2012, 07:25
This was the first time I had to stamp a lower and was a little nerves about screwing it up. I even had to turn around on my way to work because I forgot my glasses. There was no way I was going to attempt this without them.

I used a ball peen hammer and 1/8 letter stamp. I did some practice stamps on a broken RAS handguard I had. When I did the lowers I used a mag well block, the type used for holding the lower in a vice. I placed some masking tape under the serial numbers in an attempt to keep the stamp in line with the other numbers. When I hit it with the hammer I was very surprised at how hard the aluminum was. Much harder then the RAS rail that I practiced on. The first hit was way too shallow and I was going to have to hit it once more. Now I had the stress of making sure the second hit was in the same place as the first. I ended up having to hit it three times in order to get the depth I needed. The second lower was a little less stressful since I knew what to expect.

The biggest surprise was the hardness of the lower. I would never have though that it would be so hard.

Is there any danger of damaging the lower? Sure, but I think if someone were carful and supported the mag well properly then I think there should be no problems.
On the other hand I only had to do one letter and not a bunch in a row. I could see a problem if the well was not supported properly.

todd.k
19 April 2012, 07:47
The 23&P has instructions on hand stamping.

markm
19 April 2012, 12:35
This
The biggest surprise was the hardness of the lower. I would never have though that it would be so hard.

That's interesting. The RAS is probably just 6000 series...

chazthebiker
22 October 2012, 10:18
When I hit it with the hammer I was very surprised at how hard the aluminum was. Much harder then the RAS rail that I practiced on. I ended up having to hit it three times in order to get the depth I needed.

The biggest surprise was the hardness of the lower. I would never have though that it would be so hard.

Aluminum is an extremely hard metal. Most folks think it is soft because they've been crushing aluminum cans bare handed since childhood. The fact is, those cans are real thin. That is what makes them easy to crush. A steel can the same thickness would be even easier to crush. Aluminum is much harder and much less flexible than steel... very stiff metal.

TCBA_Joe
1 September 2013, 20:16
This is interesting. I shot my State NG EIC match last weekend with a Balimoy M16A1

http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s611/joe_freerider/2013-08-24114828_zps709e16dc.jpg