My second SOPMOD lower.  What can I say?  I love that stock!  And it is cheaper than buying separately and installing on a good lower.

This lower also came with crappy staking at the buffer tube.  I know it is an easy fix but it should come already done right.

Old LMT



New LMT





This is simple stuff.  Get it right LMT!

I always change out the plate anyway so that I can mount a sling...   Either way, just get a punch and stake it yourself.  It is a two minute job.  It took you longer to take pics of it than it would have to fix it.

Most people don't like when they are all staked to hell.  Makes pulling the tube harder.

I know it is an easy fix.  Not the point though.  If LMT is gonna stake them at the factory it should be done properly.
I've had a buffer tube come loose before and that is the point of the staking.  It should be there.

Why don't you do the rest of us a huge favor and email those pictures to Gene Swanson at LMT.Include the initials of the inspector from the inspection tags.
Im sure he would like to be made aware of such issues...and curious why the QC inspector did not catch such sloppy work.
As a LMT fan whenever I see something that looks off or odd I email or call  Mr.Swanson and he is always very responsive.
I personally have worked in the mechanical field for many years dealing directly with the public on manufacturing,quality and function issues on six major brands of motorcycles,and I can say there is no better resource than the end user of any product.Feedback is a good thing,so do it.

At least they made an attempt. My new Colt 6920 wasn't staked at all, but I can't complain because they've been a bear to remove and I had to install an ASAP.

Now that I will do.  It is simply annoying to have to do the factory guy's job for him.

Its no gas key. Blue Loctite is good enough for me, red works if you worry a lot.

Sent an e-mail off to Gene Swanson.

Might be a bit annoying,but it might also get somebody called in on the carpet and prevent future oversights.
Like I said Im a LMT fan,so if I can help the production to improve by nit pickin and givin feedback directly to the source,then its worth the effort to me.I can say for sure that Mr.Swanson likes to hear feedback.He has always been very responsive and highly technical in that regard.

Wow! They actually hit the receiver. So basically we now can assume that LMT hired the fired Bushmaster guys that couldnt master staking besides also  their straight pins are falling out under fire also.
                                                                                                   

Staking yourself is pretty easy, but I'd be pissed if they nicked my reciever.

Gota link to the thread on the straight pins falling out?
Only thread Ive seen recently on the straight pins backing out was on a cut down FSB and barrel.Clearly not LMT's fault.

LMT gets a pass on a lot of shit that people would beat the shit out of Bushmaster for doing.

...just an observation... I don't have any bias for or against either company..

+1....

I can see it clearly on my screen, will take better pics when I get home.  I'm not quite as proficient with a camera as you are Stick!

The staking is poor enough that you can't trust anything that person did on your lower, and you don't know what else he/she did.

If it were DPMS no one would be pointing out you can fix it with less effort then taking the photos.  It would be a dog pile on DPMS.  

I for one am happy that these things get shown.   LMT may try to appear to be above internet forums but I am sure they find out about these threads and it will shape QC and product development for the future.    I mean this for all brands not just LMT, except maybe Colt and HK who really don't care about the surfs.

Here are some better pics.  

I even included an extra of a pin hole that is all buggered up from the factory.  Nice!









Here are some nice gouges kindly machined into my mag well on my older LMT





Hope this is illustrates my point.

You do realize that the first one was their fault and this one is your fault. Judge Judy says "You should of learned the first time.".

I did. I was a "tight mag well" guy.  LMT didnt earn their way to the top. This site started  them at the top. It all started with the BUIS.

I cant see why people love their straight pin FSBs either.  If one cant see why straight pins "suck". One will never understand.

LMT bites!

Lawyer talk: LMT SOPMOD stocks do rule.

I could live with the machine marks in the magwell....but the other handy work is half ars and completely unacceptable.Really admire the double tap stake job running up into the receiver.First time I guess Ive ever seen an end plate staked to the receiver.
The pin hole that looks to have had a deburr tool reamed in it....Ive personally made note and complained about this directly in the past.Particularly the reaming of pivot pin holes which Im told is acceptable and normal practice.Ive also seen LMT bolts that have the cam pin holes that were somewhat roughly reamed bright.
All maybe deemed functional in the end,but sure looks bad.
Like I said,Im a LMT fan...but I raise complete hell about these little manufacturing variations....or should I say defects.
Email them pics as well.

Wow, those are some SHITTY stake jobs. It looks like they just used a spring loaded punch to do those and theycouldn't even line it up with the slot. I remember when I posted my finding on LMT Bolts that had oversized lugs and would not fit into barrels, I was raked over the coals by the LMT fanboys. I supposedly had an "agenda". Right, like Colt or someone is sending me a check to "out" bad LMT products. I don't think so. What else was interesting is that if these Bolts didn't fit into a standard barrel, how did they HPT test it as they claim they do on every single Bolt? Does their HPT testing barrel not have barrel lugs?

Anyone seen their lowers with redrilled pivot pin holes? No anodizing...wtf is going on over at LMT?

Did you contact LMT about the bolt issue?
So what was the outcome of your bolt issue?
What lot# letter code was on the bolt?


My Defender lowers have the reamed pivot pin holes and most Ive seen were as well.Like I said I was told this is a standard practice and acceptable.Time will tell if durability was affected by removing the anodizing.

I've never seen any other brand of lower that were re-drilled and I've seen several hundred lowers. As for the bolts they were sent back to LMT and were replaced with no explanation. The lot code on them was "Y". I was getting a 0.2775" avg reading on new Colt bolts and 0.2875 avg on that batch of LMT's. Exactly 0.0100" off...someone asleep on the machine?

Now before everyone gets on the "well they replaced it" bandwagon, the problem isn't that they replaced it....hell, even DPMS and other low end vendors will replace bad items...the problem is that this wasn't ONE or TWO bolts. It was a batch of bolts. What other batches are bad? Where was their QC? And again, how were these HP tested if the lugs were off?

I also had another single LMT BCG (before the lot mentioned above) that kept eating gas rings (after just a few rounds). This one, I returned myself and Gene told me that it wasn't LMT's carrier! I'm sure that was news to the ARF dealer I bought it from since he's a LMT dealer (and a respected vendor). Basically Gene accused the dealer of "parts swapping" (LMT bolt but someone else's carrier). According to Gene, there were certain "markers" that proved that it wasn't a LMT carrier...good stuff...

Your lower didn't come from the factory. The gun store put it together. Colts may have shitty fit and finish but they are put together correct. Every time.

I went and looked at my LMT to see how my stake job was done.  It looks good.  I've been fortunate with my rifle that as far as I can tell everything looks good and so far it has run 100% with about 200 rounds. Not a high round count but increases weekly.  

Now if LMT would come out with a midlength,  maybe even with a stainless barrel.

Those pics do look pretty ass don't they.  I mean, they center punched the receiver in the one.  

Never been a fan of anything from LMT. No idea why they have so much hype.

Um...  BS...  My 6920 had HORRIBLE castle nut staking.  And it came factory sealed in the "birth bag".  I watched my FFL cut the seal myself...





ETA: However, I didn't go start a brand bashing thread about it.  Have there been some bad LMT QC slip-ups recently?  Yup.  But out of how many thousand rifles?  It wouldn't surprise me to find out that almost EVERY QC issue from certain companies ends up reported here, since LMTs popularity was primarily driven by forums and therefore the bulk of LMT owners are on this very site.  
I've seen plenty of Colt QC issues recently too, but no one seems to be bringing those up over and over.  Poor Anodizing from Colt, Poor surface Machining, Loose Barrel Nuts causing barrels to fall off, Poor Castle Nut staking...  Where's the outrage about those?

I'm selling my LMT now.

Anyone have Vulcan's order number handy?

BR870, this thread was not started to talk about Colt QC.  It was started to discuss multiple examples
of shoddy LMT workmanship and QC which I bought with my hard earned money.  I have no problem
with Colt because I don't own any defective Colt products (I don't own anything Colt).

I do understand that your Colt had bad staking too, but that is for another thread my friend.

This new lower will not drop an empty PMAG either.  Not such a big deal since it is for a 6.8 SPC upper and
I use 99% GI mags anyways.  Still, probably indicates an out of spec mag well.

As for the CS of LMT....  I'll just say, I ain't happy.  The last e-mail I got had a direct warning not to quote the
technical / customer service main man (Please)  Said it violated Federal law to do so....  Hmm, awesome CS!!!  Way to
treat an unhappy customer good!

Note, everything I have said is completely true.  I have provided pictures, and all of the things I have said are
public domain and not proprietary.  It is not against the law to talk about defective, out of spec products
that as a consumer I have purchased.  Nor is it wrong to complain about bad service or products from a company.  I have also
never signed any sort of non disclosure agreement, the e-mail was un-encrypted, and it was not sent to me
in error.  Furthermore I will have no more dealings with a company that I feel has directly threatened me
over a customer service issue stemming from their defective products and initial lack of adequate response.

Overall rating of Product and Customer Service from LMT: Best= Worst=

................    Puke.

ETA: Sent a final e-mail to LMT.  I am no longer a customer of LMT.  I will also no longer be posting in this thread as there is no point in that.
I'm done complaining, and LMT will never get my business or hear from me again.  Simple as that.

I don't understand why every time there is a LMT QC failure thread, some people have to post commenting on Colt.  What each company does is their own business and Colt's QC and LMT's should each stand on their own without anyone making comparisons.  Its not like anyone said "Hey look at this, here's some proof that Colt is better", there was absolutely no reason to bring it up other than to be petty.

Why is that Colt bad? Staking looks fine. What am I missing here?

The metal is all displaced downward.  On one there is alittle displaced into the notch, but not much.  On the other, there is none displaced into the notch at all...



But the OP is right, this has nothing to do with Colt.  It really was a non-issue to me.  I just beefed up the staking myself.  No big deal...

I'm done here.

Chill bro. It has everything to do with Colt. If we are going to discuss poor quality work, someone needs to show what the work should look like. Now your Colt staking looks alittle weak but not "horrible" as you say. The staking is near damn center on the notch. A little soft on the punch is all. Still a 9/10 for workmanship. The LMT is clearly 1/10. A monkey can see the difference. I challenge anyone to show a NIB Colt that looks like that LMT. Not just Colt but FN as well. It won't happen.

I love the hyperbole in some of these threads too...

That said, the LMT staking job into the receiver is ass.  

My brand new LMT has QC issues as well.  I contacted Gene Swanson after seeing his name mentioned in all the LMT QC problem threads.

Got it...thanks for the bolt info.I'll keep an eye peeled.
As far as the reamed pin holes...LMT CS says they do it routinely and have for years with no ill effects.Ive never seen it from any other manufacturers either,so what else can be said....