... why doesn't someone who has the capability of engraving receivers make a stamp? A stamp could be made out of most any type of steel I would imagine, because it only has to be able to stamp into relatively soft aluminum. The stamp could be applied either by hitting it with a hammer or in combination with a hydraulic press of some sort (you'd need a block of metal to insert into the magazine well for internal support while doing this). Advantages: it would look more authentic, i.e., like a rollmark instead of engraving (because stamping displaces metal rather than removing it like engraving does), and for someone who offers this as a service, it would be a lot less work and less costly in the long run to stamp receivers than to directly engrave each one.

It would look something like this:

Engraving is a more cost-effective means of customizing lowers on a small scale. Personally, i think laser engraving does a cleaner and better looking result than a die.

You only have to make a stamp once and you can get many uses out of it. There are some markings that many people want, such as a Colt logo and associated text.

Strictly speaking, engraving does look cleaner because it is cleaner, but it also looks wrong in this context. It also doesn't look better in my opinion. I like the displaced metal look. The surrounding metal sort of flows into the markings, rather than the metal being cut out at a sharp 90 degree angle. CNC engraving looks digital; stamping looks analog.

Hmmmmm....wonder why I didnt think of this! Sounds simple enough. Might as well be authentic and do a roll stamp while Im at it. Off to the shop I go.

It would take a lot of force to get a even roll mark.

This stamp is pretty small. 1" x 2" and only hitting by .01 It added 7 tons to the die.

I personally love this idea of stamping as opposed to engraving.  I think it would look much more authentic.  And to to take it one step further if someone produces pre-made stamps and a magazine well support fixture that they can duplicate and sell we could all have the option of making multiple authentic looking lowers ourselves right in a press.  Having looked at many demilled Colt lowers I can tell you that even Colt's markings were not always perfect and in many cases have light very fine hard to see markings or uneven partially light markings.  The only thing I see as a potential problem as far as stamp that could be sold would be the serial number.  I think make a stamp with no serial number and let that be on the end user to decide how they want their serial number to be put on.  Again the serial numbers don't have to be perfect either.  Engraving is a nice option, since it is all we currently have, but it doesn't always look authentic.  I say go stamp!  And make me one too!

For serial numbers you can buy number stamp sets, and they aren't necessarily expensive. For example:

http://www.harborfreight.com/36-piece-18-in-steel-letternumber-stamping-set-60670.html

It just takes some care to apply them straight and even, because you're doing them one at a time.

http://millenniumsignaturesmarkingsystems.com/products/steel-stamps-dies/

That's a bizarre coincidence. Those guys actually make the stamps for Colt? I assume the Colt ones wouldn't be for sale to anyone but Colt. I guess that means Colt doesn't use a rollmark (which is just a cylindrical stamp) anymore on their AR-15s, but rather, a standard flat stamp like I'm talking about in this thread.

In any event, anyone with a CNC device capable of engraving directly onto receivers could make a stamp like that; it is just a matter of mirroring their CAD file and changing the letters/logo from a depression to an extrusion. It would of course take a lot more time to engrave one than it would to engrave a receiver directly, because you'd be removing an almost complete layer from a block of steel, leaving only the letters and logo behind, but one stamp can mark many receivers.

Most of that stamping is done on the raw forging, you run a good chance of crushing or deforming a receiver that has any machining done to it when you stamp it.

That pic was from a old thread I made, I was going to make a stamp but decided not to. And most engraving CAD is going to only be lines and arcs. No 3d surfaces.


And the stamping would need to be done before the mag well is cut. You could probably get by with a filler block though.


The best way to make it would be to make an electrode with a tapered cutter and burn the image into a piece of tool steel.

True, but most of what we would be doing this to are 80% lowers. A2's are cheap to practice on.

I had thought about this in the past. The problem I see is that most of us only build one or two of each model. I had wondered if an automotive bottle jack press would be strong enough to do something like this. I always suspected not and moved on to the next idea. I hate to admit it, but I thought about the Colt prof marks as well. We start to get into a gray area when we go to far, but most of us have morels and make some type of mark or flaw to show the parts are not original.

I do love the concept though and would support it.

Why not use e.g., a CNC router or mill with a standard 3D CAD file, such as from AutoCAD 2015? Use a larger bit to cut out most of the blank areas and then a smaller bit for the letters/logo.

you can, but you will also need to go down to very small cutters. With a EDM machine you could make the electrode with a single tapered cutter.

I have done stamping before and it is time consuming and bending the magwell is easy if you are not careful.   I think they look MUCH better unlike some others here.   I believe that cost benefit ratio favor CNC.  I love my hobby cnc and my son enjoys engraving with it. Its a time sink but you can do some cool stuff

I started to write this reply a few days ago, when I saw it mentioned that you would have problems with the magwell area.   Diring my convetsation with Curtis Debord, the principle at US Ordnance, who is working with Colt, we discussed roll marks and their application. He stated that the magwell roll mark was applied AFTER maching of the magqell interior. Even with a block inserted into the magwell for backup you still get deflection of the magwell wall. That is evident if you look closely at the artwork of Colt rolls. The most obvious is the circle around the globe and pony. As the circle imprint "starts", it is a sharp detail. As you get toeards the middle of the circle roll......the 10 oclock to 2 oclock, and  8-5 oclock area.....  where the die is imprinting more, the detail is generally shallower, from wall deflection of the receiver.
EDIT. Geez, bad typing on my phone, youll have to read between the typos