because the companies did not have a lot of money, the first m1918a2s were just older m1918 bars that were changed. a small amount m1922s and m1918a1s were also changed. after wwii started, it was tried to make more m1918a2s. however, the world war i tools used to make the m1918 were either worn out or could not be used with modern machines. in 1942, there was not enough wood to make the buttstocks, so a black plastic buttstock was made for the bar. firestone rubber and latex products company made the plastic buttstock for the u.s. army. this was brought into service on march 21, 1942.