4 ms·

Why be alarmed? You can do the same thing with a mill or CNC machine except its made of metal and not shitty plastic and it has been available for like 60 years

Why be alarmed? You can do the same thing with a mill or CNC machine except its made of metal and not shitty plastic and it has been available for like 60 years. Gun technology is not secret nor are the mechanics unreasonably complicated, plans are easily available both in books and online and have been since before near everyone here was born.

_bxg1 8y ago
You have to be an experienced metalworker to make one that way. A computer doesn't do it for you (at least not yet). Whereas any idiot can download a file and send it to a 3D printer.
- toomuchtodo 8y ago
  And plastic isn't detected by a metal detector (there's a movie plot about this! [+]). [+] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Line_of_Fire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Line_of_Fire
  - giancarlostoro 8y ago
    Also Hotel Artemis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Artemis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Artemis
  - woolvalley 8y ago
    I'm not sure if the entire gun can be made out of plastic without making the gun near useless or explode in your hands as you shoot it. Usually these 'homemade' guns buy a lot of professionally made gun parts such as the rifle barrel and just make their own lower receiver, which isn't exposed to the explosive high pressure part of a gun.
    - king_nothing 8y ago
      DemoRanch, Taofledermaus or iv8888 fired shotgun shells bare, ICRW. They’re the lowest chamber-pressure lethal (22LR and .25 are difficult but not impossible to make lethal) rounds.
      - cma 8y ago
        Was the shot made of plastic too?
  - king_nothing 8y ago
    The only completely polymer gun with a chance of not killing or maiming the operator is a shotgun cartridge blunderbuss with the shell/s place far away from the hands. With enough rubber bands, it should be possible to not need a metal firing pin.
  - esaym 8y ago
    Most guns are already 50%+ plastic today so not really seeing your point.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
    - toomuchtodo 8y ago
      Are they of sufficient plastic or composite composition that they don't trigger a metal detector? I don't believe so. Disclaimer: I’m familiar with this only because I have to check my firearms when I’m flying.
      - esaym 8y ago
        Hard to say as all detectors are different. I only know that while as a teenager I got kicked out of public school for skipping class too much and was sent to an "alternative placement center". Everyone there had to wear a white shirt and pants. There was only one entrance and there was a metal detector right in front of it. But what all the "cool" kids were doing was seeing how big of a knife they could sneak through it. And there was a couple of 3 inchers that got through. It mattered were the knife was and how you held your hands as you went through, but can't remember the details (this was back in 2001).
- DuskStar 8y ago
  Ghost Gunner [0] is a general purpose CNC mill with a focus on taking 80% lowers and turning them into 100% lowers. 0: https://ghostgunner.net/ https://ghostgunner.net/
- pxeboot 8y ago
  '80 percent lowers' have been available for quite sometime and can be turned into a working firearm with just a Dremel tool. Very little skill required.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- esaym 8y ago
  >You have to be an experienced metalworker to make one that way. Well not so much. If you've got blue prints or a replica of any metal part you can go to any local machine shop have them make it for you. Of course you are going to be paying $150+ an hour for labor, but it can be done. I had to get a lot of parts machined from raw materials on an old motorcycle I restored once. There were not after market parts for it. I had to get everything that was broken or worn out made at a local machine shop. Nothing stopping me from handing them blue prints for an ak-47 receiver. Machining a gun barrel might be a little more obvious, but barrels can be bought on ebay and other online shops. Usually only receivers and frames are what is regulated, but frames can be made custom out of wood or plastic.
  - madengr 8y ago
    They can make you an 80% lower receiver, but would need a manufacturing license to make a 100%.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
spunker540 8y ago
I think alarm is due to the fact that the expertise and training required to use a mill or CNC machine is vastly greater than a 3D printer. I’d also imagine that a 3D printer set up is cheaper (but am not sure). The result is that these unlicensed guns can become much more common.
- zitterbewegung 8y ago
  Any 3D printed gun is more likely to blow up in your hand than work. A machine shop will give you something actually reliable and can be done by hand without a CNC machine . See https://www.northeastshooters.com/xen/threads/diy-shovel-ak-photo-tsunami-warning.179192/ https://www.northeastshooters.com/xen/threads/diy-shovel-ak-...
  - nkozyra 8y ago
    > Any 3D printed gun is more likely to blow up in your hand than work. Today? Sure. Tomorrow? Maybe not. Given this is precedent it's perfectly apt for people to consider the future implications.
- AngryData 8y ago
  The difference between a 3d printer and a CNC machine isn''t that much. The only real reason a CNC machine costs more is because without a beefier frame your cutting speed will be absolute shit since it can take less torque, but still possible if time isn't a factor. Add on 2-300 bucks to the cost of a 3d printer and those problems goes away though and you have a very capable cnc machine. If you can figure out how to use your own 3d printer at home then you can do the same thing with a CNC machine.
bumholio 8y ago
It's a symbolic victory that might have strong practical effects 10-20 years from now, when every auto repair shop will have a metal 3D printer that could be used to quickly reproduce military-grade weapons in quantity, with a few clicks. That, of course, it's exactly what gun rights activists envision, a self-regulated militia being the best insurance and security for a free state (yes, that's a misquote).
- Someone1234 8y ago
  *well regulated militia

_bxg1 8y ago

You have to be an experienced metalworker to make one that way. A computer doesn't do it for you (at least not yet). Whereas any idiot can download a file and send it to a 3D printer.

toomuchtodo 8y ago
And plastic isn't detected by a metal detector (there's a movie plot about this! [+]). [+] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Line_of_Fire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Line_of_Fire
- giancarlostoro 8y ago
  Also Hotel Artemis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Artemis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Artemis
- woolvalley 8y ago
  I'm not sure if the entire gun can be made out of plastic without making the gun near useless or explode in your hands as you shoot it. Usually these 'homemade' guns buy a lot of professionally made gun parts such as the rifle barrel and just make their own lower receiver, which isn't exposed to the explosive high pressure part of a gun.
  - king_nothing 8y ago
    DemoRanch, Taofledermaus or iv8888 fired shotgun shells bare, ICRW. They’re the lowest chamber-pressure lethal (22LR and .25 are difficult but not impossible to make lethal) rounds.
    - cma 8y ago
      Was the shot made of plastic too?
- king_nothing 8y ago
  The only completely polymer gun with a chance of not killing or maiming the operator is a shotgun cartridge blunderbuss with the shell/s place far away from the hands. With enough rubber bands, it should be possible to not need a metal firing pin.
- esaym 8y ago
  Most guns are already 50%+ plastic today so not really seeing your point.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - toomuchtodo 8y ago
    Are they of sufficient plastic or composite composition that they don't trigger a metal detector? I don't believe so. Disclaimer: I’m familiar with this only because I have to check my firearms when I’m flying.
    - esaym 8y ago
      Hard to say as all detectors are different. I only know that while as a teenager I got kicked out of public school for skipping class too much and was sent to an "alternative placement center". Everyone there had to wear a white shirt and pants. There was only one entrance and there was a metal detector right in front of it. But what all the "cool" kids were doing was seeing how big of a knife they could sneak through it. And there was a couple of 3 inchers that got through. It mattered were the knife was and how you held your hands as you went through, but can't remember the details (this was back in 2001).
DuskStar 8y ago
Ghost Gunner [0] is a general purpose CNC mill with a focus on taking 80% lowers and turning them into 100% lowers. 0: https://ghostgunner.net/ https://ghostgunner.net/
pxeboot 8y ago
'80 percent lowers' have been available for quite sometime and can be turned into a working firearm with just a Dremel tool. Very little skill required.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
esaym 8y ago
>You have to be an experienced metalworker to make one that way. Well not so much. If you've got blue prints or a replica of any metal part you can go to any local machine shop have them make it for you. Of course you are going to be paying $150+ an hour for labor, but it can be done. I had to get a lot of parts machined from raw materials on an old motorcycle I restored once. There were not after market parts for it. I had to get everything that was broken or worn out made at a local machine shop. Nothing stopping me from handing them blue prints for an ak-47 receiver. Machining a gun barrel might be a little more obvious, but barrels can be bought on ebay and other online shops. Usually only receivers and frames are what is regulated, but frames can be made custom out of wood or plastic.
- madengr 8y ago
  They can make you an 80% lower receiver, but would need a manufacturing license to make a 100%.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

spunker540 8y ago

I think alarm is due to the fact that the expertise and training required to use a mill or CNC machine is vastly greater than a 3D printer. I’d also imagine that a 3D printer set up is cheaper (but am not sure). The result is that these unlicensed guns can become much more common.

zitterbewegung 8y ago
Any 3D printed gun is more likely to blow up in your hand than work. A machine shop will give you something actually reliable and can be done by hand without a CNC machine . See https://www.northeastshooters.com/xen/threads/diy-shovel-ak-photo-tsunami-warning.179192/ https://www.northeastshooters.com/xen/threads/diy-shovel-ak-...
- nkozyra 8y ago
  > Any 3D printed gun is more likely to blow up in your hand than work. Today? Sure. Tomorrow? Maybe not. Given this is precedent it's perfectly apt for people to consider the future implications.
AngryData 8y ago
The difference between a 3d printer and a CNC machine isn''t that much. The only real reason a CNC machine costs more is because without a beefier frame your cutting speed will be absolute shit since it can take less torque, but still possible if time isn't a factor. Add on 2-300 bucks to the cost of a 3d printer and those problems goes away though and you have a very capable cnc machine. If you can figure out how to use your own 3d printer at home then you can do the same thing with a CNC machine.

bumholio 8y ago

It's a symbolic victory that might have strong practical effects 10-20 years from now, when every auto repair shop will have a metal 3D printer that could be used to quickly reproduce military-grade weapons in quantity, with a few clicks. That, of course, it's exactly what gun rights activists envision, a self-regulated militia being the best insurance and security for a free state (yes, that's a misquote).

Someone1234 8y ago
*well regulated militia