4 ms·

Can someone more familiar with this world explain where the law ended up on building your own guns? I recall a controversy around whether you can even share ope

Can someone more familiar with this world explain where the law ended up on building your own guns? I recall a controversy around whether you can even share open source 3D printing plans (which to me felt like a violation of the first amendment) but leaving that aside, I've also heard that it is possible to do so using more traditional methods.

m0ngr31 6y ago
In a majority of states you can manufacture your own firearms as long as you didn't build them with the intent to sell. To do that would require an FFL. I can't remember exactly, but in California you can make your own, but it has to have a serial number. I can't remember what other restrictions they have.
blisterpeanuts 6y ago
I have a memory that around 10 years ago, Australia banned the very act of downloading and possessing 3-D files to make firearms. Theoretically, if your computer is seized and found to contain the SolidWorks files to make a Ruger, for example, you can be prosecuted. However I don't know that this was enacted into national law or later struck down. A man in Queensland was given a suspended sentence for printing parts of a gun that did not together constitute a usable gun without some additional pieces[1]. Apparently there have been efforts there to ban 3-D printing of guns but so far they have not been successful. In the U.S., while it is physically possible to do anything within the privacy of one's home, it is technically illegal to print a gun if you are not legally permitted to possess one.[2] There are also existing laws on the books against plastic/undetectable guns which presumably would apply as well to resin/PETG/PLA printed firearms that have few or zero metal parts. Actually, one wonders why there haven't been more incidents of plastic guns smuggled onto aircraft in recent years, perhaps because K9 teams of bomb sniffing hounds are randomly used to detect bomb-making ingredients while standing in line at security. They are trained presumably to smell gunpowder as well as other chemicals. Leave your "Gunpowder Solid Men's Cologne" at home. 1. http://www.australasianscience.com.au/article/science-and-technology/legal-minefield-3d-printed-guns.html http://www.australasianscience.com.au/article/science-and-te... 2. https://thefederalistpapers.org/us/legal-3d-gun https://thefederalistpapers.org/us/legal-3d-gun
- m0ngr31 6y ago
  Well it'd be almost impossible to sneak brass or steel cased cartridges through a metal detector (also the copper jacket on the bullet itself). Not to mention that you need a metal firing pin to hit the primer.
- elsonrodriguez 6y ago
  > Actually, one wonders why there haven't been more incidents of plastic guns smuggled onto aircraft in recent years The root cause of this is that very few people want to smuggle guns onto aircraft. I think the biggest group of gun smugglers at this point are TSA penetration testers.
- AlgorithmicTime 6y ago
  Most effective "plastic" guns still use a significant amount of metal for pressure bearing parts. E.g. the barrel, the bolt, etc.
aksss 6y ago
The State department tried to ban the exchange of digital plans for very simplistic, rudimentary 3d-printed pistols under ITAR regs. It was an over-reaction to an exaggerated fear that everyone could print guns out of plastic now, and I think the last administration (Trumps') finally revoked the rule. You can, in fact, print a gun out of plastic that will work, but it may be cheaper and more effective to build one out of parts from home depot if you're so inclined. For the most part it's always been legal to build a firearm for your own use (not to sell - that would be regulated under the Fed's commerce powers). Some states make it more burdensome than others. Making a high quality anything requires skill, but guns are very primitive mechanical devices, so the bar is very low to make something of effective working order. You won't be hitting a gong at 1000 yards, but you'll hit a pie plate at 20 pretty easy.
- laverya 6y ago
  > You won't be hitting a gong at 1000 yards, but you'll hit a pie plate at 20 pretty easy. Depends on what you're building. If you're making your own AR-15 lower, there's no detrimental impact on accuracy - all of those parts are contained within the 'upper', which (in the US) is not regulated as a firearm. If you're building from scratch, though, accuracy is really not going to happen. Not unless you have actual machine tools and training.
  - aksss 6y ago
    This is very true - it’s not hard for a practical man to build a quality piece — my reference to the twenty yard pie plate was more a Home Depot pipe and nail model. YouTube censored the vids of casting your own AR lower out of beer cans, but it’s still online[0]. If you have a modicum of skill in the garage you can also fashion an AK receiver out of a shovel (or so I am told).[1] “So, there you have it. In 2012, a drunk guy named “Boris” -who lived in what he refers to as “Communist Massachusetts”- built an AKM from an old $2 field shovel and a bunch of parts kits that can be found all over the country. His total cost was $232.” [0] https://forum.full30.com/t/ar15-made-from-beer-cans-complete-build-is-public/10534 https://forum.full30.com/t/ar15-made-from-beer-cans-complete... [1] https://warisboring.com/extreme-diy-man-makes-akm-from-a-shovel/ https://warisboring.com/extreme-diy-man-makes-akm-from-a-sho...

m0ngr31 6y ago

In a majority of states you can manufacture your own firearms as long as you didn't build them with the intent to sell. To do that would require an FFL. I can't remember exactly, but in California you can make your own, but it has to have a serial number. I can't remember what other restrictions they have.

blisterpeanuts 6y ago

I have a memory that around 10 years ago, Australia banned the very act of downloading and possessing 3-D files to make firearms. Theoretically, if your computer is seized and found to contain the SolidWorks files to make a Ruger, for example, you can be prosecuted. However I don't know that this was enacted into national law or later struck down. A man in Queensland was given a suspended sentence for printing parts of a gun that did not together constitute a usable gun without some additional pieces[1]. Apparently there have been efforts there to ban 3-D printing of guns but so far they have not been successful. In the U.S., while it is physically possible to do anything within the privacy of one's home, it is technically illegal to print a gun if you are not legally permitted to possess one.[2] There are also existing laws on the books against plastic/undetectable guns which presumably would apply as well to resin/PETG/PLA printed firearms that have few or zero metal parts. Actually, one wonders why there haven't been more incidents of plastic guns smuggled onto aircraft in recent years, perhaps because K9 teams of bomb sniffing hounds are randomly used to detect bomb-making ingredients while standing in line at security. They are trained presumably to smell gunpowder as well as other chemicals. Leave your "Gunpowder Solid Men's Cologne" at home. 1. http://www.australasianscience.com.au/article/science-and-technology/legal-minefield-3d-printed-guns.html http://www.australasianscience.com.au/article/science-and-te... 2. https://thefederalistpapers.org/us/legal-3d-gun https://thefederalistpapers.org/us/legal-3d-gun

m0ngr31 6y ago
Well it'd be almost impossible to sneak brass or steel cased cartridges through a metal detector (also the copper jacket on the bullet itself). Not to mention that you need a metal firing pin to hit the primer.
elsonrodriguez 6y ago
> Actually, one wonders why there haven't been more incidents of plastic guns smuggled onto aircraft in recent years The root cause of this is that very few people want to smuggle guns onto aircraft. I think the biggest group of gun smugglers at this point are TSA penetration testers.
AlgorithmicTime 6y ago
Most effective "plastic" guns still use a significant amount of metal for pressure bearing parts. E.g. the barrel, the bolt, etc.

aksss 6y ago

The State department tried to ban the exchange of digital plans for very simplistic, rudimentary 3d-printed pistols under ITAR regs. It was an over-reaction to an exaggerated fear that everyone could print guns out of plastic now, and I think the last administration (Trumps') finally revoked the rule. You can, in fact, print a gun out of plastic that will work, but it may be cheaper and more effective to build one out of parts from home depot if you're so inclined. For the most part it's always been legal to build a firearm for your own use (not to sell - that would be regulated under the Fed's commerce powers). Some states make it more burdensome than others. Making a high quality anything requires skill, but guns are very primitive mechanical devices, so the bar is very low to make something of effective working order. You won't be hitting a gong at 1000 yards, but you'll hit a pie plate at 20 pretty easy.

laverya 6y ago
> You won't be hitting a gong at 1000 yards, but you'll hit a pie plate at 20 pretty easy. Depends on what you're building. If you're making your own AR-15 lower, there's no detrimental impact on accuracy - all of those parts are contained within the 'upper', which (in the US) is not regulated as a firearm. If you're building from scratch, though, accuracy is really not going to happen. Not unless you have actual machine tools and training.
- aksss 6y ago
  This is very true - it’s not hard for a practical man to build a quality piece — my reference to the twenty yard pie plate was more a Home Depot pipe and nail model. YouTube censored the vids of casting your own AR lower out of beer cans, but it’s still online[0]. If you have a modicum of skill in the garage you can also fashion an AK receiver out of a shovel (or so I am told).[1] “So, there you have it. In 2012, a drunk guy named “Boris” -who lived in what he refers to as “Communist Massachusetts”- built an AKM from an old $2 field shovel and a bunch of parts kits that can be found all over the country. His total cost was $232.” [0] https://forum.full30.com/t/ar15-made-from-beer-cans-complete-build-is-public/10534 https://forum.full30.com/t/ar15-made-from-beer-cans-complete... [1] https://warisboring.com/extreme-diy-man-makes-akm-from-a-shovel/ https://warisboring.com/extreme-diy-man-makes-akm-from-a-sho...