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The first person I know of to do this was at a gun buyback in Houston in August. He printed 63 single shot .22s and got $6,200 for it.[1] He then used that mone

by chroma 4y ago

The first person I know of to do this was at a gun buyback in Houston in August. He printed 63 single shot .22s and got $6,200 for it.[1] He then used that money to buy a bunch of guns for himself and his daughter. The guy who made $21,000 says he was inspired by the reward from the Houston buyback.[2] He drove six hours to Utica, not Utah[3] and along with three other guys, managed to get $45,000 from the Utica Police Department. One of those three bragged about getting $5,000 for a week of printing plastic and $7 worth of screws.[4] These people do this for two reasons. First, it's profitable (though that's likely to change as the buyback programs begin to exclude 3D printed guns). Second, it shows that it is incredibly cheap and easy to make firearms and illegal parts. Anyone with a $200 printer can build a safe and reliable semi-automatic handgun. It's even easier to build devices that convert a semi-auto firearm to full auto. Like the war on drugs, the policymakers have lost, they just don't know it yet. 1. https://twitter.com/CobraEconomics/status/1555413352259719169 https://twitter.com/CobraEconomics/status/155541335225971916... 2. https://twitter.com/kem_regik/status/1570191067235946496 https://twitter.com/kem_regik/status/1570191067235946496 3. https://twitter.com/kem_regik/status/1570173184640520195 https://twitter.com/kem_regik/status/1570173184640520195 4. https://twitter.com/ricky2a3d/status/1570306811588141061 https://twitter.com/ricky2a3d/status/1570306811588141061

sschueller 4y ago
"Anyone with a $200 printer can build a safe and reliable semi-automatic handgun." I highly doubt that. Maybe if you have most of it out of other parts but a fully printed handgun will fail after just a few shots and it isn't safe in any shape or form. I have 3d prints fall apart on their own if there are issues with the printer or material.
- MichaelCollins 4y ago
  Anybody with $50 can build themselves a safe and reliable slamfire shotgun made out of metal. The hardware store employees will even cut the pipe for you. These can be sold to police buyback programs for a huge profit, or simply used as shotguns normally are used. The only way to stop this is to restrict the availability of ammunition, which is feasible in some countries but not America.
  - core-utility 4y ago
    Case in point: https://www.thedailybeast.com/crude-homemade-shotgun-used-to-assassinate-former-japanese-prime-minister-shinzo-abe https://www.thedailybeast.com/crude-homemade-shotgun-used-to...
    - yellowapple 4y ago
      Which is itself a major wrinkle in the "just restrict ammo" approach to gun control. DIY projectiles are easy (find some ball bearings or marbles or anything else that'll fit in a barrel), and DIY gunpowder is only slightly less easy (https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Gunpowder https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Gunpowder). DIY primers are much more difficult - but a spark plug and a power source to spark it, not so much.
      - rolph 4y ago
        if you really dont care for perfect engineering, a component of a box of matches can replace the powder.
      - MichaelCollins 4y ago
        This is true, but successfully restricting the availability of professionally manufactured ammunition will prevent people from using homemade semi-automatic or automatic weapons like an FGC-9. And even for a single-shot shotgun, real ammunition is a lot more practical. Not necessary, but definitely more practical.
        yellowapple 4y ago
        Sure, at least until designs adapt to the new norm. 3D printed cartridges in electric-powered firearms would sever the dependency on professionally manufactured ammunition (and might even become professionally manufactured ammunition). As for practicality, what's most practical in most circumstances is what's easiest to acquire.
        nibbleshifter 4y ago
- chroma 4y ago
  In the US, many pressure-bearing components such as barrels are not controlled parts. You print the frame or lower receiver, then use normal parts that are compatible. This has been done for MP5s[1], AKs[2], Glocks[3], and even AR-10s in big calibers like .308.[4] Even if barrels required as much effort to get as a complete gun, there are already designs that use no gun parts. The FCG-9[5] is the most popular one. It's actually pretty easy to ECM your own barrel at home. Hundreds of people have built guns like these using zero gun parts.[6] They're reliable and accurate enough that they're being used by Burmese rebels.[7] 1. https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1577447210173751296 https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1577447210173751296 2. https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1577019965458169856 https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1577019965458169856 3. https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1574237027125559297 https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1574237027125559297 4. https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1533508555994800128 https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1533508555994800128 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FGC-9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FGC-9 6. https://twitter.com/WhichJoeSchmoe/status/1562548244387078144 https://twitter.com/WhichJoeSchmoe/status/156254824438707814... 7. https://twitter.com/jake_hanrahan/status/1468966318317531140 https://twitter.com/jake_hanrahan/status/1468966318317531140
  - kube-system 4y ago
    I don't understand why some gun rights advocates point out that the current regulations make no sense for 3D printed guns. I think they think that this demonstrates that the rules shouldn't exist... but I think the response that they're going to elicit is a push for controls on barrels/slides/uppers/ammo.
kube-system 4y ago
> Anyone with a $200 printer can build a safe and reliable semi-automatic handgun. Maybe you can print a lower that will sort of work a few times, after you buy professionally machined parts for all of the critical parts of the gun. People make this statement because it is technically true, but all they're going to accomplish is a push for high-pressure parts to be serialized.
- yellowapple 4y ago
  If you're able to cheaply print firearms, then it doesn't really matter too much if those firearms end up being disposable; if it breaks, just print another one. As for machining parts out of metal, people can and do build "slamfire" shotguns out of two pipes and a nail. Needless to say, I think you're overestimating the difficulty of shopping around at Home Depot.
  - kube-system 4y ago
    I understand the problem space, I've built my own gun parts using both 3d printers and traditional machine tools. The thing is, criminals aren't hobbyists. They're not going to goof around at the range for 8 hours trying to tune in a mechanism. As long as traditionally produced guns are the price of a 3D printer, (or a busted pickup truck window away), there's really no reason for your local gang member to do an arts and crafts session.
    - aksss 4y ago
      That's not how it works, any more than we make our own cocaine. The local gang member doesn't need to learn the specialist skills. He needs to know a guy who knows a guy.
      - kube-system 4y ago
        The gang member already knows a guy with reliable and cheap professionally made guns. 3D printed parts are inferior in quality and performance to injection molded.
Glyptodon 4y ago
This is what really bothers me about the gun debate. Stuff like the current mess around reclassifying "pistol" braces is utterly asinine and has more or less zero connection to making anything safer for anyone. But guns are bad so using asinine nonsense to create more felons must be good I guess? It's so obvious that most of the arguments applicable to the War on Drugs or Prohibition apply to guns, but guns are so much more visceral to many that nobody sees it. And there's so much of that kind of nonsense, like laws focused on whether non-pistols have pistol grips. It's no wonder that gun laws generate a bunch of people who hate gun laws, and it's no wonder that the whole thing is a feedback loop of institutional destruction and delegitimization. Much like laws restricting Abortions were before the Theocrats managed to create a supreme ecumenical council. What I'm not looking forward to is that the utter lack of legitimacy coupled with the low quality opinions this ecumenical council is creating means that there will eventually be a successful backlash if the nation doesn't implode, and that backlash is going to bring back even more full-throttle versions of these lost and impossible laws at a time when they will be guaranteed to be even less effective than they are now.
- rolph 4y ago
  back in the 30s USA viewed a number of socialmovement groups, and ethnic "mafias" as a direct threat to existence, that resulted in the gun control act. thus immigrants, and other groups were not allowed handguns,and the restriction of Short barrel rifles was incurred. it was very important to curtail common carry of easily concealable firearms, by these groups. the interesting thing about the AR platform is the buffer tube, projecting from the rear of the weapon, its a natural position for a shoulder stock. its possible to do away with this, using a blowback operated caliber like 9mm luger, but these in .223 cal need to have the spring and mass to push onto. so we get the AR 15 with a short barrel [<16"] leave out the shoulder stock and call it a pistol as its [intended to shoot 1 handed] if it has no other hand grips. you push that buffer tube, against your shoulder, and its not comfortable but it works as is to shoulder the weapon. next you massage the shoulder stock wrist brace definitions so you end up with a wrist brace that has features making it a comfortable shouldering. over time the AR platform evaded the definition of a short barrel rifle, and the crackdown, is on building pistols with features allowing rifle like usage, but remaining concealable, and easily moved in/out of vehilces.

by chroma 4y ago

sschueller 4y ago

"Anyone with a $200 printer can build a safe and reliable semi-automatic handgun." I highly doubt that. Maybe if you have most of it out of other parts but a fully printed handgun will fail after just a few shots and it isn't safe in any shape or form. I have 3d prints fall apart on their own if there are issues with the printer or material.

MichaelCollins 4y ago
Anybody with $50 can build themselves a safe and reliable slamfire shotgun made out of metal. The hardware store employees will even cut the pipe for you. These can be sold to police buyback programs for a huge profit, or simply used as shotguns normally are used. The only way to stop this is to restrict the availability of ammunition, which is feasible in some countries but not America.
- core-utility 4y ago
  Case in point: https://www.thedailybeast.com/crude-homemade-shotgun-used-to-assassinate-former-japanese-prime-minister-shinzo-abe https://www.thedailybeast.com/crude-homemade-shotgun-used-to...
  - yellowapple 4y ago
    Which is itself a major wrinkle in the "just restrict ammo" approach to gun control. DIY projectiles are easy (find some ball bearings or marbles or anything else that'll fit in a barrel), and DIY gunpowder is only slightly less easy (https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Gunpowder https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Gunpowder). DIY primers are much more difficult - but a spark plug and a power source to spark it, not so much.
    - rolph 4y ago
      if you really dont care for perfect engineering, a component of a box of matches can replace the powder.
    - MichaelCollins 4y ago
      This is true, but successfully restricting the availability of professionally manufactured ammunition will prevent people from using homemade semi-automatic or automatic weapons like an FGC-9. And even for a single-shot shotgun, real ammunition is a lot more practical. Not necessary, but definitely more practical.
      - yellowapple 4y ago
        Sure, at least until designs adapt to the new norm. 3D printed cartridges in electric-powered firearms would sever the dependency on professionally manufactured ammunition (and might even become professionally manufactured ammunition). As for practicality, what's most practical in most circumstances is what's easiest to acquire.
      - nibbleshifter 4y ago
chroma 4y ago
In the US, many pressure-bearing components such as barrels are not controlled parts. You print the frame or lower receiver, then use normal parts that are compatible. This has been done for MP5s[1], AKs[2], Glocks[3], and even AR-10s in big calibers like .308.[4] Even if barrels required as much effort to get as a complete gun, there are already designs that use no gun parts. The FCG-9[5] is the most popular one. It's actually pretty easy to ECM your own barrel at home. Hundreds of people have built guns like these using zero gun parts.[6] They're reliable and accurate enough that they're being used by Burmese rebels.[7] 1. https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1577447210173751296 https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1577447210173751296 2. https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1577019965458169856 https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1577019965458169856 3. https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1574237027125559297 https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1574237027125559297 4. https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1533508555994800128 https://twitter.com/NaviGoBoom/status/1533508555994800128 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FGC-9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FGC-9 6. https://twitter.com/WhichJoeSchmoe/status/1562548244387078144 https://twitter.com/WhichJoeSchmoe/status/156254824438707814... 7. https://twitter.com/jake_hanrahan/status/1468966318317531140 https://twitter.com/jake_hanrahan/status/1468966318317531140
- kube-system 4y ago
  I don't understand why some gun rights advocates point out that the current regulations make no sense for 3D printed guns. I think they think that this demonstrates that the rules shouldn't exist... but I think the response that they're going to elicit is a push for controls on barrels/slides/uppers/ammo.

kube-system 4y ago

> Anyone with a $200 printer can build a safe and reliable semi-automatic handgun. Maybe you can print a lower that will sort of work a few times, after you buy professionally machined parts for all of the critical parts of the gun. People make this statement because it is technically true, but all they're going to accomplish is a push for high-pressure parts to be serialized.

yellowapple 4y ago
If you're able to cheaply print firearms, then it doesn't really matter too much if those firearms end up being disposable; if it breaks, just print another one. As for machining parts out of metal, people can and do build "slamfire" shotguns out of two pipes and a nail. Needless to say, I think you're overestimating the difficulty of shopping around at Home Depot.
- kube-system 4y ago
  I understand the problem space, I've built my own gun parts using both 3d printers and traditional machine tools. The thing is, criminals aren't hobbyists. They're not going to goof around at the range for 8 hours trying to tune in a mechanism. As long as traditionally produced guns are the price of a 3D printer, (or a busted pickup truck window away), there's really no reason for your local gang member to do an arts and crafts session.
  - aksss 4y ago
    That's not how it works, any more than we make our own cocaine. The local gang member doesn't need to learn the specialist skills. He needs to know a guy who knows a guy.
    - kube-system 4y ago
      The gang member already knows a guy with reliable and cheap professionally made guns. 3D printed parts are inferior in quality and performance to injection molded.

Glyptodon 4y ago

This is what really bothers me about the gun debate. Stuff like the current mess around reclassifying "pistol" braces is utterly asinine and has more or less zero connection to making anything safer for anyone. But guns are bad so using asinine nonsense to create more felons must be good I guess? It's so obvious that most of the arguments applicable to the War on Drugs or Prohibition apply to guns, but guns are so much more visceral to many that nobody sees it. And there's so much of that kind of nonsense, like laws focused on whether non-pistols have pistol grips. It's no wonder that gun laws generate a bunch of people who hate gun laws, and it's no wonder that the whole thing is a feedback loop of institutional destruction and delegitimization. Much like laws restricting Abortions were before the Theocrats managed to create a supreme ecumenical council. What I'm not looking forward to is that the utter lack of legitimacy coupled with the low quality opinions this ecumenical council is creating means that there will eventually be a successful backlash if the nation doesn't implode, and that backlash is going to bring back even more full-throttle versions of these lost and impossible laws at a time when they will be guaranteed to be even less effective than they are now.

rolph 4y ago
back in the 30s USA viewed a number of socialmovement groups, and ethnic "mafias" as a direct threat to existence, that resulted in the gun control act. thus immigrants, and other groups were not allowed handguns,and the restriction of Short barrel rifles was incurred. it was very important to curtail common carry of easily concealable firearms, by these groups. the interesting thing about the AR platform is the buffer tube, projecting from the rear of the weapon, its a natural position for a shoulder stock. its possible to do away with this, using a blowback operated caliber like 9mm luger, but these in .223 cal need to have the spring and mass to push onto. so we get the AR 15 with a short barrel [<16"] leave out the shoulder stock and call it a pistol as its [intended to shoot 1 handed] if it has no other hand grips. you push that buffer tube, against your shoulder, and its not comfortable but it works as is to shoulder the weapon. next you massage the shoulder stock wrist brace definitions so you end up with a wrist brace that has features making it a comfortable shouldering. over time the AR platform evaded the definition of a short barrel rifle, and the crackdown, is on building pistols with features allowing rifle like usage, but remaining concealable, and easily moved in/out of vehilces.