4 ms·

It takes a lot more effort and skill to build a weapon manually now than it would to print one with a 3D printer, so I see the concern.

by gsibble 14y ago

RyJones 14y ago
Not really. I've built an AK with a parts kit, a hammer, a flat, and a vice in a parking lot. There are myriad screw-built AKs out there where even the hammer for the rivets is dispensed with. [0] If you want to dismiss AKs from consideration, making an AR15 lower out of flat chunks of aluminum and a drill press is easy enough; they aren't much for looks, but they are quite functional. [1] This is setting aside completely home-built weapons; while unpleasant, a functioning STeN-type MG is no challenge to build from scrap.[2] [0] http://www.ak-47.us/build/Matt_Screw_Build.php http://www.ak-47.us/build/Matt_Screw_Build.php [1] I'm searching the ar15.com archives for the pictures, will edit in soon [2] http://www.thehomegunsmith.com/ http://www.thehomegunsmith.com/
- sukuriant 14y ago
  You've been downvoted and at first I couldn't figure out a good reason why; but... Technically, it does take more work now than it would with a 3d printer. With a sufficiently advanced 3d printer, it'd probably be, download p3f (printable 3d format), open cad, click print. For you, it's probably: mill steel, inserts screws, twist screws... this is more work than a couple keystrokes and a mouse-click, technically.
  - archgoon 14y ago
    I'd say there's a significant difference between ordering gun parts (which can potentially be tracked by law enforcement) and ordering raw materials that can only incidentally be used for guns.
    - AngryParsley 14y ago
      I'm not so sure. Hundreds of thousands of people order firearm parts, so any individual is lost in the noise. Also, many sellers of firearm parts value the privacy of their customers.
    - sukuriant 14y ago
      You can create a gun from raw materials. (c.f. weapons created inside of prisons) http://www.correctionsone.com/contraband/articles/1961780-15-deadly-improvised-prison-weapons-and-tools/ http://www.correctionsone.com/contraband/articles/1961780-15...
AngryParsley 14y ago
If you have access to a drill press, you can build an AR-15 without undergoing a background check. Just buy an 80% lower and a jig. You can order these things online. An 80% complete lower receiver is completely legal for anyone to own. In the eyes of the law, it is a chunk of metal. Once you put it in a jig and drill out a couple of parts, it becomes an AR-15 lower receiver. Now it's a firearm. The rest of the parts (upper receiver, lower parts kit, stock, sights, etc) are completely legal for anyone to own without a background check. You can order these parts online as well. Total cost will be somewhere between $700 and $2,000, depending on how fancy you want to get. Actually doing this may or may not be legal. It depends on your criminal record, mental health, the combination of parts you assemble, and where you live. There are a ton of laws related to firearm ownership, transportation, and manufacture. Even summarizing them would triple the length of this comment. My point is that building dangerous weapons is already not particularly difficult, time-consuming, or expensive. 3D printers will make it a little easier, but not drastically so. Different parts of the firearm require different materials. The lower receiver can be aluminum, but the barrel has to be steel. The recoil buffer won't work if it's too heavy, so it has to be aluminum. But it also has to have plastic caps to avoid damaging the buffer tube. Even if you could print these parts out with the right tolerances, you'd still have to assemble them with special tools. If it's so easy to build an AR-15, why don't we see a ton of killings with them? Simply put: because most people are sane. The vast majority of the population, given the chance, would not want to kill innocent people and spend life in prison.

It takes a lot more effort and skill to build a weapon manually now than it would to print one with a 3D printer, so I see the concern.

by gsibble 14y ago

It takes a lot more effort and skill to build a weapon manually now than it would to print one with a 3D printer, so I see the concern.

RyJones 14y ago

Not really. I've built an AK with a parts kit, a hammer, a flat, and a vice in a parking lot. There are myriad screw-built AKs out there where even the hammer for the rivets is dispensed with. [0] If you want to dismiss AKs from consideration, making an AR15 lower out of flat chunks of aluminum and a drill press is easy enough; they aren't much for looks, but they are quite functional. [1] This is setting aside completely home-built weapons; while unpleasant, a functioning STeN-type MG is no challenge to build from scrap.[2] [0] http://www.ak-47.us/build/Matt_Screw_Build.php http://www.ak-47.us/build/Matt_Screw_Build.php [1] I'm searching the ar15.com archives for the pictures, will edit in soon [2] http://www.thehomegunsmith.com/ http://www.thehomegunsmith.com/

sukuriant 14y ago
You've been downvoted and at first I couldn't figure out a good reason why; but... Technically, it does take more work now than it would with a 3d printer. With a sufficiently advanced 3d printer, it'd probably be, download p3f (printable 3d format), open cad, click print. For you, it's probably: mill steel, inserts screws, twist screws... this is more work than a couple keystrokes and a mouse-click, technically.
- archgoon 14y ago
  I'd say there's a significant difference between ordering gun parts (which can potentially be tracked by law enforcement) and ordering raw materials that can only incidentally be used for guns.
  - AngryParsley 14y ago
    I'm not so sure. Hundreds of thousands of people order firearm parts, so any individual is lost in the noise. Also, many sellers of firearm parts value the privacy of their customers.
  - sukuriant 14y ago
    You can create a gun from raw materials. (c.f. weapons created inside of prisons) http://www.correctionsone.com/contraband/articles/1961780-15-deadly-improvised-prison-weapons-and-tools/ http://www.correctionsone.com/contraband/articles/1961780-15...

AngryParsley 14y ago

If you have access to a drill press, you can build an AR-15 without undergoing a background check. Just buy an 80% lower and a jig. You can order these things online. An 80% complete lower receiver is completely legal for anyone to own. In the eyes of the law, it is a chunk of metal. Once you put it in a jig and drill out a couple of parts, it becomes an AR-15 lower receiver. Now it's a firearm. The rest of the parts (upper receiver, lower parts kit, stock, sights, etc) are completely legal for anyone to own without a background check. You can order these parts online as well. Total cost will be somewhere between $700 and $2,000, depending on how fancy you want to get. Actually doing this may or may not be legal. It depends on your criminal record, mental health, the combination of parts you assemble, and where you live. There are a ton of laws related to firearm ownership, transportation, and manufacture. Even summarizing them would triple the length of this comment. My point is that building dangerous weapons is already not particularly difficult, time-consuming, or expensive. 3D printers will make it a little easier, but not drastically so. Different parts of the firearm require different materials. The lower receiver can be aluminum, but the barrel has to be steel. The recoil buffer won't work if it's too heavy, so it has to be aluminum. But it also has to have plastic caps to avoid damaging the buffer tube. Even if you could print these parts out with the right tolerances, you'd still have to assemble them with special tools. If it's so easy to build an AR-15, why don't we see a ton of killings with them? Simply put: because most people are sane. The vast majority of the population, given the chance, would not want to kill innocent people and spend life in prison.