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So, can you print a gun?
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Technically perfectly legal to manufacture a firearm for personal use, as long as you are legally allowed to own that firearm.
(last time I checked)
You cannot sell it,
you cannot loan it out,
you cannot make it fully auto (without the appropriate manufacturer's licensing),
you cannot make it suppressed (without the appropriate ATF form and tax stamp),
and the ATF highly prefers that you put your name, address, and a unique serial number on the firearm.
cncguns.com, and silencertalk.com for blueprints, CAD models, and general discussion of design and "how not to piss off the ATF".
As I've said before, anyone with first year mechanical engineering education and access to a small machine shop can build an unregistered machinegun.
Law abiding, responsible people aren't going to commit a felony "just for fun" though.
Hint: you REALLY don't want to piss off the US ATF.
They can make a visit from your ex-wife's lawyer
and a prison proctologist seem pleasant by comparison.
If the ATF is unhappy with you, they can start handing out felony charges like presents at Christmas.
For an AR-15, the upper & lower receiver aren't under any significant pressures or stresses.
The only dangerously stressed parts in that rifle design are the barrel, bolt, bolt carrier, gas tube, and gas block/front sight assembly.
With the exception of the springs, heat shield, and trigger, the rest of the parts (other than those mentioned above) are plastic or aluminum.
If you want an even simpler design, there are at least two designs I can think of off the top of my head that are stupid simple to manufacture, as compared to the moderately detailed machining of an AR-15 or M-4
Last edited by rdx-fx (2012-07-30 09:37:07)