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The $1,200 DIY Gunsmithing Machine
An anonymous reader writes: You may recall Cody Wilson as the man behind the world's first 3D-printed gun. He built a company behind the ideals of DIY gun-making, and now he's come back with another device: the "Ghost Gunner," a CNC mill designed to create the lower receiver of an AR-15 rifle. "That simple chunk of metal has become the epicenter of a gun control firestorm. A lower receiver is the body of the gun that connects its stock, barrel, magazine and other parts. As such, it's also the rifle's most regulated element. Mill your own lower receiver at home, however, and you can order the rest of the parts from online gun shops, creating a semi-automatic weapon with no serial number, obtained with no background check, no waiting period or other regulatory hurdles. Some gun control advocates call it a "ghost gun." Selling that untraceable gun body is illegal, but no law prevents you from making one." Wilson's goal is still to render government gun regulation useless, even as debate rages on banning this kind of manufacturing.
Ban "Assault Lathes"!
Selling an un-serialized lower is not illegal. It's just illegal to make it with the intention of selling it.
It's a good idea to serialize it before you sell it though, and record the transaction.
I have a small CNC and with a few tool changes and some time i've been making 1911s and ar15s for years...
this isn't new or exciting this is the way ar-15's and 1911s are made
cast rough shape machine to precise specs...
I'm not sure why this is a big deal, its still REALLY hard to build a barrel and chamber so you still need to buy them, honestly making the receiver the registered part is silly most people could build a receiver with time and effort few people could make a decent barrel or precise chamber.
is the only thing he did to make this special is provide the right tooling in the box? and a pre-installed set of gcode big fucking deal it takes 2 seconds to get the gcode for an ar of the net
Really government over reach is a huge problem and I like the idea of people being able to make their own guns. I know a lot of people want to blame guns for many problems but that is a rather cheap excuse and avoidance of the fact that the public needs improved living conditions so that there are less violent people who act out irrationally. Without much hope of a decent future we do have far too many people who act out. We also have prisons that make only token gestures at rehabilitation of inmates and a mental health system that is a national disgrace.
But precisely finishing the last 20 percent of a lower receiver has still required access to a milling machine that typically costs tens of thousands of dollars.
Whatever. I made mine with a $350 micro milling machine from Harbor Freight. The template kit to mill & drill the other 20% of the incomplete lower receiver was about the same cost as the 80% complete lower receiver. So all of the parts & tooling in sum total less than $550. Plus I use the mill for other things and the template has resale value. Also FTA:
Defense Distributedâ(TM)s machine canâ(TM)t carve pieces as large as its competitors, but its small size makes it more rigid and precise, allowing it to cut an aluminum lower receiver from an 80 percent lower in around an hour. Thatâ(TM)s a task Wilson says would still be impossible with todayâ(TM)s cheapest hobbyist mills but doesnâ(TM)t require five-figure professional tools. âoeWeâ(TM)re making this easier by an order of magnitude,â he says.
I think that they meant to quote him as saying it is POSSIBLE. An order of magnitude is a gross overstatement, given that this was the 3d milling version of trace paper.
Subversive ambitions aside, Wilson doesnâ(TM)t hide the fact that the Ghost Gunner is also a money-making project.
Indeed.
Striving toward political change is also != anarchy.
sig: sauer
Armed confrontation with the state will not work. Syria is most recent historical example, but there are plenty more. If you want to fight police state, then active participation in the democratic process is the way to achieve that. More guns? Well, that will just result in more gun death AND easy justification for further police militarization (crazies with untraceable semi-automatics).
That would depend on exactly the kind of change someone is striving for.
Why would you want an untraceable computer? I cannot think of any ethical reason
1) Are too big to easily hide, attracting the attention of cops. So crooks don't like to carry them.
2) Are too big to easily commit suicide with.
3) Are too big for young children to easily play with.
As a direct result of this, long guns kill less than 500 people a year.
Pistols, however, are used by criminals, by people committing suicide, and by kids playing around with them. As a direct result, over 30,000 people die every year after being shot with a pistol.
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
Good. As a libertarian, driver, voter, and not insane person, I understand that there needs to be SOME government regulation of cars. There is no reason not to try something to prevent insane people from getting cars. They're going to murder anyway, but a car makes it simple.
Ban high capacity assault cars- you don't NEED to go faster than 15 mph. You don't NEED to be able to haul a boat.
If the state collapses, there won't be any gun laws. Problem solved.
well put. A lot of "anti-gunners" say to "just call the police"
I usually tell them to read up on Warren vs DC (three college aged women got raped for 4 hours. called 911 several times, and had no response from police. because police are NOT OBLIGATED TO PROTECT YOU)
An AK-47 receiver made out of a rusty shovel:
http://thechive.com/2012/12/06...
Perhaps the problem is that the receiver is the legally-controlled part of the gun. Everything else is spare parts. Making receivers is easy now.
I'm no expert, but it seems to me that making a barrel is the hardest part. Why isn't the barrel the controlled part?
Actually, the "gun show loophole" has been shown not to be the problem as only a small percentage of guns obtained this way end up being used in crimes. And all FFLs at all gun shows in the US must "background check". The "loophole" you're trying to sniff out here are private sales.
Wilsons goal of enabling anyone to privately fabricate an untraceable gun is part of a larger anarchist mission: To show how technology can render the entire notion of government obsolete. Hes spent the last two years developing firearms designed to be printed as easily as ink on a page, neutering attempts at gun control. 'This is a way to jab at the bleeding hearts of these total statists' Wilson says. 'Its about humiliating the power that wants to humiliate you,' he says.
I'm all on board the maker train (I own a makerbot at home) but Jesus tap-dancing Christ...Anarchy? You dont need to make "ghost" guns to skirt gun control. After 4 major shootings in the US in 2 years, lawmakers themselves refuse to enact any sort of gun control. Hell, getting a gun in america is as easy as filling out a form. the biggest hurtle is the waiting period and even that is only a sometimes kind of thing. We cant even use serialized guns to independently track homicide rates in our country unless we get a FoIA from the ATF, which incidentally hasnt had a full time director in years. News reports routinely redact the make and model of firearms used in shootings out of fearfulness they'll incur a defamation lawsuit from the NRA. if you really want to "humiliate the power" and "jab at hearts" you leak confidential information. Hell, Bradley Manning and Julian Assange are national treasures and they did it without a gun.
my prediction is the homemade printable gun will be outlawed not from some evil 'obama gunna take muh gunz" scheme but by lobbying pressure from the NRA, who represent weapons manufacturers profit margins (not you.)
Good people go to bed earlier.
It seems like this guy is TRYING to get 3-d printers, CNC machines, and other manufacturing techniques heavily regulated/banned to the public.
Perhaps he is trying to get stupid attempts at firearms regulations banned.
Have gnu, will travel.
>>>Libya?
Two things.
1. It was coalition airstrikes, not citizens with guns that brought the regime down. No outside force will airstrike nuclear-armed US, no matter how bad things get internally.
2. Where are they now? Anarchy. Not exactly happy ending.
First, guns don't protect, never have, never will. That is not the function of a gun. So anyone on their high horse should look to see if they're suffering altitude sickness.
Second, the design of these specific rifles is a non-issue. The gun market is inherently grey, which means regulation is minimal to non-existent. There's no white hats in weaponry of any kind. And, yes, that includes the re-enactment stuff I work with. I know that, recognize that and accept it*. No shades, just a thick, pea-soup foggy grey.
*That is why I despise "goody two shoes" arguments from both extreme camps. This isn't black, this isn't white, this is murky grey. I own it for my part, I hold nobody to a higher standard than I hold myself, but I refuse to hold them to a lower one either. Own it.
Third, the design of any regular weapon is a non-issue, but nothing stops you from designing an irregular weapon. With modern cheap hardware, a 3D printer and suitable low-cost materials, a person is quite capable of designing a 3-5 mile range sniper rifle that can be controlled via telerobotics from the home. We already know that low-cost cruise missiles with ranges in excess of 100 miles can also be built at home. With 3D printing, the costs become lower. With advances in technology (remember, the $5000 100-mile cruise missile was designed over a decade ago and it wasn't even close to what budget efforts could do), you can expect far greater ranges, far greater precision and far greater payloads today.
This, again, goes back to this being grey hat technology. If a black hat wanted to use such devices, we'd know about. Or, rather, the survivors would. America still exists, so black hats either don't have the courage of their convictions or they don't have the skill. Either way, they're not worthy of consideration. Worthy of being dumped into a deep oceanic trench, bu not worthy of consideration.
White hats? If white hats were building actively guided systems capable of that sort of range, you'd be seeing miniature computer boards running Linux, Squid and Tor relays launched into stable orbits that crossed nations with restricted network access. We don't. We see "peace corps" infiltrators attempting to install such devices directly, along with who knows what malware, causing international incidents and seriously destabilizing international relations, as part of neocon stupidity. White hats putting in a passive alternative with no hostile software and no damage to other nations -- that's an OBVIOUS way to do good for everyone and to minimize harm. But, no, they either don't have the skill or the courage of their convictions.
So it's all grey. That's all there is. Thick, pea-soup fog.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Gun deaths in Australia dropped sharply after the ban was enacted. Here's a Washington Post article about the effect as well. Your figures about the UK are also wrong, but that is more understandable because they changed the way they counted gun crime which made it look like it increased after the ban was enacted--including nonfatal accidents into the records that were previously not recorded.
I read the internet for the articles.
That's because you're calling the White House switchboard. Try the Country Club next time and you'll probably catch him. :)
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
Selective use of data can convince you of anything if you desperately want to be convinced of that (which is why climate change is still a debate)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L...
So, for example
UK firearm deaths (per 100,000 of population): 0.25
US: 10.30
ie, you're 40 times more likely to get killed by a gun in the US than in UK, but sure.. believe what you like.
http://rareformnewmedia.com/
Both of my AR's were obtained without a background check. I bought both from a private seller. 100% legal.
Honestly this is all mental masterbation. You can easily build an AK47 lower without a milling machine and just some hand tools and a old shovel.
In fact.... here you go....
http://www.northeastshooters.c...
The AR15 is not the best platform in the world, it's just popular. if you really want a gun that can take insane abuse and easily built with hand tools.... AK47 is the gun to build to be subversive..
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Of all the politicians bleating about the dangers of home-made untraceable weapons, and (probably) exhorting us to 'think of the children', how many of them are motivated primarily by concern for their fellow man? I'm betting it's at least a minority, and perhaps a vanishingly small one. No, I think most of them are reacting primarily out of fear - fear of losing their power over the citizenry; fear of primal, animalistic human urges that they want to see only on football fields and battlefields; and fear for their own skins.
I'm very much anti-gun and am strongly in favour of gun control. As a Canadian I contrast the level of gun violence here with that in the US and am thankful my country's traditions are so different. I really don't want to live in a crazy, bullet-riddled land. But in the face of rapidly-growing government power, and rampant governmental abuses of citizens, I'm starting to see the wisdom of people having access to guns. I'd like to think we can find a better way though.
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
You rather missed the point, and no, my numbers are not wrong. My numbers are accurate, yours are pointless and irrelevant (but useful to mislead).
When these countries removed the ability of law-abiding citizens to to defend themselves by presenting a gun, far more of them were raped and murdered, often by an attacker with a knife, often by an attacker with a gun. After the ban, the number of attackers with guns dropped a little bit (your statistic), while the number of law-abiding citizens with a gun dropped by 100%, meaning a lot more dead citizens (the statistics I presented).
If you've been raped and murdered, does it benefit you that you were unarmed and the attacker had a knife?
Prior to the ban, those people didn't get raped and murdered, because they (like the bad guys) could be armed.
You're advocating for MORE rape and murder, so long as fewer guns are involved.
If you ban screaming, you'l have fewer screaming murders.
If you ban calling 911, you'll have fewer murder victims call 911 while being attacked.
If you ban guns, you'll have fewer guns used to defend against or commit murders.
Personally, I'd prefer fewer murders. I don't care how many murders involve screaming, calling 911, or any particular weapon. I want fewer murders, and we know, from clear experience, that as soon as guns were banned the number of murders immediately jumped by 50%.
80% unregistered AR lowers have been around for AWHILE. The 80% lower runs around 90 bucks, around $150 for the jigs to machine it, and another $800 or so for the rest of the parts of the gun. Then you need the tools to put it together, which could get pretty costly, in to the $500 or more range if you want the right stuff, and know how to put it all together correctly so that it doesn't blow you hand off after 100 rounds. Add in trouble shooting it correctly if it doesn't eject shells right, doesn't cycle right or a multitude of other issues with certain tools to need in certain issues, all that cost more money. If you were looking to do this on a big scale, like the FUD article seems to suggest is going to happen, then you would need something a little better then a hobbyist "CNC" from Harbor (junk) Freight.
At $1200 for a lower that has no finish on it and doesn't have the upper with it? This is just another PR stunt by some anti-gun group that cooked up this terrible idea. Shocking how stupidly long it took them to come up with it considering the amount of time the 80% lowers have been around. And for what that's worth, what criminal is going to spend that type of cash and time for weapons he can obtain illegally and cheaper then the one this D-bag is selling?
FUD, a term coined on slashdot that now is apparently the stories they strive to put on the site. Sad common sense is no longer used on this site.
Gun deaths in Australia dropped sharply after the ban was enacted.
And rapes, and beatings, and other non-gun related violent crimes? Did they also "drop sharply," or did they increase exponentially?
FYI, I already know the answer. I'm just curious if your broken-record train of thought can handle admitting a fact that contradicts the claims you're implying.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
They dropped more slowly, but have been on a steady decline.
I read the internet for the articles.
Your attempt to include links to such statistics failed.
I did not include the link in an attempt to provide statistics.
Please, try again.
No, I won't. This shit is clear as daylight. I have lived in the flesh. People "see it" or they "don't see it."
If it were "clear", you would've had no problems substantiating it with links to evidence..
We could extend that statement to say if the statement "Jim Crow laws are bad" weren't clear in the past, we wouldn't have needed a whole goddamned Civil Right Movement to make the case for it.
For something like this, with so much evidence that had been published in so many years, "clear" is firmly in the eye of the beholder.
You see it or you don't. I am not going to debate you, and if that gives *you* the impression of winning the point, go ahead and do your victory dance.
California was debating requiring a serial number on home made guns independent of how they were made.
Actually, the legislature passed that. But, in a fit of sanity, governor Jerry Brown vetoed it.
Anyone familiar with California politics will realize how extrordinary that is. B-)
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way