I'd sincerely recommend everyone to read his manifesto and think about it a little bit.
this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2024
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Important to note: 3D PRINTED FIREARMS DO NOT BREAK WITH A FEW USES
Firsthand knowledge.
200-250 rounds and still going strong, inspected before and after firing every time
No damage so far.
Beyond that point, I agree with everything posted.
I think that highly depends on your knowledge about 3D printing an what materials you use.
Most 3d printed guns are constructed very similarly to "real" commercially available (in burgerland) guns that use a polymer construction. The plastic is taking very little of the force, they use metal inserts and rails that the mechanical parts connect to. This distributes the load a lot. I haven't printed any yet, mostly because you basically need to buy a whole gun to build one, but they aren't magic or anything and you could do the same thing with woodworking tools by hand if you had a lot of patience.
The most reliable one I have uses an AR style fire control group, and large metal pieces for the bolt, and pre-hardened hydraulic tubing for the barrel.
There's plenty of metal in it, all held together via 3d printed parts and frame
The only things I needed to buy that I would consider "from a firearm" or "from a gun store" would be the fire control group. Everything else was bought from McMaster Carr or local hardware stores.
Spot on with the woodworking. I've made a couple stocks for my grandfather's old broken long rifles. It's just more time consuming. (also my 3d printer isn't that long)
I was mostly thinking of the handgun builds I've seen with hand made slide rails but the rest is just a Glock(or whatever else base gun) parts kit for everything else.