Fascinating article that could change the discussion on gun control legislation - or make it even weirder than it already is.

http://pandodaily.com/2013/01/12/3d-printers-could-force-the-nra-to-beg-for-government-regulation/

He has near complete ignorance about everything he is talking about, from the technology to the politics. People have been
building firearms and ammunition at home from the start. You can attend a "build party" in CA and make yourself an AR15 clone
that meets legal standards for CA and Federal laws. His knowledge of the NRA is lacking too.

Here is a thread about a man building an ak47 from a shovel and some online parts. Warning, a bit crude.
http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/threads/179192-DIY-Shovel-AK-photo-tsunami-warning!

"He has near complete ignorance about everything he is talking about, from the technology to the politics."

Me too, which is why I found it fascinating! I appreciate the more knowledgeable, like you, contributing, though, so I can learn even more and hear the different sides of issues. Helps me to form my own opinion.

I sounded a little pompous there.

Is the NRA focused more on gun manufacturers or owners?

That is, do they promote policies that sell more guns, or if most of there members are in favor of some specific regulations, like requiring everyone be registered to buy a gun, would the NRA agree to that?

Doug:

This isn't anything I lose sleep over. 3-D printers are advancing rapidly in making plastic components. Maybe in a decade, someone will use 2-part high-temp epoxies as ink and you can make, basically, a J-B Weld pistol.

But people have been able to make their own guns for centuries. Not highly-accurately, high-powered guns, but firearms - yes. I could cast iron, brass or bronze in a sand mold from a wood pattern and make a bunderbuss, mortar or canon. A length of pipe can be made into a "zip gun", and with a lathe, well, you can make anything with a lathe.

So really, the new aspect is that you might make a minimally effective firearm with parts from OfficeMax rather interacting with any other, actual, gun-owning rednecks at the machine shop, welding supply or plumbing store. So I can imagine a white-collar worker (i.e. journalist) imagining for the first time that he could make his gun and fear that his neighbor might, too.

I'm not a machinist. Or a welder. They can do many things I can't. But being proficient at plumbing, wiring and electronics mean there are always snowball canons, rocket launchers, fuel-air explosives, and solar death rays around the house.

"Don't try this at home." isn't an instruction, it's a challenge.

""Don't try this at home." isn't an instruction, it's a challenge."

Love it!

This sounds about as likely as someone converting an airsoft gun into a fully functioning firearm.

> He has near complete ignorance about everything he is talking about, from the
> technology to the politics.
TOTAL ignorance of the temperatures and pressures involved in the breech. Printing your own gun is one thing, but trying to fire it would be a Darwin Award effort in most cases.

Cheers

Sounds like someone watched CSI-NY