Who Here Could Make A Gun?

[Treo]

Simple question; Given raw material , a mill, a lathe , press brake , a turret press. basically all the necessary equipment. could you make a gun?

ETA I couldn't program it but I could do the set up given a programmer

 

[tmajors]

I couldn't (no idea how to operate the tools), but one of the guys I grew up with can and does. He made his first .223 varmint rifle when we were about 18 years old from raw materials, including wood stock.

EDIT: Had to add that I do know how to, can, and have made explosives though from raw chemicals

 

[paintballdude902]

i probably could with some trial and error i can work a lathe and a cnc machine but i still think it would take me a try or two

but i wouldnt want to make anything high powered

ive made a black powder rifle with an old .30-06 barrel and a homemade reciever me and my brother in law made i ended up giving it to him because he really liked it

 

[BigBlock]

Easy. I'm already working on one out in the garage and I don't have any of those fancy tools...

 

[PTK]

Yes. I could make anything from a simple "zip gun" to a hidden gun inside an everyday object to a nice bolt action to a submachinegun to a belt-fed HMG to an anti-tank piece.


I'm complicated.


Also, I have in fact MADE homemade guns and silencers (all NFA items are registered and perfectly legal) with simple hand tools and, more recently, with machine tools.

 

[Kind of Blued]

Yes. I could make anything from a simple "zip gun" to a hidden gun inside an everyday object to a nice bolt action to a submachinegun to a belt-fed HMG to an anti-tank piece.


I'm complicated.

Stick around Colorado for a while, m'kay?

 

[PTK]

I plan to. After here, it's off to the wilds of whatever state I choose - somewhere here in the Mid-West though.

Also, did I mention I actually HAVE proper drawings (that I fully understand) for the larger field pieces, know how to make rifling machines, etc.?

 

[novaDAK]

I'm sure I could. I've been trained and have used CNC lathes, metal lathes and other shop equipment before so I'm sure I could manage.

I'd much rather go to the store and buy one though made by people who do it for a living and back it with a warranty though

 

[highorder]

Yes I could.

 

[Treo]

So you all realize that as long as we exist they can't really ban guns right?

 

[cobra2411]

Yes...

 

[BullfrogKen]

I have.

The one on the top.

 

[Bwana John]

Some plumbing pipe, a couple of wheel weights, charcoal, sulpher, potassium nitrate, and a piece of flint.

 

[ieszu]

I did while in gunsmithing school.. actually did a few receivers, starting from raw forgings.

The barrels I manufactured while working for a small custom shop in CA.

So yeah, it is possible.... so long as you keep to tolerances and know how to use the machines properly. Oh, and make sure the company that sells you the raw forgings sends you the right stuff....

 

[rcmodel]

I made a .36 caliber smooth-bore muzzle loading pistol when I was 16, using my dads files & and electric drill.

Would that count?

Been building guns my whole life, just not receivers, or rifled barrels, as I have never had access to that kind of equipment.

However, if I had a couple pieces of gas pipe, a pipe cap, and a screw, I could whip you out a 12ga Liberator in about 30 minutes I betcha.

 

[deadhawg]

A trip to home depot and a couple hours in my garage with nothing more than hand tools and I could build a crude but functional single shot smoothbore in any caliber I had ammo for. Another trip to the grocery store and feed store and I could make my own powder. Bullets could be anything from ball bearings to nails, maybe even rocks.

 

[Lonest@r]

I have. The one on the top.

Sweet. From pic, they look identical. Is that an exact replica, or did you make some custom improvements?

What is cost comparison? How much time?

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

with all that equipment easily done.
can be done with hand tools but add an electric drill and fairly easy to make something to shoot shot shells.

 

[tribbles]

If Captain Kirk could make one, I'm sure I could.

 

[frogomatic]

yup, have already done so more than once. of course, I went to school for it too.

 

[KD5NRH]

See the Foxfire series for a traditional rifling setup. It's a lot simpler than you might expect. As for the rest, pistol cartridges don't take much to contain the pressure, so plumbing is manageable there. Single-shot firing mechanisms could be scavenged from cap guns and modified in a pinch.

There aren't a lot of CNC mills or trained machinists in the Khyber Pass, and they do some pretty impressive things.

 

[frogomatic]

you do realize that even just a 40S&W generates in excess of 40,000 psi. hell a .22lr averages about 23,000 psi. the lowest pressure pistol cartridge I know of is the 45acp at 17,000 psi. DO NOT underestimate the pressures a pistol cartridge can generate. my 454casull is a 50,000+ psi cartridge. The physical size of a cartridge makes little difference in the pressure is generates. it has to do with a combination of the burn rate, powder/gas ratio, and bullet to barrel friction.

 

[Ghost Tracker]

Simple question; Given raw material , a mill, a lathe , press brake , a turret press. basically all the necessary equipment. could you make a gun?

Are you kidding? When you use the words "all necessary equipment" aren't you answering...your own question? How complicated a gun are we talking about here? Because if inmates in prison can make a zip-gun, then with a garage full of materials, tools & time means it's a cake-walk. If there's mechanical/technical skills in play, then advanced semi/fully auto options become available. I've build stuff much more complicated than a firearm, often without the goodies you've listed. My answer is...sure I can!

 

[BullfrogKen]

Lonest@r, I think the answers to most of your questions I covered in this thread when I talked about those guns a couple years ago.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=234282

Cost? That all depends on what you want, and how nice you want it to look when you're done.

 

[rcmodel]

I think there is a distinction between "building" a gun on a factory frame or receiver, with purchased parts, and truly "building a gun" like the OP ask about.

My thinking was the OP ask if any of us could "build a gun" from raw materials, to include machineing the frame, slide, receiver, bolt, make the springs, and drill & rifle the barrel, chop down a tree and make the stock, etc..

Taken in that context, there are very few of us who could "Build" a modern gun from scratch, and a few chunks of steel.

I "built" my first 30-06 when I was 18 in 1962 from a DCM Springfield.

I "built" 1911 National Match guns for 5th. Inf AMU while I was in the service.

I still "build" 1911's, and an occasional varmint rifle or AR-15.

But I don't make the parts.
I just fit them to an existing frame or receiver.
There is a huge differance.