Thursday links
Thursday, January 17th, 2013- Banning those “clips” is working up to be such an exercise in futility. (H/T J and others)
- The people of Colorado (and elsewhere) are beginning to wake up to the fact that police have become wanton killers of their four-legged family members.
- On the other hand, there are blessed exceptions.
- An announcement from the Galactic Empire Public Relations Department on Earth’s refusal to build a Death Star. (H/T C^2)
- How it’s likely to turn out when the feddies decide to start measuring our happiness.
- I knew the name Tim Racer through dog rescue. He and his wife founded BadRap, one of the first pit bull rescues. They were important in the unprecedented rehabilitation of the Michael Vick dogs. But man oh man, look what else he does! Turns out he’s an accomplished restorer of carousel animals and has branched out into creating (with the collaboration of painter Pam Hessey) these beautiful custom carousel dogs.
- One thing New York’s new anti-gun law won’t accomplish.
- Two from Mental Floss. Twelve proposed U.S. states that didn’t make the cut. And eight government conspiracy theories turned out to be right. More or less.
Share or Bookmark
January 17th, 2013
I hope everyone downloads the the DefCad mega pack of gun related 3D printer files. Whether you have any uses for them or not this is information that needs to be distributed widely to insure it doesn’t disappear. Do your part to keep information free.
http://defcad.org/mega-pack/
January 17th, 2013
Curses, foiled again. Even without 3d printers, useable magazines can be made in any machine shop, garage and underground tunnel in the world. During WWII it was a death sentence to possess or manufacture arms in occupied Poland (and elsewhere) They made them anyway. Machine tools, hand tools and simple drawings allowed manufacture of weapons out of sight. A magazine of any size is just a sheet metal box or tube that can be made by hand.
January 17th, 2013
Matt, another: Being a machinist of sorts I completely agree. Although making a reliable mag body from sheet metal is not a trivial thing at all. The beauty of 3D printing is that unskilled people can do it with relative ease. Winding the spring would still require some mechanical skill though. Perhaps someone will design a printable jig to reduce the skill level required even for that. Then a trip to the local music store for the appropriate sized music wire would be all that would be necessary.
There are many ways for skilled people to produce sophisticated firearms at home. People do it everyday. Google “scratch built AR15″ for plans to build a lower receiver from aluminum plates on a table top milling machine that would fit comfortably on top of a sewing machine cabinet when in use and store in a closet.
3D printing promises to remove much of the skill required, and that is a good thing. No more zip guns for the proletariat!
January 17th, 2013
You can find some other build-it-yourself options here (if you are like me and don’t YET have a 3d printer):
http://www.thehomegunsmith.com/
they have some neat files, like the $200 machine gun:
http://www.lizmichael.com/200machg.htm
I think everyone should get a Knoppix drive (I got one, well worth the $):
http://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/ClaireWolfe/2012/12/31/monday-links-and-musings/#comments
then add useful files like the DEFCAD files and home build guides. I plan to add to my drive until I fill the thing 100%.
January 17th, 2013
I don’t think making a magazine from scratch, from sheet metal would be easy, just doable and much easier for someone that knows how to work metal to begin with. I do think the 3d printing option to be the best way. Maybe we could get some Pashtun’s from Pakistans tribal area or some Philipino gunsmiths to make a trip here and provide some training on making guns at home.
January 17th, 2013
I have been reading/watching videos on the 3D printing and I find the subject very interesting. I would like to get one of the reprap prusa mendel printers and give it a try (will make an expensive toy, but I love the technology).
I have used a bunch of the plastic lipped 10/22 mags and they just don’t hold up well. The plastics used in printing seem to have much less strength. I don’t think they will have near the strength and durability of the injection molded composite plastics used in other plastic mags. I would have to see a few loaded w/30 rounds and feed trough a few time to be a believer.
When I watch the process, it looks like you could have another nozzle next to the heat nozzle that melts the plastic and sprays in some fiber (like fiberglass/carbon fiber) into the hot plastic when each layer prints. If the technology advanced to that point I think it would be viable.
January 17th, 2013
The little Freedom Outlaw FB page you inspired is kinda growing… over 500 likes in the first week, with 1169 people talking about it and a total weekly reach of 60,968. It’s sure been a lot of fun.
http://www.facebook.com/FreedomOutlaw
January 17th, 2013
Wow. Ragnar. That is amazing — and so is the artwork you emailed this morning. Definitely going to blog this awesomeness. Soon.
January 17th, 2013
Matt, another Says:
January 17th, 2013
I don’t think making a magazine from scratch, from sheet metal would be easy, just doable and much easier for someone that knows how to work metal to begin with. I do think the 3d printing option to be the best way. Maybe we could get some Pashtun’s from Pakistans tribal area or some Philipino gunsmiths to make a trip here and provide some training on making guns at home.
——– Quite honestly if you have access to decent sheet metal work machinery it’s really easy. I have made more than a few in the past using an original as a pattern. Of course that was when it was legal to do so here in the UK. Though .22 were the hardest to make because of the small folds and springs. Anyone with a CNC folding machine could produce thousands at minimal cost.
January 17th, 2013
Sorry meant to add as Woody says the spring is the hardest part. Too much pressure and it will not feed or it will jam too little and feed problems occur with the last few rounds.
January 17th, 2013
If AR-15 mags are banned that will be a major headache for the military. Any soldier will be able to increase his income by walking off with a few. I read one comment by a retired military that these tasks tend to fall to junior officers who are already drowning in paperwork and tending to quit the military.
As far as making the mag, spring steel is easy to buy and form.
Thanks for sharing the pictures of Tim Racer’s work. As well as a great guy he has a great talent.
Maybe we’ll all be running into each other at ‘Unhappiness Camps’ where our attitudes can be adjusted. There the beatings really will continue until morale improves.
January 17th, 2013
Steve, good point about bans and the military. It got very little ink in the MSM — like NO ink. But during the Clinton years, after the last ban and Brady, some of the most “patriotic” locals were denuding their National Guard armories of mags, ammo, and anything else — and their officers were diligently looking the other way. If it was happening in my area, it was happening a lot of other places.
These were straight-arrow kinda guys, and not in it for their own profit for the most part. But I’m sure the non-straight-arrows will be just as busy if there’s any future ban.
I learned some of the details personally from one of those officers who “saw nothing.”
January 17th, 2013
“Maybe we’ll all be running into each other at ‘Unhappiness Camps’ where our attitudes can be adjusted.”
Gotta find me first!
(I have this strange knack for disapearing in plain sight. Which is why I’ll never hunt in a group.)
January 17th, 2013
And now, for your “Chuckle Du Jour”:
It seems like Emperor, aaah… excuse me, Governor Cuomo actually treated everyone equally bad by signing his new gun ban.
The way I read the bill, it does not contain an exemption for law enforcement and military personnel.
So, unless I’ve missed something (which I very well might have in all the legalese) every State Trooper, Sheriff, Town Cop, ….. comitted a Class A Misdemeanor today (and every day henceforth, unless they change the law) by inserting a magazine loaded with more than seven rounds into their service weapon!
Talk about going off half-cocked (pun very much intended!)!