3D printed/home made weapons and pieces

[dakota.potts]

I have a friend who split the cost of a 3D printer with his friend. He's printed several lower receivers (they ended up being full receivers and not 80%).

I am interested in a few receivers as well as maybe some of the Liberator pistols. I don't plan to fire either (don't trust them personally), but with his costs running $3 a unit I figure I can give him a little extra cash and it'll be a cool thing to have. On the off (very off chance) that something ridiculous does happen, it could end up being a pretty decent investment. I wouldn't be spending much either way.

Anyways, I'm curious about how this would work. We both live in the same state. He's going to either look for or make 80% receiver blueprints.

Say I wanted to buy him a spool of plastic and take home two receivers and two of the pistols in different calibers. I know we can transfer 80% receivers as they're not firearms, and I know he can transfer handguns face to face, but I'm not sure about home made firearms that don't have a serial. I'm also not sure if it would be considered mine if I loaded the plastic, loaded up the program, and hit "go" on the machine.

He's also not sure about the receiver itself. He's a little freaked out thinking that it may somehow be considered a fully automatic receiver even at 80%. Given the nature of some of the websites distributing the blueprints, I could see this happening. Can a blank receiver have attributes that are considered to be machine guns by the NFA registry?

Just idle curiosity now, they've got a lot of experimenting to do. None of this should be taken as my intent to do anything, just a purely hypothetical scenario unless there's a clear cut answer in which case I will investigate further.

I'm aware that this is an entirely new grey area of law so if there is no clear answer I will likely abstain and not give myself the heartache.

 

[JohnKSa]

It's not legal for him to make firearms (completed receivers) with the intent of selling them unless he is licensed to manufacture firearms.

He can make them for himself, but if he's making them for someone else or to sell to someone else, then that's not kosher.

The presence or absence of a serial number is a non-issue.

As far as the 80% receivers go, if I were going to make and sell 80% receivers without being licensed to manufacture firearms, I'd want something in writing from the ATF that states clearly what constitutes an 80% receiver for the specific receiver in question.

I'm also not sure if it would be considered mine if I loaded the plastic, loaded up the program, and hit "go" on the machine.

In my opinion, this would be like renting or borrowing someone else's tools to make a firearm. As long as you're the one doing the work, then you're ok. If I were planning to do something like that, I'd document my use of his equipment--maybe with some pictures showing me using the setup--and perhaps with some sort of written agreement allowing me to use the system.

 

[SamNavy]

A few months ago, there was a big issue in California somebody decided "build parties" were illegal.... ie, taking your 80% lower to a machine shop with 20 other dudes and taking your turn placing yours in the die and hitting "go" on the machine. Something about the "amount of work" you were actually doing vs. the shop owner wasn't legal.

Basically, if you screw this up, (at a minimum) it could cost you a lot of money in lawyers fees just to convince somebody you didn't do anything wrong... and could possible put you in jail since anybody who really wants your ass in a sling will find this thread where you asked the question and the first answer was "call the ATF and ask".

FWIW, I think we can all agree that the federal gov't is anxious to put an outright ban on 3D firearm printing, and are waiting for the right opportunity to come along and throw somebody in jail for 20 years in order to make an example. Just sayin'...

 

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I may not recall this correctly, but are all participants over the age where they are not considered minors?

 

[speedrrracer]

In CA, Jason Davis (an attorney specializing in firearms law) tells us that the ATF now considers providing someone a pre-programmed CNC machine with fixtures in place as "manufacturing".

So, if the entity providing pre-programmed CNC w/fixtures in place has a mfr'ing license, all is well. Of course, the finished products must be DROS'ed, subject to waiting periods, registration, etc.

I can only imagine they would have a similar opinion wrt 3d printing.

So the question then becomes, "Well, what if I put the fixtures in place myself?" or "What if the machine is not pre-programmed?" AFAIK, the ATF has said nothing addressing those questions. I suppose the 3d printing equivalents would be similar -- there's a file to be followed, and there are physical adjustments to be made to the machine prior to it's operating on a piece of plastic.

Welcome to the USA -- a lovely world where the ATF gets to decide what is legal and what is not.

 

[dakota.potts]

Glenn, I turn 18 in 10 days. I imagine that was the question you were subtly and professionally trying to ask. Correct me if I am wrong. My friend is 20. As long as I'm not working with NFA items I can transfer a long gun, handgun, or other at age 18 face to face in Florida and have it in my car (to bring it home).

I'm not sure I would want to be a test case. However, say I wanted one of the pistols. Can you transfer a home made firearm to somebody else if it wasn't manufactured with that intent? "I decided I didn't want one in .32, so I made a new one and gave mine away".

I probably wouldn't go through all that trouble for the pistol. Maybe just a few receiver blanks. I've also heard that they've printed some .22 rifles and that would also be kind of cool but it's not like I can't already own a gun that isn't tracked by the government.

 

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I remember that you were 17 and age interacts with firearms ownership. No need to get into trouble. I would worry about legalities. Not a firearms lawyer but isn't a receiver the critical item.

I would stay away from the whole project without for real legal advice.

 

[dakota.potts]

Yeah, just looking like it's more heartache and legal worry than it's worth.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!

 

[btmj]

When I was in high school, the long wait to become 18 so I could buy my first firearm seemed intollerable. My parents had bought me a 22 rifle when I was 15, but I wanted to buy my own. I wanted a 12 gage shotgun. I wanted to be able to purchase ammunition on my own.

Then, after waiting what seemed like decades to become 18, I then began to dream of a handgun... again, the wait seemed unbearable. And cost was a significant hurdle as well... Folks may not realize it today, but the inflation adjusted cost of firearms has really dropped. A nice handgun in 1986 was about $400, compared with about $600 today... but $400 was a lot more money in 1986 than $600 is today.

Looking back, the long unbearable wait does not seem so unbearable. Enjoy your youth. Adult-hood will arrive soon enough.