this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2026
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I'm no gun person, but you could easily make a gun on a lathe or a mill drill, too. Get a CNC one and you don't even need to know how to use them.
Are we going to start fitting them with "you might be making a gun" detectors, too? Of course not.
Edit: Turns out they are... I choose to blame my ignorance on the paywall.
I've got some bad news for you about just how fucked-up these proposed laws actually are.
I'm pretty sure the law says any machine that takes sets of automated instructions, which includes CNC cutters and lathes
You absolutely need to know how to use any machine tool. You can't just download a file to a CNC mill and have it spit out a gun. I worked as a machinist when I was in college, it takes a lot of skill and talent to setup a CNC to make parts.
You can't load a file on a 3d printer and print a gun either...
On top of that, making a firearm is %100 legal.
Not in some jurisdictions. Know your local laws!
NY you can as long as you have a FFL or gunsmith license. Both are not super hard to get.
California you can without a license and you can make up to 3 a year.
Yes it is 100% legal, I've done it myself. And there are actually single shot pistols you can download and print.
I'm not in anyway in favor of the legislation, just pointing out that machining a functioning anything isn't as easy as you said.
Those still require metal parts. No plastic is going to have enough strength to be used as a firing pin.
Not in California ever since they passed that bill that requires a DOJ-issued serial number on your home made firearm.
Nope, you can still make up to 3 firearms a year in California without a FFL license.
It's not 100% legal in some places. Know your local laws!
Even in NY it is %100 legal still, you have to print it with a serial and you must be licensed by the state to make a firearm (FFL or gunsmith).
I know. I meant relative to using a manual machine.
You could make the same argument for 3D printers.
I can make a shotgun with a pipe, a tack, and a rubberband. Don't even need fancy tools. And that's especially crude. Prisoners in jail have made working firearms from toilet paper.
Give instructions for toilet paper weapon plz
Idk when you were in college, but tormach has come a long way with automation. It wouldn't surprise me if someone had automated paths & tool changes and was able to pump out gun parts without much human intervention.
Once the machine is set up yes, they can absolutely do that. That's how they're manufactured for the most part.
But the idea that any untrained, inexperienced person has the ability to physically setup, make jigs, indicate in said jigs, make a cad file, turn it into a cam program, load it into a machine, indicate in the stock, select the correct tooling and set it up, etc, etc, etc... It's a magnitude more difficult than 3d printing, and the machines that do that kind of fully automated work costs in the millions.
Honestly, the only difference would be the jigs and clamping, and making sure the tools are in the correct loading bay/socket. Everything else can be done by a 3rd party and distributed like it is with 3d printing. even the stock can be pre selected, it's not any different than recommending abs over nylon or tpu.
I think the difference in magnitude only applies to the price of the machine.
What's you background? Do you work with or operate machinery?
What kinda old ass 1900s grade equipment are you working with?
I'm not trying to be a dick, I just want to know if I'm talking to a layman or a professional.
Sorry, long day, I was the dick there.
I'm in Autodesk most of the time, but have operated (read: babysat) on occasion, our multi-axis mill.
My point is that once the full workflow is set up and documented it can be transmitted.
Maybe I'm thinking about it differently than you in terms of final output. I'm not talking about copying a Glock piece by piece. I'm thinking closer to the type of gun Tetsuya Yamagami used to assassinate Abe. Basic, simple, and repeatable if not reusable. Something so easy it could eliminate moving or flipping the workpiece all together. Silencers could also be fairly simple to automate.
Ok, so you do at least know the machinery. My point was that it wasn't as simple as someone just loading a workflow onto a mill and pressing go. Workholding, zeroing, probing, tool offsets, and all the little setup stuff. Takes someone with experience to get going. Most times, the first time running, a program doesn't work, or at least doesn't work correctly. It is totally possible to setup a machine with a bar feeder and a robot to make finished parts all day long. Getting it to do it correctly and accurately is the trick.
Not that you are wrong, but that isn't hard to teach somebody. Sure they will get a few failed parts, and likely break a few cutters. However all the instructions you need are there, there are plenty of how to machine parts videos on youtube (as always of various quality levels).
Have you tried using an agentic AI?
Because people are already doing exactly that.
They're using agentic ai to autonomously program, physically setup and gauge, and then run parts? Where are they doing this and who are "people"?