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Sort of a because I can build. JT-Vanguard 3D printed AR-15 lower, relatively well tested design at this point.  Solid ABS plastic, took about 15hrs or so to print at 0.2mm and cost maybe ~10$ in plastic, if that. Very solid and strong print when at 100% infill. took some decent trouble shooting to get it to print due to the material (ABS) and the long print time. I had to put together an enclosure around the printer to keep in the heat and vent the room due to the burned LEGO smell from the ABS. Doublechecked and the tolerances are nice and tight, mag fit perfectly without me having to do any sanding etc...I did have to cleanup the support material though but that pretty much comes right off. As you see it is without any sanding, acetone smoothing, or other modification. The only thing that needs to be tweaked are some of the threads in the buffer support need to be cleaned up as the support for the overhang leaves them a little goobered up in one place.

 

But wait there's more.... So I'm going to see about picking up a cheap kit to finish off the build and make sure everything fits and is functional. Anything not quite right I'll clean up on the mill.

 

Future plans:

Once I know it is dimensionally perfect, then I'm going to disassemble everything and use this for making a silicone mold or three. Note a standard lower would not work as well, the 3D printed one is reinforced and has had the stress risers engineered out to account for the lower material properties of the plastic. A few people have already done castings on these but it is still being worked out. I figure fiberglass reinforcing and the use of some of the exotic epoxies should work very well. The fiberglass reinforced experiments with just standard casting resin I have done previously were very strong. Hell, I cold pewter cast the damn thing if I really wanted or cast it in wax and use it for lost wax casting in aluminum, although I could just print a PLA model for lost wax casting too.

 

I'm somewhat curious what the legality of the silicone mold is, it is not a lower by itself and therefore not a gun, but it can make a lower without machining or fancy tools and in less then an hour (depending on resin used, high strength resins tend to take longer to set).

 

Lost wax process requires at least 5% overage in dimensions to allow for shrinkage!  Your direct model will be too small once the casting and cooling is over!

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I picked up a NAA mini revolver in .22LR yesterday... because I'm STILL too dumb to have "extra" money on hand, apparently.  I took it and my relatively new .357 magnum Taurus to the range today.  The .357 shoots a bit low and to the left, but I was too lazy to adjust the sights and compensated.  It patterned well enough that I was happy with it.  The NAA was "minute of bad guy" out to three yards... any further and it was pure luck where the bullets hit.  I think it will be an adequate BUBUG (Backup, Backup Gun) for when TFHSOMOTSBTISSL (the-fan-has-slung-off-most-of-the-shit-but-there-is-still-some-left... sort of thing).

 

.22 magnum is a better choice for a "belly gun" shot.  "Blood and shit don't mix" was the advice my Marine friends received from their DI at Quantico.

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Lost wax process requires at least 5% overage in dimensions to allow for shrinkage! Your direct model will be too small once the casting and cooling is over!

Good to know. Aluminum casting is still on my to do list, so I haven't dug into it too much. The shrinkage is not hard to compensate for though.

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It's good for a this guy is right in my face and he has a knife stuck in me distance.

Distance is a relative term...It has been proven by law enforcement that anyone 20ft or closer with a knife can/will successfully stab you before you can get off a shot. The training drill for this kind of an attack is known as the Tueller Drill.

 

It is the main reason why if you're an unknown person & you are within 21' of a cop they will unholster their weapon.

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Want a gun? Take a bullet: Take this, gutless NRA cowards — you can have a gun, once you understand the pain of being shot

 

Gun control doesn't go far enough. If you want license to carry a weapon, you should know the pain of getting hit

 

Bullets are extremely hot and they hurt. I saw them paralyze, cut through faces, pierce children and take life. I have friends, relatives and loved ones be gunned down. Guns break apart families and ruin lives. Other than giving a coward the heart to stand tall, what’s the positive part of gun ownership? Other than the people in rural areas who use them to hunt for food, I have only seen them destroy, both in the suburbs and in our inner cities.

 

http://www.salon.com/2015/10/16/want_a_gun_take_a_bullet_new_rule_before_you_pack_heat_you_will_know_what_it_feels_like_to_be_shot/

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Want a gun? Take a bullet: Take this, gutless NRA cowards — you can have a gun, once you understand the pain of being shot

 

Gun control doesn't go far enough. If you want license to carry a weapon, you should know the pain of getting hit

 

Bullets are extremely hot and they hurt. I saw them paralyze, cut through faces, pierce children and take life. I have friends, relatives and loved ones be gunned down. Guns break apart families and ruin lives. Other than giving a coward the heart to stand tall, what’s the positive part of gun ownership? Other than the people in rural areas who use them to hunt for food, I have only seen them destroy, both in the suburbs and in our inner cities.

 

http://www.salon.com/2015/10/16/want_a_gun_take_a_bullet_new_rule_before_you_pack_heat_you_will_know_what_it_feels_like_to_be_shot/

That's why I have my rifle. Hunting. I'd really rather not get shot so I may hunt for food.

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Want a gun? Take a bullet: Take this, gutless NRA cowards — you can have a gun, once you understand the pain of being shot

 

Gun control doesn't go far enough. If you want license to carry a weapon, you should know the pain of getting hit

 

Bullets are extremely hot and they hurt. I saw them paralyze, cut through faces, pierce children and take life. I have friends, relatives and loved ones be gunned down. Guns break apart families and ruin lives. Other than giving a coward the heart to stand tall, what’s the positive part of gun ownership? Other than the people in rural areas who use them to hunt for food, I have only seen them destroy, both in the suburbs and in our inner cities.

 

http://www.salon.com/2015/10/16/want_a_gun_take_a_bullet_new_rule_before_you_pack_heat_you_will_know_what_it_feels_like_to_be_shot/

Yeah, this idiot was taken apart on thetruthaboutguns.com yesterday.  One of my favorite replies was something to the effect, "You want a baseball bat?  First you have to get hit on the head with one.  You want a knife?  First you have to be stabbed.  You want a car?  First you have to be run over by one. etc."

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So I went shooting with my brother-in-law today.  I took the Vepr and MVP Flex.  All barn broadsides were safe while I was shooting!  I managed to accidentally hit the 8.5"x11" target four times out of 59 rounds fired.  

 

Now, here come the excuses... the scope rings I bought for the MVP were See Are A Pee... CRAP!  After I gave up, I noticed one could actually SEE the diverging angle of the scope versus the barrel.  On the way home I stopped at another range and handed the rifle to the gunsmith saying, "Make this thing hit paper!"  We replaced the rings with a set of Leupold units and zeroed the gun in.  It put 17 rounds in a ragged hole (plus two reference shots before final adjustment and one flier).  I sent a picture to Datsunfreak.  Maybe he'll defend my honor by posting it... or at least tell y'all I ain't lying.

 

As for my pitiful performance with the Vepr... I gots no excuses.  I flinched on just about every shot and gave up before walking the shots onto paper.  We did bore-sight the scope at the second range so maybe next trip will be on paper.

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