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We 3D-Printed Luigi Mangione’s Ghost Gun. It Was Entirely Legal
(www.wired.com)
“Alleged Ghost Gun” FTFY
I don't even know if they are alleging it anymore. The chain of custody is entirely fucked, and the fact that it even leaked is going to make it hard to include at trial.
Wonder how long that cop had it laying around?
You mean the gun planted in his backpack?
Hypothetically:
If he did it. And if he stashed the gun. And then the cops planted a gun. Could he recount the events on the stand and reveal he stashed the gun, thus proving the cops are attempting to frame him?
This is nonsense. But, hypothetically…
Bad move. Your right to remain silent doesn't mean you get to pick and choose which questions you answer on the stand should you choose to testify. Instead he could give plenty of information to his lawyer who could then rabidly attack the planted gun and prove malfeasance.
if your lawyer tells you to stfu, you stfu. the lawyer is better at lawyering than you 👍
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The court is capable of calling out more than one person. It could send him to prison for the original crime and also charge the police with a separate crime of trying to frame him.
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Oh hey, yet another article perpetuating the narrative that Luigi is guilty. Must be a day of the week that ends in 'y'.
If it's so legal, why we don't have the stl for it ?
We do. There are Glock frame stls everywhere. I didn't look into this as I've fallen out of the print shoot repeat community cause of arthritis keeping me from enjoying it. But there are no less than a hundred files luigi could have gotten from a certain "odd to see" website.
Making your own firearms has always been legal in America. And it's not exactly easy. Even 3D printed guns take a lot of work.
Strictly speaking, if you want a reliable firearm you are much better off getting one made out of steel than composite plastics.
Most 3D printed guns use commercially available parts for the pressure bearing components.
A 3D printed Glock uses a slide and barrel bought from Glock. The only 3D printed part is the frame, which is the only part that has to be serialized.
I did a p80 build and would consider it more reliable than anything made in layers, and it is still collecting non existent dust in a safe cause of its issues. But Glocks are considered the gold standard of reliability and they are plastic lowers.
I wonder why they don't work so well. Maybe I don't understand how they operate but it seems like if the frame is in the correct precise shape it should work like a regular Glock.
Probably better for everyone that they don't work like the real thing.
In The Philippines there is a thriving underground industry making illegal pistols from scratch. Last I heard the 1911 was the favorite, here's a newer video from 2023
Objects are more than their shape
If you made a Glock out of frozen custard, would you expect it to perform the same as the real deal?
So it's a lack of integrity of the 3D printed plastic? What's a Glock made of, nylon?
I'm assuming you partially know the answer to that given nylon is a random thing to pull out if you didn't
But it's a specifically engineered polymer of nylon..... And steel.
The problem with building rigid objects with 3d printers is that their weakest point is usually along the layer lines. So even if pieces of real firearms are made of nylon or ABS, they would be injection molded or use a process that forms more durable shapes.
Post processing can address most of that. Pack it in casting sand and heat it up again and let it cool.
I guess it's nylon because that's one of the hardest plastics we have. Many of my tools have "plastic" parts that are nylon.
Velma pulls off the mask and it's an I-beam yelling about pesky kids
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It's the suppressor. Since most semi-auto pistols relies on the recoil from firing to cycle, adding a suppressor can mess up the cycling without a Nielsen device.
There are plenty of examples of unsuppressed pistols with 3d printed frames working just fine on yt
Seconded, this is the best explanation here. The browning action, on which most semi automatic pistol operate on, does not function well when a suppressor is added w/ out a Nielson device or 'booster'.
The design is made assuming the barrel weighs ____ oz, if suddenly it weighs more then the reliability is impaired.
Of fucking course Hiram Maxim invented that shit.
3d printed material has a lower tensile strength than injection molded or stamped materials. Most prints are weakest between the layers, and it's not always immediately obvious where the weakened points are. Even the parts that don't get hot or explode are moving and rubbing against other parts.
Gun parts are subjected to rigorous testing and grading. Not only do they know roughly how many uses before a part will break, but also what to look for on a worn or breaking part.
3d printed guns, you never know which bullet will be the last.
if the frame is in the correct precise shape
3D printing isn’t meant for production-level accuracy. It’s a prototyping technology that is good enough for a lot of different applications, but not when sub-millimeter precision is necessary.
Can you make something that works? Of course! Will it work as reliably as something made using better processes? Usually not.
You can definitely reliably get sub-millimeter precision with a consumer-grade 3d printer. Even with a 0.4mm nozzle, once dialed-in, you can make print-in-place models with a clearance of 0.1mm, and the default layer thickness is typically 0.2mm.
While layer adhesion is usually the weakness of 3d-printed parts, some materials like PETG or TPU have very good adhesion, to the point that printing on a glass plate can damage the glass when removing the model.
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Can you make something that works? Of course! Will it work as reliably as something made using better processes? Usually not.
Are you mad?!? My wife might read this!!
I give you my permission to “attack the source” on my comment since attacking the fact won’t get you far.
Hand machining precision parts to construct working firearms that are so identical to the originals that official parts or attachments would be interchangable... This is like a dream job for me. If I could stand living in the tropics, maybe I'd move to the Philippines...
Speaking of the tropics, in that video the workshop is exposed to the humid tropical air. I wonder how they deal with rust on their tools and swelling in the wooden tool handles.
At any rate, I say keep it up. Keep doing fine artisan work while simultaneously sticking to the man and earning a living. Very impressive.
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Excellent work, 47!
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this post was submitted on 19 May 2025
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