Johnny SolidWorks
Hot Rolled
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2013
- Location
- Rochester
Good Morning All,
I'm on vacation and spending some time thinking and planning future fun projects. I happened across an article about defense distributed winning their court case, which got me thinking about all the guys making and selling XX% AR lowers, etc.
Since I have the tools/machines, I thought it might be a fun and challenging project to make my own rifle, as much as possible, from scratch.
Since I don't know the first thing about firearm design (although I am an ME by education and work in industrial machine design and automation) I figured I'd see if I could find a place to start online. The problem I ran into wasn't difficulty finding models and drawings, it was knowing what is not junk out of the thousands of results.
Besides the obvious, is there really any way to tell the difference between a CAD model done by a kid who drew something cool, and an actual manufacturer when it's a random Google search result?.
I guess what I'm looking for is a reputable source for models and/or drawings (I could obviously make models from drawings). I don't mind paying for them from a reputable source either - I'd much rather pay for ones that are good than spend a hundred hours searching for "free" ones. I just don't know where to find them.
I also trust the opinions of folks here more than I would some random Internet gunbroker forum I've never participated in - I know there are a million of those out there, often populated by folks who are enthusiastic, but not very knowledgeable.
For the record, I have a Haas VMC, Hardinge lathe, Covel surface grinder, and all the other assorted tools you'd find in a small shop. I am aware I will likely have to buy or outsource some components.
Thanks all!
I'm on vacation and spending some time thinking and planning future fun projects. I happened across an article about defense distributed winning their court case, which got me thinking about all the guys making and selling XX% AR lowers, etc.
Since I have the tools/machines, I thought it might be a fun and challenging project to make my own rifle, as much as possible, from scratch.
Since I don't know the first thing about firearm design (although I am an ME by education and work in industrial machine design and automation) I figured I'd see if I could find a place to start online. The problem I ran into wasn't difficulty finding models and drawings, it was knowing what is not junk out of the thousands of results.
Besides the obvious, is there really any way to tell the difference between a CAD model done by a kid who drew something cool, and an actual manufacturer when it's a random Google search result?.
I guess what I'm looking for is a reputable source for models and/or drawings (I could obviously make models from drawings). I don't mind paying for them from a reputable source either - I'd much rather pay for ones that are good than spend a hundred hours searching for "free" ones. I just don't know where to find them.
I also trust the opinions of folks here more than I would some random Internet gunbroker forum I've never participated in - I know there are a million of those out there, often populated by folks who are enthusiastic, but not very knowledgeable.
For the record, I have a Haas VMC, Hardinge lathe, Covel surface grinder, and all the other assorted tools you'd find in a small shop. I am aware I will likely have to buy or outsource some components.
Thanks all!