MakerGear Forum

Last year we found out after the show that the M2 was a big factor for a couple of us. Who's going this year, are you bringing anything you can talk about, or are you holding back for a big reveal next week? My printer has been running 24x7 for the last few weeks getting ready.

cheers,
c

Not going, but I like seeing what folks are doing with firearms and the M2. I have been making Bullseye target grips for my 1911s, scope covers, prototypes of pistols frames/parts, and even a grip checkering jig for 1911 front straps. I was able to print a some rare missing parts for a vintage Hammerli pistol and I have a Ruger 22/45 with so much printing done for that it looks like a Star Wars prop.

My firearm interest stays pretty much within target pistols and accessories, but I just picked up a milling machine and am testing CNC machining hardened steel with my Shopbot (lots of promise so far, within limits). So I have been able to step up my home gunsmithing game a fair bit.

In turn, these new machining capabilities open up new opportunities to 3d print. So now I prototype with the M2 before committing to metal. Or print an existing pistol part to test metal fittings so I don't damage something expensive and irreplaceable only to find out the part doesn't work out once it's installed. The printed parts have almost no cost, but are priceless in time and materials saved. You can't test fit a drawing!

Vandal968 wrote: My printer has been running 24x7 for the last few weeks getting ready.c

Are you printing samples or parts for sale on the floor?
I am not going this year, but hopefully next. I am a licensed Class 3 NFA manufacturer.

Have any pictures of that Ruger 22/45? I'd love to see that.

I just bought a bunch of parts with the intention of trying to make a Ruger charger type pistol for plinking but then remembered the charger is considered an assault weapon in my state so now I'll have to modify the receiver design to have a internal non removable magazine to get around that. At least with printing the parts the trail and error will be a lot faster and cheaper than if I had to mill everything out of metal.

Phil wrote: Are you printing samples or parts for sale on the floor?
I am not going this year, but hopefully next. I am a licensed Class 3 NFA manufacturer.

The thing I'm working on is a prototype of an upcoming product. This one will not be displayed in our booth, but will be demoed to reps from a few companies that we've been talking to and that we have meetings with at the show.

cheers,
c

@sthone- I have a pic of the first prototype, but no pic of the finished pistol. I broke the 2245 down to stock parts to sell, as I have replaced it with a Hammerli 215. Realizing I don't have a finished pic kind of ticked me off, so I went looking for the parts and it seems I am missing some of them. I am going to do some printing of the missing stuff so I can have a pic for my own satisfaction. I'll post up a completed pic this weekend.

In the meantime, you can enjoy where the 22/45 project led to. Here are pics of my .45 target grips for NRA Bullseye.

Here is the checkering jig in action. You can download it from T-verse.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1836241

Printing the needed parts now, but I did find this layout pic. Modeling the 22/45 itself was kind of fun. It is not an exact model, but it ain't bad.

im blown away by your ability to adapt real world designs into digital 3d. good work!

This thing is a bit over the top.

This is the 22/45 LITE model, which is a bit too light for singlehanded Bullseye shooting. So I fabbed up the funky holder in the front for a .5" x 3" stainless steel bolt for the barrel weight. (Cool fact: the there are actually printed threads in there, so the bolt screws in) Now it weighs about as much as a stainless framed target Ruger. It has about every upgrade from Volquartsen or TandemKross installed and is in general, not a bad pistol.

The front weight makes it barrel heavy, but the orthopedic grips keep your hand nestled in place, so you don't notice it. The recoil is definitely more muted, so you can get back on target for timed and rapid fire stages.

The compensator looks cool, but I took it off as it actually hampered accuracy. I only used this pistol for a few months before upgrading, so it sits in the safe now as a potential sale or trade in the future.

@NavyDT, thanks for the compliment, this project was not finished by graceful waves of my hand over the keyboard, but by ramming my head against it hard enough! That's how I get the job done!

The testing and fitting to get to here took about a month and a half to do and an entire filament roll of prototype prints and then some. The fitting to the gun was not easy, the fitting and design of the sliding palm rest and the dovetail locking joints that hold the finger grip on took forever. It is easier to see the major parts relationships in my previous post as the parts are colored differently for clarity.

However, the fitting to my HAND made the other fittings look like a walk in the park. Every week, for 6 weeks, design, print, shoot, rework, design a new part, print, test fit the new part interactions, reprint, shoot, rework two parts, design a new part , print, test fit the interactions, reprint, shoot, rework three parts, design a new part, print,shoot, over and over and over and over andnovoerjnaououenoufasf--aaaaarrrrrrghhhh!!!!!. WHEW!

You know how it is.