ABSTRACT
Gun making has evolved from an artisanal craft into mass production on an industrial level. As manufacturing technology and materials have evolved, CNC machinery has largely replaced the machinist. Scaled manufacturing is enabled by smaller, inexpensive machine tools compared to the massive machine tools of the bygone era. Gun design has evolved, and parts and mechanisms as well as the materials have been greatly simplified. The internet has brought endless information and guidance into the hands of private persons. This, coupled with, or at least enabled by, a cultural movement interested in personalized, individual crafting and expression of items not mass produced but tailored and suited for oneself has lead to a strong demand for firearms in the United States and has spurred the interest in homemade firearms. As a side effect, however, the capability and ease of self-making firearms carries the inherent risk of allowing persons who would otherwise be prohibited from possessing a firearm to potentially construct their own clandestinely.
