Machine registry

Cheap Bridgeport and medium lathe for sale. Only been used to make moulds for round components.

In the light of the recent report of an ammunition factory, I wonder if some bright MP will recognise that we Muddle Ingineers have the capability to manufacture bits to make illegal bits?

Seems Matrix fell into that trap a few years ago in supplying "Machinery capable of manufacturing missile parts" to Iran.( Lathes ). On another occasion, the Police made a raid at domestic premises and found equipment possibly used for melting Gold and other metals. They found lots of bits of scrap aluminium waiting to be converted and had never seen anything like this before in a domestic setting.

ME workshop owners and backyard foundry workers beware, your ulterior motives MAY be questioned.

Regards Ian.

What harm is there in a fellow setting up to make a few clubs or pikes or other useful objects ?

Sure is that not what blacksmithing is all about ?

I think it,s a grand way for a man to spend his time,better than holding up the wall anyway !

The bottom line is that a hammer can be used for many different purposes [and has been ]. Is a lathe any different ?

These MP,s need to find something better to do,if indeed there is anything they can do !

No Way
They would be much more likely to find a way to put a tax on Muddle Engineers.
Tim

For years, I have feared that our "elders and betters" would spot us, and subject us to H & S, Inspections, audits, registration, etc.

After all, "These people have to be controlled. Can't have them doing what they want"

As usual, they will crack down on the law abiding, ('cos they know who you are) whilst the criminals continue to do whatever they want. The aftermath of Dunblane and Hungerford have not decreased gun crime in UK

Si they won't be able to know about folk making their own machine tools.

What would they have said about my school master who made his own .22 pistol? "So that when you look over a hedge, you don't blast the rabbit all over the filed with the 12 bore", and his own cross bow!

Howard

If they were ever taken with the notion to regulate machine ownership I feel it would be a pointless exercise, as usual the good guys get hassle and expense and the bad guys ignore the rules and licensing. The operation recently exposed appears to be a Bona fide motorsport outfit so how will you ever control a sideline armoury? We probably have some of the toughest gun control in the world but the bad guys still obtain and use them and machine tool access probably has a tiny input to that accessibility. I am sure it is easier to hide a gun on a cross channel truck than make one in your shed. Many thousands of people seem to hide on trucks without detection so if they were guns you could start a war.

Mike

Hi Guys,

Well 3D printing of guns and making the plans illegal has the authorities rattled.

I for one would not pull the trigger on a 3D printed gun, what proofing do they do?

Is there not a parallel of attempted prevention of knives and guns currently misused in the UK with the alcohol prohibition in the USA in days gone by?

The more the Govt. tries to stop it, the more the criminals try to circumvent the rules.

No

No, but it's considerably harder for FAC holders to go spree shooting in the UK when they become mentally ill. Whilst mass murder of school-children, workmates, music fans, passers-by and church-goers by gun-nuts is acceptable in the USA, I prefer to live in a country where such things are discouraged.

Gun crime in the UK is largely linked to drugs and gangs. Criminals aren't filling a murder-vacuum left by exclusion of demented FAC holders, they are an additional problem. Deregulating guns will not reduce gun criminality, but it would make access to weapons and ammunition easier for the ill-disposed.

I wouldn't be against guns in private ownership if the gun community came up with a sensible way of preventing gun misuse. So far, they've failed to do this.

Spot the mini-lathe in this article. This week it's owner, Mr Ricky Garner(49), was sentenced to 20 years and 3 months for using it in his garden shed.

Probably best for Model Engineering if we don't link lathe ownership with guns on the forum.

Dave

Over here We have all but given up on The War On Drugs,Who won THAT one?

Strange how the police seem to be using these powers to arrest people illegally making or modifying guns for criminal purposes, not model engineers?

Is the solution as simple as not breaking the law in your workshop? You can hardly make a handgun by accident.

Neil

Without a profile, are we supposed to know where “over here” actually is? The pretty avaar pic could be from quite a few countries.

Profiles do help.

Mark's other posts indicate he's in the USA. And the war on drugs is going well here (in the UK) either!

I don't think so. I haven't yet heard of an innocent model engineer being raided by an ARU. Cases where folk have got into trouble, sometimes fatally, have generally involved errors identifying their unexpected behaviour with unusual objects in the street.

True? I don't recall any examples of model engineers being raided by MI5?

Neil

In the US, i believe the law defines a gun as just the receiver. So long as they can find a receiver it's technically a firearm.

But in the U.K, this doesn't matter, the "gun", due to so many being made illicitly or in clandestine fashion, has to be proven to have been designed or used with lethal intent in mind. regardless if it's a spring, gas operated or traditional gun powder based weapon.

Obviously the U.K is able to prosecute on the basis of owning an unlicensed weapon quite easily, so long as they can prove the former.

Many years ago, I used to make spares for the old BSA 12/15 0.22 rifles used by the local CCF. I made them because spares were unavailable. Nowadays I would suspect that I was breaking the law making firing pins etc.

Never gave it a thought in those days.

Andrew.

Nah, you're 'avin' us on - those things never broke .

I remember one that would still shoot a 97 with a stock that rattled like a pensioner's teeth...

They have gone mad here in NSW. The law makes no distinction between a real gun and a replica, or indeed a plastic toy. Last week a young gaming nerd was prosecuted for 3D printing a replica gun from his favourite computer game. They went easy on him: one year, fully suspended.