Welcome to #Liberator12k project!
Reliable self-defense for everyone - forever.
Quick Start
Impatient or experienced? Go here.
"What?" - Concept
Future-proof the individual's power to produce arms and ammunition.
Simplicity and Availability
Firearm operating mechanisms should be simple to understand and produce by people with minimal tools and access to materials.
Ideally materials should be available from a brick and mortar hardware, grocery, and garden stores in cash. Home Depot, Ace, Tractor Supply, Lowes, Walmart, etc.
These stores do not carry alloy steel tubing suitable for pistol and rifle barrels. At best, Ace Hardware carries Grade 8 bolts which have excellent potential for pistol barrels. Lots of quality metal is available on Amazon, Aliexpress, McMaster, Grainger, eBay, and OnlineMetals.
A printer and power drill are the only tools absolutely required. Drill bits and taps notwithstanding. A drill press will greatly simplify some processes.
Reuse and Upgrades
A driving force in #Liberator12k weapon design is reuse of the same receiver.
Similar to the AR15 modular lower/upper concept, the L12k is conceptually split into receiver/forend.
One receiver, multiple forends. It remains to be seen if the fixed recoil plate design can accommodate pump and semiautomatic fire. It's perfect for a break-action and revolver.
DIY Tooling
The project took on a tooling aspect when Electrochemical Machining (ECM) entered the picture.
"Why?" - Motivation
"When?" - Timeline
"Who?" - About the artist
"How?" - Build your own
Minimum Safety Standard
DANGER - ART AT YOUR OWN RISK
Safety precautions and procedures are not fully documented here. Before you shoot a DIY gun from your hands test it first. You will need:
- A secure test rig to hold the gun pointed in a safe direction.
- A bulletproof barrier, such as several feet of dirt or very large tree.
- A string long enough to pull the trigger from behind cover.
- At least 5 of the highest pressure cartridges you can find.
Tech Levels
The original #Liberator12k project goal was to design a safe and functional shotgun from readily available parts, assembled with hand tools and no drilling. I broke this no-drill rule twice - when safety demanded it; I created drill-guides to aid in proper hole placement.
That original goal forbids many designs that are still very achievable for anyone with a few power tools. As the project continues to grow, I will be targeting advancing "tech levels", with a strong focus on simplicity and cost.
Tech Level One assumes you have the tools of Tech Level Zero. A "Plus" tech level describes the 'better than minimal' tools for that level.
| Tech Level | Tools |
|---|---|
| Zero | Metal Hacksaw, Metal Files, Drill (hand or power), Hex wrenches |
| Zero Plus | Cutoff Wheel, Bench Grinder, Drill Press, Bolt Cutters |
| One | 12v power supply (battery, charger, 3D printer, or lab supply) |
| One Plus | Lab power supply |
Designing New Guns
The real "secret sauce" of this project, is the software library I developed during the design process of these guns. I tried a lot of different ideas, and what I came away with, is an OpenSCAD software library chock-full of useful configurable objects.
If you browse through the code, you'll see the project has been grouped into major functional areas:
- Ammo - Printable Ammunition
- Documentation - All sorts of docs; including barrel wall calculator.
- Meta - 3D modeling-specific code
- Receiver - Lower+Universal Receiver; interchangeable Forends
- Tooling - Printable tools for gun making
- Vitamins - Store-bought parts, nut and bolts, collars, etc.
- Toys - Things I've tried and thrown away (maybe)
There are more directories than mentioned above, but this should give you a taste of what's in here.
Unlicense
This is free and unencumbered software released into the public domain.
Anyone is free to copy, modify, publish, use, compile, sell, or distribute this software, either in source code form or as a compiled binary, for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, and by any means.
In jurisdictions that recognize copyright laws, the author or authors of this software dedicate any and all copyright interest in the software to the public domain. We make this dedication for the benefit of the public at large and to the detriment of our heirs and successors. We intend this dedication to be an overt act of relinquishment in perpetuity of all present and future rights to this software under copyright law.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
For more information, please refer to unlicense.org