why aren't you reverse engineering firearms anons? with free time and autism, you could be putting out open source technical data packages for firearms. hell you could even do it for cool stuff thats not available, like anything HOWA makes heres a quick roadmap to get you started: >reference picture collection start by collecting as many good pictures as you can. preferable are pictures with a high resolution, ones that give a good profile of the gun (normal to the side or other features in question), have items of known size in them (something measureable), or that show the internal components of the firearm. patent drawings are often an excellent (and usually accurately drawn) resource. >measurements next take your image editing software of choice and start taking pixel measurements. for each photo, put the measurements as a percentage of a common feature of the firearm, such as a proportion of the magazine, barrel length, or other known size feature. when you have enough measurement proportions (say, 5-10 per feature), input them in a spreadsheet and get the averages >modelling get acquainted with a 3d software of your choice. start modelling out your major features. if you come across something that seems contradictory, make a decision that makes the most sense as to which you should keep. dont be afraid to round up or down to convienient numbers (or standard stock sizes) if they're close. >part collection the next stage, if its possible. try to get 'critical parts' that can be used to infer the dimensions of other parts. think: bolt carriers, bolts, barrels, sight blocks/gas system components, trunnions etc.. the same goes for parts that you're unsure of the features because they couldn't be tracked down in pictures. use these to revise your 3d model >3d printing make a 3d print of your model so far. does it work with the parts you have? does it fit together at all? compare it to your pictures. does it look right? are there obvious differences (in proportions or missing features?). use this as an iterative process to get your model closer to reality. your eye is a precision instrument. >manufacturing this is where the cliff really comes in, but you'll find its very worth it if you make the jump. learn about metal working and making things in general. practice welding, machining, bending etc. buy tool and die books (you'll need them) and manufacturing process books to widen your knowledge. practice making things. get good at using a finger break. craft a plan of how to build the components of your firearm. make drawings of your custom tools, of your parts, and update them as you build them (make as built drawings). document EVERYTHING. when something works, record it for others. avoid making pressure bearing compnents (try to buy them) at first, but eventually with enough knowledge those will be game as well. >testing if you've made it this far, you'll have a good idea of how to safely test things. congratulations! even if you only make it part of the way through, your contributions can still be valuable. well, whats your excuse for not doing above? get at it!