If you are anything like me, you’re a freelance writer and the owner of chinchillas. But if that isn’t what connects us, it might be that sometimes you lay awake at 3 am wondering what kind of gun Brian Fantana might have brought to the epic fight scene in Anchorman 2. Well, you can get ready for a good night’s rest tonight, because we here at 3Dprint.com have figured it out.
The condom-powered, 3D printed handgun.
Yes, you read me right. This little beauty takes not one, not two, but a total of three condoms to fire a .22 long rifle cartridge, just the kind needed for plinking…if you know what I mean.*
A video of the test fire has been uploaded on YouTube by the Free Open Source Software & Computer Aided Design (FOSSCAD) group (motto: Not just gnomes anymore) and has already received its first punny comment regarding the guns ‘safety.’ I expect that won’t be the last we hear of these.
The condoms act as the spring mechanism and the firing pin is a roofing nail, but aside from those elements, every part of this handgun is 3D printed. James R. Patrick, who is no newcomer to the world of home-made firearms having previously released a Rat Trap .22 pistol, shared the concept with FOSSCAD who offered to print and test the design. While Patrick’s version calls for rubber bands, the excitement at FOSSCAD must have caused them to stop reading after the first word and they just used rubbers.
The file for the gun is designed to have its frame printed in one piece on its side while the barrel is to be printed standing upright. Patrick made the decision to orient the print in this way in the hopes that it would minimize the chance of delamination. As potential challenges, Patrick noted:
“The design does require a large print area and significant support material, so it’s not as easy to print as some other designs. FP of FOSSCAD has offered to print and test this design, pending review, so we’ll see how it goes. There will probably be some revisions before this is actually printed.”
Patrick has given the gun the poetic name PM422 Songbird and I imagine that he will receive a flood of suggestions and comments. If you have a couple of condoms you’ve been saving for a rainy day, never fear, the Songbird is here.
*I have to admit that I didn’t know what I meant either, but it turns out that plinking is the name for target shooting done at nonstandard targets like tin cans, glass bottles, or balloons filled with water, many of which go, and I quote, “plink” when they are hit by the bullet.
Let us know what you think of the gun and its ‘safety’ in the 3D Printed, Condom-Powered Gun forum thread over at 3DPB.com.
