Yes, it can be legal to make a silencer. For everything Form-1, from silencer designs that are easily made, to filing forms with the BATF, to 3D modeling. Remember, you must have an approved BATF Form-1 to make a silencer. All NFA laws apply.
Long time lurker here. Today I came across a local steel supplier that got me all riled up. (In a a good way )
I know for the longest time I've been scouring ebay, craigslist, ect for good deals on just small amounts of 17-4 not even knowing what the hell state it was in.
My question is how many of you are in the same boat? And what would you call a good price for this stuff? (say 1.625" or 1.5" by the foot)
I ask becuase they see their short and "small" (anything under 3 inch dia I think he said) peices as something akin to table scraps. Was wondering if this perks everyone's interest like it did mine or have you all found your niche suppliers too?
I know I said Inconel too...I confess that was a little bit of bait. This was mainly for 17-4. They do have Inconel, but said it was 80 dollars a pound and I'm not sure yet how they treat the shorties.
Totally! They don't have Titanium though. I wish they did.
I was more or less trying to enquire as to if you folks would be interested if I went there on scrap day and clean them out of 17-4 or if I'd just be wasting my money. I just bought 12ft today so I'm good for probally ever..haha
So, say 25 bucks +shipping a foot for 1.625 H1150 would be a good price. I think the guy said that they were the largest supplier of 17-4 in the nation so they have a very good selection of heat treated 17-4. Very little h900 though...but as I understand it that's the worst condition for machining. Walking in their warehouse was like -
Anyway so Inconel is what everyone dreams about huh. I asked about Inconel specifically and they said they had a little. He was also telling me about another nickel alloy that had some crazy tensile strength and hardness. (thats wat was 80 dollars a lb)
Unless you're planning on regularly doing multiple full auto mag dumps or going to war, a reasonably designed 17-4 baffle stack will last forever. You don't need exotic nickel to make a durable suppressor. It is nice, but absolutely not a must.
My form 1 build: http://www.silencertalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=136387
I have 2 local sources that i use for almost all my metal sourcing.
1 - a local scrap yard, they buy all the off fall from local machine shops and then resell it at scrap rate. This is great for pieces I don't care what exactly I am getting or if it happens to still be marked so I know what it is. I once bought the equivalent of 3 4'x8' sheets of 1/4" AR500 plate for $0.30 per pound.
2 - a local metal supplier, they have a cut off bin. Anytime a customer orders metal and needs it cut down from the stock 20' lengths, they throw the off fall on a rack. Anything on that rack is half price. This is where I tend to get more exotic metals, or if I am looking for a specific metal, or size.
These types of place exist almost everywhere there is industry. With the weights involved with metal, mail ordering small pieces isn't as economical as a cheap local source IME
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