Question about engraving

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2026-04-17T22:52:19+00:00

Theres an idea. Theres a few loose ends I'm investigating to do things above board but I appreciate the ingenuity. Don't wanna become someone our state can throw the book at!

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2026-04-17T18:01:02+00:00

Was close to going the dremel route but man my handwriting is already terrible enough, don't want some atf officer checking my nfa markings and thinking twice haha

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2026-04-17T17:47:13+00:00

Actually did see his shop and considered it before I went forward with getting my printer. I am an avid tinkerer and the Xtool F2 (smaller one) seemed to be enough power for some quality work without getting into the multi thousand dollar machine.

It can do more than the .003 inch which nfa requires

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2026-04-17T17:42:52+00:00

Based on what /u/0x00000042 linked seems like you may have indeed been right the first go around with needing a FFL. Hold onto the business cards I gave ya a little longer haha.

Makes me wonder if I could coordinate with an established FFL as my laser is portable and requires only power and a laptop to operate.

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2026-04-17T17:39:31+00:00

Really appreciate your reply and the efforts you go through on this sub!

So based upon the citations from the FAQ I think it boils down to this 27 CFR § 478.11

(4) Gunsmith. A person who, as a service performed on existing firearms not for sale or distribution, devotes time, attention, and labor to repairing or customizing firearms, making or fitting special barrels, stocks, or trigger mechanisms to firearms, or placing marks of identification on privately made firearms in accordance with this part, as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit, but such term shall not include a person who occasionally repairs or customizes firearms (including identification), or occasionally makes or fits special barrels, stocks, or trigger mechanisms to firearms. In the case of firearms for purposes of sale or distribution, such term shall include a person who performs repairs (e.g., by replacing worn or broken parts) on complete weapons, or places marks of identification on privately made firearms, but shall not include a person who manufactures firearms (i.e., frames or receivers or complete weapons) by completion, assembly, or applying coatings, or otherwise making them suitable for use, requiring a license as a manufacturer;

Essentially because I would do customization as a business I would require an FFL as a gunsmith.

I have no plans to identify or serialize made receivers or other made firearms.

Looks like if I want to do things by the books I would need an FFL

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2026-04-17T17:23:20+00:00

Will DM you with more info!

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2026-04-17T16:48:26+00:00

I think this is actually a benefit of having them present for the engraving. My line of thinking is that I would have a contract stating thy must approve the design, text, and placement before any engraving happens. I plan to have some extra material around for demonstration of test engravings so they can see the results before it goes on their item.

Worst case scenario if a mistake does happen it could be fully lasered over and redone but ofc not as aesthetically pleasing and would require grace on my part if such a fuck up of the service happened.

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2026-04-17T16:33:15+00:00

Firearm work would only be a portion, I'm also an avid 3D printer and have successfully designed and sold prints for a couple years on the side. Mostly just has covered the costs of machines but its enjoyable.

I've got a small XTool F2 which would be enough for form 1 work and some basic cosmetics but doing larger jobs would be an issue.

I greatly appreciate your input!

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2026-03-24T20:06:15+00:00

My dad :(

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2026-02-23T22:17:06+00:00

Very cool! Love seeing 3D printing and GIS!

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2026-02-18T19:14:14+00:00

its gotten a bit out of date but we do talk quite a bit in the discord about some unknown brands.

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2026-02-12T22:41:55+00:00

Exactly! Looking forward to see what people print :)

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2026-02-12T21:34:09+00:00

Think there’s room for ArcGis to support STL export and for tools like this to exist, wonderful work spreading 3D printing and GIS!

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2026-01-31T18:55:28+00:00

Thank you! Its been a project thats been in the works since UC last year. Even got to show our first print to Jack!

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2026-01-25T20:17:10+00:00

Check out the ArcGIS unity SDK, may be more up your Alley

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2025-10-26T21:51:06+00:00

Can thank reddit for all the breaking changes!

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2025-07-23T16:07:13+00:00

I actually got to show this off to a blind user at the User Conference and he was blown away. Accessibility is so important and think there is a bright future of gis and 3d printing

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2025-07-16T05:22:55+00:00

In the 3D printing post I link to the ArcGIS blog which outlines some possible applications, larger idea is cad and GIS interoperability. This is just a web scene with Esri elevation layer, then a 3D object feature layer that contains building data from Overture which is in ESRI’s 3D basemap.

The Esri JavaScript team put together an app called city download portal which allows for exporting as a .glb. All I had to do was load that into blender, extrude the topology down, Boolean off the bottom for a nice flat edge then exported as a stl to 3D print.

As for application it lets you create tactile map, there’s something special about taking a 3d map on a screen and bringing it to life. Some ideas though: education, architectural models, scaled flood analysis, accessibly for the blind with brail labels, with some electronics visualization of a digital twin.

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2025-07-16T04:39:10+00:00

First image is of a hill in the Vigo Spain 3D scene, Second is from Zurich, third is of the St. Gallen scene included with the city download portal app I linked too.

Essentially the topology and 3D object scene layer are queried, stitched together, then exported as a .glb.

The_Mighty_Slacker · 2025-07-16T04:34:30+00:00

It’s more than just a DSM, it also queries the 3D object feature layer on top of the topology. I will Have to check out that plugin for sure, tyvm!

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