Tubeless suppressor designs are a relatively new addition to the commercial market. If you aren’t familiar with the process, professional manufacturers use programmable, radial welding machines that turn the suppressor and lay down perfect welds at a steady rate. The result is a precise weld that looks like it was made by a sewing machine. For example, check out this Dead Air Nomad:

Because the process requires expensive equipment and more importantly, talent, we have yet to see a tubeless DIY welded suppressor. Until today. Silencer Saturday fan Jeremy was nice enough to send in these images and a write up of his Form 1 silencer build for a 300BLK AR15.

While the suppressor itself looks a bit rough, I absolutely love it. I’m willing to bet it is nearly as quiet as a commercial offering.

Welded together freeze plugs – freaking awesome.

DIY TubelEss 300BLK Welded Suppressor From Scratch

I’ve had a 10.5″ .300 BLK AR Pistol I put together since shortly after suppressors were allowed in our state. I built a Form 1 suppressor that I used on that almost exclusively, but it was near 2 pounds and 10″ long making the whole setup when attached long and front heavy. It was the “D cell mag-lite” design using formed and drilled freeze plugs and works very well. Since I only shoot sub-sonic rounds suppressed with that AR, I decided a dedicated suppressor would be a good idea. I really dislike the arm brace shenanigans, ATF whims and length of pull limitations. I didn’t want to go the SBR route due to frequently crossing state lines and the ATF notification requirements, not to mention another $200 NFA Stamp. So, enter this project… I built a suppressor from scratch and pinned/welded it to the barrel and installed a larger diameter long hand guard and turn it into a rifle. Sort of a “Honey Badger” concept, but much less refined and much less expensive than a commercial version.

Thanks to the article on TFB in the Fall of 2018 regarding the ATF e-Form 1 process, I drew up a design and submitted my Form 1. I had my stamp and approved form 1 back in 18 days!

The overall length of the suppressor is 6.5″. 18.3 Ounces. It contains 9 baffles and a blast chamber with internal muzzle device. I built it around a quality compensator so I didn’t need to worry about cutting threads. Everything would be built and aligned off those existing threads with the aid of a custom threaded mandrel.

The baffles are formed and drilled freeze plugs. They are plated with zinc which does not make for good welds or safe fumes when welding. I stripped the nickel off the baffles using white distilled vinegar. It worked very well. It takes a couple days and if you refresh the vinegar it will go faster. The blast chamber is a piece of thick (1/8″) pipe and the end cap is a piece of shaft cut off and drilled out to slip fit onto the muzzle device. It is welded on both sides. I used a TIG welder and did my best after some practicing on similar thickness materials. I have no welding training or trade history and my day job is software development. Function before fashion! It works well and didn’t come apart during test firing. I painted it with Rustoleum High Temp (1,200 F) Grill Paint. The completed barrel/suppressor ended up being 17″. It balances nicely now. The hand guard is a Aero Precision Quantum 15″ long 1.5″ diameter. The upper and lower are PSA.

Pfft pfft pfft!”