Hi Wulgar,
Welcome to the forum. Buying and owning a still is not illegal. Using it to distill alcohol without a permit is in every state and most countries. When you buy one from just about any retailer it will have a serial number inscibed on it and assigned to whoever buys it by law. So there will be a legal record of your purchase of a still. Does the goverment demand a copy of these records from the retailers? They could but probably don't. You'll find that if you try to buy one, most retailers are so backlogged that you will have to wait. That means that a lot of people are buying stills. I'm assuming that most are using them illegally. We all follow the basic rule DON'T TELL, DON'T SELL. Judging from the thousands of users of this and other related forums a lot of people enjoy this hobby without going to jail. Now if you choose to take up the hobby and then choose to make hundreds of gallons to sell then chances are pretty good you will get a visit from your local, state, and federal officials willing to offer you a place to stay for a while. If you are going to make a few gallons a year for your own consumption or to share when you have friends over the you probably have nothing to worry about. Hope this helps you out.
Maddawgs

Hey JB if you look on the column with the condenser that's where the serial number is located. All legit manufacturers put serial numbers on this part of the still, the only way to avoid this is to build one yourself or have someone build one for you.

I use my two stills for the manufacture of essential oils and have SS product baskets to prove it. Though I have been known to stray once in a while.

As for the government checking the rolls and making house calls I doubt they have the man power to do that. Exception may be for the larger stills, 35 to 500 gallons with 6 inch or larger column diameters.

As long as your not making gallons of the stuff for sale and don't tell everyone you know about it you will probably be Ok.

Pretty much what I thought. Thanks!!