[Salgak]

Yes, the tech is documented. But you have to have the tools to make the tech, and in case of EMP frying microchips, you need working tech from before the chip era. So, you’re talking mid-1960s tech. Except, to make THAT tech, you need the tools that built it, which haven’t been made or used for a generation plus.

It’s the “chicken or the egg” problem, writ large. . .you need a sufficient base of the machines to build the machines, and enough skilled operators to run them.

Oh. . .and how much of the documentation is physical, and how much was scanned and burned to CD/DVD to save space. . . or merely disposed of, by corporate. . .

[driftdiver]

Meanwhile you’re fighting to find something to eat. Doesn’t leave a lot of time to figure out how to make a toy.

[publius911]

I still don't buy it. Starting now, how long would it take to produce a lathe? A planer?
I have a paper copy of a 1771 encyclopedia. Why would it be that hard to find paper copies of anything?

I am totally confident that we are talking about months, not decades.

With no more worries of any kind about a no longer existing enemy, incredible human resources can be brought to bear.