I think so. But can layman do it?
I think anyone who is determined enough can do just about anything they set their mind to. Let me ask you this. Do you think the people who synthesize crack, or meth, are rocket scientists? How about the people who used to distill moonshine, and even still do? Do they get it right the first time? Probably not. I think all of the info of how to do just about anything is right on the Internet, even in libraries, at least to just get started. Everything has a learning curve. Recipe for doing anything is; Read, acquire what you need, make, test, adapt, make changes, make again, test again, read more, make more changes, don't give up, succeed. I think that holds true for doing anything.