At the beginning of the summer, I commissioned a blank from Wood Guy. I decided on the dimensions 1.5"x2.5"x63". My vision was a rear handled, light blue water, 3 banded, teak killing machine. In a little over 2 weeks time, Wood Guy had the blank at my doorstep.
I used a Neptonics Reverse Mech, with a Speardiver handle, line anchor, and 5/16 flopper shaft. Fully enclosed track with Wood Guy's muzzle protector.
I apologize for the picture quality, I'm certainly no photographer and I'm limited to an iPhone at the moment.
I decided early on that for this build I wanted to do tie-in SeaSniper style bands. My original plan was to taper the gun to the front, however I was not pleased with how the muzzle holes were coming out with the taper. I've got two 2x4 blanks that i did everything on beforehand.. one with the taper to 2" at the muzzle, and the other 100% identical to real deal. As much as I loved the taper, I'm more pleased without it.
For the holes, I drilled a 3/16 hole through the top, and a 1/4 hole about half an inch deep from the bottom. I inserted stainless tubing with and OD of 3/16 and an ID of 1/8, I then masked off the front of the gun and filed the tubes flush.
I believe I've got somewhere between 8 and 9 oz of lead total in the gun for ballast. I never actually weighed it, I just ziptied lead scraps on until I had it where I wanted it. In the end, it took 29 seconds to sink to the bottom in a 5ft deep pool, staying almost perfectly level the entire time.. with the rear sinking slightly quicker than the nose. I'm aware of the buoyancy difference between salt and fresh water, and I've got a few viable options should it be a bit too positive in the ocean, I'll just have to wait and see. Anyway, I hid the lead in both the handle and under the delrin muzzle protector in the front. I can't take credit for either of these methods, as I got the idea for the handle from Ihab's stainless handle inserts.. and the credit for the muzzle ballast goes to a member of Spearboard named Mr. Paul.
And for my favorite part of this gun. I thought long and hard on how to put some form of identification on the gun without the dreaded Sharpie marker approach. In the midst of my planning.. I was sitting at the computer when I hear the jingle of my beagle's dog ID tags as he was walking into the room.. and it hit me. I found a website online that offered completely customizable dog tags. I had it include my name, phone number, and email address. There were several metal options, brass, stainless, colored aluminum, and several more. I went with brass because I'm a sucker for the blued look it gets when it's seen the saltwater. In hindsight, stainless is probably the best option.. should the gun be lost at sea long term. I'm contemplating replacing it with a stainless plate, but I'm in love with the brass. I figure there are many dual uses that the name plate could serve. It could be used to hide ballast, or even act as a pushrod retainer on a remote trigger gun. I inlaid it using a dremmel tool and an exacto knife, very pleased with the results.
I can't thank Wood Guy enough for the beautiful blank and willingness to share his knowledge. Also thanks to Dan for the hardware. At one point I asked Dan if he had pre shaped wood plate for the handle.. being my first time not using an Alexander handle on a build, I was a bit unsure about shaping my own. He recommended that I just trace it and shape it myself.. at what point I thought what the hell, why not give it a shot. I'm glad he said that, as something about knowing I shaped the handle myself really makes the gun feel more personal to me. I don't know, maybe I'm weird. My best build to date, certainly won't be my last.
