broken shaft

Hank, I don't know if you're kidding, just in case, pounding the shaft is not the way to straighten it. I'm pretty good at straightening shafts. I do it over my knee, except in the case of a shaft bent close to the tip where I don't have enough to grab, then I use a vice.

It's just a matter of patience. I find shafts tend to assume straight with the right amount of pressure. I can't see how banging would work at all (except with a very sharp bend which rarely happens) because the shafts are springy.

Quote from Dan

It's just a matter of patience. I find shafts tend to assume straight with the right amount of pressure. I can't see how banging would work at all (except with a very sharp bend which rarely happens) because the shafts are springy.

When one who is trained in metal working the '' banging'' is called metal finishing and is a lost art.

One use's V blocks, a anvil and a hammer, along with a very sharp eye and patience. A blacksmith can get most shafts or knife blades within thousands of an inch. Mori learned from a friend of mine and is now expert in the field.

Cheers, Don

This will make a very interesting video. But why is it necessary when a shaft can be straightened by hand?

Quote from Dan

This will make a very interesting video. But why is it necessary when a shaft can be straightened by hand?

I just had my shaft strightened this morning.:hooray: no vid though.;)

Kidding aside, not all shafts can be strighten.Many times if time is $ one is better off buying a new shaft.
Some one who is patient, good with their hands and has some basic hand tools can be taught this skill set.

When I come to Florida to dive some day I will teach you, than I can vid you.

Cheers, Don

Quote from Dan

This will make a very interesting video. But why is it necessary when a shaft can be straightened by hand?

you can fine tune a shaft to be truer than new with a anvil , steel ,and a hammer . you can get it close over your knee , then you true it up . i also use a arrow straightener tool.

phil

Truer than new doesn't say much I see them new and bent from time to time. Again I'd love to see it done. The problem is if I can't see the bend I can't straighten it any more than it is. When I straighten a shaft by hand I do it to the point where I no longer see a bend. Unless an arrow straightening tool will show a bend where I can't see it. That's an interesting idea, thanks Phil. Is this something like what you use?

Grayling Arrow Straightener. - Arrow Straighteners : Grayling : Bowhunters International, Bowhunters Supply Store, Archery Supplies, Archery Equipment, Bowhunting Supplies

i also use a vertical straight edge to check for straight ,just look for light between the shaft and straight edge , most new shafts are not straight when checked this way .
phil

To be clear, does the arrow tool only show you the bend with shafts, or do you actually straighten them with it too?

If the tool is made to straighten hollow aluminum arrows which don't require much pressure to bend, does using it on a shaft damage the tool's calibration? Thanks.

I tried using a straight edge to check before, but it's confusing because the shaft is springy.

Quote from Dan

To be clear, does the arrow tool only show you the bend with shafts, or do you actually straighten them with it too?

If the tool is made to straighten hollow aluminum arrows which don't require much pressure to bend, does using it on a shaft damage the tool's calibration? Thanks.

I tried using a straight edge to check before, but it's confusing because the shaft is springy.

the dial micrometer is on a separate arm from the leaver you use to straighten the shaft with.

the key to the straight edge is it has to be vertical , and you hang the shaft next to it , you cant do it flat
phil

Phil, will the machine work on any kind of bend, sharp bends, long bends?

Snapped this 7.5mm shaft at the base of the thread on Christmas Eve. Was my second fish shot with the shaft and weighed in at a little over 16kg gutted and gilled. Was a little too close to the fish and the gun was pushed back and split my chin open.
Swam back to the boat, collected my 90cm gun and luckily found the fish and finished the job.

PS For other Aussies - this is a Western Australian blue groper and we are legally allowed to shoot them here. It was my first one in several years and I've let a number of larger fish swim free in that time.

PSS Not a speardiver shaft

Nice shot with the pranger.:thumbsup2:

Cheers, Don

kmo, beautiful fish.

What kind of prong is that? Looks to have more prongs than what we're used to seeing here. Why do you use it instead of a flopper shaft on a large fish like that?

Thanks Dan, it went down well for Xmas lunch

It's a 6 point pranger with 8 inch barbs. Took me about 15 minutes of knife work to remove it from the fish, it was well buried into the roof of the fish's mouth. Unfortunately a bit low and missed any major organs but did slow the fish down enough for me to find it again.

Why not a flopper shaft? We have a 2 month closure here where can't spear some species of larger demersals which ended a week before this dive, so I had the gun rigged up for spearing small fish. Instead of changing out the spear I thought if would be a good challenge to get close to the fish and shoot them with the pranger.

It was actually my first time shooting with the pranger. Probably won't do it again until next closure.

Hahahaja I love it when the answer is " I really didn't mean to / want to, but....."

Those are always the best stories. Cheers on a great fish