Pitch pine speargun build

looked at a riffe euro last week taught it was too expensive here in Trinidad and decided to build a speargun , which will be the first speargun i ever own . i am only going off the info i got from this forum and from speaking to local dive shops . just ordered some parts from Neptonics , but in the mean while i am practicing on a 2x4 of pitch pine . going to try and upload some pics .

just as a side note even tough that pic doesn't look like much due to the fact that i don't have all of the necessary tools , that took about 2 hours of hard core sanding .

just showing the starter gear i bought , medium length fins [ good price plus better suited to my needs ] simple comfortable j type snorkel and high visibility mask . they are all SCUBA MAX brand . The reason i bought medium length fins were because the depth i would be swimming in is around 12-20 feet [ now starting] and the mask is not a low volume mask because of shallow depth and i prefer the larger viewing angle it provides for safety reasons , taking into mind i am inexperienced .

I uploaded the pic of my gear to show guest that you don't have to spend $1000 US to get started in spearfishing. you can buy relatively cheap gear when now starting , besides you're not going to dive 100 feet [safely] your first time out . therefore high end items like carbon fins may not be necessary at this stage . The mask , snorkel and fins all came up to $800 TT dollars = $123 US , plus i bought these things in a full on dive shop , they are cheaper online .

This is a cutting from the total 10ft length , it is just over 4ft x 2x4 . pure solid purple heart . i am not going to laminate it because it is going to be relatively short for reef may be mid handle plus it is my first gun besides the pine tester . is the laminating completely necessary .[ATTACH][ATTACH]6721[/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

the grain looks pretty straight .

the wood is already kiln dried , i don't want to have to laminate because this is my first gun , i don't actually have a speargun and i don't want to have to wait 2 months before i can get in the water . is the laminating just preferred or will the gun not function without laminating due to warping

your probably right , i will hit a wall with the gear that i bought . although just as a side note camo is illegal in Trinidad and Tobago , specifically military style like the kind the US Army used in the 90s and present but the customs officer is the one to decide if your particular pattern is illegal . so if coming to Trinidad and Tobago i would go with something like a black wet suit . caution is needed even with the camo style cargo shorts you guys wear. it can be confiscated .

yeah they know who the trouble makers are , although some times you can come across a difficult customs officer so be careful

thanks for the tips

true

since i found out i cann't import it today , i decided to make it . because i am also making my own shafts as well ,[ATTACH][ATTACH][ATTACH][ATTACH]6726[/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH] i made the mock up to take only the 5/16 round stock , so i only have to make the retaining notch on the rear of the shaft not a full american style notch system . this is only the mock up made from 3/16 mild steel flat stock . i basically copied Neptonic's tuna mech [ my version ] . i can't cast the real one from cobalt alloy because my tools can't melt that much metal so i will source local stainless plate from a supplier . feel free to post constructive criticism as well as any mods.