Core's new gun build and gear

    Hi Y'all,


    CORE and I have been discussing his getting a blank from me, and after discussing several options, I will be doing more than building the blank. Being from Puerto Rico and being in the US Military, he doesn't have access to the tools to build the gun since he is currently stationed in Georgia. So, I will be doing most of the build here in Alabama, with participation from the Tin Man on some parts of the gun.


    I think the three of are going to end up with a pretty interesting build, some of which I haven't seen the likes of anywhere so far.


    We'll start with one of my blanks (what else?). It will be FEQ (Burmese) teak, 56" long overall, tapering from 2" wide at the butt to 1.75" wide at the tip, and tapering from 1.75" high at the butt to 1.5" high at the tip. It has 6 vertical laminations and 1 horizontal lam across the top. After planing the excess glue off the blank, it is dead square and absolutely straight across the top and sides (I can't get a .005" feeler gauge under any of the blank while it's sitting on a straight edge.).




    I'll cut an enclosed wood track with a 6" dovetailed delrin muzzle reinforcement for the 5/16" shaft The gun will use a Neptonics trigger mech and handle, with the mech and handle being mounted 2-3" from the butt end.


    The blank was finished today, so now I'll hang it for about 4 weeks, checking it each week to see if there is any warping or bowing along the sides or top. After that, the fun part starts. I'll start with the track and go from there.


    Now comes the hardest part- waiting a month before we can get to the fun part! I'll post the progress as we go!


    Bill

    :birthday2: TO ME:laughing3: Bill you Da' Man:thumbsup2: Yep it is that time of the year where my little overkill beast will be born. I was searching like crazy, questioning myself, but after all this time me and Bill (Woody Guy) got the idea to a 90%. This will be a hell of a thread following the steps from start to the finished product, hoping to help other spearos to see how a masterpiece is born;). Tin Man will be the master of disaster creating one hell of a handle that if it comes out the way i think it will be one of a kind but the waiting, yes sir the waiting, why the waiting? yes you guess right not so patience i guess right?. :iwantitnow:. is going to be a long process but i guess the wait will more than worth it:thumbsup2:

    It's the 76" bed on the beast that makes all the difference. I was planing a piece of teak 2" x 4" x 72" today. Wicked straight! Alvin's gonna love this gun- Thanks for helping with the handle- I can't wait to see it!

    Quote from Wood Guy

    The blank was finished today, so now I'll hang it for about 4 weeks, checking it each week to see if there is any warping or bowing along the sides or top. After that, the fun part starts. I'll start with the track and go from there.


    Now comes the hardest part- waiting a month before we can get to the fun part! I'll post the progress as we go!


    Bill


    How can be warping prevented??

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    Warping usually happens when the lams aret straight to begin with, or stresses in the wood aren't relieved when the lams are arranged for glue- up, or aren't straight during glue-up. I very seldom have warping with my blanks, which is mostly due to the device I made to hold the blanks straight during glue-up. I hang them for a month just to make sure, then plane to final dimensions.


    Leaving the gun in a hot car could cause warping since it probably heats one side of the gun more than the other. I would think it would be temporary but since I've never had it happen to me I'm only guessing.

    More, thinner lams also helps since the stresses are more easily offset. Guns with a single piece of wood are much more prone to warping. Think plywood versus a single piece of wood.

    I actually left the gun in the car permanently :) So it was there for a few months and this is Miami, it gets like an oven in the car. So one day may not do it.


    What does that mean that laminations are not straight?

    Laminations can be bent very easily in the thin direction, but are obviously harder to bend the thick way. I plane the wood flat on the piece I cut the lams out of before I cut it so the lams are perfectly flat in the thick direction. It doesn't matter if they bend in the thin direction since when I lay the lams together I arrange them so the bending offsets. You can't do that in the thick direction, though. The lam has to be straight to start with or you actually introduce stresses when you bend it back straight. This is what results in warping or bowing later after glue- up.

    Maybe a sketch will help.


    He cuts the thin laminates from a much larger board. But first, he takes pains to make sure that the larger board is flat and straight, as in the first view, and not warped, as in the second. That way, the resulting laminates are straight in the "hard" direction, though after cutting they may bow slightly in the "easy" direction. He can remove bow in the "easy" direction by selecting laminates with similar amounts of bow, and aligning them in opposite directions so that they cancel each other out when glued up..

    I like it - by paying attention to all the small issues during the cutting and glue up process your not giving the wood a chance to warp. Are you keeping track of what percentage of them warp even slightly during the month of hanging - and how much they warp? You could make that data available to the buyer and he could decide whether or not he wanted to wait the month.


    What jointer did you end up with? I too just got a big one and LOVE it.


    Also, how's the boat coming?

    In the case of the bowed glue up piece on the right, wouldn't a jointer or a planer make it straight again with no additional forces acting on the wood afterward? Of course avoiding that warp in the first place the way wood guy does it makes more sense. But if it did happen to be there and the stock was planed to make it straight would that make it weaker in the long run?

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