Mounting a composite reel on a Riffe speargun

    Often I get inquiries from guys looking to mount the Speardiver composite reel on their Riffe speargun. Specifically they want to know if the holes in the reel mounting bracket match the threaded inserts in the Riffe stock. Short answer is no they don't match, and there's no composite reel other than the Riffe reel with a hole configuration that matches the Riffe spearguns. I then explain that if it's a Riffe euro, to choose the flat profile mounting bracket when they buy the reel. Installation is simple as drilling two holes in the bottom of the stock and using the two included stainless steel screws to attach the mounting bracket to the gun. But for some reason that's not acceptable.. the reel they will buy must match the threaded inserts built-in the speargun. The fact that using threaded inserts is a weak way to attach a reel is of no consequence compared to the irrational need to make use of those damned inserts.


    The Riffe reel is obviously not a desired option (it's not a good reel on top of being overpriced), so all this trouble is for not wanting to put a screw in a wood gun. That's what wood guns are for, so you can add or remove whatever you need easily whether it's a reel, a camera arm, a shark spike, a flashlight bracket, a rest tab, band stabilizers, ballast or an extra shaft holder. Get over putting a screw hole in your pristine wood speargun and just use it :dumb:


    Speardiver composite reel

    Think of the amount of continuous natural solid wood fiber that is cut out to install a 1/2'' dia SS threaded insert 1/2'' deep into surface wood X 2. I don't know if Jay bonds the inserts into the wood with a glue that bonds well to SS and oily teak like G-Flex epoxie?


    One advantage of a proper screw, is it can be longer. A Stainless insert can have just over a half inch of holding depth, a Screw in a gun like a Riffe could be burried into 1.5'' of solid wood. If I was changing out reels twice a year with different mounting bits, the inserts would be easier to mount with.
    I have a bunch of wood guns with huge metal reels from the dark ages when guys locally hunted Giant Black Sea Bass. The properly drilled and set blue grease coated SS wood screws are still doing their job 40 years later.


    In the end it all depends on the length, crosssection and barrel material used along with the builder, but I don't like big holes drilled into the center span of a large load bearing game gun.


    Cheers, Don

    "Great mother ocean brought forth all life, it is my eternal home'' Don Berry from Blue Water Hunters.


    Spearfishing Store the freediving and spearfishing equipment specialists.

    Edited once, last by Don Paul: sp ().

    Is there any problems drilling a new hole into a mahogany gun with epoxy coating? Does it
    risk delamination? Or is there a way to plug up the hole with epoxy/wood combo?

    Mahogany is generally not laminated but it is usually finished with epoxy. If it is coated in epoxy there will be a little bit of water intrusion around the screw holes if you do not seal the hole. If you do not plan on removing the reel once you have put it on the gun then you can simply use a dab of 5 minute epoxy on the screws when you put them in. If you plan on removing the reel frequently (a lot of people think they will do this but from experience they usually don't) you can use threaded inserts. You have to drill a slightly larger hole and then seal them with the same method as above.

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