shaft band tab

    spearos---This is about a shaft tab to keep unstreched bands out of the way.


    Where and what I hunt often means that 2 bands stretched on my RA130 are not needed and can even lead to a damaged or stuck in the reef spear:(
    So many times I depower my spear by taking 1 band off its notch and just using 1 band to shoot a small fish or a close fish or a fish down against the reef. The problem then is that the loose band flops around loose, gets in the way of sighting, scares the fish and is distracting. I tried to tuck the loose band under the stretched band, but that method almost always threw the shot off for some reason. [I shot at the same trigger at least 6 times until I realized that the tucked in band was the cause of all the missed shots].
    Solution== A couple of days ago I remembered seeing a "cocking tab" on a shaft. I realized that the cocking tab would keep my ëxtra" band out of the way. I thought about welding on a tab, drilling in a pin, etc. Then I settled on suberglueing on a very small streamlined tab to the top of my RA shaft just back far enough for the band to hook to and stay hooked. I have used this now for 2 days and it works great.
    Hope this idea helps

    hau, kudos for a great idea. Of course the rest tab is not new but I've never thought or heard of using it for keeping a band out of the way. I don't how long the super glue will hold, a pin will most certainly be better. Obviously doesn't have to be super strong so just pushed into a hole will do it. Problem is your RA shaft is probably too hard to drill.


    Here's another idea that may work. On the wishbone of the outer band tie a piece of the same wishbone material, like a little tab. This tab can be tucked under the stretched band. The shot may be thrown off as you described but it's worth a try.

    pargo--a real rest tab would of course be better, but I was afraid what me welding on a tab or drilling in a pin would do to the RA shaft galvanizing and strength. I didn't want to take the chance of messing up a shaft.


    Your idea of a 'tuck' line tied to the extra band wishbone sounds very good also and I'll try that if my glue on tab fails.:)
    Thanks

    monster slayer----your solution is the best solution, except that I tried that last month. I have a Riffe 00 27in that I rigged up with a paralyzer tip to shoot small fish with. I called it my fish shotgun. So I am swimming around the reef blasting almost any grunt, spade or porgy I could see and this 30in cero mack cruises past me about 10f from my face. I look at the mack, look at the 27in gun in my hand, look at the mack swimming off and swear to myself that I will not make the mistake of being under gunned again. As I swam back to the yak to get my RA130, another mack just a little smaller repeats my education about being under gunned.:(
    Now I swim around with my RA130 with both bands stretched just incase mr. mack swims by. If I see a hog down on the reef or a gag in a hole I have time to take 1 band off and not damage my spear or get it stuck in the reef.
    Scott suggested that I swim with a gun in each hand and my anchor in my teeth:thumbsup2:

    SPEARFISHING and RECREATIONAL FISHING NEEDS THE NRA
    Spearfishing Store

    Edited once, last by hau ().

    I will mention something different. Watch out for the rest tab on fish like macks. I know from experience that the rest tab can cut the fish flesh a lot making the entrance hole bigger and i have seen the flopper come out. I lost a few soft tissue fish like that. Just make it big enough to hold and trimm down any excess metal. Also the fact that the bigger the mack the more damage to the fish from the tab. I like the idea but i will make it smaler because his purpose is only to hold the rubber not give extra power. Consider that in the future when you shoot a mack and the shaft goes half way in. I will chek on the idea pargo mention. Sound interesting, andi think it will work. Kind of like a slip tip method:thumbsup2:

    How about a small magnet on the wishbone? 17-4 stainless shafts are somewhat magnetic, but your spring steel RA shafts should be strongly magnetic.


    http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=R424DIA


    If you are tying your own wishbones, it would be easy to thread one of these small cylinders on the wishbone cord, and then tie an overhand knot to keep the magnet right up close to the band, and away from where the wishbone fits the shaft slot. Or maybe insert a small magnet inside the band before tying the wishbone? These nickel plated ones will eventually rust, but at $0.43 each, it wouldn't be a great investment to try.


    I'll check when I get home, but I think I have a couple laying around that you can have if you want to give it a try.

    i kow that Dan McMahon uses a ss screw drilled into the stock of his gun (wood) on the bottom to keep the second banf out of the way, I knom you aren't going to drill a screw into the RA tube, but maybe you could mount a tab/fin of some sort on the bottom of the barrel for the band to be secured there.


    just a thought

    i like to spear fish

    If your tab is on the bottom of the gun, then don't you have unload one band, and pass it in front of the gun, while the other band is still loaded? I'm sure that this can be done safely, if you really pay attention to where your hands are. But it also seems potentially dangerous.


    I can't really say that I have a situation in mind that might cause the gun to fire just as your hand crosses in front of the spear, but it still seems best to avoid that possibility entirely if possible.

    Jeff, you are correct, it would only be safe to use it unloaded. Iwas thinking that he could have the band out of the way for using one band only. I hadn't thought about when he wanted to quickly add the second band


    Quote from Toledo970

    That would depend on wether he has a reel/guide or not, no?


    very good call, this would be almost impossible because Hau does use a reel....I saw the idea on a commercial freeshafter's gun and didnt think it through to applying it to hau.



    one more idea would be to have the second band with you but not on the gun, that way it would not be easy to add the band once it is already loaded, but you would be able to add it quickly in the event you were seeing more fish off the bottom or less.

    i like to spear fish

    spearos---Thanks to all for taking the time to help me.
    My 'hau extra band tab' on the shaft did great until today when it fell off. I love how simple and small and easy it was. I had it glued onto the top of my RA shaft just back far enough so the second band would hook onto it without falling off.
    Question 1== The super glue gel seems to fail when it gets wet. Is there a better waterproof glue or adhesive I could use? Maybe 5200?
    Question 2===could I use an electric soldering gun to solder on a ss tab without affecting the RA spring steel?
    Thanks for your suggestions and help

    If you're using Dyneema for wishbones the easiest way IMO would be to cut a shallow notch although that will weaken the shaft. It will rust nicely at that point. All the other things you mentioned will go the way of your tab.

    You might try the 3M VHB (Very High Bond) tapes. In particular, I use the 9469 to attach rubber to the aluminum on camera mounts. The 9469 isn't actually a tape. It is just a thin layer (0.005") of strong adhesive, with a removable paper layer on each side. You peel off one piece of paper, and apply the tape. Peel off the other piece of paper, and stick on your piece.


    It's not quite bullet proof on the rubber, but it sticks great to the aluminum. It might work very well for joining two metal pieces, as long as they fit together with no gap. I'll try a scrap and see what happens.


    You can get it for cheap on Ebay.

    In general, solder only sticks to relatively pure metal surfaces that have been cleaned of coatings and impurities. I doubt that it would stick at all unless you removed the plating on the shaft surface.

    spearos---just a shaft tab spare band update.
    The super glue gel is not water proof and the shaft tab easily falls off.
    I tried neoprene glue, but that didn't work either.
    What has worked so far for a week is J-B Weld. I first cleaned off the shaft [just where the tab was going] with nail polish remover. I mixed and applied the J-B Weld as directed, stuck the tab on and waited 24hours before using that shaft. So far the J-B Weld has held even when pulling fish off the shaft:D
    If the J-B Weld fails, there is a Marine J-B Weld that I can try next.
    The shaft tab works great, is simple and easy and I use it a lot. My new RA120 with 7mm shaft shoots way to hard and fast for small reef fish or hogs against the reef with both bands stretched.
    Yesterday I shot a 14in trigger fish that was aprox 10f from my muzzle. Just the 1 band shot the shaft so hard that the trigger never moved in the water column when the shaft hit him mid body. One second he was swimming along and the next sec he was in the same place but with the shaft clear through him and the trigger on the shaft line.:thumbsup2:

    SPEARFISHING and RECREATIONAL FISHING NEEDS THE NRA
    Spearfishing Store

    Edited 2 times, last by hau ().

    pargo---yes, the drill and pin would be perfect, but I doubt that I can drill the RA shaft.
    So far so good with the J-B Weld. If the glueing fails I may have to find some way or someone to drill and pin the shaft. Thanks

    You can drill it, just need a carbide bit. Here's one for $4 at Lowes http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=122417-353-HCBG01&lpage=none&cm_mmc=search_gps-_-gps-_-gps-_-Bosch-1/8%22-Carbide-Masonry-Drill-Bit If you want buy it and come to my place to do the work. I think I have a 1/8 SS rod. The RA shaft shouldn't rust too badly around the hole.


    Just be careful with the bit and don't drop it. I once ordered an expensive one online. When I got the package the bit was stuck in its plastic pouch. I shook the pouch to dislodge the bit and make it come out, it fell on the floor and broke in 3 pieces. I was still able to use one broken piece to drill a hole. It works like a miniature grinding wheel.

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