New diver, first build

    I always start on balsa or pine,;) Pin all the bits in line,


    There can be some monster calico just inside a ledge up your way. I think open track will be good for you there.


    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.

    Mech dropped in nicely. The trigger felt like crap at first then I noticed the tension spring was not attached at all. Once I snapped it on and bent it over, it feels great.
    So I've got measurements off of the gun. Rear band hole to rear shark sharkfin measures 41.25". Front to front is 40.75".
    Anybody know of an online calculator for band length?

    In the case of the rear band I would start with: 41.25 x 2 = 82.5
    82.5/3 = 27.5 round it off to 28" that's the length of your rubber piece and will give you %300 stretch ( I use very short wishbones) which is conservative. See how you like it and shorten if it's too easy to load.

    I know I'm skipping a few steps in pics here but I started lay night on a roll and didn't quit working until about 3am. Slept and got right back on it.
    With the mech fit, channel routed out, handle fit, trigger and push rod set in last night, I started this morning with setting the line guide, line anchor. Next came shaping the blank. I started by taking the front down to 1 5/8 top to bottom. 1 5/8 side to side from just shy of 2" at the butt. After tapering the blank on the band saw, I smoothed it with low angle jack plane. Once the taper was done, I just wasn't happy with the shape so I set a 5 degree taper and also added a Taper from the bottom (whets the line anchor is) to the top where the track is. Once I was happy, a 1/2 radius roundover bit eased the bottom. A block plane and scraper finished off a slight chamfer on the top.
    About 3 hours of hand sanding from 150 up to 320 and it's finally ready for finish.

    That looks gorgeous! Just looking at its size though I think it could hve done with a third band hole, but with all that band stretch maybe not! Beautiful gun sir!!!

    A bad day at sea is better than a good day in the boatyard
    George Steele

    All hail the home shop...where the smell of fresh wood chips inspire great times .:toast::toast:
    Your hooked now...this will be the first of many.:thumbsup2:
    Nice work mate.


    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.

    Quote from Dude george

    That looks gorgeous! Just looking at its size though I think it could hve done with a third band hole, but with all that band stretch maybe not! Beautiful gun sir!!!


    Is 42" of stretch a lot for bands? I thought this gun was pretty small..



    A question about ballasting. Iso it stupid to attempt to ballast the gun in my pool? I know things float different in salt but walking out back to the pool is so much more convenient.

    Quote from Brendon

    Is 42" of stretch a lot for bands? I thought this gun was pretty small..



    A question about ballasting. Iso it stupid to attempt to ballast the gun in my pool? I know things float different in salt but walking out back to the pool is so much more convenient.


    No prob....your not trimming out a 12 # tuna gun. You can also take it to a marina dock and bring duct tape and fishing wts.


    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.

    So fresh water would work?
    I was planning on taking it to the boat launch but the drive is about 30 minutes each way. Much more convenient to walk out the back door.

    Quote from Brendon

    So fresh water would work?
    I was planning on taking it to the boat launch but the drive is about 30 minutes each way. Much more convenient to walk out the back door.


    Salt water is about 1.025 g/ml @ 39 degrees F
    Fresh is about 1.0 g/ml


    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.

    You can do it in fresh water. Just keep in mind that it will float more in sea water, so you will need a little bit more of lead. I did it with my roller and I'm happy with the outcome.

    Marco Melis

    A bad day fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work.

    Here are some quick finished pictures of one of the two guns. Finish was 3 liberal coats of watco tung oil followed by 3 coats of General Finishes Arm R Seal.
    The gun still needs balasted but I'm going to wait until the second gun is finished and do them at the same time.
    I would love to hear HONEST feedback from you guys as I still have another to go and my feelings don't get hurt. If you don't like xy or z, id like to hear it. It a&b would have been best done like this, let me know.This build was really more of a learning experience. Now that it's "done" I don't plan to quit learning.

    Looks solid, my two cents are... I think the band slots you cut to lay up the band's are a bit severe, needed to be a bit more laid back to guide the band's.
    Did you cut the ballast holes before you know that you need ballast?
    I really like the shape and LOVE the way you maxed the mech all the way back, also her fat ass :). Nice deep track.
    Solid looking gun sir!

    A bad day at sea is better than a good day in the boatyard
    George Steele

    Thanks George.I totally agree with the band slot thing. Definately too vertical. And no. I have not cut any holes for balast. I will do that if it is needed after I confirm with weight and duct tape.
    And yeah, baby's definately got back.

    Hard to critique, seems to be a well put together gun and your parts choices from the shaft to the front line guide are all, in my opinion, good choices. Only thing is the steepness of the band guide cutouts ( somewhat easy fix if necessary ) and I don't know what the gun would be used for but I assume from ur location it will be yellowtail and white seabass so I think considering the size of the gun a band slot instead of holes might have been a better choice, just so you have the option. I would think two tight 16mm or 17.5 mm bands should propel that shaft well enough. Have you considered a loading pad? With the fat derrière you prob could get away w/o one but I would have one personally.


    Very nice build

    Scupper Pro Gives You Wings!

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