A while back I posed a question of specific gravity of wood for building guns. My plan was to build a slightly negative (when loaded) gun, with positive buoyancy without the shaft. Looking through locally available hard woods I came across a source of Tzalam, a dense tropical hardwood frequently used for flooring and furniture here in Mexico.
I glued up a 60" blank with two vertical laminations of Tzalam and a horizontal top sheet of Satine I had laying around. I let the blank hang for one month, then squared it up yesterday. My parts should be here in a few days and I can start cutting. The gun will be a 110 cm "Amero" style open track with a 5/16 shaft and two 5/8" bands, with the option for a third.
After looking at available handles I decided on the full mortise AR-15 rear handle that Neptonics sells. As a lifetime woodworker and furniture maker I have developed a preference for a full mortise connection as opposed to relying on fasteners, so this made the choice of handle obvious for me.
I will post pictures as work progress, and I hope to have the gun finished for the long Xmas break.