I am actually likely going to be using a 7.5mm on my version of this gun. Why do you favor the short overhang?
My guess would be to keep it light (thats why i assumed abellans had shorter shafts) so its got the same weight as a 7mm but can be powered up more since its stiffer.
But thats a total guess.
Thanks for the input guys. I am planning on a muzzle in this configuration. Again very similar to the Abellan.
jaguigui, i thought about running a short 7.5 mm shaft but decided against it after mulling the idea over some. I shoot a 7mm shaft on all my other guns except my bluewater gun, and also I dont think I could deal with a really short overhang. 7.5mm american shafts are also quite a bit less common then the euro counterpart. For example, I can go into a large number of dive stores here and find a good amount of 7mm riffe us shafts. On the other hand 7.5 mm american notch shafts are almost nowhere. Granted I plan to buy my gear from Dan and he carries it all inc 7.5 us shafts, but I like knowing that if im on a trip to the keys and bend a shaft I know that I can probably find a replacement locally.
I finally got around to testing this before making a cut on my gun. My streched 5/8 bands ended up being about 8.3 mm / 0.326 inches
Dan while I think the stainless muzzle design may have some negative aspects I havent considered (like the danger of so much steel on the front of the gun) my intention with it was definitely not to needlessly complicate the build, but solve a few problems I didnt see any other solution for.
My plan with this gun was to design it like a wing, wide but vertically thin and tapered with channels for the bands so horizontal tracking is better but the gun still has a lot of mass and relatively level bands. I didn't see how this could be done without a precarious amount of wood being removed around the band holes. Especially staggering the height of the band holes as is needed to help keep both bands flat when loaded. The additional benefits of built in line guides, very forward ballast, and a strong cap protecting the end of the gun from getting dinged up, just added to the practical benefits I saw of using a stainless muzzle.
This gun is an experiment in many ways and worst case I can chop the end off and put normal band holes in it and make it a 110.
Marginatus I would be interested to hear about any durable robust "non-dainty" trigger mechs that are very short even if euro shaft. I didnt mean that I thought none existed, only that its impossible to tell exactly how well it will perform until you hold it in your hand, stick 3-4 different spears in it and see how they engage, maybe even shoot it. The prospect of an international hunt for a really short trigger mech I trust and like nearly as much as the speardiver mech, to gain .20 inches of recess just isnt worth it to me.
Yes I'm sure there are others out there. But not many American mech of that type , and I really wanted a US mech and shaft.
Plus seeing this euro trigger I expected to perform well not meet my expectations at all when testing (luckily before purchase) leaves me hesitant to go with something new and unknown. Especially in what is the heart of the gun.
I have speardiver mechs in all my other guns and know how much I like their function. On the other hand, had I installed this very well made, somewhat popular, and probably very capable mech without vigorously testing it with Dan first I would have been extremely disappointed in this build as a result.
Plus youre right, im bad at waiting 
Thanks! The only thing possible left would be to shave the base of the handle thinner, or make a handle out of wood or sheet metal like abellan, and that would only get me a few mm more so its pretty much as close as its going to get.
I looked at a fancy short reverse mech from a euro builder but it was completely lacking in many ways compared with the speardiver mechs (hardness, mech engagement and shaft fit, finish, assembly, line release was stupid). So I sacrificed some height for a nice robust american mech.
For this mech, I would have recessed the mech a bit more in the pocket so that the top of the casing is flush with the stock.
This will give you a "deep" open track since you're using sharkfins anyway...+ the slot for the line release would be a bit more comfortable to work with.
If the trigger starts to rub against the trigger guard handle...you can always shave a few mm off the trigger.
Ihab
Thanks Ihab I considered a deep open track on this gun but decided against it for a few reasons. One is so that I could recess the handle as I did (the mech and handle are touching so there is no extra room there). Also so I could make the stock thinner at the muzzle and still have room in the muzzle to offset the bands vertically. I also wanted to try a track of this nature, one deep enough to easily hold the spear but still high enough the spear is visible.
I actually switched to the reverse mech with top line release since the mech wasnt going to be set completely into the stock it made much more sense.
The trigger had already been adjusted quite a bit to have a different angle, shape, and width.
Heres what im thinking for the muzzle right now, basically what marginatus was talking about earlier in the thread.
holes have been made bigger to fit a #6 stainless screw.
THanks! Lol I just might. But that just means yours will get done better and quicker.
Can't stop workin on this darn thing. Diving was a wash today with 15 + winds so I decided to do some more work on the gun. Very pleased with how it turned outs.
Nice work. The line release looks long enough?
It's almost long enough as is. it barely extends past, once it's round and shaped it's going to be plenty wide. I may add a recess as well but probably won't need one.
Made some significant progress. Me and my dad had some free time the last few days and we did pretty much all the hard stuff. It went pretty quick and I didn't mess anything up, almost like I know what I am doing or something. :crazy: Really starting to take shape now.
Made some sawdust last night with my Dad. Cut the recess as well as part of the mech pocket. Also did a lot of grinding on the trigger and handle to get the mech and trigger to sit flush. The design has changed a bit to create a flat shelf for the bands.
:laughing: Reminds me of the time me and frank ran into the mullet run.
Mullet Run Freediving - YouTube
That bad viz is fish shit. :laughing3:
Did you clip both ends of the stringer and he swam through the loop?
Its a steel loop type stringer and yeah he went right through it lol. He was looped right up to his pec fins, when i pulled on the stringer it came right off his head and he swam away.
If you watch the video in 720 on a full screen you can see the shark has a line wrapped around its pec fin.
He had a line and hook dangling from him. But he wasn't stuck to the float by the hook and line. He was stuck another way you can probably see if you look again.
Lol frank the gopro wasn't aimed at him at first and shortly after turning it and facing him it died. It's like the Murphy's law of gopro. Need a battery backpack.
Dan it's actually an hdr filter on my phone so no photoshop unfortunately.
George try using go pro studio from gopro its free and easy and lets you do a decent job of editing.
Had a very successful and also eventful day today. Shot some nice fish. Got 3 nice lobsters. Everyone on the boat got some fish. My dad and brother tried out their new speardiver 3mil suits and had a blast. Swam over under around and through a bunch of incredible beautiful reef all day. Also saw lots of out of season friends.
Also this happened :laughing3:
