hopeuflly the weather will cooperate today and I'll be able to rip some pieces and start gluing a blank together. Experienced gun builders: Do I need to let it hang for several weeks to see if it bows/warps?
Yes, let it hang and check it periodically to see if it moves. That's a well seasoned piece of wood. It's going to come out fine.
I've seen some honduran teak with similar grain at the local hardwoods store, but what I really wanted to tell you is to make the gun. There are a lot of guns out there made of all kinds of woods some better than others and they hold really well. Laminate and epoxy coat yours and you'll do well. Go for it!!
It looks like some kind of pine. It's not mahogany for shure.
He liked your trident!:D
Felicidades Robert!:thumbsup2:
Car paint. I would use urethane.
Saludos Memo, bienvenido al foro.:)
Thanks guys for the good wishes. What we got here was a strong tropical storm that turned into a hurricane as it crossed the island. We didn't get as much damage as past hurricanes but there still a lot of fallen trees and river floods. Most of our powerlines are of the aerial type so we get a lot of power outages because of fallen trees on the powerlines. Most of the houses on the island are made of concrete and block so house damages are kept to a minimun. Water service in my area was never interrupted but there are a few areas without power so their pump stations might not be working at full capacity if at all. I've been without power since sunday, but using my generator since yesterday. Overall we're doing ok, but have to watch out for this ongoing rain that could bring more floods.
Congrats hau!:thumbsup2:
Happy B-Day!!:)
Gracias por compartir la foto Ramon, hubiera sido bueno saber la historia de como fue cazado.
Thanks for sharing the picture Ramon, would have been good to know how it was hunted.
Happy B-Day Hank! Here on the island commercial fishermen and fishermen that are out there day in and day out rely on rely on those Yamaha with excellent results. You could tell who's serious about his workboat by looking at their two smaller (40-60) Yamahas mounted on the transom. They're workhorses, good choice.
I own a 150cm Kanji and find it to be a really well made gun. It is a little long for my liking but the reason I have it is because the price I got it for. The barrel has internal ribs that run lenghtwise making it resist flex when loaded, the rail also features mini ridges that run lenghtwise and reduce the contact area between the rail and the shaft and its suppossed to have less friction. The coating on the aluminum barrel is excellent and resist hits and scrapes very well and compared to other coatings I've seen on barrels like anodizing or regular powdercoating this one seems to be a little thicker. The stock handle could be a little big for people with small hands but it's perfect for me. Also some people would like to have more of an angle on the grip, something that the makers tried to solve with a new handle grip but I do not have it so I cannot comment on it. Things that I don't like is that there is not much space inside the mech for thicker mono with the stock shaft (8mm), that megatex rubber that comes stock has a nice smooth stretch to it but it's not very durable, bungie is made with same rubber and didn't last long but I find most bungies to be the same way with the exception of Riffe's and Rob Allen's and now trying Mako'sto see how much they hold. Shaft is like any other spring steel shaft with tri-cut tip and notches. The price for this gun was around $595 and while very well made I feel it was too much for a railgun. Now that they have come way down in price, around 260-300 I feel that it's a good gun to consider purchasing. It shoots very accurately out of the box but like any railgun you can fine tune it to your liking. I considered cutting mine down to 130cm if I cannot find a shaft for it with a rest tab and shark fins so I can put the mono on the fin and out of the mech, or a thinner (7.5) shaft. Also Kanjis were made to up to170cm making them one of the longest railguns available. Pelaj's Nemesis are also made with the same features of the Kanjis but with different muzzle (closed) and Specters have different cammo color on the barrel and a lower price.
Like Robert said, after a day and a half and two nights they found him alive, a little messed up from exposure but alive nonetheless. I would like to thank all the local spearos that put a great effort with everything they had from boats, ribs and kayacs along with the authorities who participated in this search along with everybody else who kept him in prayers and wished him well. Is conforting to know that if something like this would happen to you, you know your spearo brothers will do anything in their power to look for you.
Still no news from him......
Ok Dan, since you bought the stick welder and I found out after I posted you should try this.....
try to find one of the following electrodes; Lincoln E630, E308 or AMS5827B. If you could get the electrode in 9'' size you could get 1/16''- 5/64'' and 3/32'' thickness. In 12'' you can get 3/32'' and up only. Make shure what kind of coating your electrode have EX. LIME(-15) TITANIA(-16) or other. If lime use DC, if titania use AC or DC but preferably DC if your machine has it other coatings same as titania. Try to go to a specialized welding store and talk to the guys there and see what they recomend also these stores sometimes sell you these especialized electrodes in smaller amounts or give you a few to try out, there's no sense on buying 10-50 pounds of electrodes, plus you have to keep the electrodes away from moisture. Also do not assume certain electrodes are SS because even tho they'll weld the SS they'll rust like hell.
PRACTICE,PRACTICE,PRACTICE and slow down, you'll get used to the helmet. Make shure your electrode is for stainlees welding and use the smallest diameter you can get, probably 3/32''.
Here's my take on the subject......If I were to make just spot welds that are going to be grinded down (like I believe is what Dan is going to do) I would use a MIG welder with .040 stainless wire with a .045 tip. If I cannot find .040 I would use .030 to .045 with the next size tip. My gas mix would be 90% helium- 7.5 argon- 2.5 c02 trimix if can't get that mix would use pure argon. I would set my cfm between 12 and 20 on the gas regulator. Try and buy the most expensive mig welder you can afford in the 220v or a 110 that would go to a high setting and use no extension cord on the welder. Stay away from the ''hi-lo'' mig welder crap. Get one with the multiple settings like ''A B C D E'' on Linlcons. Most important get a wire brush with stainless bristles not the one with brass or plain steel bristles and clean the hell of the area to be welded. GET A PIECE OF SCRAP SHAFT AND ADJUST YOUR SETTINGS AND PRACTICE YOUR WELDS, MAKE SHURE YOU GET ENOUGH PENETRATION. Also make shure that your polarity on the welder is set right for your kind of welding. ( flux-cored welds are made with reverse polarity- ground is + and your gun is neg for gas welding is straight up but follow your welder's specs.) WIRE SPEED IS VERY IMPORTANT. Or do like Papaa said and try a stick welder with a stainless electrode......you might get away with it. This recomendations are not for show quality welds that are going to be used in the aerospace industry but would work for what Dan needs.
@ Aaron, don't worry about it much bro. You'll always have friends here and the chance to spearfish will always be there. Enjoy life the best you can with what you have.You know you're always welcome.
Welcome!:)
