Posts by metelin

    cant help with the wrapping question but i've been making guns in that style for years using both male and female handles.


    for male versions like the demka, cressi, ect.. i use the same method i described in installing a carbon barrel into wood for hybrids http://spearfishing.world/spea…1298-how-make-hybrid.html. most male handles have a 1'' od so i use a 1'' ball mill and cut about 2'' into the wood, i then cap the .5'' shank cut with another piece of wood and glue the handle in place. i leave around .25'' of wood around the sides and bottom of the handle and dont use any screws. using this method assures the handle and the track line up because i center the fence of the router table to make both the track cut and to cut the pocket for the handle. after the glue dries i shape the end of the barrel so it blends in with the the handle assuring that i leave enough wood around it to avoid any problems, so far ive had no problems with cracks.


    for female handles like the beauchat, rabitec, ect.. i simply use the router and cut a square peg into the barrel at the desired hight and depth and round it off using a chisel. again, this assures the handle is placed in the exact center of the barrel and the track lines up as long as its cut in the center.


    for odd shape handles like the beauchat pictured above i would use the male method and shape it to match the handle by hand or would simply use the round version of the beauchat instead and again, leave enough material around the handle to assure wont break.


    hope this helps.

    i was wondering how they harvest farmed tunas, it's no different from a slaughter house and i suppose the meat is better since they don't produce lactic acid (i think thats what they call it) from fighting too much.
    sashimi anyone?

    very nice work!!! i like the use of what i assume is either delrin or uhmw to keep weight down in the front. the rollers look to be a good size for the application (do you have a link or any info on them?) and the rest of the gun looks very well made.


    rollers can get really complex and they go against my "keep it simple" principal but i also like to tinker with things so i cant help myself.


    what don is suggesting is staggering the rollers to keep the rubber from rubbing against each other but that does make the muzzle really wide. i have been thinking of doing an inverted double roller like the one in the pic, as you can see the advantage of this design is, the mass is in the rear of the gun and the muzzle can be made thinner. it really kills my "keep it simple" theory but like i said, i cant help myself.


    everything is a compromise, yes the bands may bunch up in front of the muzzle when loaded but it sure is a pain trying to figure out which one of the bands goes with another when there are 10 to 12 bands dangling in the from of the gun but thats just me, try it and if it works for you great.


    a crack developed over the handle of the gun, i'm not sure how it happened but remember that particular gun has 2 titanium pipes reinforcing the wood so....

    someone there knows his way around the shop, very nice work.:toast:


    after making all sorts of different guns i come back to the most basic things like balance, shape and simplicity. the band alignment thing gets people to do all sort of things, yours is very unique, but you give up power with any design that cuts length off the bands. think about it, a 110cm gun is more powerful than a 100cm, by cutting the bands in order to put them on a muzzle so they're aligned with the shaft you lose several inches of rubber that you would normally have if they were going through a regular band slot. sure with five bands you have some power to spare but.... imho, a better choice would have been a simple band elevator and a band slot.


    the other observation i have is the amount of wood above the handle, a friends sea-sniper cracked in that area on the last trip i went on.


    no nitpicking, just constructive criticism based on my little experience. :)


    again, very nice work and it's great to see something new.:toast:


    a thoughtful response from a man with plenty of experience.


    the problem with daryls hybrid is the pipe he uses (.125" wt by 1'' od if memory serves me right). while it's really stiff, it's also really heavy and doesnt have enough air volume to hold the muzzle up in the water. this is especially noticeable with the gr version which doesnt have enough wood in the back to add lead so the gun is more balanced.


    i think a better pipe would have been a thicker od and thinner wt for more air volume and less weight overall while providing enough stiffness, something the bicycle industry has been doing for years now.


    my two drachmas although i dont hold 56 world records.

    took the gun out this weekend after making a few changes for another try.


    first thing i wanted to address was to make it easier to load, initially the band was really tight when loaded on the first stage and the only way to pull it was with a hooking device which made things difficult. i though of just making the band longer so it would hang over the muzzle but that would defeat the purpose of the roller gun by decreasing power at the end of the shot (the real advantage of a roller over conventional guns), i also though about adding another stage but i didn't have enough room in the wood. the last resort was the best solution, in keeping with the "keep it simple" approach, i added another loop to the wishbone which allows for extra length to the band and by simply going to the shorter loop, extra power.


    i wanted this gun to replace my two band 90cm, i wanted a euro of about the same length with more power so i can take a calico and a wsb with the same gun in dirty water.


    although there was nothing much to shoot this weekend i was able to swim around with it for a while and take a few practice shots. the gun felt nicely balanced, comfortable to load and easy to maneuver. it felt underpowered when i shot it but at the end of the shooting line i felt a noticeable tug, while this is not a real way to compare my old two band 90cm to it, i feel good enough with the power that im going to use it as my wsb gun and see what happens.


    love the handle don!!!!

    thanks don, thats very generous of you.


    congratulations on the impending nuptials, when and were's the bachelor party?

    thanks for the kind words everybody.


    i did get a chance to put the gun in the water yesterday and i can report it's still work in progress.


    first the specs: the gun is 120cm in length (i'll use the metric system because i want to compare this gun to other euro models) from butt to muzzle. the band stretch is 100cm from the loading tab on the shaft to the top of the roller. the first stage adds 50cm from the bottom and the second adds another 20cm, for a total of 170cm. for those not into the metric system thats 67'' of total band pull, which is about what you get from a 72'' tuna gun, packed into a 47'' euro.


    the tube is 40cm long, 2.54cm id and 2mm wall thickness. the wood is appr 5cm by 3cm at its widest point and tapers to meet the tube and the handle to about 3x3cm.


    the muzzle and reel in the pics are from mvd in greece (apologies to our friend petros, i had no idea :( ). muzzle od matches the tube and it weighs about 130g. the reel was not used because it's too heavy at 180g.


    a 114cm by 6.5mm shaft was used and the trigger is from niletec. the band is 16mm thick by 44.5cm long (times 2) and there is 2.5cm long wishbone on the bottom and another 7.6cm long on the top. the band is cut to 3.5 times stretch when loaded to the second stage and about 3 times on the first.


    the handle is made from a piece of marine mahogany plywood core with epoxy paste molded to my hand and sanded smooth.


    i normally like guns that are very slightly negative in the water and sink very slowly but completely flat with the shaft in. the roller muzzle is almost twice as heavy as others i used and i had to cut shaft overhang to get it to balance properly (see pics).


    first impressions in the water were mixed. it took a while to get the thing loaded and i had to resort to using a hooking device (D ring from my float line) to get the wishbone away from the muzzle. to load the gun you first load the bottom of the band to the first stage (front line anchor), then load the top to the loading tab on shaft, finally, load the bottom to the second stage.


    the power and shoot smoothness were impressive, after the first shot i only loaded the band on the first stage as it had more than enough power and i was exhausted by the second time.


    once loaded, the gun felt nicely balanced and very easy to maneuver in the water with excellent power given the length.


    this is my first attempt at making a roller so i need to adjust a few things. first, the band length and/or the length of the bottom wishbone needs to be adjusted (made longer). second, it would have been helpful if i had another stage or placed the first so the band didn't have as much tension when loaded on the bottom in order to make it easier to load on the top.


    overall, i hope someone makes a lighter muzzle maybe using titanium instead of ss so the balance is easier and more time spent in the water getting use to loading. i also think a roller is a good choice in certain situations. it would make a great travel gun, a good gun to use in tight situations (kelp) and in high current because of it's size to power ratio. aslo, it's a natural fit for a hybrid euro because it allows the front to be made thin for easy maneuvrability (given the balance problems are worked out).


    like i said, work in progress but lots of potential.

    haven't posted much lately, but with spring coming up and the new/old house almost done i had an itch to try something new. bought the roller muzzle and reel from greece last summer and i planned to try a roller so i though why not a hybrid roller. going out to try it tomorrow but i wanted to give you guys a sneak peak. i know dan doesnt like hybrids but i wonder what he thinks about this one?