Posts by Wishihadgills

Quote from kmo

I've seen some long forum wars on this subject! Do whatever works for you, I use palms down but have absolutely no reasoning for why.

No need for an argument, just do what works. The only advantage that I know of the palms down is that it allows your elbows to flare out and you can get your hands a little closer to your chest. Its not a huge difference but some tight guns or guns with the mech way back it can be the difference.

If you're strong enough you can load either way. I know a buddy with wrist issues that can't load palm up but other than that Ive seen people do it both ways.

I havent tried it but heres my .02

Many consider camo on wetsuits pretty useless but I like to think it is advantageous. The most obvious reason being that if camo didnt help why have fish developed camo themselves. The dazzle pattern that you're asking about doesnt hide the object but makes size and range estimation difficult to humans. Fish have lateral lines that can detect the vibrations of objects in the water from the minute pressure waves these vibrations create. The lateral lines allow fish to detect, size relative shape, distance and other more nuanced characteristics of objects. In my opinion this would basically negate the benefits of the dazzle pattern.

You might wonder why this wouldnt stop other types of camo. My reasoning is, that types of camo that allow a diver to blend with surroundings can confuse the fish. For example, a suit that makes you look like your part of the surrounding reef. The fish can still feel your presence but when you are close to the bottom you look like a rock. This mixed signal sometimes confuses the fish.

In the same scenario with a dazzle pattern the fish would be able to clearly discern you from your surroundings (although size and range would be harder to determine) but it other senses would confirm that a large object was present.

Now that was a reef/aspetto scenario and the dazzle might work a little better in open or mid water where range estimation is much more difficult (for humans at least).

Just my thoughts.

Saw this today figured yall would enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-1xU0VfJ-g

Dan, for some reason Ive been having issues embedding videos. Is it something Im doing wrong?

Beautiful coastline and crystal clear water.

I would say toss the cuda for sure. I would think the snapper would be safe as the ciguaterra toxin is in the flesh and Ive never heard of contact contamination. Even if small amounts do transfer from contact it would not be enough to cause you to get sick. If youre still worried just toss it all. Better safe than sorry.

These are just my thoughts and there isnt a real high incidence of ciguatera in South Florida so take my comments with a grain of salt.

If your cats wont touch it there are always the neighbors and in-laws.

The part I was missing was the plugs.

And even though the superglue will add a hard spot that will cut strength, if the glue cuts the strength to 85% of its normal strength on 1400 lb spectra thats down to 1200lb. not a huge difference.

Am I mising something or is there a reason why you cant just splice two loops on each end and then use a split ring to attach the swivel or just use a simple hitch and attach the loop directly?

Instead of or in addition too whipping you can add a drop or two of superglue to the tag end. It is really simple and not as bulky as a whipping knot.

Ive had this happen before and it usually leaves me staring at my gear in shear disbelief, dumbfounded and in shock.

It sucks but its not nearly as bad as hitting a fish and having it come off and knowing its going to die.

Has anyone tried using a trolling teaser from their hook and line gear? There are a lot of supplies for these that would probably do a great job for building a spearfishing flasher.

http://www.alltackle.com/stripteasers.htm

I guess this second link answers my question.

http://www.spearfishingworld.com/stripteaser-stickers.html

You can go with 3 9/16 bands but I would agree with Dude George that 3 is unnecessary. On a short gun your not going to have very long range so I would suggest 2 5/8 bands. That will give you all the power the gun can handle.

As a general rule, more, thinner bands will give you a "smoother" shot. The 5/8" are generally considered more "punchy".

Depending what length you cut the bands you can get the same power from 9/16 as you can from 5/8. However, because the thinner bands are being stretched more they will wear out faster.

The other thing to consider is how long it takes to load the bands. Two bands is faster than three but not as fast as one but more bands also gives you more control over how much power is loaded onto the shaft.

Whats the white stuff on the bottom fin in the second picture?

Yeah 1.5" should make it much more feasible. How long were you planning on making the spike and what diameter spike were you planning?

It would depend on the material. If it was any kind of solid metal it would be way to heavy. You're basically adding another shaft. If you did a hollow pipe you might be able to float the gun but then you have the issue of making a spike from a pipe.

Hank weight isnt really the issue here. you can float a 200lb log or a 200 ton stip if the displacement is high enough. In this case if you added a metal rod down the length and removed wood it would be even more negatively buoyant.

As thin as your blank is there isnt much room for a shark spike unless your bands are way back from the muzzle. You have a blank that is 20/16" tall if you're using a 5/8 in bands you have holes/slot that is a minimum of 8/16 but preferably 9/16 which leave 11/16" left. You need about 4/16 between the bands and the shaft/track which is probably another 3/16 below the top of the gun. Now you need 3 - 4/16" below the bands and you're out of room. You can save a couple 1/16" here and there. A shallow track and tight bad slot or reinforcing the muzzle. The riffe euro does all this pretty well and its about 1' tall for the guns less the 110cm. The longer guns have been thickened recently to prevent flex.

When I started CADing my most recent build I came up with 1.25" as pretty close to the bare minimum height for an all wood gun. If you want to keep that height I have two suggestions. You can try adding a little wood right around the muzzle. This wont change the rest of the gun but will give you the space you need for a spike. Or you can try your hand at composites. Adding a layer or two of carbon (or even fiber glass for cost) will add a dramatic increase in stiffness. You could combine those two ideas and reinforce only the muzzle with carbon to minimize the space between elements and possibly find room for a spike.

Im glad to see the price has come down. It looks like a great invention. If my mother ever saw it I would probably have 2.

Personally I have mixed thoughts. For a lot of the diving I do I dont think its necessary or even particularly useful. That being said there are some times when I dive alone/ too far for my buddy to provide help and it would be reassuring. The biggest issue I have with it is I see myself viewing it as a crutch. Somewhere in the back of my mind knowing that if something happens it's there to save me and pushing myself too far because of it.

Eventually I might get one but until then I hope Terry keeps up the good work. This product will save lives and is the type of innovation this sport needs.

It could be a depth alarm or a time alarm. The D4 has a lot of alarms that can be set.

Quote from Dan

Undersea, have you ever shot a hybrid? In case you haven't, try before you commit to this project. Personally I wouldn't use the best most expensive custom hybrid if it was given to me free.

Not even once?

Building a hybrid actually might be easier for some people depending on what tools they have available. It cuts out having to make a track and all the shaping of making the barrel and muzzle. It could be difficult to make the hole for the barrel to go into but beyond that and the trigger pocket it seems a little easier. Granted Ive never tried to build a conventional hybrid but thats my initial thoughts.

Whenever I notice my mask hurting right under my nose I check my mask strap. Its usually either cause I have the strap too tight like Dan mentioned or lower it on my head. Sometimes the mask strap is riding up too high on my head and causes the pain.

You could always try a red camo pattern. At the surface its red and I doubt customs would care (They might laugh though) but once you dive down about 20-30ft the red disappears and you blend in underwater just as well as any other wetsuit.

As for the the laminate it helps prevent warping and can increase the stiffness of the gun. For guns on the short end its not necessary. Dan will attest to that. Even some of the manufacturers are starting to realize. Its also less important when using strait grained woods like purple heart. Its often used with Teak to add stiffness as teak can be relatively soft.

If your looking for some information on gun building you can check out this thread :

http://spearfishing.world/spea…3-gun-building-101-a.html

There are a couple downsides to using purple heart in a build. The first as you alluded to is how hard it is. Its very tough on tools and dulls a blade very quickly. The second is its density; if you build a gun out of only purple heart there is a high probability it wont float. Now this may not be an issue for you but for most it is a desired trait.

Which one? The one at the end is made of teak. It was one that I made myself a little over a year ago. The one at the beginning of the vid is a laminate of purple heart, zebra wood and lace wood.