Posts by Wishihadgills

I personally dont have any experience but I have a friend who's really good with motors. He fixed my goped before I sold and he has fixed my moms pressure washer (carbureted). He also dives. Im sure he could fix it.

The teak has a specific gravity of about .63-.64 where the maps is in the range of .64-.65. This is almost insignificant when it comes to buoyancy. As a comparison carbon fiber has a specific gravity of 1.5-1.6. Ulusub does make a "hybrid" speargun that incorporates a similar concept. The main difference in the designs is the overall size/shape and the application of the cf. The ulusub guns are very well made and very nice but a little "bulky" in my opinion.

Im not exactly sure how ulusub incorporates the carbon fiber but as the cross-section at the bottom of that picture suggests they have to pieces that are fairly high up in the gun. The advantage of my design is that it has the majority of the carbon fiber below the centerline of the gun. The reason this is important is that carbon fiber is just that, a fiber. Just like any other fiber it is considerably stronger in tension than in compression. For example if you hung a book from a piece of fishing line it would be very easy but if you tried to support the book from below with line it would be almost impossible. By placing the carbon fiber along the bottom of the gun I can achieve maximum stiffness with minimum material. It also makes the carbon fiber visible which I think adds to the aesthetics.

I was thinking in the 120cm range. I expected 130 to be a little longer than most people would want but it would not be hard to do if requested. I was planning to make the gun a hip loader but for a longer gun like a 130 or if someone wanted a chest loader the conversion would be easy enough.

It would be extremely easy to use a euro shaft as Neptonics makes a euro mech that is the exact dimensions of their standard mech.

It would be really hard to come up with even a rough number. The only thing that is a set price is the neptonics hardware. The rest will vary with how many guns get built and what sizes.

As for the finishing booth all I have right now is my shower. I have a couple ideas on how to improve that but it wont be anything crazy. The teak is actually more expensive than the maple but I would more than likely use an epoxy coat for that as well. The reason for this is if the wood is not sealed it could run into de-lamination issues with the carbon fiber. When I was first researching the wood I consulted Phil Herranen to see what he knew about the wood. He replied that the density and strength of the woods (teak and curly maple) were comparable with the maple being only marginally softer and the only concern being that the maple isn't as water resistant as teak.

Hey everyone.

As a few of you know last summer I built my first speargun and it turned out amazing. It is a 55" enclosed track with Neptonics hardware and a Tinman grip. It was a great experience and I really enjoyed building it. Shortly after finishing the gun I told myself I wouldnt build another one for a long time but only a few months later I had the itch.

I started thinking about a design for a new gun. Thinking about the things I liked, didnt like, what worked well etc. I also started comparing what I built to the other custom and production guns on the market. To make a long story short I wanted to build another gun. The thing is I dont have a good justification for another to finance another build but I was wondering if it would be possible to build a couple and possibly sell one or two to cover the cost of one for me. I know I have no reputation and I know there are many custom gun builders out there that make excellent guns so my biggest hurdle is why would anyone trust what I make.

Here is an overview of what I would like to build and why I think it is different and or better than what it available.

From what I have seen there are 5 main types of spearguns, pipe guns, wooden ("euro" and "american"), hybrids, and mid-handles. There are other variations of these and different classifications but these are what I consider the basics. Now, I have not seen a single "custom" pipe gun. Probably because there isnt much that can be done and its much cheaper to buy a mass produced one. What I do see a lot of is wooden guns and most of these are very big and fairly bulky. They often use multiple types of exotic wood and can be very stylized and artistic. The other common custom gun is the hybrid, with a carbon or more recently titanium barrel and a bulky back section. The goal of the hybrid is to combine some of the characteristics of the wood guns with those of the pipe gun. This is the classification of gun that my design most readily fits into, however it is unlike any of the conventional hybrids on the market.

The first speargun I shot was a Riffe comp 2, the first gun I bought was a Riffe Euro 90x. What I like about the Riffe euro series is how well it tracks, how well they are made and their function first design. My first design goal was to have a thin gun. I wanted the handling characteristics of a pipe gun. There are a couple limitations that had to be overcome. First, was stiffness. One of the qualms with the longer Riffe euros is how much they flex. In order to keep my design rigid enough I decided to incorporate a carbon fiber stringer. The carbon will make the gun stiff enough to support multiple bands and prevent the gun from flexing. Now carbon fiber is considered light weight when compared to steel but underwater it is still heavy. In a pipe gun this is overcome by sealing the barrel but Im not making a barrel so I needed enough wood to float the carbon as well as all the hardware. The other limitation was the height of available trigger mechanisms. The Neptonics mech that I plan to use has a height of 1". After playing with the buoyancy numbers I came to a minimum height of 1.125" and a width of 1.6" without having to create an air cavity. When you compare this to a Riffe euro you will find this is slightly smaller in both dimensions and because of the carbon fiber it will be significantly stiffer.

Now for the fun part. I like a simple shaped gun that Im not worried to shoot daily. Some of the more elaborate custom guns look more at home in a display case than in the water. Here is a picture of a cross section of the gun. The red has is the carbon fiber and the yellow has is wood. You will notice in the design that there is room to have either a deep open track or an enclosed track depending on your preference.

There were a couple of thoughts on wood choice. The most common being teak. I wanted to add a little flare and ran across a type of wood called curly maple. Here is an idea what it looks like.

The stripes reminded me of three specific fish. A tiger shark, a wahoo and a kingfish. I want to stain the wood gray so that it it would look similar to the shark pattern. I think this in combination with all black neptonics hardware would look really nice. As for the finish to protect the wood and because of the carbon fiber I plan on using a clear epoxy.

I think this design will provide excellent mobility durability and with a little shaping will look really nice. It is capable of supporting 2-3 16mm bands and if someone was particularly interested in a very long gun with extreme range I could bump the height a bit and add more carbon fiber, use an enclosed track and support 4 or more bands. The limitation on the band number is more of a product of excessive recoil. The design is very strong but because of the lack of mass a lot of bands will put a lot of force on the shooter.

Now for any of you still reading, Im trying to figure out what lengths would be most likely to sell. Im also interested in any feedback anyone is willing to give on the design, appearance, marketability or even simple encouragement.

Thanks for your time.

Here is a link to my first build if anyone was interested in the results:

http://spearfishing.world/spea…8-my-first-gun-build.html

Make sure you know your laws by the letter it's a little different in Florida so make sure you check your state and federal laws.

I would suggest looking into AB Biller guns. JBL isnt bad but they arent very good either. The Biller guns are work horses and can last forever if taken care of. The Biller guns are about 70$ cheaper than a Riffe Padauk of comparable length. In my opinion the Riffe is a better gun with higher quality parts but if cost is an issue the Biller is a good option.

I just read through the description that you have and I feel like "smooth" isnt a proper description. When I am told smooth I think of a chicle cell or smooth skin suit which is not what you are selling. Jon brings up a good point in the use of open cell to describe the interior as exposing the cells of the neoprene but I still feel like "unlined" is the most appropriate description of the suit.

There are two main types of suit on the market. One has a lycra or nylon lining and the other does not have any type of lining. Hence lined and unlined.

Unfortunately I would say that the market has to dictate your decision. The term has become some what of a convention in the industry and as a result you almost have to follow it. The part of me that is a perfectionist is annoyed by the term and I do my best to correct it but I think it is too engrained to be changed now.

However, if you do decide that you want to educate the masses with your product I would suggest the term "unlined." I think that is the proper term and I have heard it used sparsely, by knowledgeable people, to describe wetsuits.

Interesting topic Dan.

They look nice. I know people have been waiting for cressi to come out with these for a while. If they are anything like the ones on the gara fins then they should be really nice and comfortable.

I would say the large would be a bit big. Im 6'1" and about 185-190 and The medium top fits me like a second skin. It isnt too tight and doesnt bunch. If you get a chance to stop by Dan's "Shop" try one on he will get you sized properly. When it comes to sizing and knowing Pursuit gear nobody knows it better than Dan.

Josh is a good guy and isnt cheating you. He gets behind every now and then when he goes out of town but if you call and leave a message he should get back to you soon.

It would be pretty cool if it could stay under a lot longer. Think more along the lines of an underwater jet ski.

Never mind. Couldn't see them behind all the guns.

Just reading this thread I can feel the inner gear whore in me gong crazy. My collection is modest and thankfully I have too many hobbies or my collection would also be out of control. For me its all about having the best gear available. Im sure if I had the spare cash I would try just about every carbon fin and speargun on the market and then try and make my own even better.

Fuzz, that collection is awesome. I wish I could get the chance to just go into a pool with every single one of those guns and just have a field day.

Spearoman, I love the organization. It's almost like a display. BTW you need to add a set of pursuit carbons to that collection.

More Pics!

Just got home for spring break and saw a quick window to go out on the boat this afternoon. The vis was horrible but the fishing was great. The only thing I could complain about is that grouper is closed. I saw them everywhere!!!

Anyway heres a couple pics: Ill edit this post tomorrow when I get some pics off another camera. For now heres a couple I took with my iphone.

If you dont want to spend that much go buy a sheet of ply wood at Home Depot and put a couple pieces of rope through it for handles. It works.

Friends of mine like to call setups like this "trolling for sharks"

Take it to Austin's. If I remember correctly the D4 is supposed to be sent back to suunto. If Im mistaken and it can be changed then the tech at Austin's can do it for you on the spot.

I want!!! I drive a stick so Im always driving with one hand and Ive always wanted one of these

Man these pics are so nice I had to post again. This camera does really well underwater.

The lanyard would be pretty important. What are you going to do if you need both hands for something?
Looks good though. What did you use for the handle?