Posts by Wishihadgills

  • New diver, first build

    I guess there are two schools of thought on this one. There are very shallow tracks like don mentioned just enough to give it a little guidance. Or there are deep open, where the top of the shaft is just barely above the top of the stock. Similar to an enclosed track but without the enclosed part.

  • New diver, first build

    First, welcome to the forum. As mentioned you will find a wealth of information here.


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


    To answer a couple of your questions: There are a lot of other mech options. For as short of a gun as you are making it would be overkill but the tuna mech is easier to cut the slot for. Speardiver also has a good selection of mechanisms available.


    As for the track, there are a few options.


    Epoxy:
    The most common is probably a poured epoxy track. A square slot is routed out the length of stock then epoxy is poured in. Next a ball end mill is used to cut the track.
    Pros: Easily repairable. Infinite color options No thermal expansion issues. Slick
    Cons: Slight learning curve with epoxy


    Wood
    As the name implies the track is cut right into the body of the gun
    Pros: Fairly simple. Clean look
    Cons: Fragile. Difficult to maintain. Swelling. Not as "slick" as other options


    Plastic
    Pre-made plastic insert
    Pros: Very slick. Easy to replace
    Cons:Thermal expansion issues. Pinned not glued


    I don't think you would need to insert a new/different piece of wood. You should just cut your track into the blank. If you wanted a different wood for the track it would have been better to add it during the layup.


    Shaft size will vary greatly depending on application. Hole guns will have short thick shafts. Bluewater will have long thick shafts. For the mid range gun ppear size becomes "experience/preference" issue. A lot of the European style guns go with a slightly shorter and thinner shaft. The American style guns usually favor a thicker shaft with a longer overhang. Like George mentioned take a look at some of the experienced builders and production guns to get an understanding of what works and the relations between shaft length and thicknft size will also vary greatly depending on


    I applaud your ambition, and its clear you have the skill and tools necessary to make one but I highly recommend trying some friends guns. Everyone here has a particular setup they like. Their style of hunting, location and experience will influence what features they like and what they want a gun to do. There are tons of options and it will take some time to develop an understanding of what you want in a gun.

  • Ikelite Underwater Housing for Canon T1i(500D)

    Hey guys,


    Like the title says I am selling an Ikelite Underwater camera housing. The reason I am selling is, I never used it. I couldn't put down the gun long enough to use the camera. I am asking 1300$US for the housing and port. The housing is in good condition. I have only used it 3-4 times. The port is in "Like New" condition


    Whats Included
    -Ikelite Underwater Housing (MSRP 1600$US)
    -Ikelite 8" dome port (MSRP Including extension 550)
    -Ikelite 3.5" lens extension


    I am also willing to sell the Canon T1i(500D) and a couple lenses as well as all the camera basic camera accessories, if someone is looking to get into underwater photography but does not already have this camera or wants a dedicated underwater camera.


    Here is a pictures of the housing and camera shown with the 18-55mm kit lens.




    If you have any questions PM me.

  • We lost another one.

    Thank you all for the kind words. It is going to be hard getting back in the water the next couple times. The memory of him will weigh heavily on my mind for quite a while.


    No fish is ever worth your life. Dive safe friends.

  • We lost another one.

    It is with a very heavy heart that I write this report. A very good friend of mine, Pedro Fernandez, died Friday (7/31/15). I don't know if any of you had the pleasure of meeting Pedro, but if you had you would know he was one of the kindest and most giving people on this planet. He would do anything to help a friend. I was supposed to dive with him tomorrow (8/2/15).


    I don't have all the details but here is what I know. Pedro and his wife were diving off of Big Pine, Friday afternoon. While his wife was still on the boat, Pedro began a dive. It is assumed that he was chasing a fish on the reef and that he was able to put a shot in it. Upon surfacing he made an odd sound and began to sink back down. Franticly, his wife Natasha began searching for him but due to the conditions was not able to find him. His body was recovered this morning not far from his speargun.




    My only solace in writing tho report is that Pedro died doing what he loved, with the woman that he loved. They were truly a special couple. The kind not seen very often anymore. My heart and prayers go out to her and their relatives. I'll miss him.


    In Memory of Pedri by Michele George Zayas - GoFundMe

  • Tuna from the dock...

    I know it may be a small difference but a speargun has a locking mechanism allowing the energy to be stored. This is unlike a bow in which the energy is stored by the person. Similar to the why they aren't allowed in the Bahamas. A speargun and a crossbow on the other hand are very similar and i'm not sure how the laws would differentiate them.


    As for Florida laws, unless you are in a area the prohibits spearfishing within a certain distance from shore. I can't think of any laws that would prohibit it. (this doesn't mean there aren't any) It would also be a pretty hard thing to get caught doing. Unless you post a video of it.


    Not sure what that tuna was doing in there but there are reports all the time of fish being in places they aren't "supposed" to be.

  • Allergic reaction to marine life

    Well if this thread ends up being used as a reference for anyone it would be useful to mention that the hot water treatment does little to treat the underlying cause. It only helps to temporarily alleviate the pain. Some people wrongly believe that the hot water works to "denature" the proteins. It takes a substantial amount of heat for this to work and any water hot enough to do this will also cause serious burns (denatured protein in your skin). Hot water out of a sink is generally about 120 degrees, thats only about 20 degrees above your body temp and yet feels extremely hot.


    Another helpful tidbit is to describe how benedryl and hydrocortisone cream works. Benedryl is an anti-histamine. It blocks one of the bodies responses to foreign bodies. Basically taking benedryl is telling your body "calm down this isn't a big deal." Hydrocortisone works in a similar way by blocking the bodies immune response locally. However if the pain is being caused directly by the toxin, i.e. directly attacking nerves or tissue neither will be of much help. Hence nobody takes benedryl or uses the cream for a snake bite.


    Since both of those have failed it's probably safe to change the diagnosis from "allergic reaction" to "sting, bite, venom." Unfortunately in the case of a venom there is little most hospitals/doctors can do especially if they can't identify the source. anti-venoms can be hit or miss even when the species/source is known. All that can be done is to monitor the patient and treat symptoms as they arise and allow the body to naturally filter the toxin.


    In Dan's case he's probably safe at this point to ride out the pain. If it continued to get worse/there was no change, or a new symptom appeared then it would be a good idea to go to the hospital.


    Sorry Dan. Hope it passes quickly.

  • Sarasota man dies after spearfishing accident

    Quote from Clavos

    I can only present my point of view and stress safety., safety, safety!!! How many videos we see where a diver has a camera mounted to the gun and points it in the direction of the diver taking the shot. Then we give the video a thumbs up. As you said earlier, let's be open and hold others accountable when they affect our sport.


    I agree 110%. One of the dumbest and most dangerous things I see people do.

  • Sarasota man dies after spearfishing accident

    George is right. Most modern pistols have multiple safeties that work in a variety of ways all to prevent the firearm from going off accidentally. And still there are accidents. The safety switches found on most spearguns are crude and generally degrade over time. The speargun safeties mostly prevent the trigger from being pulled and do nothing to directly prevent the spear from releasing. Growing up I was taught the safety was a "dummy switch" because only a dummy would rely on them. This doesn't mean I don't use safeties just that you can't trust them. All safeties of any design can and do fail. The only safe way to prevent accidentally injury someone is to know where your muzzle is pointed at all times.

  • Sarasota man dies after spearfishing accident

    Always sad when a fellow diver dies while pursuing this sport. However, like mentioned there is nothing that stricter regulations could have done to prevent this situation.


    I happened to stop by my local dive shop this evening and we were discussing the incident. I was told it was a hammerhead speargun. While I don't know the source of the information I trust it. Having dealt with a lot of in various states of maintenance There are a lot of probable causes. Certainly a a finger on a trigger is the most likely but a lot of these style guns have issues with the shaft not engaging properly. This is just speculation and we can beat our heads against the wall trying to figure it out and never get the answer.


    Hank I know a couple friends that come up with the flopper hanging off their finger like that. For the life of me I can't figure out why. There is zero advantage and like mentioned incredibly dangerous.


    Stay safe guys.

  • Promate Titanium Knife?

    Quote from Dan

    The Promate titanium knives look like scuba knives, too bulky for freedive spearfishing and not purpose made for dispatching fish. For this you want a stiletto type blade.


    I Never had a rust problem with a few stainless steel knives of different brands. I don't even rinse my knife so I get a little surface rust, which can come off with some polishing, but it doesn't affect the functionality so I don't bother. A few good stainless steel knives under $50 here Spearfishing Knife


    I never used a titanium knife, never felt the need to experiment when a stainless steel knife does the job fine. Discussion about titanium for blade material here best blade material, hi carbon steel or titanium?. The consensus is that titanium is too brittle. One of my uses for a spearfishing knife is chipping the reef to dislodge a stuck shaft, you need a stiff blade for that, titanium may break.


    Yes and no.


    Titanium is the only option that won't rust. Any of the stainless steels will rust under the right conditions or neglect. The hardness softness discussion in the above forum has nothing to do with the blade bending. Titanium is stronger than steel and will take more force to permanently bend. When they are discussing softness they are referring to the blades ability to hold an edge. A harder material will stay sharper longer and will be able to scratch more materials.


    If you took a plate of steel and tried to scratch it with the edge of a titanium knife you wouldn't be able to. You would see a thin line of titanium deposited on the plate of steel. If you did the opposite test (titanium plate, steel knife) you would find a thin scratch in the titanium plate.


    To answer your question Don, while you may be able to break the steel cable with a titanium knife it will be very difficult. The titanium isn't actually cutting but if you put enough force on a very small point you can break the cable. For regular fishing lines that most will encounter titanium is sufficient to cut but if you know there will be steel cable you need a steel knife.


    Also, high quality, high strength, titanium is expensive. Much more expensive than steel. There are cheaper grades of titanium but they do not provide the same strength and are often not much stronger than steel but still lighter and softer. If the titanium knife is cheap I would be weary of this.

  • Tough or Lucky

    Quote from Don Paul

    The guy who tried to nail a med size Pargo with what looks like a US Divers or discount dive catalog pole spear tip is a idiot or a young newbi kid. :nono:


    Cheers, Don


    ..or a poor local without proper equipment.


    Good to have you back Don!

  • Foot pockets without tendons

    In this particular case Dan is spot on. Like he mentioned the beuchat pocket is a decent pocket. There are some that the tendons are too stiff and do detract from the mechanical properties of the fin. He is also correct in the water channeling provided by the pocket is necessary.


    Carbon Fiber seems to have this aura of being a super material but in reality it is not perfect for everything. In the case of fins, the strength and stiffness of carbon fiber make it excellent for transferring energy. However, carbon composites are brittle. The carbon does not deform very much as force is applied. When it reaches it's limit it fails catastrophically (shatters). If someone wanted to, they could design a blade that could work without a tendon and only had a rail for water channeling. However none of the blades currently on the market are designed this way.