Posts by phil herranen

Quote from JimCuda

Phil,
You use this epoxy for everything including the laminations, correct? I was planning on ordering your stuff very soon for my upcoming builds.

Jim

yes if fillers are added

Quote from Wishihadgills

Phil do you sand between the first 3 coats? Also if I wanted a more natural wood grain look what would you suggest?

i only sand if the first couple are uneven , what do you meen by natural look ? if you want it satin just scotch brite it after the last coat

Quote from Jono

Just a quick question - when sanding between coats, do you usually wait the 6 days till the epoxy is fully cured or just 1-2 days.

Thanks

just 1 or 2 days the longer you wait the harder the resin gets . after full cure it is much harder to sand

Quote from onkelhedde

Hi Phil
How do we get our hands on this in Europe?

/Henrik

it has to ship fed ex so shipping out of the country is expensive ,but if a couple of you guys are close together and can do a group order and split the shipping its more affordable, its almost the same to ship 4-5 kits as to ship one.
phil

post any epoxy coating or general epoxy questions in this thread
phil

larch ,european
Larix decidua

general description : the resinous heartwood is pale read brown to brick reed in color

s.g. .59

mechanical properties : medium in all categories

working properties: works well with most hand and machine tools , can cause severe blunting of cutting edges , glues well

durability : moderately durable

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ipe
Tabebuia serratifolia

general description : the heartwood is olive-brown with lighter or darker streaks

s.g. 1.08

mechanical properties: this hard heavy dense wood is very strong in all categories

working properties : there is a severe blunting effect on tools . the wood is very difficult to work
glues with care

durability : highly durable

small movement in service

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cocobolo
Daldergia retusa

general description : the heartwood color varies from rich red to an attractive variegated appearance of yellow, orange ,and red streaks with lighter or darker zones

s.g. 1.10

mechanical properties: this hard heavy dense wood is very strong in all categories

working properties : there is a moderate blunting effect on tools . works well with most hand and machine tools
glues with difficulty

durability : very durable

small movement in service

mahogany , african
Khaya ivorensis
K. anthotheca
K. nyasica

general description : heartwood is light to deep reddish -brown

s.g. .54 to .59

mechanical properties : low stiffness , resistance to shock loads is very low ,crushing strength is medium

working properties: moderate blunting on tools . glues well

durability : moderately durable

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Mahogany , American
Swietenia macrophylla

general description : heartwood is light to deep reddish -brown to deep rich red

s.g. .54 to .64

mechanical properties : very low stiffness , resistance to shock loads is low ,crushing strength is medium

working properties: moderate blunting on tools . glues well

durability : durable

wenge
Millettia laurentii

dark brown with very close ,fine ,almost black veins

s.g. .88

this heavy density wood has a high bending strength and high resistance to shock loads , with medium crushing strength and low stiffness

small movement in service

working properties: moderate blunting on tools . glues with care

durability : durable

zebra wood
Microberlinia brazzavillessis

general description : golden yellow with streaks of dark brown giving the quartered surfaces a zebra striped appearance

s.g. .74

mechanical properties : this wood is hard , heavy, and stable

working properties : there is a moderate blunting effect on tools . it is difficult to get a good finish from machines do to the alternating nature of the grain
gluing is satisfactory

durability : non durable

small movement in service

tiger wood / Goncavo alves
Astroninum fraxinifolium

the timber is reddish - brown , richly mottled and with dark brown streaks and spots similar to rosewood

s.g. .95

mechanical properties, this hard heavy dense wood is strong in all categories

working properties , there is a moderate to severe blunting effect on tools
glues well

durability , highly durable

small movement in service

jatoba
Hymenaea courbaril

general description : the heart wood is slamon red to orange marked with dark brown streaks

s.g. .91
mechanical properties : very strong hard and tough

working properties : moderately difficult to work there is a moderate blunting effect on tools

glues with care

durability : moderately durable

small movement in service

purpleheart
Peltogyne pubescens

s.g .86

high strength in bending , stiffness , and crushing categories . medium resistance to shock loads

working properties , there is a severe blunting effect on tools
burns with dull tools

small movement in service

very durable

Teak
Tectona grandis

the true teak from burma is a uniform golden brown color without markings ,but most other teak is a rich brown with darker chocolate brown markings . indian teak is wavy grained and mottled

s.g .65

mechanical properties this hard , medium density wood has medium bending strength ,high crushing strength combined with low stiffness and resistance to shock loads it is fissile and brittle with great dimensional stability

working properties , there is a severe blunting effect on tools .gluing is good on freshly sanded surfaces

duribility , very durable

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Iroko
Chlorophora excelsa

s.g. .64

mechanical properties. this medium density wood has medium bending strength ,medium crushing strength with very low stiffness and resistance to shock loads

working properties , there is a moderate to severe blunting effect on tools .glues satisfactorily

duribility , heartwood is very durable

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Sapele
Entandrophragma cylindricm

has a medium reddish-brown color, characterized by a well -defined ribbon striped figure on quartered surfaces

mechanical properties : high crushing and medium bending strength and resistance to shock loads

working properties : works well , glues well

durability: moderately durable

Paduk , Burma
Pterocarpus macrocarpus
s.g .85

a heavy hard strong timber .

mechanical properties : compared to andaman paduk,this timber is 40% stronger in bending and resistance to shock loads ,30% stronger in compression along the grain
small movement in service

working properties : there is a moderate blunting effect on tools .glues well

duribility : the heartwood is very durable

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Paduk andaman (vermilion in the US)
Petrocarpus dalbergiodes
s.g. .77
small movement in service

this is something i have wanted to put together for some time due to the number of pms and emails i get asking for info on different woods .i will fill in info and pics as i have time.
Phil

let me know what woods you want included

give me a couple minute to save the first couple post
__________________

this is the resin i use for coating guns that i have been selling to other builders for awhile now its $50 + shipping ($11 in the Continental us) for a kit that has a total volume of just under 1 quart this should be enuff to do two good size guns if you limit waste. (i also have some larger containers if you are doing a few guns , a couple colors of pigment ,and graduated mixing cups )
this price reflects resin , containers , box's , and the paypal charge.
if phil send me a email at philherranen@gmail.com i can send u a paypal request
please include your address and amount you want in your order

I'm not doing this to make money. I'm giving home builders access to pro only resin that's not available otherwise. , I added about $7 to cover my time and material & gas packaging, labeling, dropping off at Fedex, etc.

ok heres some of the steps/tips i do to coat /lam a gun i willl add more as i have time (sorry' but im not going to do a start to finish with pics of how i do it ,i have to keep some secrets )

epoxy info:
2/1 ratio
7 hr hard time @ 78 , 7 days full cure
working time 20 min at 78

safety:
always wear gloves and wear a respirator or work outside when working with epoxy resin, and when sanding resin that is not fully cured.

general :
never very ratio for epoxy
do not thin epoxy
always fully mix epoxy before adding any fillers or pigments.

mixing:
this resin has a mixing tint to take full advantage i use clear mixing cups .when you first start mixing it will look milky after about 1 min. of mixing ( mix slowly and make sure to scrape the sides and bottom to limit bubbles and to get a complete mix.
only add pigments/ fillers after mixing

gun prep:
1 sand all surfaces to 80 grit with the grain to promote a strong mechanical bond.
2 quick ounce over with a green scotch brite pad
3 blow dust off the gun
4 from this point on do not touch gun with bare hands ( oils from your hands will give the finish "fish eyes"

application:
1 hang the gun and bring the room and gun up to temp (around 78) (do not apply resin as the temp is rising or you will get bubbles)
using a disposable brush or high quality sponge brush apply a thin coat of resin. check on the gun and stop drips every 20 min until hard
2 add 2 or 3 more thin coats : call it good if happy with finish or
3 sand to 220 to remove any lumps
4 do 2 more thin coats or until happy
5 do NOT start assembling the gun for at least 4-6 days to give the resin time to cure (it will be very ez to scratch the first couple days
phil

i dont want to know .i have been doing this since i was 16 . just in gas to go dive and airline tickets in sure im well over 100k

Quote from Kolt45

Hey Guys,

I'm writing an article for our local magazine about gun building and would like to get as many photos as I can showing different designs and steps in the building process.

I aim to write an article that covers the basics of wood, tooling, and design. The goal is so new builders can get a good product right from the start, avoiding common pitfalls. Most of the readers will probably be unfamiliar with the wealth of information available here on the forum.

If you're interested in contributing, that would be awesome. Please send your best photos (need high res) along with your name and a short description to kjflyfish@gmail.com.

Your help is greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
Kolt

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what kind of stuff do you want?
phil

Quote from Jono

I normally use scotch brite for polishing stainless, i use a course pad and work up to a superfine pad, normally comes out pretty good but takes ages, i reckon sandpaper would work just as well and probably be quicker.

Hey Phil, do you know if neptonics have managed to find a way of getting your epoxy into Australia yet? I reckon they would sell stacks if they did.

How long do you plan on shooting with this gun Rich, i'm working on one the same size at the moment, just poured an epoxy track for it this morning so will post some picks when it gets a bit further along. I was only planning on shooting calamari with mine as i am getting sick of taking my long euro out when i'm only going out for squid (have too much fish in the freezer at the moment.:)

Jono

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i dont know if he has yet ,but im sure he is working on it
phil

Quote from luxemburg

emery cloth works heaps better for polishing ss than sandpaper.

Some of that bathroom polish for sinks andcopper taps and a scourer work really well aswell.

I prefer 16" of over hang+, dont know how you can hit anything with that

it depends on how you aim, if you use big american mids (and wood rear handles) you just sight down the top because you have enuff power for the shaft to just go straight to the target so you dont need the overhang to aim with . on traditional euros you are sighting with the tip of the shaft and lobing the shaft at the target , longer the shaft the higher you are actually aiming. i prefer 7"to 8" on mids and 10"to 12" on rears
phil

Quote from Wishihadgills

Phil how do you keep the low viscosity epoxy from running?

thin coats, like anything there is a learning curve after a couple times you can make the resin behave any way you want
phil

Quote from Dan

Thanks Phil, I may try that. What's the best way to warm it, microwave? Although I haven't seen any of the problems you mentioned with my guns. The penetrating epoxy doesn't cure in a container but it cures pretty fast on the wood.

just put the containers in 90deg water or in a warm car until it warms up ,all the manufacturers say not to warm in the sun . thined cures faster on the wood because the surface can evaporate but once the surface skins over whats down in the pores is locked in , thinners really inhibit curing .

one thing to remember about what i say is :when i recommend how to ,or what to use its coming from someone that is trying to do the best possible job so i never have to see the gun again unless i go diving with the guy ,the last thing i ever want to hear is that some part failed on the other side of the world on a once in a lifetime trip . other products and ways of doing things work well enuff or might be ezer to use ,and are totally fine if the gun is for yourself .its the best end product im after and im always trying new stuff
phil