Posts by phil herranen

Quote from Dan

Phil, can your epoxy be thinned with Xylene to make penetrating epoxy? If so what would be the advantage of making it with yours rather than West?

i wouldn't add it to any resin you get the same proformance by just warming the resin to lower viscosity ,that way you still have a strong cured resin ,if you want to see proof of this just let a 1/2" of each cure in a cup for a week or so the stock epoxy will be strong and fully cured ,the thinned one will be sticky and gummy and even a year or two later if you sand into you will be able to smell the thinner you used that was still trapped inside .you would do better served on your guns by just putting on 2 or 3 very thin warmed resin coats (brushed on ,then wiped off) then a scotch brite job so its matte like you like it than using thinned resin
phil

Quote from Kolt45

I think one question that needs to be asked is do you want this to be a utilitarian gun or a showpiece? That makes a big differnce. If it's like my guns - which are simply tools - then just slap on some spray poly and kill fish. If it gets too banged up, sand and spray again.

i think epoxy is as utilitarian as you can get ,i tell everyone that i build for that i will refinish there gun every couple years for free (they cover shipping or get it to me somehow) i haven't gotten one back yet ,in 6 years of doing this as a pro ,and i have around at least 300 + guns out there, 2 have been dropped off boats in the parking lot and those guys just put a drop of resin on the dent and called it good. i have never worn threw the finish or refinished any of my guns ether unless i was modifying them ,this includes my loaner guns . there is no reason something cant look good and be tuff and durable. i dive around 75 -100 days a year and 95% of that is shore dives on the rocky nor can central cal coast so my gear is in the rocks all the time
phil

Quote from Dan

Is UV protection in the epoxy for the epoxy or for the wood?

its for the epoxy . west is not uv stable ,it will yellow but this is more for outdoor use like boats unless you store your gun outside in the sun 365 days a year. its not that big of a deal for most peoples guns the uv exposure is intermittent at best
phil

Quote from luxemburg

Penetrating epoxy is great to use for a finish, only problem is it has no UV protection.

I think Phils post about not using penetrating epoxy was for actually gluing up stocks not finishing them.
Most products say to apply the first coat thinned.

This is what I have used on the guns I have just finished making.

8 coats of everdure (evedure is a penetrating epoxy available in australia, not sure if you can get it in the US). It is very thin and easy to apply with a glossy finish.

4-5 coats of marine varnish. this is high gloss but dulls when sanded, can be buffed back to gloss but takes to long to sand with 600 and then 1200 then 1600

the fina 2l coats is penetrating epoxy.
the penetrating epoxy does yellow but takes along time as all the under layers are protected by the varnish.

When the top layer scratches I sand it back to the varnish and wipe another coat of penetrating epoxy over.

soon enough I will find away to gloss the marine varnish and then I can do away with the top coats.

To stop the epoxy and varnish going off between coats I put it in the freezer

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i dont use penetrating epoxy when putting any other epoxy on as a top coat(s) it make for a very week bond for the normal epoxy. after the vocs evaporate you are left with a week void filled epoxy swiss cheese
penetrating epoxy was designed to stabilize rotted softwoods ther is little or no penetration into most hardwoods
here is a lot of good info on epoxy the text is straight of the west systems site
phil

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/how-to-use/
The object of barrier coating is to build up an epoxy coating that provides an effective moisture barrier and a smooth base for final finishing.

Apply a minimum of two coats of WEST SYSTEM epoxy for an effective moisture barrier. Apply three coats if sanding is to be done. Moisture protection will increase with additional coats, up to six coats or about a 20-mil thickness. Additives or pigments should not be added to the first coat. Mixing thinners with WEST SYSTEM epoxy is not recommended.

Disposable, thin urethane foam rollers, such as WEST SYSTEM 800 Roller Covers, allow you greater control over film thickness, are less likely to cause the epoxy to exotherm and leave less stipple than thicker roller covers. Cut the covers into narrower widths to reach difficult areas or for long narrow surfaces like stringers.

Complete all fairing and cloth application before beginning the final coating. Allow the temperature of porous surfaces to stabilize before coating. Otherwise, as the material warms up, air within the porous material may expand and pass from the material (out-gassing) through the coating and leave bubbles in the cured coating.

Prepare the surface for bonding.
Mix only as much resin/hardener as you can apply during the open time of the mixture. Pour the mixture into a roller pan as soon as it is mixed thoroughly.
Load the roller with a moderate amount of the epoxy mixture. Roll the excess out on the ramp part of the roller pan to get a uniform coating on the roller.
Roll lightly and randomly over an area approximately 2 ft x 2 ft to transfer the epoxy evenly over the area (Figure 30).
As the roller dries out, increase pressure enough to spread the epoxy into a thin even film. Increase the coverage area if necessary to spread the film more thinly and evenly. The thinner the film, the easier it is to keep it even and avoid runs or sags

Quote from fuzz

Strong work Rich - looks great!

The only thing I'd change would be to put more of an angle on that muzzle line pin... but that's just my over-picky nature.

Looks great, hope you shoot some biggies with it!

ya more angle and further forward ,may tear your bands where it is
phil

I would say a biller 36" or 48 you can use longer bands until you get loading down , you can get one cheap on cl or eBay so if you have to drop it it's not a big deal . It's also heavyer than a euro so there will be less recoil.You can also customize them cheaply and make them into a better gun by takeing off the slide ring and drilling the shaft and ataching the line straight to the shaft . You will hear a lot of guys put down billers but the truth is they work ,and with a line shaft they will shoot the same as any euro with the same shaft and band setup just with less recoil
Phil

Quote from red tide

Aimrite started doubble plugging my tubes because of the depths that I dive. Using a doubble plug and some 5200 will eliminate any problems that may occur from deep diving pressure.

diving deep enuff to push in those plugs is is amazing ,i have put in a couple in the raw barrels i have gotten from rick , and it takes a lot of force just to get them in. thats a whole different problem than worrying about water migration around the cf fibers into the tube
phil

aimrite uses rubber stoppers (a very tight fit) .there is no need to worry about the amount of water that will enter threw the fibers it will never be measurable in the tube .thats just something engineers worry about, in the world of spearguns i have never found it to be a problem they just dont spend enuff time it the water
phil

neptonic systems has it ,its not on the site you have to call .
phil

i haven't added anything in a while here is a pic of most of the guns i am working on right now ,there are about 10 others not in the pic that are getting finish or are in some other stage .i have some new stuff that is just about done that i will post pics of soon .
phil

I don't remember who did the test . But one was done a while back and the color that was best picked out by the human eye aganst the ocean was blue green - and lime green . I tested this with my crab pot floats and they were visible from about twice as far away . Orange was picked as a standard becuse it is not common in nature and is not a common color for non safety gear or a boats so it's ez to tell it's someone that needs help
Phil

It depends on the gun .
On mid handles , 6" to 8"
on wood rear handles 8" to 14"
lighter guns tend to be more tempermental than heavy ones
Phil

edit measurements are from the muzzle to the tip ,not to the threads on the shaft

this is one from a couple years back .gilled and gutted it bottomed out my 30# scale the cooler its sitting on is a 140 or 150 and the gun is a 48"
phil

7 mil in nor cal , 5 mil in socal and spring baja , 2 mil shorty in summer baja , Hawaii , and costa rica
I get cold ez and cold is the main killer of breath hold time
Phil

Quote from nyspear

I bought the gun and a bunch of other stuff from Neptonic.

That makes sense that was one of the 4-5 that were. Mailed over that Josh sent out while he was waiting for his stock to arive via freight one of his guys must have rigged that one
Phil

From Rick or somebody elese
Phil

Is that a "new" gun or just new to you ? That's not how aimrites are normaly shipped . They have black mono and the the bands are tapered with replaceabe center wishbones
Phil

Quote from Don Paul

Thanks Phil I go look on his site.:thumbsup2:

Cheers, Don

i dont think its up yet
phil

Quote from Don Paul

Thanks.
600 lb GE silicone impregnated:@ Kevlar cordage on this gun. I made a 500' of it years ago by soaking unwaxed
Mil spec Kevlar in a Toluene/silicone solution. I retie my ends every 6 months.

Spectra will be on the reel next season.

Cheers, Don

Josh at neptonics just had a roll of a new reel line made up it was somthing like 14 strands on a weaver ment for 17 or somthing like that it gave it a very lumpy ez to grip feel he is calling it grip cord . It's what I use now on my reel gun
Phil

It all depends on where you dive east coast it might not be a good system and you can pull a float to hold your catch . On the west coast we have kelp up north guys ab diveing use floats to carry the abs and will toss fish in also ( but down south or up north when just going for fish ) I and most guys I dive with just string fish on our belt . Stringing them away from you just feeds sea lions and we only have white sharks to really worry about inshore . Offshore I just toss fish on the boat . The speed stringers are great for carp Derbys in Lakes and rivers
Phil