[Daryl Wong]

Hi Spearos,

This is a great thread. I think that you should all be commended for wanting to build your own gun. For those of you that have the basic tools.it is not all that hard. It just takes some good planning and lots of elbow grease.
Just a few things to consider when using different woods. I have pretty much worked with all the woods available. Being a custom gun designer that offers a lifetime warranty, I have pretty much gone back to basics and use only Teak. Why? Because it is the most stable of all the woods to work with, Its fairly easy to acquire, and I rarely have problems with warping and delamination with my solid gun stocks or the laminated stocks on blue water and enclosed tracked guns.
Here is what I have found while working with the four woods mentioned in earlier posts. All are very nice woods to work with and they have advantages and disadvantages when working with them.

Oak. It is a very hard dense wood with nice grain. It can be found with very little or no knots or many. It does not rout easily and tends to splinter in sharp pieces so eye protection is a must. Of course that should be standard for anyone working with power tools. I have found that the oak tends to warp very easily. Even when laminated. IT also likes to soak moisture in through any little break in the stock. Screw holes, scratches, etc. A strong seal and good finish is a must. It also tends to get dark wood rot stains wherever moisture can seep in.
A very well known company that makes probably the most wood stock guns sold, used to have oak and teak laminated guns. They are no longer available due to the warpage and because the two woods have different coefficient expansion rates the stocks would delaminate with time. It happened to me too.

Mahogany. It is a soft wood, easy to work with. but very porous. Its pores are like a sponge and if moisture gets to the stock, it also turns dark. It has the advantage or disadvantage being very buoyant. I used to make Ballast wings (yes me too before I saw the light) out of this material because I could add a greater amt of ballast due to mahogany's buoyancy. It is very important to get a good seal in this wood too. Many manufacturers like this wood because it is readily available, easy to work with and cheap. Almost half the price of teak.

Purple heart. I fell in love with the looks of this wood the first time I saw it. Who would have though nature could make a wood purple! The down side of this wood is that it is very brittle like oak, and tends to splinter. Also it warps easily too. I loved the look, but hated working with it because of all the splinters I would get while working with it. Another down side is it will blacken wherever water contacts the wood. Around the screw holes in the track etc.
Also with time it will turn a lovely tan or brown color as the uv rays fade the wood. It is pretty dense wood.

Padauk. This wood is very dense and tight grained. Splinter city unless sharp blades are used. It is not very buoyant and I had a few guns sink on me.

One thing to remember is that you should never mix woods. There are those that do and make beautiful guns, but when push comes to shove, a laminated stock of all the same wood will have less chance of warpage or delaminating. Want to hear something hilarious? Many years ago when I first got into this seriously, I decide to make the most beautiful gun and used all of the above in a laminated stock. I was so proud of it that when I took it out for the inaugural dive, neadless to say my ego was devastated to see that not only was it delaminating, but it had warped after only a days diving. It had four coats of epoxy and was finished as best as I could do at that time. It was just that the different woods all expanded differently and the epoxy could not overcome the expansion rates.
Another tip is too make two guns. Have a cheap piece of pine or inexspensive wood and do the first cuts and routs on that piece and then do the final one on the stock you are going to use. Better to make a mistake on the cheaper wood. Then just putt he practice stock away.

The bottom line is that no matter what you use there is ALWAYS the chance of delaminating, warpage. Checking of the wood, dark wood rot, etc To lessen the occurrence, stick with one wood, and try to use a very dense stable wood like Teak. I know our rainforests are diminishing but there really isn't a substitute for Teak.

Again congratulations to all you that will take the journey and build you own gun. But remember to not cut corners and make your gun as safe as possible. No matter who's hardware you use, the only safe speargun is an unloaded one.

Aloha, Daryl