Sheepslayer Phase 2

[StretchArmStron]

worked a bit more in the shop last night...

[defofthecrown]

I've got a rollergun that length for the filthy water thats framed-up. Pic's will go up after christmas. How many bands are you putting on that 3 or 4? I've got your handle problem solved but you need a fax machine and you need to put that dremel away and set aside a weekend with some 60 grit. It's strong and I'll sent you size blue prints to trace and cut.

Lets see some hybrid photos...

[Fish Tale]

So you two, how are your guns coming along?

[StretchArmStron]

I slowed down a bit on the gun over Christmas, but now I have a drill press and router/router table at the house....hooray.
The building will finish up soon and of course the pictures will flow.

[defofthecrown]

I've changed courses and framed up a 39" inshore gun. The multi-laminate body is done. I made the handle from the same wood as the stock. Since I haven't seen it done I decided to make the gun from douglass fir and then fiberglass over the whole hing and give it a camo finish. The dry fit is good. Riffe mech. w/ 1/4" shaft and band stabilizers.

[Fish Tale]

You gotta post some pics and tell us the guns story when you can! I always learn a lot from other peoples speargun building experiences!


My first very first homemade speargun (the Junkyard Speargun) was made from douglas fir. That gun is powered by one 1/2 inch band. It has a 28 inch long barrel. I did the epoxy saturation thing with that gun barrel as well. Two douglass fir 1x2's laminated together (no fiberglass) has been plenty strong for the 1/2 inch band. I choose dense, knot free lumber when I picked out the wood for that little fish sticker. The other day the vis was less than 5 feet and I was wishin I had brought this little gun instead of my larger mid handle reef gun.

[defofthecrown]

Here are a few photos (I finally figured this out).

The first one is the douglass fir stock before glassing and pinning. The white spots are 3/8" hardwood dowels that I used to cross reinforce the stock. I figured 'why not', it wouldn't weaken the gun and might add stability since I used 'fake' wood.

The next photo is the stock after glassing all the sides. She still needs some hardware, line anchor and line release, then one more coat of epoxy and it's off to primer.

The last is a photo of the handle. It's out of focus but it shows how it's pinned in place. This allows me to remove the trigger, and to remove the handle. I fiqure this will help w/ travel b/c I can drop the stock in a pvc tube and just put the handle in my bag. The handle is disgustingly overbuilt. I know the trigger guard looks flimsy (and it was, i broke and reglued it three times before glassing !) but it is solid. It's made from three laminate and rasped/filed/sanded to fit my hand. I made it very vertical/perpendicular like the riffe metal tech's and it keeps the stock of my arm which I like. However it is a different feel to my euro guns. It will be interesting to see if the aim is true.

You might also be able to see the 3/8 aluminum band elevatots near the muzzle.

[Fish Tale]

Hey! Great Job! Looks very solid! The handle looks well made as well!

Have you checked to see if it floats?

[defofthecrown]

Honestly I don't like my guns to float. I make all of my guns very heavy to the point where they kick straight back, and slightly at that. I'd rather have the power (equal and opposite reaction thing). I waiting to get all the hardware on then make sure everything is sealed w/ epoxy. After that I'll get it wet and add weight if necessary. It's very light still, the glass is about a 6oz weight and I use just enough epoxy to wet it out, then remove the excess. The stock w/ all the hardware and no shaft weighs ~2 lbs.

[GilbertG.]

Nice work Defo. Did you cross the grain in the handle/trigger guard? Well I guess it doesn't matter too much since you glassed it. Hey, I thought I'd mention that I'm gonna drop the envirotex idea. The more I read and think about it, the less confidence I have in using this stuff, mainly because its not specifically formulated for marine environments

The cross doweling should help keep the lams together if there is any water seepage. Cool...

[defofthecrown]

I ran all three handle laminates in the same direction, perpendicular to the stock grain. The central piece was 3/4" and the two buttresses were 1/4" apiece. The flanking pieces were mostly removed and just used to give the handle an oval crosssection. Next time I'll run the grain perpendicular b/c it just dosen't make sense not to. Nice tip thanks.

I'm telling you, check out bristol finish. It's the best UV resistant clear coat I know of. However on your teak combo guns it would be best to stick to tung oil or the like as other finishes (epoxy et al) don't get a tenatious bite into that oil and silica.
Some guys just going to end up leaving one of your guns on his boat and the finish will turn yellow and flake off (but pretty neat he'll have your gun on his boat huh?).

You could just do custom guns like elios does wet suits. Pick #1 wood, pick #2 wood, pick y/n wings, pick finish...

[GilbertG.]

I found their website. Man that Bristol finish stuff sounds pretty good. It's got most of what I'm looking for. What I really like is that it's sprayable.... Can you say GLASSSS??? As in shiny as.... Time to dust off the spray gun. Sent an e-mail off to those guys for more answers.