design

[sbuoncri]

Hi all,

I'm about to take on a home made speargun project and i wanted input from some experienced craftsmen to create my preliminary design. I looked at some of the specs recommended by steve alexander for his guns and the 46 inch model is 1.5 inches from the track side to the bottom. I understand vertical laminations re enforce a teak stock quite a bit, however I’d like to make the gun as thin as possible being powered with about 200 pounds max band power.

sbuoncri

[milhouse]

200 pounds= 2 x 16mm bands. What is the lenght you want to make your gun?

With this power, it'll be probably better for you to make an Euro style wood gun, that are thinner. American guns are generally made for more power, so they're bigger. But the basic is the same

You can follow the instructions of Alexander, but adapt it to a smaller version, and look at euro guns for the design. Watch for the trigger mech size, it can't be higher than the gun barrel!!!

[sbuoncri]

My idea was to create a speargun with the beauty of an american wood speargun but as delicate as a euro (not to mention noise reduction). I'm aware there are plenty of products that are similar, but i know i dont need to explain the pleasure in creating your own equipment. I'm planning a 46 inch stock with vertical laminates. As of now im thinking of knocking off an eighth of an inch or so (1 3/8") but my only concern is barrel flex.

sbuoncri

[Fish Tale]

I'm sure that folks already know some of this stuff but I'll add some of my limited knowledge about wood here.

Within most trees you'll find wood density that varies depending on where the wood comes from within the tree. When you look through a pile of boards that are all dried to the same moisture level you'll find some that are more dense than the rest. To be more certain that I don't have to do any ballasting for my finished gun I've always chosen the most dense boards from the pile for the guns I've built. I've been using red oak for the most recent guns that I've built. Red oak is a strong, dense wood that I have good access to.

Trees that have spent a lot of their lives exposed to higher winds have a lot of stresses (twist, bow) grown into the wood and those stresses like to "unwind" over time after the wood has been cut. The twist makes for interesting grain but will likely continue to unwind over time. I choose the straitest strait grained boards in the pile.

As far as the specific strength of any particular piece of wood I would say that you can't count on there not being a weak area running through any particular piece of wood which I think is why many wood guns are formed from different pieces of wood. In my experience it seems that denser pieces of wood have more strength and stiffness.

Hope that's useful information.

[GilbertG.]

1 3/8 is pretty thin especially if you're using a softer wood like mahogany. I would stick to 1.5 or thicker in the middle where it is most critical and taper it to 1 3/8 towards the front and back.