5 at a time

[jtkwest]

ok i am starting this thread so the beginners can follow along and learn, and the experts can follow and give me tips, (hopefully), so i am starting with these 5 blanks 4 of them i bought online from vector marine products. 3 of those 4 are real teak , 1 is north american teak,(which is chemically treated hickory((really really nice stuff, more dense than teak),9that one is the tall skinny one in the pics. the other 4th stock, is a teak pool chair i reduced to one barrel at 55" x 1.5"w x 1.75" tall. the three i got from him are 1 5/8" wide x 1 7/8" tall x 60" long. this is the dimensions i need to fill three orders for guns from buddies. they all want the same gun: rear handle 48" enclosed track epoxy/graphite poured style with extra butt behind trigger for hip loading,(everyone loves that last gun i did, so they all asked me to copy it.)the only difference between the three isne of the guns is for a buddy who just told me to hook him u with whtever i though he should have,so i am making his track 2" longer, since he is a big guy (6' 5" tall and well over 300lbs) the other two stocks are mine to play with, i think i will make one to sell and make a roller gun out of the ther one, we'll see. ok ready step one:route 1/2" wide channels down each stock 5/8" deep.

 

[foxfish]

Great stuff J keep the pics coming....

 

[jtkwest]

on one of them ,(second from left) i am trying something new, instead of routing a 1/2" wide x 5/8" deep channel, i used a 5/16" router bit to do a channel 5/8"deep all the way down, then i used a dovetail bit,(the special one i got from neptonics to do the slide in uhmv tracks, it is essentiall a dove tail bit with barely tapered edges, almost a vertical cut. i was thinking that would be nice for a try, will leave less epoxy showing,(and use less epoxy) then next i tape the edge, and fill them all with west system epoxy mixed with milled fiber 40% by volume and about a teaspoon of graphite in the whole epoxy pot. i underestimated how much i needed/had so i ran out after pouring 4 tracks, i will get more in about ten minutes and pour the last one. the other 4 have been sitting since 5 pm yesterday, i will try to route the tracks the next day ,(today) at around 3 pm, hopefully i will get all 4 done today. the 5th will wait till tomorrow. first i will take them over to a buddies big wood shop to use the grizzly table saw, and cut about 1/8" off the top of each stock, thus removing the layer with all the bubbles. i knew i was going to do this so i ordered the stocks about 1/8" taller than i need the final dimension to be. i used to make all this tape dams and such, but this save alot of time and i get better results this way. then i will take the 4 stocks back to my stock island shop to do the routing on my jig i have it set up still from yesterday, so i am hoping to get it all done today, then do the trigger slots and line release slots next weekend, then do the handle frames the following week, so far up till now, i got 5.5 hours work time into the 5 stocks, i am keeping track

 

[Tin Man]

Nice! These threads are always a great resource.

 

[Old Man Dave]

I don't think that I have ever seen detail pictures of the poured track system before. looking forward to seeing the routing done.

Would be interested to see the cutter you use. Assume it's a "lollipop" i.e. a ball on a stick. But how many cutting edges/blades does it have. Must be a multi I guess as just a plane 2 blade it would judder and vibrate too much. How easily does it cut the epoxy. Usually with routing you make several passes getting progressivly deeeper cuts but with an enclosed track you must have to cut it all with one pass. You will have made a pass with a straight bit to allow for the ball cutter shaft (1/4 inch) first I assume.

Good stuff. Well done. Keep it up.

Dave.

 

[foxfish]

We have been down this route before!
Unfortunately I have never been able to find a suitable bit to match our 6-7mm spears.

 

[jtkwest]

We have been down this route before!
Unfortunately I have never been able to find a suitable bit to match our 6-7mm spears.

neptonics systems sells an enclosed track cutting bit for 9/32 spears, i cant figure out your metric jargon.(LOL.) but i think that is the correct size you need. what is 9/32" equal to? 6 mm i think right? 5/16" is the other size available bit.they are slightly oversized to fit perfectly.

 

[Old Man Dave]

9/32 inch is 7.14mm and 5/16 is 7.94mm.

Dave.

 

[foxfish]

Actually 9/32 0.2813 = 7.1438 mm so that would work!

 

[blaiz]

they are nice bits with multiple cutting teeth. Cut smooth and with little burring.

When I cut my tracks I start with a 1/4 inch mortising bit and cut it as deep as I can before the corners of the cut go beyond the radious of the enclosed track. This takes care of a majority of the cutting. Then I finish it off with the ball end bit. You only have one shot at that so you want to make sure you get a smooth cut

Nice build Jason. Looking forward to seeing your steps.

 

[jtkwest]

ok i got lucky and my old boss' shop had new blades in the thickness planer, so i just ran the stocks through twice each to remove bubble layer. plus planed some more laminate pieces for another small gun and one HUGE cannon. the stock for that one has 8 laminates in a I configuration, this will be my 2 shot gun or my tuna gun,(if i ever go shooting tuna) i havent decided yet but it is 75" long and 3" tall x 2 1/2" wide. now i am headed to the other shop to route the tracks, BTW: i just poured the last track with epoxy, to catch it up to the others,(right now it is one day behind.

 

[jtkwest]

Actually 9/32 0.2813 = 7.1438 mm so that would work!

i could send it to you and you could use it and send it back. you pay postage. it would definatelt work because in the odd chance it wont fit 7mm spear, we know it will fit imperial 9/32", so just buy a euro shaft from an american company, like riffe, and your good to go

 

[Tin Man]

We have been down this route before!
Unfortunately I have never been able to find a suitable bit to match our 6-7mm spears.

I see that someone already covered the Neptonics cutters. They are a great buy for the price, but there is another option here in the states that I use. It's SFS Carbide (www.sfscarbide.com). They will custom make any cutter you want, from solid carbide and with any cutting edge geometry, at pretty reasonable prices. The guy you want to talk to is Bob White.

I have bought cutters for 3/8", 5/16", and 9/32" shafts, with two flute spiral cutting high relief edges and have been very satisfied with the way they cut in wood, plastic, and epoxy. Since they are custom made, you can ask for any clearance you want. I typically go for about 0.025" to 0.030". And my favorite part, especially for smaller spears, is that you can ask for the neck to be smaller. I always get mine with a 3/16" neck, which gives a little more track surrounding a 9/32" spear. They generally run about $60 each, with a minimum of 2. But I've never had any trouble selling the extra if I didn't want it.

 

[foxfish]

With the better rate of exchange we have at the moment that is cheaper than I can get a decent stock bit for over here.
There is a dedicated thread somewhere but cant find it at the mo.

 

[foxfish]

Here it is http://forums.deeperblue.com/diy-homemade/75864-ball-end-router-bits.html

 

[jtkwest]

ok, i got two stocks routed out. i ran a 1/4" bit down first 1/4" deep then run the ball bit, then i switch again and use 5/16" bit to open up last 8" of track, then switch to 1/2" bit and do trigger slot, with this jig i got, i am operating off a center line, so once the jig is centered all i have to do is switch bits.

 

[jtkwest]

here are the trigger slots, i just do them 15/16" deep, since the trigger is 1" this way i can shave off the trigger seat bit by bit till it is perfect depth. with the plunge router and the new neptonics triggers being round makes this easy

 

[blaiz]

Looking good Jason,

Its funny, the last time I tried to do a poured track I cut the trigger slot before I poured the track so when I did pour the track I had to make a block with a radius to fit in the trigger slot, wrap it in tin foil so as to get the clean radius. Didnt turn out quite as clean as I would have wanted so for the next ones Im going to do as you did and cut it after the track is poured.

 

[foxfish]

Looks good, great jig but you can see where we are coming from with the router bits 1/4'' shaft not allowing much to stop a spear breakout with a 6.5 euro spear.
Keep the pics coming mate this will be a very helpful thread for the forum.

 

[jtkwest]

Looks good, great jig but you can see where we are coming from with the router bits 1/4'' shaft not allowing much to stop a spear breakout with a 6.5 euro spear.
Keep the pics coming mate this will be a very helpful thread for the forum.

sounds like a good idea, however, i shoot 9.32 spears (7mm) for two years,(and i hunt ALOT more than your average guy,(from where i live) never had a problem, but i understand WHY you think that. it just doesnt happen. maybe with a 6.4mm shaft. i just dont use smaller than 9/32 ever.