Band length dilemma

Beuchat Arka Competition 750 Band Speargun - Beuchat Spearguns

I reckon it would work. Why not try it and let us know. I'm planning to fit bulk rubber bands to my Omer XXVs when the current rubbers expire. I have the XXV without the rail, it didn't occur to me until afterwards that the rail might be desirable/required for bulk rubber. I can see that it might be a problem, however, I plan to give it try - my gut feeling is that it will probably work fine. You can always stick a rail on afterwards if necessary.

Before that though, I am thinking of smoothing the wishbone grooves on my Omer spears to take a dyneema wishbone - like my Rob Allen spear. If you switch to bulk rubber you might want to give that a try too - more finger friendly & quieter, and you can make make quick change ones, which allow super-fast, cheap replacements to be made, in the water if necessary.

Did I just turn this into a "pimp my Arka" thread?! Just picture it - an Arka, with a rail, bulk rubber band and dyneema wishbone (quick change type)! If you're on a tight budget might be simplest to stick with your existing bands. But "pimping" gradually might be a good way to experiment a bit and learn what works for you, and perhaps as an aid to choosing your next gun later.

BTW I see somebody else has asked the same question about the same gun too: http://forums.deeperblue.com/euro-spearguns/82462-beuchat-arka-circular-bands.html Amazing coincidence?

liberte said:

i can imagine that since the other band will be positioned a little lower than the standard ones on the muzzle, that they might pull the spear down a little and cause some whipping.
the adapters at mako are only $12, so i'm not against buying them. i might try a steel wire wishbone first, see how it holds up against the notched shaft, watch it carefully and get rid of it if i see any signs of deterioration. best to probably use an articulated wishbone made for bulk rubber. the shaft of the arka is so thin i don't want to file into any more and weaken it.
i can't find tons of places to shop for euro bands here and they definately aren't cheap, it would be cheaper to buy all the little parts, rubber and new wishbones than premade bands.
thanks for the reply

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Judging from scratches on the top of my XXV's barrel near the muzzle - I reckon that happens when using conventional euro-rubbers too -- so my gut feeling is that it will make little or no difference; but the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

I've not come across many people using wire wishbones - and those I have didn't like them (fray, cut hands) except for Bill McIntyre -- but what he calls wire wishbones look more like bent stainless steel bars. Perhaps they'll suit you though. I'm sure I'm not the only one that would be interested to see wire wishbones reviewed on the forum, if you do.

RE. filing wishbone notches on spears, funnily enough I just did that to my current #1 gun yesterday (Omer XXV 75cm)! It has a very slim 6.3mm Omer Stainless steel spear. The wishbones notches in the spear go half way through the spear! I used a McKlenons hand drill (£10 from Focus currently - half the previous place BUT missing the nice fitted plastic box, which be worth having) -- like a Dremel tool - with a very slim long (1cm long) grinding wheel/cyclinder, just to take the sharp corners off the slots in preparation for a Dyneema wishbone at a later date. It was easier & far less risky/damaging than I expected, the corners come off gradually but quickly and easily but it's hard to overdo it with such a tiny grinder. I'm pleased with the result but plan to do some additional polish later - somebody suggest Autosolv (automobile chrome/metal polish / grinding past) although it looks pretty darn smooth already.


BTW I mentioned quick-release dyneema wishbones above. Hammerhead guns have a pretty good description & illustration of what I was talking about:

Home of HammerHead Spearguns



I think I will use 1.9mm dyneema (as Rob Allen uses I believe) for the main wishbone. For the toggles, I'd like to get some of the plastic toggles with holes (e.g. from Orcas or Picasso) but will probably end up re-using old Rob Allen toggles with 1.9mm dyneena loops. However, an interesting alternative would be to use thicker dyneema for the loops, & just tie a overhand knot (or double overhand knot) in it as a stopper knot. Either way, you need something (stopper knot, bead, toggle, etc.) to cinch into the end of the rubbers that will hold under tension.

BTW If you go for bulk rubber, you'll next want to know what length is needed, see first page of this thread or check out my other post this morning on a different thread: http://forums.deeperblue.com/763641-post60.html

The Dremel-like tool? To be honest, grinding spear slots is the only use I could think of for it (and I'm usually pretty good at lateral thinking!) but I don't make a lot of stuff, especially small things. It made the job easy though - which is usually an indication of having the right tool for the job. Mine cost £9.99 (less than $14.60 at current exchange rates) -- & you can usually get stuff cheaper in the USA. It came with a lot of tools too - some come with even more. A friend in the USA swore by the original Dremel version - his father owned a hardware store that sold them. I expect the Dremel is better made, more robust, maintainable/repairable - most US stuff is, but mine seems pretty nice for a cheap one with grippy rubberized body (didn't want to spend much as I don't expect to use it much - it was an impulse purchase when I recently saw the price halved at Focus but it no longer comes in a plastic box -- which is a shame as it would be handy for storing everything securely).

Yes, forum member Pastor (who first told be about this method for allowing wishbones to be changed quickly, in the water even)used sheet bends too. I always fear they'll come loose - so I would use a double. Folk sometimes melt & flatten/mushroom the ends to help stop them pulling through (that goes for crimped spear lines too) - that appears to be the case in the image above.