building first gun

[willloomy]

i manged to turn a school project into an excuse to build a gun and i have a few questions.
Is the Alexander trigger mechanism and handle worth it/ necessary? i was thinking about ordering a riffe mech and handle to save some money but il only save about 30 bucks after shipping, any input?

i know teak is the most popular wood but is there anything else that people use?

is it much easier to make a regular wooden gun than a hybrid?

what are the hardest parts of the construction?

anything else i should know?

also i any help/opinions regarding lamination?

thanks for any help i can get

-will

 

[nz676]

here is a thread from pastor this will give you more or less all the advice you will need also try Look what I have got! amazing stuff

Basic gun making overview

 

[HEDS]

Hey , building your own gun is great !! even better as a school project . Check this out - might help. http://forums.deeperblue.com/diy-homemade/80833-midhandle-gun-build.html
If there is anything else you need just dont be afraid to post or PM people! Dont forget to take photos of the process - you can post'em!
Good Luck ,

 

[fish impaler]

neptonics ftw

 

[willloomy]

is the T style laminate three pieces on way and on the opposite or is it like this one
http://forums.deeperblue.com/diy-homemade/75393-look-what-i-have-got.html that one looks alot harder to do

 

[foxfish]

You can use two or three parallel lams & one on the top & this would be called a "T" laminate.
That format is used on lots of guns but it suits the square mid handle design best of all.
I tend to build the more slimline Euro designs & in that case I prefer to use more laminates. In the pic your are referring to I first glued up the square lamination & then cut a slot to add the "T" piece. There was then a further lam added underneath to enclose the "T".

 

[foxfish]

Will, what style of gun are you going to build, what do you plan to shoot with it, how long do you want the gun to be?
If you give us more info about that aspect perhaps we can help a bit more.

 

[willloomy]

I'm planing on making it like a 110 euro
i really like the riffe euro and the omer cobra so it will be similar to both of those
I'm thinking it will be around 140 cm total length

I'm not sure what the dimensions the blank should be.

i want a versatile gun. one i can use for reef hunting or hunting over sandy bottoms.

i like the wooden euro style guns and I'm modeling my gun after that

-will

 

[jtkwest]

check out my thread in DIY section. i just finished 3 euro style enclosed track guns .two were around 150cm one was 120 cm. i used teak in a t- lam configuration. its not necessary to do a fancy laminate like foxfish did.it would require a few more steps and may not be worthwhile for your first try. honestly, you dont need a t lam. five or six vertical laminates is plenty strong for a gun. look at the riffe guns: not a single t lam in the entire lot! and his guns are considered very good.(they are! i have 2!) so dont feel like you NEED it. i recently laminated 14 stocks, and i did about half vertical and half t lams. i tested them side by side , by trying to flex them to check stiffness, and i really dont notice that the t/ lams are stiffer on the vertical plane. in fact, i think the horizontal lam on the bottom may assist in keeping the barrel from flexing in the horizontal plane, but compared to a vertical laminate of the same dimensions, i find the vertical lam is actually stiffer . now i dont have a computer that checks it and there are other variables that could affect outcome, but these are my experiences, nontheless. BTW if you take the time to get a perfectly straight grained piece of quarter sawn wood, this whole process is gonna be alot easier. get with josh at neptonicsystem for yout trigger and handle. contact him and ask for the reef trigger(50$) and get his handle frame,(40$) and line anchor,(18$) and the rest you make. i would recommend an enclosed track. preferrably graphite composite,(25$ worth of west system epoxy, filler ,and graphite)

 

[willloomy]

check out my thread in DIY section. i just finished 3 euro style enclosed track guns .two were around 150cm one was 120 cm. i used teak in a t- lam configuration. its not necessary to do a fancy laminate like foxfish did.it would require a few more steps and may not be worthwhile for your first try. honestly, you dont need a t lam. five or six vertical laminates is plenty strong for a gun. look at the riffe guns: not a single t lam in the entire lot! and his guns are considered very good.(they are! i have 2!) so dont feel like you NEED it. i recently laminated 14 stocks, and i did about half vertical and half t lams. i tested them side by side , by trying to flex them to check stiffness, and i really dont notice that the t/ lams are stiffer on the vertical plane. in fact, i think the horizontal lam on the bottom may assist in keeping the barrel from flexing in the horizontal plane, but compared to a vertical laminate of the same dimensions, i find the vertical lam is actually stiffer . now i dont have a computer that checks it and there are other variables that could affect outcome, but these are my experiences, nontheless. BTW if you take the time to get a perfectly straight grained piece of quarter sawn wood, this whole process is gonna be alot easier. get with josh at neptonicsystem for yout trigger and handle. contact him and ask for the reef trigger(50$) and get his handle frame,(40$) and line anchor,(18$) and the rest you make. i would recommend an enclosed track. preferrably graphite composite,(25$ worth of west system epoxy, filler ,and graphite)

do the vertical laminations go from the top of the gun to the bottom?

 

[foxfish]

Will, why dont you follow this build? http://forums.deeperblue.com/homemade-spearguns/63452-teak-80-part-one-stock.html

 

[jtkwest]

do the vertical laminations go from the top of the gun to the bottom?

yes. BTW; it is intersting, because i have a riffe 110 euro that i absolutely love. and when i started planning, i basically copied that gun.except i did a fully enclosed track. your finished dimensions should be somewhere between 1 1/2" and 1 5/8" wide and 1 3/8" and 1 1/2" tall. also: neptonicsystems sells a euro trigger mech for 50$ if you want a euro spear. good luck

 

[blaiz]

Go for Neptonics systems for price and quality. Hardest part of the build will be patience. Be sure to let your laminates and stock "climatize" and dry before truing. Alexander parts are good but pretty expensive. Call Josh at Neptonics systems Speargun and Freediving Equipment. I just got a bunch of Bubinga and plan on making 3 bluewater guns out of it. Supposed to be good stuff, similar to teak but needs a little more than an oil finish. 1/3 the price too. You might also try purple heart too. Cheep and easy to work with.

Hey Will, where in Hawaii are you from? We need a few more participants in the Hawaii forum Hawaii - DeeperBlue Forums so feel free to post stories and pics too.

 

[willloomy]

i got some free teak so ill be using that

your finished dimensions should be somewhere between 1 1/2" and 1 5/8" wide and 1 3/8" and 1 1/2" tall. luck

what bands should i use with a gun like this? whats the max i could safely use?

how do i balance the gun and keep it looking nice?

how should i finish the gun? can i stain and oil? or do i need to do something else?

 

[foxfish]

Will, why dont you follow this build? http://forums.deeperblue.com/homemade-spearguns/63452-teak-80-part-one-stock.html

Will have you looked at that link??????

 

[willloomy]

yeah I looked at the link. very helpful
its a little hard to follow but I'm pretty sure i know how big ill make my gun

55 inches long 1 and 1 1/2 inches wide and 1 3/8 inches tall

i still want to know my max for bands.

how long of a shaft should i use?

 

[jtkwest]

i got some free teak so ill be using that



what bands should i use with a gun like this? whats the max i could safely use?

how do i balance the gun and keep it looking nice?

how should i finish the gun? can i stain and oil? or do i need to do something else?

check out that thread foxfish is suggesting. it is a midhandle but the same idea.rear handles are easier. check out my gun building thread in DIY section.

 

[jtkwest]

yeah I looked at the link. very helpful
its a little hard to follow but I'm pretty sure i know how big ill make my gun

55 inches long 1 and 1 1/2 inches wide and 1 3/8 inches tall

i still want to know my max for bands.

how long of a shaft should i use?

just use 5/8 bands as tight as you can manage to pull back. if you go with 9/32 spear . 2 bands is max, maybe 3. if you go 5/16 spear 3 will be fine. if you hunt with alot of rocks in the background,(reef) 3 bands can be counterproductive. the spears get beat up and blunted. with a 55" overall eurogun, i would use a 9/32" x 58"hawaiian flopper spear for speed. run your track for 48" that will leave you enough stock behind trigger to hip load. are you gonna do an enclosed track?have you looked into bits? ebay has some deals on router bit sets.you will need some specialty bits for this.

 

[willloomy]

i'm going to just go with an open track
my uncle has access to tons of different bits but i still may need a few more what special bits do i need?

Should i double wrap my line?

any tips about the build in general would be appreciated

thanks a lot you guys have been very helpful

I'm getting my parts tomorrow
will post pictures of my build

 

[jtkwest]

i'm going to just go with an open track
my uncle has access to tons of different bits but i still may need a few more what special bits do i need?

Should i double wrap my line?

any tips about the build in general would be appreciated

thanks a lot you guys have been very helpful

I'm getting my parts tomorrow
will post pictures of my build

you need a core box bit. they come in 1/4" 3/8", and so on and so on, in 1/8" increments. problem is, 1/4" is too small 3/8" is too big. so you need to find a metric one. they come in 2 mm increments on all the even #s, (6mm, 8mm, 10mm) as it happens , 8mm is equivalent to 5/16" which is perfect for a 9/32" spear in an open track . it will also work for 5/16" but you will have to sand a little. this might seem an easy task, but metric bits are not readily available in US. even european companies produce bits in imperial sizes,(the US is still biggest market) Bosch for instace is in imperial sizes. go on jamestown distributors.com get an 8mm core box bit. the other bits you will need are: a 1/2" end mill,(trigger slot) a 1/4" plunging bit,(trigger lever) and a 1/8" straight bit,(line release) if you are going with an open track, i would suggest recessing it a little more than a riffe euro, and using standard shark fin shaft, instead af the mini euro ones. a deeper track= more accuracy. if you want a riffe euro LITERALLY, then you should order the euro mech, from neptonics, in that case cut your track just 2/3 of the diameter of the spear. (deep)you will have to do this, because the mini fins on riffe euro spears are actually notched into the spear a little. if it were me, i would get a reef mech, and use regular size shark fin shafts, this would allow you to make the track a litle deeper. cut the track as deep as the spear you are using is thick, so the top of the spear is flush with the top of the barrel, in finished gun