David Smith's hybrid speargun project

[Mark Laboccetta]

One of my friends whom I've known for several years and I met through our mutual passion for the sport has decided to embark on a new speargun project after he liked the custom rear-handle teak blue water gun that was made for me by a great and well known wood craftsman.
I contemplated whether it belonged in the European gun section since it's rear handle style is a more common feature of guns made in Europe but since the barrel is the heart of the speargun and this piece of teak was American as was the craftsman I decided it was rightly due in the American gun section.
I thought some of you handy woodworkers types might find it interesting. I gave up on ever trying projects like this for the lack of time and effort required which taking into account my wood carving skills are comparable to a 13 year olds middle school Shop Class skills:

http://www.amazon.ofoto.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=19t9ea5b.34ucfdxn&Uy=3fxuf4&Upost_signin=BrowsePhotos.jsp%3fshowSlide%3dtrue&Ux=0

ps-these Avatar thingies are cool

 

[mishu1984]

wow! that one is a beauty Mark

 

[Fish Tale]

Very nice work! The photo essay of building the gun barrel is excellent! I think a lot of people are curious about how people laminate pieces of wood together to create strong gun barrels.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Mark Laboccetta]

I think it's going to come out nicely too, David is more patient than I am so I'm sure it will turn out nicely when it's done. I'll forward this link to him as he'll be happy to read you comments and maybe he'll chime in if you guys have any questions for him.

Mark

 

[Amphibious]

stunning....

 

[GilbertG.]

Mark, thanks for posting. I was getting a bit bored revisiting the gun forum a not seeing any new threads. Seemed like people had already sunken into the winter doldrums and don't want to participate. Gun looks pretty good in the rough, can't wait to see the finished product. My compliments to David. One question for David: if he doesn't have a router, how did he cut the track so straight?

I might mention that I too have something in the works. It's also a hybrid of sorts, a euro gun for the american or an american gun for the european, so I think it'll apeal to many. I'll post as soon as it's done and I can take some decent pics.

Gil

 

[DSmith]

Thanks for the comments, guys. I just signed up for Deeper Blue and this is my first post. Let's see if I can make it work.
Gil, I cut the track with my table saw. I just had the blade stick up a bit above the table, and I adjusted the fence to cut it a bit off center. I ran the stock through one way, then turned it around and ran it through the other way. The resulting track was about the width of two blades. I then cleaned up the slot with a chisel. It would look better if I'd used a router, but I think this will work.
I look forward to seeing the photos of your gun. I'm enjoying this project and already know a couple things I'd change if I were to make another one.
David

 

[Mark Laboccetta]

He fellas, Gil - would love to see your brainchild when you have a picture. I spent a good part fo the weekend working out some Master America production details with the guys from Italy who were here and trying to talk up my blue water gun. The 130 is already in preproduction phase which is good.

Anyhow, I have only one complaint about my gun except I wish I knew how to fix one ding in the teak near the track... :waterwork I guess it adds character. If you use a line release system like the one adopted in mine make sure that the part of the pivoting release that touches against the bottom of the shaft is as wide as possible and not skinny as to be able to lift the shaft and wedge beside it. This sometime happens if my shooting line is too tight as it has a tendency to pull up the release. Naturally once the gun is loaded the bands pull the shaft down into the track aleviating this possibility but in the meantime before it's loaded I've had several frustrating moments. To make up for it I usually load one band before I string it but if I had a wider flat surface line release I think it would be harder. That's the one problem I've encountered with this design.

 

[DSmith]

Mark,
If that ding is a dent that does not actually sever the fibers of the wood, you should be able to steam it out. Put a teapot on the stove and heat the water until you get a steady stream of steam. Then hold the dent over the steam, watching it carefully. The steam will cause the wood to expand back to its original position. If done correctly, you won't be able to see the dent at all when you're done. Be careful not to overdo it. Too much steam can make the dent expand outward into a bump.
Even if the ding broke the wood fibers, you can probably improve the situation with steam. The end results might not quite look as good as it did before the damage occurred.
You'll need to refinish the teak after this repair. If the gun is just coated with teak oil, that will be easy.
David