Hawaii Hybrid Build

[blaiz]

Can't believe I had never posted this on the DB.... Sorry Foxfish:friday

I put this thread together for a Hawaii forum where there isn't a whole lot of action in the gun building department. So since I had already done the work I figure Ill post it here as well... Keep in mind this thread is for a board where there is not a lot of gun building experience. I know there are tons of guys with lots of experience here and many with more than myself so take it for what its worth...Hope you enjoy.

As some of you may know I have been building guns quite consistantly for the past 2 years or so. I dont claim to be an expert by any means but I do enjoy the process and my guns seem to be making a few guys very happy so its been something that has brought me a lot of joy lately.

Anyway, I have learned a lot of valuable information by reading other peoples build processes here and on other forums, and I appreciate the time others have taken to inform the rest of the dive community. I have recently been given the challenge of building a hybrid by a friend and current dive partner. This is my first hybrid so what better way to teach others than by posting all the mistakes I'm going to make :lol:

I hope that this process will do one of two things, either dissuade people from trying to build their own gun after they realize how much work really goes into a custom gun and buy one from me or the many other custom builders out there :mrgreen: .... or inspire someone to build their own, help them realize that mistakes are going to happen regardless of how much experience you have and how we fix or utilize those mistakes is what really defines us as woodworkers.

I dont plan on giving all my secrets away but will gladly walk through some basic steps that I hope will help people on their own projects. I have aquired many tools over time that helps these builds move a lot quicker but keep in mind that minimal tools are needed to build a gun. One could get away with a Table saw (preferably 10" or bigger) a router and router table (a table is easy to make if you dont have one), a drill press, and chisels. Take my experience for what its worth, feel free to criticize but be sure that all criticism is constructive for the sake of others.

I will try to keep up with this as much as I can, I am not a very organized person but will do my best, enjoy!

pecs:

60" carbon fiber hybrid with Paduak stock and Aimrite Venom barrel

Partially enclosed composite track

Daryl Wong 3 hole muzzle

Neptonics "reef" trigger mech

Neptonics SS handle frame and remote trigger

60" threaded shaft with slip tip (type has not been decided yet)

First step of the build was deciding on the materials to use. Cost was a factor and since this is my first hybrid my part of the build is pro-bono so to speak... that is unless Xterminator strikes it big in Vegas this week 8)

That being said we chose paduak as the material for the stock. I think I payed around $6-9 a board foot for a nice piece of quarter sawn paduak compared to $28 a board foot for teak. This wood is a dense hardwood with a very rich rose color.

Dont be discouraged by the dark brown color you will find when you look at the wood on the rack. Without a UV inhibitor this wood will darken to a bland brownish purple very quickly but a quick sanding will bring out the original color. Many gun builders, including Phil Herranan, prefer padauk to many other woods due to its rich color, workability, and density. Riffe even started making guns out of Padauk as of recent.

Another reason for our choice was the color will go very nicely with the red kevlar wrap that the Aimrite barrel has.

the next step in this process was laminating the stock (this process is almost exactly what I do for my all wood stocks). Due to the material I had available (4quarter sawn) I was forced to laminate the short stock for this gun. For a stock this short (30" or so) you could get away with a solid piece but good luck finding one big enough. In order to utilize the most out of this wood I chose to use 6 laminates to achieve a thickness of 2.125" wide and 2" tall. After jointing an edge I cut the 6" wide material into 2" strips. I then split them in half on the table saw into 3/8 wide strips.

Notice the grain in the picture below. It is very important to reverse the grain patern with each laminate otherwise laminating is completely usless. This insures that all the natural forces within the wood grain work against each other and cancel each other out rather than with each other and bending or warping the stock.

before gluing I sand the laminates in a cross hatch pattern with 60grit sand paper. This ensures a mechanical bond with the epoxy between laminates. Running wood through a surfacer will often leave a very smooth surface which can lead to disaster when laminating. I then wipe each laminate off with acetone. The effects of this is debatable. I believe it clears each surface of oils, natural resins and dust which might interfere with the bonding process. Others believe that, additionally, the acetone which soaks into the wood grain, will also draw the epoxy deeper into the pours but with the evaporation rate of acetone I think its minimal.

The last step in this process is epoxy and clamping. I use Fiberglass Hawaii's 2 part epoxy which is compatible with West Systems products. Due to the deep voids in this grain I have added microfibers to the mix to insure the epoxy fills all these voids before curing. I use a disposable brush and coat each side of the laminate thoroughly with epoxy. When clamping it is important to clamp to a straight surface and use as many clamps (preferably the same type) with even pressure throughout. It is also important to not over tighten the clamps. You want to tighten until you see the epoxy being squeezed out of the joint, too much will starve the joint of epoxy and weaken it.

Once the stock has been clamped it is important to leave it in the clamps for 24 hours or more. You want to ensure the epoxy has fully cured before continuing with the build. With my all wood stocks I will take them out of the clamps and often let them hang for up to a month. this insures that any additional movement can be fixed before the track is cut and the gun is shaped. If you cut the track too soon and the gun bows on you often times you are SOL so take your time.

Since this is such a short piece and there are so many laminates curing should not be an issue. I will leave it in the clamps for a while and probably start the next step by the end of the week.

 

[blaiz]

First installment towards the hybrid placed by Xterminator on my doorstep last night.... chiclock!

Well got done with work early today so I decided to pull the stock out of the clamps. I think they sat for close to 36hrs. Since Im not too concerned with any movement in this short stock I went ahead and "trued" it up. This Process involves obtaining two perfectly straight and perpendicular (90 degrees) faces. This can be done in one of multiple ways. I am fortunate enough to have a nice jointer which in 2 passes on each side completed the job very nicely. Once I have 2 straight edges and a 90 degree angle the other edges can be trued with my table saw and a featherboard. For those of you who dont have a jointer Ill outline two other options for you.

1. A six pack of heiniken and a quick drive down to any local cabinet or furniture making shop and have one of the guys run it through their industrial planer. (easiest)

2. You can build a jig for your table saw pictured below (THANK YOU REEFGEEK!). This serves many purposes other than gun building as well. With some plywood, a straight edge and some wingnuts, washers, and carriage bolts this jig can be made very easily. This is the jig I also use to put tapers into my stocks on the table saw.

In my opinion this is the most important step of the gun building process. This is going to be the foundation for almost every step from here forward. It is VERY important to have a pefectly straight and square stock, or as close to it as you can get. Since everything including the trigger slot, track, pins, and handle frame uses atleast one of these edges to be cut or drilled and you have an angle that is out of whack, its going to effect your entire build. If you are using a CNC machine than what the hell are you doing reading this post anyway. :wink:

Here is the padauk next to the aimrite barrel, when the padauk gets a clear coat It should get a bit darker and a bit more rich in color, going to look awesome against the red kevlar.

 

[blaiz]

Ok, so today was a pretty productive day, printed my kagami this morning, cleaned it, went in to town to pay bills/deliver fish, and got a whole lot done on the build, Ill try my best to not skip any steps but if I miss something feel free to ask questions.

First step today was to cut the cutaway for the handle as I do with most of my blue water guns. My theory on this is that with the thicker stock, the cutaway gets the handle closer to the power center on the gun there for reducing muzzle flip and recoil.

I use a template and a template cutting bit on my router to cut the first half. I then cut the other half with a flush cutting bit on the router table.

Next I cut the trigger slot and the track for the box core bit that will later become the enclosed composite track. I cut the track at two different depths, one at about 1 1/16 of an inch deep(1/16 deeper than the height of the trigger to allow for epoxy later) for the trigger slot and from the muzzle to where the end of the barrel will be sunk into the stock. the rest is cut at about 3/8 of an inch where the composite track will be poured. When cutting deep mortises on the router table it is important to only cut about 3/8 of an inch deep with each pass. This keeps the bit from getting too hot and burning the material. It also makes it easier to drop the stock onto the bit next to the fence.

 

[blaiz]

The next step just about drove me crazy and I almost threw the whole stock away (ive got anger issues ) I recently got a brand new Porter Cable router that has worked wonderfully up until today. For what ever reason the box core bit and this router did not get along. I cut a few test pieces and everything seamed to be fine, when I went to cut the actual stock the bit started to drift and the collet would loosen up. I thought it had completely messed up the stock, something had gotten to hot in the router and the collet now has about 1/8 of an inch of play up and down. I ended up going back to old faithful (another porter cable) and it finished the job beautifully. Finding out the right height for the bore involved some major head scratching and frustration. I dont think I will do the next hybrid (if I ever do another hybrid) the same. But in the end it turned out nice, and the barrell sits in the bore perfectly straight and true.

The next step was drilling the holes for the 3/16 pins for the trigger mech and the remote trigger. I didn't take any pictures of this step as it is pretty self explanatory. Its important to use a drill press in order to get a clean, straight hole. Be sure to have a block of wood underneath the work piece in order to keep from blowing out the back of the hole. Later these holes will be drilled about 1/32 larger so that I can epoxy the inside. When the epoxy dries I will re-drill them with a 3/16 bit to ensure the wood is sealed within these holes. I dont epoxy my guns too often but when an epoxy coat is wanted it is important to cut everything (handle mortis, trigger slots, pin holes, line release etc.) a hair bigger to allow for the epoxy and obtain a good seal. It is a disaster if water is able to get underneath the epoxy coat, it can lead to having to re-finish the entire gun

Next I finished up the trigger mech slot with a 1/2" chisel, and cut the 1/4" slot for the trigger it self.

 

[blaiz]

Next i cut the mortis for the handle frame. I did this using my router and finished with a sharp 1 inch chisel.

Next I cut the 1/4 inch slots for the remote trigger and the trigger mech as well as the slot for the line release. This was done on the router table.

I templates for doing these steps but will show one way of figuring out the positioning of the line release if you dont. First I put the trigger mech in the slot just until the line release opening is above the stock. from here I can position the release and find where it works best, once I have the release positioned I mark the spot for the set screw.

after pre drilling the set screw hole I position the sear on the top of the stock with the trigger mech and determine how big the line release slot needs to be. After marking it on the stock I cut it with a hand held router with an adjustable fence. then clean it up with a dremel.

 

[blaiz]

It is important to leave your router table set up on the center point of your stock until you have everything that needs to be centered cut i.e. trigger mech mortiss, track, line anchor (when aplicable), trigger slots, You can move from bit to bit and keep the same center. If you move it you will have to do the process of centering it all over again. Once all these steps are completed you can change the fence which brings me to the last step, shaping. I do most of my shaping on the router table, and a portion with a hand plane, however, the process is my own and I dont feel I need to disclose everything in this thread 8). Feel free to experiment with different round over bits, hand planes, and shaping tools to obtain a style that you like. I suggest experimenting on scrap first.

So the hard parts are pretty much finished. The next phase will be cutting the slot for the remote bar, sealing the CF tube, setting the barrel into the stock, pouring and cutting the enclosed track, and fastening the muzzle. Then after all that is done epoxy coating and ballasting. Phew.... I had no idea what I was getting myself into with this thread :|

 

[blaiz]

So I brought the gun by the shop to show Xterminator yetsterday. After I let him revel over the sickness of this gun I delivered some bad news.... I made a royal f*** up! I got a little ahead of my self with the first few steps and took one step that I should have waited to do. That step was pinning the trigger mech and cutting the line release slot. The problem is that somehow I miscalculated the height of the barrel and rail in relation to the height of trigger mech. Basically they dont match up which will create a major problem when I pour and cut the enclosed track.

This wouldn't have been an issue had I not pinned the trigger mech because I could have just dropped the trigger mech to the correct height and then pinned it. The problem was that I wanted to pin it and do all the cutting before I shaped the stock and had all the curves to contend with.The good news is that I can fix it. We talked over a few different options and decided to cut in a "dutchman", or plug. But rather than just cut the dutchman big enough to cover the mess up we decided to extend it a little giving it a sort of inlay feel... in other words, like we meant to do it :wink: .

I had a short piece of an old teak/wenge stock which I cut up to recyle the wenge. I routed out a 3/8" deep by 1/2" wide track from the rear trigger pin to just a little forward of the back of the handle on both sides. I then cut the wenge/teak dutchmans to fit. I mixed up some epoxy w/ black pigment and micro-fibers and glued them up.

 

[blaiz]

Sorry for the lag in this build. I have been extremely busy finishing other guns and working at my 3 jobs which actually pay my bills... and for my addiction

That being said, here is an update

I havn't had much time to work on it lately which has been ok since we hadn't received one of the most important elements. The muzzle. We had originally wanted to go with a Daryl Wong muzzle but I was dreading trying to figure out how to make the muzzle fit properly. The ID on the aimrite barrel is to big for the wong muzzle and I wasn't sure that the track on muzzle would match up with the rail on the barrel.

I decided to scratch the wong all together and email a guy who I have been buying parts from recently. As many of you know, TinMan on the forums is a fabricator out of Louisiana, he is very good at what he does, and very easy/friendly to work with. I had emailed him before the build and asked if he would be interested in building a muzzle but since he didn't have the barrel in hand, nor did I at the time, he couldnt get any measurements from it so, rightfully so, he was a little hesitant. I figured the DW would work so I scratched the idea. The more I thought about it and the more I saw his work I decided to give him another try. this time I had the exact measurements including the ID of the barrell, the thickness of the barrel walls, and the distance from the inner wall to the bottom of the rail. He agreed and pumped the thing out and had it on my door step in a little over a week!

Big thanks to Jeff (TinMan) the muzzle is awesome, the price was more than reasonable, and the best part is.... it fits PERFECTLY!

There really is no need to explain TinMan's stuff on this thread as his handles, muzzles, camera mounts, guns and other work speaks for its self. But I will further stress that he does awesome work, is VERY friendly and easy to work with, and very professional.

Now here is the muzzle.

I was hoping to get in the water this week but Im heading in to a dermatology appointment tomorrow and I think I will be coming out with some stitches. WEAR YOUR SUNSCREEN! so if thats the case I should be getting some more work done on the gun very soon so stay tuned!

 

[blaiz]

Well today was another frustrating day with the hybrid. With the shop and capabilities that I have I dont think I will take any more on in the near future but then again, that mindset might change once the gun is finished.

I cut the barrel,
Luckily I did a test cut first as even though I taped it the kevlar wrap chipped out at the bottom of the cut and frayed real bad. To fix this I put a stop block on my saw and rotated the barrel in order to get a clean cut around the barrel before finishing the cut. It worked good aside from a small chip on one of the sides but it should disappear with a little epoxy.

Then I set the tube into the stock. This ended up being a frustrating step due to the impurity of the barrel it self. It seems there is a slight warble or imperfectness in the rail on the barrel. When I centered the bottom of the track in the back of the bore it wasn't centered in the front, so if I centered it in the front it was off in the back:scratch:

 

[blaiz]

So, unfortunately Xterminator and I have conflicting schedules this week, more so my schedule is full so I needed to take the extra time to work on the gun. Today I decided to pour the composite track

The first step was to prep the track for the epoxy. I scuff it up with 60grit sand paper and then make a "dam" for the trigger pocket and create a lip out of blue tape for the over pour (area that will hopefully contain all the bubbles and be cut out later.

If in the future, should I decide that I want to go forward with composite tracks, I may look into building a vacuum bag to fix the bubble problem. For now, I do it the old fashion way

I use 2 part epoxy, add west systems 403 microfibers (about 40% by volume), and graphite powder (~10%by volume). I also add a few drops of black pigment to get the jet black I want. I then pour the whole mix into a 1 gallon ziploc bag and cut one of the bottom corners to make a spout. The reason for this is 1, easily controlled pour, and 2.. pours from the bottom of the mix while all the bubbles sit at the top.

a couple of things to keep in mind. For those of you with experience with these tracks feel free to chime in

it is important when mixing this cocktail to mix slowly and evenly. You dont want to introduce a lot of bubbles to the mix as they can be difficult to get out later.

It is a good idea to where a dust mask and gloves

Late in the afternoon as the air is cooling or in a cool room is the best place/time. If it is too hot, or your epoxy is kept in a hot place the kick time will decrease and leave less time for the bubbles to make it out of the track

I then use a butane torch with light quick passes to pop the bubbles at the top of the track. This will make room for bubbles underneath the surface to make their way to the top and pop. This step is tricky as you want to add as little heat as possible. I think I may have gone a little to heavy and caused the mix to kick quicker than I would have liked, the last time I did that the track had a crack down the center of it forcing me to cut it out and start over again... I have my fingers crossed. There are mixed thoughts about this step as well. Some believe that its the heat that pops the bubbles so a heat gun works fine. I have also heard that it is actually the CO2 from the spent gas that pops the bubbles. I have used both methods and find that the torch works best.

 

[foxfish]

Beautiful & precised work as usual from you Blaiz, l would like to see the completed gun.

 

[blaiz]

Well, pouring the enclosed track ended up turning into a complete nightmare. The first run kicked way to quickly, I thought I could salvage it but found a stress crack from the expansion of the epoxy, and then when I cut the track there were multiple large bubbles. I cut it out and tried again. Once again the epoxy started kicking very quickly and expanding in the track, I decided to scape the track before it had even had a chance to cure.

Third times a charm, I ended up breaking open a new set of west systems epoxy for the third try, changed the cocktail a little bit (less microfibers, no pigment and more graphite). Im not sure if it had anything to do with the fact that it was getting to the bottom of the batch of the old batch or what but the new batch worked nicely. No bubbles and the color turned out nice and black.

I re-shaped the top of the gun

I then cut the remote trigger slot, re-cut the line release and pinned the trigger mech.

 

[blaiz]

The next step was to cut and shape the handle sides and prep them for epoxy coating, and then prep the gun for the first epoxy coats.

This step takes some care and consideration. First I rough up all surfaces with 100-80 grit sand paper, there is no need for finish sanding when epoxy coating as the idea is to create a mechanical bond between the epoxy and the wood. Just be sure to sand with the grain and all the sanding marks should disappear.

After sanding I then wipe everything down with acetone. From this point it is VERY important to make sure you don't touch the blank or wood with your bare hands. Oil from you hands and fingerprints can cause what is called "fish eyes" which is a delamination/bubble under the epoxy coat. I use sterile latex gloves.

West Systems epoxy is not the best stuff to clear coat with but its what I have available. I think Phil Heranan sells his epoxy which has amazing results, but those results also come from LOTS of experience. You can get great results if you take your time and use multiple thin coats of West Systems too. I start with the trigger slot, line release, pin holes, and handle mortise. I apply a thin coat to just seal the wood. You don't want to get a high build in these areas as it will affect the fit of all your hardware.

It is important to get the special hardener (207 with UV inhibitor) or the epoxy will yellow and the color of the wood will fade over time. For this step you want the resin to be relatively warm as it increases the viscosity of the mix and it will brush on easier than a cold batch.

The trick with the first initial coats of epoxy on the bare wood is to heat the blank. I place the gun in the cab of my truck with the windows up for about a half an hour prior to the coat. The hot lahaina sun doesn't take long to raise the temperature of the blank 20-25 degrees above room temp.

The theory behind this is that if the blank is cool and is allowed to heat up while coated it will "off gas" and create lots of bubbles.

If the blank is heated prior to coating and allowed to cool it will draw the epoxy into the pours and you will have less of a bubble problem. I then chase what little bubbles remain with a brush and again with light passes with a propane torch.

This gun will take upwards of 5 or 6 coats of epoxy with a light coarse sand in between coats.

Pictured is the first coat.

I apologize if I rushed through anything. Please I well be happy to expand apon anything I might have missed if anyone needs me to.

 

[foxfish]

Shiny shiny.... You are going great... Give us more!!!
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[jtkwest]

good stuf jake. one question: how did you cut the enclosed track portion? what i mean is: how did you get the height of the cf barrel to align perfectly with the enclosed track portion that you cut? i , myself tried to make it enclosed from end to end, and i used g10 epoxyglass for the track,(very hard to work with!) i actually still have one half buily hybrid, and the parts to make1 more. i am currently making 10 guns at once, when those are all done, i am going back to the hybrids. have you ever tried the neptonics triggers with the auto reset line releases? its all i use now. i have had too manycomplaints about those damn line releases getting stuck. if you dont flip it back before you insert the spear in the mech, it jams and you have to pull the trigger and start over. i, myself rarelyencounter this anymore , but newbies to custom guns ahve big problems sometime, no matter how much i warn them. i did learn one trick: you can retro fit a riffe release blade and spring reset system on a neptonics trigger mech, works great! also: i dont believe that west sytem 207 has uv inhibitor. does it? i looked far and wide for a uv inhibitive hardener and all i could find was system three surfboard resin. thats what i use for clear coatings and it works awesome! btw: what type of hardenerare you using for your tracks? i use west sytem very slow hardener and i have none of the problems you are describing with the bubbles. also, how come you cut the trigger slot before you cut the track? then you have to make a tape damm , for the trigger slot. what i do now is just cut it when i do the enclosed track. but i guess maybe it is different because you use a router table, thus are cutting upside down and cant plunge? that makes sense.since i am using a jig where the router is above the stock, it works for me. btw: how much was the cf tube from aimrite?

 

[blaiz]

good stuf jake. one question: how did you cut the enclosed track portion? what i mean is: how did you get the height of the cf barrel to align perfectly with the enclosed track portion that you cut? i , myself tried to make it enclosed from end to end, and i used g10 epoxyglass for the track,(very hard to work with!) i actually still have one half buily hybrid, and the parts to make1 more. i am currently making 10 guns at once, when those are all done, i am going back to the hybrids. have you ever tried the neptonics triggers with the auto reset line releases? its all i use now. i have had too manycomplaints about those damn line releases getting stuck. if you dont flip it back before you insert the spear in the mech, it jams and you have to pull the trigger and start over. i, myself rarelyencounter this anymore , but newbies to custom guns ahve big problems sometime, no matter how much i warn them. i did learn one trick: you can retro fit a riffe release blade and spring reset system on a neptonics trigger mech, works great! also: i dont believe that west sytem 207 has uv inhibitor. does it? i looked far and wide for a uv inhibitive hardener and all i could find was system three surfboard resin. thats what i use for clear coatings and it works awesome! btw: what type of hardenerare you using for your tracks? i use west sytem very slow hardener and i have none of the problems you are describing with the bubbles. also, how come you cut the trigger slot before you cut the track? then you have to make a tape damm , for the trigger slot. what i do now is just cut it when i do the enclosed track. but i guess maybe it is different because you use a router table, thus are cutting upside down and cant plunge? that makes sense.since i am using a jig where the router is above the stock, it works for me. btw: how much was the cf tube from aimrite?

Whats up Jason?

For cutting the track I thought I had the heights figured out but after I set the barrel in the stock I realized it was off. Therefor I let the barrel determine the heigth of the track and cut it after the fact.

I have tried the neptonics trigger with the resetting line release but most my guns are to thin for that system to work, and look good. I havn't had a problem with the standard line release though when I get into it a little heavier I want to come up with a resetting system. One that is simple and very easy to to instal.

The 207 DOES have a UV inhibitor... verbatim from off the side of the can.... "Ultraviolet inhibitor in 207 improves the 105/207 coating's resistance to sunlight. Use a UV-filtering clear finish over the cured epoxy for long term UV protection."

there are a lot of things that I would do differently with this build next time. I am kind of a creature of habit so I approached it as I do my all wood guns. This was a mistake in many ways but a great learning experience non the less.

 

[Mark Lamont]

Nice Jake, Your gun has prompted me to make another wood gun. I do have a couple of questions.
The wood looks so beautiful naturally, can you leave it un epoxied? I'm assuming so because I didn't see you epoxy the interior cuts (like the trigger mechanism slot or the barrel cut or the inside of the handle cuts before assembly.
What is the benefit of the partially enclosed track as opposed to an open track either u or v?

 

[blaiz]

Nice Jake, Your gun has prompted me to make another wood gun. I do have a couple of questions.
The wood looks so beautiful naturally, can you leave it un epoxied? I'm assuming so because I didn't see you epoxy the interior cuts (like the trigger mechanism slot or the barrel cut or the inside of the handle cuts before assembly.
What is the benefit of the partially enclosed track as opposed to an open track either u or v?

all the mortises and pin holes do have an epoxy coating just 2 very light coats. I was made aware that padouk can be just oiled but padouk oxidizes very badly meaning the wood will darken to a brown or dark purple due to the sunlight. The west systems hardener has a UV inhibitor which Im hoping will delay this effect and keep the natural, deep red color of the wood.

The partially enclosed track really just gave me an opportunity to fill in the 1/2" track cut in order to take the core bit. I also think it looks clean and cant hurt the gun as far as accuracy and reduction of shaft whip. Im sure you could have the same accuracy with a deep open track wether u or v shaped. I personally have not done enough experimenting with the three to have any sound opinions. Most of my knowledge comes from following other builds and talking to other gun builders. This is my 12th gun? I think? and for the most part they have followed a similar pattern though this is the first hybrid I have tried.

 

[jtkwest]

your laminates are flawless. i cant get my hands on material that nice. i am jealous! how dense is that padauk? the stuff i have seen is a little dense. definately alot denser than teak. i actually have 2 quarts of 207 hardener.- but i didnt know it was uv inhibitive! LOL.. i think its that stuff on the can about using uv coating over it that threw me off. either way, your projects and pics are giving me motivation. ,(kindof similar to mine i guess) good stuff! i got some new pics and stuff to share soon.

 

[david ennew]

yep thanks for all that ,think ill just buy one