JBL Modifications w/ euro muzzle and floater wings

[defofthecrown]

Wanted to run two pictures up and then put a list of modifications I did on my JBL 38 special dirty-water gun to help anyone else in the future.

The first one is a picture of a euro or open muzzle fabricated from mdf glass reinforced w/ polyester resin. She weighs in at a lithe 5oz and is repleate w/ band elevaters (Thank you Scott Merlo). The elevaters line the bands up w/ the shaft and are just a hair lower to keep the shaft pulled lightly against the rail on release.

The muzzle was molded in a plaster of paris mold of the existing muzzles attachment point (which is actually the exact same size as a film cannister so save yourself the trouble). The other half was from a chainsaw 2-cycle oil container.

I faired her out more w/ bondo after the photo but it will just get beaten up on rocks anyway.

(please resize me...)

 

[fuzz]

very cool - are you left-handed?

 

[defofthecrown]

Okay the second is the full body of the gun showing floater wings. These are weighted until neutral w/ lead slugs placed near the handle.

No Fuzz, I know the line retainer (pin thingy) normally goes on the other side but this way I keep wrapping the shooting line as I always have when I had the closed stock muzzle. This seems like it would reduce line tangle on release.Why is the placement normally on the left w/ guns like riffe etc?

 

[defofthecrown]

Fuzz I just figured out why it mostly goes the otherway. This is to keep from wrapping around the speartip. The way I built this does take longer to load but b/c it's a short gun w/ little overhang I hadn't even thought about it being a negative this way until now. Maybe I'll switch it later (nice part about fiberglass).

Besides the muzzle and wings I also:

*Filled the barrel w/ epoxy and foam to add balast. The total weight is now 4 1/4 pounds w/ the custom 7mm hawaiian shaft. This gun sinks always, like the spearfishing specialties low-vis. gun (padauk (sp?) or some wood). Kind of a safety feature in low vis and I always use a floatline so not a problem.

*Placed a rubber snubber on the trigger to keep the sear from hitting the trigger after release. Yes this is based on the JBL 'silencer package':duh , but it does actually reduce the sound. I also added a section of rubber tubing inside of the line release spring. This stops it from slamming into the al. handle on release and also quiets the opperation. The final internal change was to add tubing and silicon over the metal stoper for the line release on the opposite handle half (I have a photo of all this if anyone wants, but it's kind of boring). Actually had to build a new trigger spring from an old bass spinner after a mishap while cleaning. It will work if you've had a similar problem.

*The home made shaft is recycled from an old jbl super carbine shaft and drilled to eliminate the slide ring all together. This even worked w/ the closed original muzzle although I did reduce the size of the length of the opening to limit friction. The blank section was filled down and a 3" flopper was added. The band slots were also moved further back and closer together than stock shaft, thus increasing band stretch.

* The loading stock was completely filled w/ epoxy to help balance the gun and off set the muzzle weight. A small drainhole was also drilled in the plastic loading butt to facilitate removal.

*The 5/8" bands are 13" and 14" and have loops whipped into the ends. These dyneema loops have another stretch of dyneema tied imbetween. This was all from shadowkiller's post at adrenaline and it works great. Allows me to switch the wishbone at slightest sign of fatigue.

*An extra dyneema wishbone is tied to the floatline attachment which is a beefed up 1/4"(or so) ss eyebolt inserted through the existing hole at the bottom of the handle. This lanyard has a rubber 0-ring/trim-ring/gun handle/flat washer/nut/locking nut sandwich which keeps it quiet while allowing it to rotate the bold is also bent over and ground to make sure it won't slip. This connection is also very strong as some of you may recall I got towed behind a shark with this setup and the weight on the lanyard as my floatline was being pulled.

*In the absence of the slide ring the drag-prone polyproplyene shooting line was changed out for four hundred pound black monofilament crimped w/ heatshrink tubing over the connections (Note: This does not go cleanly through the stock muzzle, but a bare crimp w/ 400# will). A bungie was also made from 3/8" tubing w/ 350# spectra core.

*The barrel got covered w/ three passes of 2" wide electrical tape. 3" will cover w/ two lengths, but I can't find anymore.

Guys I'd be happy to answer questions for you on how to play around w/ that old JBL. It might not be pretty buts it fun and it now is surprisingly quiet and when fired the recoil is straight back, not going into muzzle kick-up.

 

[defofthecrown]

Oh I also glued on that damn rail and I tried everything and only got epoxy to stick, so skip the silicon and existing adhesive; won't stay on.

 

[fuzz]

Man that thing is a beast! :martial


Looks like a great experiment. Looks like a labor of love. How does that thing track? Kind of reminds me of Iya' super Riffe #0.

Also,

HERE

 

[defofthecrown]

Yeah, my friends keep asking me when I'll change it to a mid handle but I haven't figured out how to yet.

It tracks great it's only 37" long and 28" from the handle to muzzle. Feels like nothing in the water plus a really solid platform to shoot from.

 

[unirdna]

A 'silent' JBL

Very nice!

I think all JBL's should be made this way (ala RA). The noise and increased drag from that o-ring is (imho) the biggest 'doh' about em. I think your mod is should be showed to the bosses at the company (www.jblspearguns.com). They have always been great at replying to me. Although, I'll bet the first thing they'll tell you is that your 'modification' is not recommended and that your gun is no longer under warantee . Lawyers... :head.

It's colder than the frost on a polar bear's ass in Madtown right now. Our liquid is disappearing faster than usual. Consequently, I will probably take out my frustation on my gear.........no no. I'm not lobbing one in the strike zone again! What I mean is: Lack of diving will create stress, and I will need to relieve this stress by tinkering on various projects, and one of these projects will undoubtedly involve my Custom .

Be ready for some PM's.

Ted

 

[icarus pacific]

awww sweet!

Def- that is seriously the coolest work I've seen done to a JBL. And I include mine as well.

I think the silencer treatment is legit and all, but that muzzle rates serious smooth points!! :inlove Th3 38 is one of my favorite rigs and your adaptations take it to another level. I could see that muzzle doing real well on a Gulf Magnum XHD.

 

[FogTown]

That is some great looking work. I would like to see the pictures of the work you did inside the handle. I'm trying to make my 38 a little more quiet. What is the "Silencer Package"? Where can I get one?

Thanks and happy hunting
Adam

 

[defofthecrown]

The silencer may be more for people than for fish, but the picture shows what I did. The gun is very quiet now and makes a small 'shallow' click instead of the louder 'clap' of the sear on the trigger and line release on the housing. You have to hear it...

The comercial silencer package has a rubber snubber for the trigger but and small o-ring doubled over from lowes or home depot works fine. The other part of the package is the nylon line slide. Of course if you want a straighter shooting quieter gun skip the slides altogether and just drill the shaft in front of the band notches and re-rig w/ mono.

Oh if you still want the package from JBL contact Matt at Pirate scuba. www.spearfishinggear.com he's really great to deal w/ but he might make fun of you about the silencer package if he knows you well enough.

-chris

 

[FogTown]

Thanks for the pic. It makes much more sense now. How did you attach the wings? Just drill straight through the barrel? Is there a trick to getting the handle apart? I unbolted mine and tried pull it apart, but no dice.

Adam

 

[defofthecrown]

The wings are attached through the existing hole against the handle and then through a hole that I drilled where the wings ended. I would have made longer wings and not drilled any holes, but the teak I had was that length and I didn't want to epoxy pieces together for the sake of adding 4". This makes sealing the barrel a pain in the @$$... I tried about 6 tihngs to get that but ended up dumping lots of foam and epoxy and shes hasn't blown a gasket yet.

The handle gives a little trouble coming apart b/c of the electrolysis between the ss hardware and cast aluminium. This results in a white oxide something something which can lock up the handle. The trick is to pry it apart at the circular openings, not where the spear enters the assembaly. Make sure to pull evenly from both ends so you don't pry the handle open. Then when you reassemble spary everything that touches anything else w/ some white litithum grease. This won't run, lubricates, and prevents/minimizes the electrolysis and should make subsequent disassemably a lot easier.

If you still cant take the handle apart you could probably give her a soak in trusty diseal, theres nothing in there that will get hurt (I don't think...).

 

[FogTown]

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

 

[FogTown]

I got the handle apart and gave the gun the silencer treatment. I'm going to get a new shaft today, a 6.5mm Hawaiian. So now it's on to providing some stability. I'll be making wings pretty soon, and I'd like some advice on the design, if you don't mind.
Is there anything you would change about your wing setup?

 

[defofthecrown]

Red Bull gives you...

The wings are 3/4" x 1 1/8" x 17 1/4". There each one solid piece of teak w/ lead placed as close to the handle as possible for balance. The attachment is simple and effective. I didn't have a proper router bit so I cut a shallow 'v' into the side which attaches against the barrel. This allows the wings to sit flush w/out rocking. This is common for attaching wood trim on boats, i.e. hand rails. The out side was routed w/ a quarter round bit (I believe it's called) and the rough shape was just done on a band saw with the two piece taped together. The fasteners are simply ss bolts of the proper length and a single nut on the opposite end that is 'fixed' in the wood (a hexagon is chistled into the hole after drilling to recieve the nut and keep it from turning).

If I was to make a new pair I would make two changes. 1) I would use thicker teak, at least 1" thick. 2) I would not add balast until after the rest of the gun was finished b/c I feel it's a little heavier than I like. (The lead by the way was hammered into shape and placed into a chisled out hole in the stock. The hole was then filled w/ epoxy to eliminate gaps and add weight which add the time was desirous as the wings were made neutral on there own).

Also if you have a watertight barrel from jbl you might consided longer pieces of teak and not drilling the barrel. This way you could add more weight to the wings until the gun fires properly. It might look a little strange but consider it. It would save you some work