Project "Carbon strongback gun"

[Don Paul]

hahahahah DON Paul classic!!!!! if you could see the majority of Aussie divers you would realise we have evolved and generally carry our own cushioning in the form of a well developed beer gut, keeps us warm during long dive days,and softens the loading of powerful guns.....

not really all these kinda guns are loaded up high on the chest.

DD

Are you telling me Greg Pickering and Andy have put on a '' winter a coat''?
I load my gun on my sternum as well.If I drink enough Guinness and do my
500 daily crutch's just right I can get my abdominal muscle to bulge out and support my gun while loading. :friday
Cheers,

 

[foxfish]

Half fish half ape I was told!
I wonder if you have a nick name?

 

[foxfish]

I taped up the wood then mixed a little black pigment into a 5 min epoxy & filled any imperfections or air holes in the carbon with a cocktail stick.
5 min epoxy sets in that time but can be cut with a razor blade for 30 mins or so before it actually goes hard & that is what I used to clean up the excess.
The trigger is now a snug fit & locks into place.

 

[Don Paul]

That look's like it should be named, SEA SABER
It has a broad sword look to it. Outstanding progress Mart.
Cheers, Donzi

 

[blaiz]

Looking good foxfish, it seems your attention to detail is amazing and second to none!

 

[DivingDane]

Don, well pickering hasnt changed much but Andy is living up not far from me now and i guess he lives pretty well so loading pads arent really needed. hahahaha, hes still diving and chasing fish around.

Fox fish, all i can say is beautiful, never seen a gun of this calibre (excuse the pun) being built step by step. if only Excalibur wasnt already taken my Omer it would be the perfect name!

DD

 

[foxfish]

I had a nice surprise today as in the post was a Neptonics Tuna mech.
Lovely piece & Oh so different to any trigger mechs I have handled before.
Quality, heavy, substantial, butch & shiny!
Look like it will need a special gun to match its credentials.....

On the other hand the Benthos unit I am using on this gun is the opposite in many ways, light, small & matt but more suited to the carbon gun.

I have aready got ideas for the tuna mech - maybe somthing to hunt those Cal kelp bed bass?
I would like to point out the Tuna Mech has been supplied by Josh completely free of charge as a gift to db so that I can build a future gun for one of you guys.

 

[Tin Man]

I would like to point out the Tuna Mech has been supplied by Josh completely free of charge as a gift to db so that I can build a future gun for one of you guys.

Dibs!

Good on ya, and thanks Josh. I just bought a tuna mech a few weeks ago, and it looks like it could hold back a bus.

 

[Don Paul]

That is really cool, Josh's products are top shelf. Over engineering is a good
thing some times. I like mass in my guns...it helps me dive deep, with out too
much lead on the belt.:friday
Cheers, Don

 

[foxfish]

Next up - I have encased the gun with some lightweight fiberglass cloth.
It was going pretty well! I taped the cloth into position so that the joint would be in the track but forgot to wax up the ss rod that I had planed to press down over the glass & into the track.
However the fast set epoxy was going off & I couldn't find my wax :head but by the time I had found it & waxed up the rod the epoxy had gelled resulting in an imperfect edge to the track area.
Anyhow I will have to wait a few hours for the glue to completely harden before i can inspect the issue.

 

[LunkerBuster]

this is an epic build, thanks for sharing it and documenting it so throughly...I hope the top glass layer doesn't turn into too much of a problem.

the first fish you shoot will be extratasty because of all the hard work that preceeded it

 

[foxfish]

Well actually the first coat of glass is no more!
I couldn't cope with the problem so I completely sanded it off & reapplied a new one.
I also removed the CF that I was going to fix the handle to, I just couldn't get a true fairing with it in the way.
At the moment the gun has had 4 additional coats of epoxy on top of the glass but I want to give the gun a real depth to the finish so a few more will be going on yet...
To be honest it has been a nightmare trying to get every angle & corner exactly true & has taken an age

 

[foxfish]

I was hoping to have the gun finished by now but to be honest I got a bit obsessed!

This is the first blue water gun I have ever built & I am not used to having so much bulk to play with.

At first I was worried about the gun being too heavy but in fact it was too buoyant, I could of added some lead to get the underwater balance just right but decided to slim the blank down a bit instead.
This of course meant removing some wood that in turn meant destroying all my hard work getting that perfect epoxy finish "but hey"!
So I sanded the gun down, removing all the glass cloth & epoxy from the top half of the gun. This meant I also had to re-cut the spear track & I have yet to lower the trigger unit to match!
Is it all worth it - well this is my hobby so its just fun for me I just hope you guys dont get fed up waiting for the end result.

 

[Don Paul]

Mart, good things take time, you are the creator. I can't tell you how many times Ive changed my designs on paper, do the maths and weigh all the bits before the salt water float test, only to say: Shite ! the nose is too heavy with that shaft. Time to swap out the SS for some Ti.

I enjoy reading and watching your gun build journey and all the paths that lead to the final goal.

Thanks, Don

 

[LunkerBuster]

well said DonP, I too am happy to wait...good things often take time...only a good builder is able to Slow down to the speed the project need to get done right

 

[foxfish]

Getting there now!
I have applied six coats of epoxy over the glass weave on the topside of the gun & two on the underside with four more to go.
By the time I have finished coating the underside the top will be hard enough to sand & apply a finish coat of two component uv protector.
I am going to make a slide on handle as a separate component.

 

[DivingDane]

Looking beautiful Foxfish, cant wait to see it finished... and in the flesh

DD

 

[Tin Man]

Wow. I don't know what else to say. It's art.

 

[Don Paul]

Mart, your ability to always bring forth a fresh design is amazing.
I love the gothic shape, looks very much like a medieval sword.
Very cool mate, Cheers.
Don

 

[blaiz]

wow, the cedar looks amazing too!