Rhodesian Teak home made speargun

[Marco van Wyk]

 

[landshark sa]

Looking good Marco!

How may bands, what type trigger mech, and line release system are you going to use?

 

[foxfish]

We would like some more info?

 

[Marco van Wyk]

Yes, that is two of the questions to myself and then what type of sprier to use.
Most probably 2 x bands and will let you know as soon as I see what is available locally on the trigger mechanisms.
The non epoxy one, I’ am going to epoxy the handle in with the rest.
First must try and make a handle or three.
Had to make the jig for the table saw to get the edges straight.

 

[landshark sa]

Tommy has all of his gun internals lazer cut to his specifications.

If you can't find some of the hardware locally try http://www.neptonicsystems.com. They have a good selection of stuff for sale online.

 

[Marco van Wyk]

View attachment 37861 Yes, that is two of the questions to myself and then what type of sprier to use.
Most probably 2 x bands and will let you know as soon as I see what is available locally on the trigger mechanisms.
The non epoxy one, I’ am going to epoxy the handle in with the rest.
First must try and make a handle or three.
Had to make the jig for the table saw to get the edges straight.View attachment 37861

 

[Marco van Wyk]

Thanks for the link,
I might……might make my own trigger mechanism. Going to visit Shane at Freedivers tomorrow.
He is also busy building his own wooden gun. In the mean wile I will give the wood some time to settle in to its new format/shape and then might have to straightened again with the jig.

 

[Marco van Wyk]

Started on the handle; made an aluminum jig; next is to transfer it to stainless steel, cut the handle in 2 half’s and shape the wood around the steel inner

 

[Marco van Wyk]

I decided to have a bash at the triggering mech. The first component seems to work; now the one on the right is next.

 

[Marco van Wyk]

Ok, it work’s well. Do not try and drill after you cut with a grinder in 304 stainless steel. Have to ad some more holes for the line release and the trigger. Going to put the handle a bit forward, so I need to install a shaft to operate the trigger. Its lunch time, have to fillet the fish and start the fire. Till next time.

 

[Marco van Wyk]

Seems things change as you go; because the handle is not on the end anymore I have no option to put the line release on the side.
I had to weld a small peace back on the trigger mech for the trigger push rod. The next one I will drill all the holes first before cutting.
But one need to experiment a bit first I suppose, like the handle/trigger plate drilled no problem.

 

[landshark sa]

Really looking good Marco! It certainly seems as if you have done this sort of thing before.

How are you going to go about testing and fine-tuning the buoyancy?

 

[Marco van Wyk]

Hi there, I have never built a spear gun before but I have built model steam trains for a while.
Takes to long and no time for any thing ells, the triggering mech reminds me a lot on the valve gear on those small locos.
Yes I am use to do a lot of filing and polishing small components.
Today I am going to try and work on the steel part of the handle, need to extend the top a bit to enter in to the slot.
The buoyancy part, don’t know. I will put the empty blank in water just to see what happens.
Will probably drill some holes in the steel part of the handle and try and slot the trigger guide to lose some weight.
Why I say try; stainless steel is much harder than mild steel as you probably know and your tools need to be very sharp and kept cool.
But if you got any ideas on that subject, it will defiantly help.

 

[Marco van Wyk]

Done the handle in stainless, need a bit more sanding and finishing, not that anybody will see the inside again.
All these parts were done with a small angel grinder, a reasonable size drill press and belt sander.
Took a bit longer than thought, tomorrow will tackle the slot in the trigger guide.

 

[Marco van Wyk]

Seems things change as you go; because the handle is not on the end anymore I have no option to put the line release on the side.
I had to weld a small peace back on the trigger mech for the trigger push rod. The next one I will drill all the holes first before cutting.
But one need to experiment a bit first I suppose, like the handle/trigger plate drilled no problem.
View attachment 37957 View attachment 37958 View attachment 37959

I had to re-align the angle back to what it was, ells the spear is a bit sticky.

 

[Marco van Wyk]

This is my basic setup and tools I use for this part of the handle and trigger.

 

[Marco van Wyk]

First stage of cutting.

 

[Marco van Wyk]

Now it is time for sanding and then filing,
But before the filing I need to get back to my other hobby they call work.

 

[foxfish]

You work looks fantastic, personally I would be a little concerned about a DIY trigger but it looks good!
The essence of a good gun, is the ultimate balance in the water... mass verses weight distribution it critical to achieve a accurate & easy to shoot gun. I wish you luck with this as the quality look great.

 

[Marco van Wyk]

Thanks for the positive feedback, I have never fired or hold a wooden spear gun. In fact never seen one in real live except on the net. I know I am going to make mistakes. If you don’t outright copy a good working gun, it is going to take a gun or 3 to get it working satisfactory. My first mistake is most probably the thickness of the steel, it was the only stainless steel I had in hand. But if I may ask before I go too far or start mounting the components what do you mean exactly by the balance. You have built and handle many guns, so I have no doubt you know the feel under the water and what matters.