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spearshaft rail material

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.

ajwaverider

New Member
Jan 3, 2004
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I'm building a speargun and wanted to know what most companys use for track material. I know some use delrin but i've also seen umhw. thanks AJ
 
AJ,

I'm assuming you plan on building an enclosed track. Acetal (Delrin) is fairly expensive compared to polyethylene (UHMW). I'm not sure it would be worth the cost. I think the enclosed track add-on for the Riffe Metal Tech Series is extruded out of some kind of polyethylene. The JBL stick-on track for tubular guns appears to be extruded polyethylene as well. Can't really tell unless you bring it to a lab or something. Higher end custom guns will pimp the delrin. I don't know of other material suitable for this application.

Not trying to discourage you, but I would consider machining the track out of the wood itself since you lose less strength in the gunstock. Think about it, if you put a 1-inch diameter delrin round into a gunstock, you would have to machine away the same amount of wood that would otherwise help hold the load of the rubber bands. And you won't have to worry about fastening a plastic track to the stock. Also, you won't have to worry about feeding the plastic too fast at too low a cutting speed or too slow at to high a cutting speed. You end up with either a screwed up finish or melted plastic. Then you have to buy more delrin... Otherwise, have fun on your project and hope it turns out well...

BTW, here's a couple places you can buy delrin or uhmw online in small quantities:

www.mcmaster.com
www.onlinemetals.com

Gilbert
 
Thanks for the reply Gilbert!The gun i'm trying to build will not be made of wood i'm using a trigger mech and a riffe like handle but
the rail I may have to make because a stickon rail may not be thick enough. I haven't decided on what the trigger/handle and
barrel will mount to ,maybe aluminum or plastic also wood as a last resort.
 
Having trouble following you man... bust out the MS Paint & draw us a picture ;)
 
I think AIMRITE sells an accutrack for 12 bux...
call up Rick and ask him..he lives near you anyway...I met him and he's a very nice guy.
 
I know it's hard to understand but what i'm trying to build is the piece the trigger mounts into. Look at the aimrite railgun and you will know what I'm talking about .
Sorry Fuzz! I opted for the compact install on Windows ME so I
don't think it's on here.

Stretch I'm going to give Aimrite a call and see what thinkness the rail is.

I would probaly be easier to just buy an all in one handle and trigger mech and fit the barrel and muzzle I have to it.
 
AJ,

Had another thought. Here might be a solution to your problem with the stick-on type rail not being thick enough. If you're concerned about the shaft not lying flush in the track while its locked into the trigger mech, you can probably mount the trigger mech a little lower in the pocket. If the trigger ends up being too long such that it hits the trigger guard of the handle, just trim with a hacksaw and grind it smooth. This way you won't have to fabricate an entire rail from scratch. That sounds like a pain. A friend of mine has this carbon Aimrite/Daryl Wong gun that you're talking about. Since the trigger is too long, Daryl trims it to make it fit....

Gilbert
 
Wow ! I had no idea you were building a gun like that .Nice!
What kind of power tools will I need to build a gun out of wood?
I found someones webpage that explained how to build one but the guy used a milling machine ,I figured a table saw and a router
table would be about it. I'm going to reread the Svensters thread about building your first wood gun. Looking foward to seeing it complete.
 
Tools I used/had access too...

I got alot of help and learned a LOT about wood working after starting this project.

Need:

*Table saw (best if you have precision saw)
*Router/router table. don't forget feather boards...both on the side and on top.

*Drill Press
*Thickness Planer

One BIG thing I learned: You can spend 20 hours building one gun..but 23 building 5 or 6. It's all about making the jigs to produce your cuts.

I'll let you all know how it works very soon.
Open water trip is coming up.

AJ email me w/ anymore questions.. Jfuss2003@yahoo.com

ps.

I also spoke either personally, via email, and or phone with:
Rick Bettua (Aimright)
Daryl Wong
and Scot Merlo

all are more then willing to help out.
 
I made a enclosed track gun. I used a 3/4" delrin rod ( cheap prices at www.onlinemetals.com . It worked well. I used a 8mm. mill bit (for the track) that a machinist made for me, because there wasen't that size on the market.


C:\Mes documents\speargun 004.jpg
 
I've got tons of purple heart in the garage (heavy son of a guns). Are purple heart lumber waterproof?
 
purpleheart

I did a little research on purpleheart and it is used in boat building but it lacks the oil of teak and weighs more than mahogany.I think with a epoxy finish it will hold up well. I was going to buy some for a wood gun I want to build but couldn't find any peices thick enough to cut for laminating.I bought some mahogany off ebay it's 8/4 x12"x49 5/8"
 

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