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Wishbone questions

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Dannyk

West Central Wisconsin
Jul 25, 2009
120
12
58
I was wondering how long do your wishbones last?

My Beuchat Espandon Sport 750 came with a wire wishbone-which only lasted about three times out before it broke.

I ordered an articulated wishbone and then I saw the 3mm wishbone cord (Spectra/Dyneema) so I ordered it too. When the 3mm Dyneema arrived I made a wishbone with the screw caps from the broken wishbone. I also filed the spear to make it more accommodating to the cord.

Now after using it a few times I see I should have ordered a smaller diameter cord. The 3mm does not "all" fit in the notch on the spear, so it is getting cut some.

What diameter cord would you recommend for a notched 6mm Tahitian spear?

I have not used the articulated one yet after seeing the photos of cut fingers...........I think I will stick with the Dyneema. I do take it with me as a back up if the Dyneema brakes on me.
 
I have heard of folk using 1.5 & 2 mm but I use 3mm with a sharkfin spear.
 
The outer covering frays quite quickly but the dyneema braid last well, difficult to say how long it last as I use different guns all the time so only really change the wishbones once a year.
I have tried dyneema with notched spears but didn't feel confident however lots of spearos do!
 
Reactions: Dannyk

Mine has frayed down to the right diameter now. I just trimed off the fuzz and put some super glue on it to keep it tight. It will be interesting to see how it holds up. The dyneema is cheap and it is easy to make up a new wishbone.
 
I started using those 'soft' wishbones a long time ago. In 20 years of use with 14 and 15 mm bands, I never had one break. The rubber always went first. The notched shafts made them look pretty ratty in short order though. Shark fins were the answer all right.
 
I use spectra fiber wishbones and they last for an eternity. (with shark fins)
 
I use 3 mm Spectra with sharkfins, and the rubber always goes before the Spectra. I'm sure I could use the same wishbones on a second set of bands and they would survive.
 

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Thanks for the replies. Anyone else using dyneema with a notched spear?

I attached a few photos. You can see my 3mm is not round, it is hollow and seems to be more loosely braided than yours is Bill. I marked the center with red so I can get it centered more readily when loading.

These photos are after I trimmed and added super glue to center area.







 

Yes, mine is Spectra filament core with a dacron sheath. I doubt it would fit in your notches. With that kind, 2 mm might work.

Yours looks like the hollow spliceable stuff that we use for slip tip cable.
 

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Thanks Bill for the photos, and comments. I ordered some smaller 1.9 mm cord to try out--the description said it was for wishbones, so it should work better than the thick stuff I have now.

If I ever need a new spear I will definitely go for the sharkfins.
 
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