flymike

[QUOTE=Don Paul;61959]You don't need a ET for a 7mm with twin 16mm bands, I would go deep open track mate. If one of those Kingies gets real friendly 3ft off the tip you wont blow the ET apart.

Good point, wasn thinking realy thinking of that!

Back to the wood questions, I have a freind who has just milled up alot of eucalyptus, real nice stright/tight grain, would the oils in eucalyptus have similer propertys to those in teak?. Only thing with this stuff is it was live trees 3 months ago.

Is there a minimum/maximum lamination thickness I should consider for strength? (I guess this depends on the wood propertys as well)
I mean if I cut them to thick or thin would I loose something in the lamination process (to many layers of resin maby?)

Thanks Guys

blankwalker

sorry i don t have experience with eucalyptus- i only know it s one of the fastest growing up , and that might be no good sign.. better a slow growing wood i think..

o k
3 month is not enough i guess.. could be dry, that might be, but then it shouldn t be straight anymore or without flaws. in europe we say one year!
regarding to the thickness i would recommend a middle course: u won t glue too much nor u won t have a stock that bends...grain direction is important so go on- we have a lot of pics here showing stock how it s glued,,


creets,,

p . s .

notice.. natural oils are cool but not urgent necessary .. glueing gets difficile- u need aceton which holds away the natural oils about 15 minutes while glueing.

__________________
sometimes i m asking if the freaks know that they are in the majority

Don Paul

Mike, since you want a oil finish I would lean toward teak, you don't even need to laminate on a short gun in the 110cm range. I have a few one piece barrel Teak guns that have 30 years on them and are still straight enough for a speargun. Seasoned and cured Burmese Teak is hard to beat as a DIY gun wood, it strength allows barrels of less cross section when compared to a softer wood.

After you build your first gun you can dive deep in to the abyss of exotic hardwoods, each with different density's and time consuming varnish's or epoxy top coats.

Cheers, Don

__________________
''Great mother ocean brought forth all life, it is my eternal home''
Don Berry from Blue Water Hunters.
Speardiver Gear

flymike

I think Im going to have to make a laminated blank as the timber iv been finding is quite expensive, but offcuts of planks not so much. Iv found heaps of cover flooring offcuts for good prices, 8-10mm thickness and many diffrent lengths. Last night I found a local boat cabnet maker who works alot with high quality marine grade teak, giving them a ring today. If I could find a 50mmx50mmx2000mm peice Id be stoked. Il let ya know how I get on.

Question.....

If I can get a single peice of teak..
At what gun length would I have to consider a laminated blank?? (as opposed to a single unlaminated peice)
My goal is a 130cm gun, Is that to long?
Is it just a better practice to laminate the blank?

Thanks Guys
Mike

Don Paul

Question.....

If I can get a single peice of teak..
At what gun length would I have to consider a laminated blank?? (as opposed to a single unlaminated peice)
My goal is a 130cm gun, Is that to long?
Is it just a better practice to laminate the blank?

Thanks Guys
Mike[/QUOTE]

Here is a old pic of a 72' solid Teak barrel with 3 5/8 bands I built in 1980 that has taken hundreds of fish and is still going strong. The gun was hand sawed from one piece of timber,and shaped with a plane. The handle has a 6''x 3/4'' teak dowel glued in place to prevent the grain spiting. The rubbers are cut very long in this shot as I was nursing a injury.
!30cm is not too long.
Cheers, Don

Attached Images

  

__________________
''Great mother ocean brought forth all life, it is my eternal home''
Don Berry from Blue Water Hunters.
Speardiver Gear

Wishihadgills

I think they got the idea for the Dos Equis comercials from Don's photo albums.

flymike

Right......
So...
Have been gifted a piece of eucalyptus hardwood, 15+ years aged,
the guy I got it of and a freind who used the same wood for a couple of projects, both outdoor and in,
have both said the timber has never worped or moved in years after said projects were compleated.

I now have a solid blank 50mm x 40mm cut, sanded and sitting ready for the next stage. pics to come.
looking at a neptonics reef mech and handle frame, once those are in my posetion il hit the bench router and fit it all up.

My wood may not be the best choice (it was free) but after reading and listening, I can allways build another gun later on.

Il keep this thread going as my build thread, so you can all watch me make mistakes

Thanks Guys