Thinking of a gun build

[mc diver 36]

Originally Posted by Freediver_Geide

They have leopard wood 9.99 a bf good?

Sounds like a good price, I'm not familiar with the wood don't know if it would be good for building a speargun Maybe someone else with more knowledge on this Will chime in

[Freediver_Geide]

I hope it looks really cool and is on sale

[Freediver_Geide]

My dad's friend brought over a part of a mahagony tree that is around 4 feet long with a 10" diameter with bark and all, how do I get it into boards I'll upload a pic when I am home

[Freediver_Geide]

44" long some sort of mahogany grown in the keys

[Wood Guy]

Originally Posted by Freediver_Geide

My dad's friend brought over a part of a mahagony tree that is around 4 feet long with a 10" diameter with bark and all, how do I get it into boards I'll upload a pic when I am home

Easier said than done. I would suggest finding a small local guy with a portable sawmill. They are out there, but you have to look. Have him cut it into 1" thick boards. Then you'll have to have it kiln dried. You can air dry it, but in Florida's humid climate that could take 2 or 3 lifetimes. If it's not dry, it won't be dimensionally stable, and won't be suitable for making guns or any kind of furniture (Moisture content should be in the single digits, ie , <10% for furniture- or guns.). If you can find the guy to cut it, he can probably also point you to the guy who can dry it. He can put it into a batch that he is drying. It's not easy, but the log will yield a surprising amount of lumber that will be perfect for guns and also for furniture and toys like rocking horses, etc.

[Freediver_Geide]

Do I need a planer to straighten the wood or just a table saw, my friend is gluing me a blank and if it warps do I just use a table saw or do I need the planer

[Wood Guy]

You can use either one. If you use a table saw, clamp the blank towards one end against a straight edge or thick straight board, then hold the board against the fence of the saw. Gil Gacula posted some utube videos on how to do it. If you do a search I think it's on SP.

[mc diver 36]

Originally Posted by Freediver_Geide

Do I need a planer to straighten the wood or just a table saw, my friend is gluing me a blank and if it warps do I just use a table saw or do I need the planer

Here's the table saw jig I made after watching Gil's vid on YouTube . I highly recommend you make one, you can use it to cut tapers on your speargun stock also

[Wood Guy]

Yup, that's the one. Just be sure when you clamp the blank to the jig, you don't replicate any twist the blank might have.

[mc diver 36]

Originally Posted by Wood Guy

Yup, that's the one. Just be sure when you clamp the blank to the jig, you don't replicate any twist the blank might have.

That's a very good point. That was happening to me when I was doing some practice cuts and I was wondering what was going on , That explains it! wonder if you could incorporate an angle iron in there maybe on the backside of the blank(The side opposite of the saw blade) to hold your jig absolutely flat? Just an idea.

[Freediver_Geide]

Can you use fiberglass cloth and resin to glue the boards of a blank together instead of epoxy? I'm doing a little test right now to see but I want other peoples opinions on it

[Freediver_Geide]

Got a butt load of teak for 50$ at a yard sale and I'm gunna glue up a blank soon. Litterally if anyone needs scrap pieces of teak in the lower keys area I'll let you take some, I have a trash can full of small pieces that aren't really usable for guns, mainly corner pieces and some that you may be able to make a handle out of. Can I glue up a blank with fiberglass?

[Behslayer]

This thread is hilarious. Freediver_Geide, can I ask how old you are? I admire your spirit.

Here's what I'd do. I'd get a bunch of Cheap wood that you have No intention of actually using for a loaded Speargun. I'd get some Titebond III or other wood glue, and I'd build 2-3 guns using El Cheapo wood. Poplar's not extremely cheap, but it sure cuts nice. After your third throw away build, then you'll be ready to honor some of the other woods you have there like Teak.

[Freediver_Geide]

Originally Posted by Behslayer

This thread is hilarious. Freediver_Geide, can I ask how old you are? I admire your spirit.

Here's what I'd do. I'd get a bunch of Cheap wood that you have No intention of actually using for a loaded Speargun. I'd get some Titebond III or other wood glue, and I'd build 2-3 guns using El Cheapo wood. Poplar's not extremely cheap, but it sure cuts nice. After your third throw away build, then you'll be ready to honor some of the other woods you have there like Teak.

I'm 15 haha and ya I did a practice just doing all the router cuts with just one solid 2x2 of poplar and it came out really good for first try. I'm trying to figure out if I can use fiberglass to laminate, it seems like a good idea and I got a lot lying around. I got 3 meter sticks and fiberglassed them together and it is holding pretty we'll so far ithas only been a day or two but it's pretty solid

[phil herranen]

Originally Posted by Freediver_Geide

I'm 15 haha and ya I did a practice just doing all the router cuts with just one solid 2x2 of poplar and it came out really good for first try. I'm trying to figure out if I can use fiberglass to laminate, it seems like a good idea and I got a lot lying around. I got 3 meter sticks and fiberglassed them together and it is holding pretty we'll so far ithas only been a day or two but it's pretty solid

by "fiberglass" do you mean polyester resin ? if so , no it is not a good choice it will fall apart . poly is not a glue and is way to brittle when it is cured .

if you want to use a cheap very strong glue use tightbond III , but epoxy is the best choice

phil