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Old 05-26-2015, 08:25 AM   #1
darganslayer
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Costa Rica to Central Oregon Build #1

So I just returned to Oregon from living in Costa Rica for 2 1/2 years. Down there my daily diver was a RA 120cm railgun. For my first gun I'll likely do a rear handle.

I've been dabbling in furniture making, but my next project I'd like to start building some guns. Below are ideas on materials and components I'd like to use, please chime in with suggestions for a first time builder.

Im having a local hardwood dealer price me teak, padauk, sapele and different types of mahogony. I plan to rip and plane the wood then lam up several 60" blanks and let them dry. Central Oregon is super dry so hopefully the warpage will be minimal.

Looking at the following components:

-Neptonics Reef mech
-Neptonics 5/16 shaft
-Neptonics rigging
-AR15 style handle
-West systems or Phil H epoxy (definitely for lam, not sure for finish)

I have access to a full shop, but ideally I'd like to have my own setup for building guns. Can anyone recommend a good model/brand for the following tools:

-Table saw (will build in router table on side)
-Looking at Ridgid R4512 saw and Bosch 1617 router
-Thickness planer (looking at Ridgid 13" model)
-Drill press
-Router bits
-Chisels
-Vise


Thanks guys for your input
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Old 05-26-2015, 08:57 AM   #2
Wood Guy
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Re: Costa Rica to Central Oregon Build #1

Unless you just want a reef mech, a reverse mech would give you a little more band stretch, and doesn't require a pin and slot for the line release. I'd compare both Mako and Neptonics. Both are good mechs. Most guys have their preferences, I prefer Mako.

I prefer teak personally, but it's expensive and maybe not a good choice for a first gun. I see a lot of multi wood blanks, and if you're going to epoxy it, no reason not to stay cheap,at least on the first one (There will be another one- there is always another one!). Mahogany might be a good choice. You might consider oiling the first one, just to keep things less complicated, but that does limit your wood choices.

If the budget allows, I'd get a low end cabinet saw or a high end hybrid. If you are making furniture you'll see why pretty quickly. More powerful, smoother, heavier. I have a General International (Taiwan), and I love it. Grizzly, as well as others are also good. The table extension also works well for a router table since you mentioned you want to go that route. This will be your most important tool, so spend the $ here. You'll need 220 volts for a decent sized saw because of the hp requirements.

I have a Dewalt thickness planer, and if I were doing it again, I'd consider a thickness sander instead. They are more expensive, but a used one would close the gap on that. The thickness sander is more versatile, and with a good saw the lams will be pretty smooth before they even see the planer or sander.

If you're using a saw table for your router, you might consider a router with 2 bases. That way you can use one for hand held jobs, and you don't have to take the base off the table. You don't need a behemoth. A smaller one is much easier to use by hand, and you are going to make multiple passes to keep from tearing out the wood anyway.

A drill press doesn't have to be fancy if you're not trying to route with it. I'd recommend a floor model since the table can be lowered to handle that crazy job like drilling a hole in the end of a table leg. You'll get lots of varying opinions on equipment, but it all comes down to what your preferences are, and what you have to spend.

Just my houghts, hope they help.
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Old 05-26-2015, 09:38 AM   #3
darganslayer
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Re: Costa Rica to Central Oregon Build #1

Thanks Wood Guy,

I wasn't sure about the reverse mech because the line release looked really high. How does it deliver more band stretch? I'm used to the line release on the side rather than on the top for maneuverability in the water, but of course I am up for suggestions.

I am not opposed to teak, I am going to see how pricing is, I figure for $100 I could get a few rough sawn pieces in a variety of woods and let them hang for a while and then rip and plane them as needed.

Thanks for the input on tools.

I had my eye on the Ridgid table saw because i can convert it to run on 220 and its really mobile for a heavy hybrid saw. Space is an issue so I need something thats mobile. I plan on mounting the router into the table and building a folding outfeed.

Haven't looked at thickness sanders. I have some experience with planers and will likely stay that route for general woodworking. I would like to get a disk sander setup to save time.

I like the bosch setup, but I might also consider getting that one for the table and a cheaper, smaller trim router for detail stuff like handle pockets and line catches.
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Old 05-26-2015, 11:10 AM   #4
Wood Guy
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Re: Costa Rica to Central Oregon Build #1

The reverse mech allows a little more band stretch because the latching mechanism for the shaft is further back in the mech than for the reef mech. The shooting line retainer is still on the side, it's just near the top of the mech instead of at the bottom as the reef mech is. If you go with the reef mech, be sure to specify the auto resetting line release (assuming that's what you want). Otherwise, you'll get the version that isn't auto resetting. I haven't ordered one in a long time, but that's the way it was the last time I ordered one, and I think it's still that way.
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Old 05-27-2015, 08:48 PM   #5
darganslayer
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Re: Costa Rica to Central Oregon Build #1

Just checked hardwood prices here and Teak is about $27/ bf. Think im going to go with something like paduk, sapele or mahogony as those are all under $10 per boardfoot.
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Old 05-28-2015, 09:08 AM   #6
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Re: Costa Rica to Central Oregon Build #1

I'm planning on picking up wood soon. Depending on the condition I'll let it hang in my garage for some time. The wood will be rough sawn non-dimensional. What is the best way to rip/plane the wood to get the most out of it and the straightest, stiffest pieces?
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Old 05-28-2015, 10:38 AM   #7
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Re: Costa Rica to Central Oregon Build #1

I'm assuming the wood will be 4/4, or 1" thick, unplaned on both sides. More than one right way, but here's how I do it. Take the board on it's edge, and straighten one edge so it's pretty straight, say within 1/16". You can do this on a table saw by glue gunning it to a straight piece of wood or metal, or on a joiner/ planer if you have access to one. There are also jigs on u-tube (I think Gil made a video of how to build one).

Once you have one straight side, use it against the table saw fence and cut the board into 1" thick strips that will be about 1/8" wider than you want them to finish out at. If the width of the board is such that there wouldn't be much left after you cut the strips, just cut the strips a little wider for now. Then take the 1" thick strips and rip them down the middle, giving you your rough cut lams that will be around .45" thick.

If you have a thickness planer, plane the boards smooth on both sides. If not use the table saw as before to just clean up the rough side.. They should be about .4" thick. Let them sit on a flat surface for a day or two, then if there is any crown in the lam (sitting on it's edge), cut or plane it until it's flat. Don't worry about bending, most lams aren't perfectly straight. Once all the lams have no crown, you are ready for glue up. This last step is important. If the lams have crown, and you pull them straight when you glue them, you will usually get twist in the blank, which is the hardest to correct when you straighten the finished blank.

The above might seem like a tedious process, but I hardly ever have to do anything to my blanks, other than plane the excess epoxy off of them.

Hope this helps. Good luck with the build.
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Old 05-30-2015, 08:52 AM   #8
darganslayer
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Re: Costa Rica to Central Oregon Build #1

Very informative Wood Guy,

Now onto the order of operations for the build. Please let me know where I'm off and what steps I've missed. I plan on using a few pine blanks to test on throughout the process.

1. Rip/plane laminate blank
2. Re-plane to rough dimension
3. Line out gun for mech, track, handle and rigging
4. Route mech and trigger pocket
5. Route out shaft track, epoxy filler/graphite, plane excess
6. Route enclosed track
7. Set final mech, trigger and shaft position and pin mech
8. Drill/route band slot, recesses for rigging points
9. Disassemble and do final detail routing and sanding
10. Final epoxy/exterior coat
11. Reassemble
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Old 05-30-2015, 04:22 PM   #9
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Re: Costa Rica to Central Oregon Build #1

Quote:
Originally Posted by darganslayer View Post
Very informative Wood Guy,

Now onto the order of operations for the build. Please let me know where I'm off and what steps I've missed. I plan on using a few pine blanks to test on throughout the process.

1. Rip/plane laminate blank
2. Re-plane to rough dimension
3. Line out gun for mech, track, handle and rigging
4. Route mech and trigger pocket
5. Route out shaft track, epoxy filler/graphite, plane excess
6. Route enclosed track
7. Set final mech, trigger and shaft position and pin mech
8. Drill/route band slot, recesses for rigging points
9. Disassemble and do final detail routing and sanding
10. Final epoxy/exterior coat
11. Reassemble

You're close, but the track should be completed before the mech pocket is cut, because you then set the depth of the mech pocket to coincide with the shaft in the track. Also, if you are going to taper the gun on the bottom and sides, you would do that after cutting the band slot, since you want the gun square for that.


1. Rip/plane laminate blank
2. Re-plane to rough dimension
3. Line out gun for mech, track, handle and rigging
5. Route out shaft track, epoxy filler/graphite, plane excess
6. Route enclosed track
4. Route mech and trigger pocket
7. Set final mech, trigger and shaft position and pin mech
8. Drill/route band slot, recesses for rigging points
8-A Cut any tapers on bottom and sides.
9. Disassemble and do final detail routing and sanding
10. Final epoxy/exterior coat
11. Reassemble[/quote

Last edited by Wood Guy; 05-31-2015 at 01:53 PM.
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Old 06-02-2015, 09:26 AM   #10
darganslayer
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Re: Costa Rica to Central Oregon Build #1

Any recommendations on where to buy rigging materials? I'm seeing pretty much everything I need at Neptonics, but in the past I've only ordered from Mako and Freediveshop.
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Old 06-02-2015, 10:26 AM   #11
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Re: Costa Rica to Central Oregon Build #1

Quote:
Originally Posted by darganslayer View Post
Any recommendations on where to buy rigging materials? I'm seeing pretty much everything I need at Neptonics, but in the past I've only ordered from Mako and Freediveshop.
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