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All About Guns What's your weapon of choice, and why? Discuss the beloved speargun here!

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Old 01-24-2014, 06:08 AM   #1
lordyaussie
Sam G
 
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 151
Red face My 2nd Gun Build, Bodgie Roller Gun 100

My 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Gun Builds, The Method in the Madness.

The following is about my journey as a gun builder, through revised concepts and hardship I was able to progress from the bulkiest/shortest of first guns to functional guns that I want to use over my commercially bought ones. I hope you might get a laugh, awe, idea but very much wish you to be inspired to make guns as others have done to inspire me. So without further ado...

Release the Kraken!

Bodgie roller gun


It all started 16 months ago when I got that all too common urge to build a gun again but I was always fascinated, since contemplating to use a speargun instead of handspears, to make a trigger mechanism and develop a gun from it. Ofcourse this wasn’t going to be the best speargun in the world but It would be one from which I could develop my skills.

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT MAKE TRIGGER MECHANISMS! Making trigger mechanisms is dangerous and unsafe; THIS IS NOT SOMETHING TO ‘PLAY’ AROUND WITH. I had to do A LOT of research for this. Regardless of ‘confidence’, I WILL NOT use it diving with other people. And still that does not safeguard against unforeseen circumstances possibly resulting in injury or death. I handle all my spearguns very sensibly and with a GREAT deal of respect. I don’t not take any accountability for you making mechanisms using ‘ideas’ from this thread and I’d recommend people to stay away from making mechanisms as it is dangerous in reckless hands and very time consuming, plenty of mechanisms out there for whatever you’re building to purchase at reasonable prices.
I have retired this gun now in any case.


I started by making a really simple locking trigger and sear from aluminum to gain a feel of any dramas I might have to take into account for making it from stainless steel.




I then drew up plans to make one and set about grinding, filing and hack sawing it from 316 S.S. Housed it between 2 sheets of S.S and assembled a temporally rubber band to gauge how it worked.




Tweaked it a little more and added a spring.
I was satisfied with it so and began making a handle for a pipe I had. Shaped the whole thing from Merbau (hard timber) with hand tools and a battery drill for a router, also 3hours with a friend’s belt sander so go easy on its looks . Added some Mulloway ear bones and salvaged lures for bling and it turned out well with spirit-based stain and NorthaneGlass polyurethane.





Assembled with an old barrel and spear that Daniel didn’t need, thankyou mate.



It looks great, bodgie but it’s got its character. Shoots well too although the line release needed reinventioning... 3 times! From bike tyre inner tube rubber to hold the line, to an active line release that could set off the mech, to a friction line release, to a timber clip.

I payed careful attention to how my mechanism could fail,
If there was too much tolerance in the mech the sear could slide sideways too much and off the trigger, but it has a very tight fit so it was ok.
The roof of the mech was originally a pinned and glued piece of metal so could become unstuck and move allowing the spear to rise and fire, but the spear’s location was reinforced with the handle’s spear hole

Still I wanted to explore more concepts so decided to make a roller muzzle. Dan told me that I could buy a sanding flap disk for my angle grinder and my world was transformed!
Wearing a decent dust mask I set to work first jigsawing the shape I wanted then using the Angle Sander to transform it to its finished product. I used bent paralyser barbs to make the wishbone rails, line guide and line anchor, added a magnet(later discovered of insufficient power) to guide the spear.



Ray and Wayne told me of the importance to reinforce the muzzle. So with their good advice I epoxied a 6mm 316 S.S rod into the muzzle’s male connection to the barrel and put fiber glass on the inside of the roller housings.
The rollers were obtained from roller skates, sanded down and beveled, they worked well.
Assembled the muzzle onto the barrel using weak epoxy as there was little room for a screw with a bolt in the muzzle’s male connection. Used strong epoxy and fiberglass to install the band holding bolt and reinforce the handle’s connection.
Sadly I wasn’t warned epoxy on polyurethane causes white/milky blemishes to occur and I lost the look of the handle which was my favorite thing about this build.

Daniel stressed the importance of a trigger guard to me so I added one, it only made sense as if I was going to put all that time into making sure the mech was safe I should definitely make a safe trigger guard.




Stained red with spirit based stain and kinetix epoxy did a poor job of coating it.
Trouble shooted that all too common problem with first roller guns – the shooting line being pulled up into the rollers with the bands. Made line guides from a plastic container and they worked well.




I think I installed the muzzle on a bit of angle :x

Here are some photos of it in action catching Mullet, Trevally and Bream.


I enjoyed the challenge in making that gun and learnt a lot from doing so. Although the novelty wore off fast and I had a ton of ideas that were now overflowing from building up all that time I was making the bodgie roller.

The first gun I made was far too bulky and the spitting image of a gun that minimizes its usability. I really wanted a gun that is practical, I gun that I would want to use over my Rob Allen and DDS Crawl. So the idea and challenge of a Rob Allen made from entirely wood crossed my mind. I was still keen on making mechanisms and so made 3 more and 3 handles for future builds.
The best handle and mech that I made was going to go on the bob allen.




However when it came to making the cassettes I gave up, it had me tears arrgh. So I’ve left that idea and have bought mechanisms now, although I value the skills/knowledge that trying to make those mechanisms had taught me.

Please read on

3rd Flame of Anor
http://spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=169925

4th My FlagShip gun

http://spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=169927

5th The WeekEnd Warrior
http://spearboard.com/showthread.php...=1#post1915990

Last edited by lordyaussie; 01-24-2014 at 08:22 AM.
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