Michael Cassin

La costruzione After many weeks and more than a few late nights I have completed my new Teak/carbon fibre gun. The muzzle and carbon idea is inspred by Fabrizio from Arbalegno (whose permission I did ask for and was otherwise very helpful) Specs are as follows- Barrel length 1200mm, Omer excalibur mech, 16mm bulk rubber, 7mm RA spear. The gun comprises 4 - 10 x 35mm teak laminates with double layer unidirectional carbon fibre sandwiches in between. The central two laminates of the handle are pre morticed (glued) into the stock and butt. Given the complex cut out that the omer mech requires I pre routed the slot in two halves using a very small laminate trimmer. I initially thought it possible to plunge rout it but given that there are 5 small ramps at different depths and the requirement for a 2mm flat bed on which the sear spring pushes against I scrapped the idea as the margin for error was too large and the skills required well beyond my abilities. The carbon fibre sandwiches run the full length of the gun in one piece folded with an alternate sandwich running down through the handle,that is; one length longways, then one down into the handle, other half of the long piece is then folded down then a second piece placed over the top and down into the handle. This method gives you maximum strength for the lowest profile and does not rely on any other fixing method such as screws or dowels. Likewise line attachment not reliant on srews or glue andis by way of a captive rod ( similar to tie down eyelets on boats). Trigger guard is a sandwich of 3 layers of carbon fibre with 3 x .5 mm teak laminates either side. It is cut marginally larger than the opening and is prestressed into position then epoxied. To get the exact fit a dummy carbon guard was made (with less than the required amount of hardener in the eopxy) so as to render it stiff but pliable to the extent that you bend it and it holds shape. This was then fitted and bent to give a nice hand feel and pleasing visual curve. From this I then made a male and female mould out of MDF and made the final piece within this with full strength epoxy. Teak strips were then steam bent and epoxied on using the mould. The guard is extremely stiff and I ended up spraining my index finger getting it into position. Rabbets for the rubbers and shaft guide were routed, all other shaping was by rasp or spokeshave then sanded to 320 grit. Finish is just good old teak oil. For those who are interested in making a timber gun anything is possible even if you don't, like me have the proper training. I will say though that you must plan very carefully and take the time to do very accurate full scale drawings of every aspect then work out how you are going to do each step. Fabrizio sets out best practise for each step in a very well presented and sequential manner. One word of caution though if you are going to use Carbon Fibre- if you plane it or scrape it very fine and extremely sharp and stiff splinters can peel off and impale you. I had one the size of a match go right through the underside of my 2nd finger, not happy Jan ! If you were wanting to build a gun like this you would need access to the following equipment Table saw and thicknesser or buy the wood pre-dimensioned and dressed all round-that is square straight and planed. Jigsaw 1/4 inch plunge router and laminate trimmer Electric drill 16mm cove box router bit 6.3mm cove box bit Straight bits Good range of clamps Sharp chisels Spoke shave Hand plane Hand rasp Helpful but not essential-dremel tool Belt or random orbital sander Sandpaper Some straight bits of hardwood or steel angle for clamping West system epoxy Plenty of spare time and an understanding wife or GF As to mistakes I made plenty of them, most were when I was trying to do too much in too little time, like when my wife went down the park with the kids and I thought I could do a bit and clean up before they got back- So not! Having a toddler supposedly helping you is likewise not a good idea, I told my wife it was some serious male bonding but it more often than not ended in tears and some on my part when he picked up the first two laminates of the handle and smashed the trigger cut out where it was only 2mm thick- nothing a bit of carbon fibre cant fix! though my wife did say "Sucked in, that'll learn you!" As to how it shoots, don't know waiting for the swell to drop.