Spear Band Tying

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Spearfishermen are fortunate to have Dano ==a one stop shop for all modern spearfisherman's needs == No need to experiment, no need to shop around.

I had a chance to shoot one of Jack Prodanovich's "more recent" big guns during diving trips off Baja (Mexico). It belonged to a friend who owned the yacht. It was easily the best pipe-gun I ever used to that point in the mid-1980s. I haven't shot any of Mako's longer guns but I can honestly say that they are a significant advancement. I was never a fan of the wooden guns, more from an emotional perspective than functional, but they have also come a long way.

Unless I missed it, there doesn't seem to be any recent developments in the pneumatic gun market. Did you guys experiment much with them?
 
We’ve not been involved in development of anything new with respect to pneumatics. They do have their advocates however.

We have been working on several speargun projects, but can’t announce anything yet. Maybe by the end of the year.
 
Side bar
30 years ago I was visiting with Jack at his home in San Diego- I had stopped by his home on our way to Baja for some long forgotten part

Jack and several of the tribe had assembled to "go shoot Jacks long gun" and I was invited to go and shoot it with the tribe. Jack wanted others to shoot it so he could observer the recoil and the arrow trajectory.

Unfortunately we were on a tight schedule and needed to get to Ensenada before dark, so I declined the offer with the promise that tome time in the future I could shoot his gun - witch never happened

FYI the gun was huge ! about 6 feet long used 6 slings and a 5/8 arrow and according to those who were honored to shoot it reported it had "significant recoil"

and thos were tha daz of our dives

SDM
 
I never would have thought that spearguns would sound so high-tech. I'm reading this thread and don't know what you guys are talking about. Now I know I'm getting old. :fear:

I used to taper my surgical rubber tubing at the ends, stick them in a vice, and manage to stretch them enough to get the stainless steel rings over the wishbones without the whole thing letting go and snapping back and hitting me in the face. Then I learned that you can use waxed thread instead of the rings and that was a lot easier, but the thread cuts through the rubber eventually and then I'd end up with slightly shorter bands the next time I was going to use my gun. Recently I had the idea to use nylon cable ties. They are very easy to install but I have not tried them out yet. Anyone else using cable ties? I'm also considering stainless steel cable ties but I have not gone spearfishing in years. I do, however, try tokeep my gun in readiness, for the most part, but the damn rubber rots just sitting in the closet.

I can confirm what Sam Miller III said about modifications for at least one SoCal spearfisherman :wink:
 
Latex tubing has a finite lifespan. Once you tie or make the band, the degradation of the constricted portion of the rubber is accelerated. Keeping the bands out of the sun and heat helps, but the clock is the ticking.

This is the main reason that we only make bands on the day a speargun is ordered. They are cut to the length specified by the customer, we provide a chart of 3 recommended potential band lengths for each size of gun and latex diameter. All our bands are hand tied each day by our staff in Virginia as part
Of the building of the gun.

This is one of the benefits of buying direct from MAKO -
The bands are the freshest possible. Most other guns sold within the retail stores, end up sitting on a shelf for an indefinite period before finally being sold.

As for the question at hand, I have seen people use zip ties to make bands, but I think they are using high quality ones with a stainless tab.

We don’t recommend them and strongly caution against using normal plastic zip ties because they will fail and often after the first few shots when water begins to lubricate everything.

It is really not that hard to learn to tie the constrictor knot and this way, if the gun is stored, you can make fresh bands right before their use.
 
@MAKO Spearguns That is a good point about the rubber. Rubber is attacked by the ozone in the air. If it is not stretched out, the attack stops at a certain depth when a protective layer builds up. Where the band stretches over the wishbone, however, the attack allows cracks to form that propagate because the protective layer splits open. Since I have 3 pins, the longer bands get cut down to the next pin when they get too bad. I use armorall spray and seal the raw rubber in airtight containers after ziplock bagging them.
Looking at your website there seems to be a wide variety of quality components. Since my gun is homemade it would be mostly the fittings I am interested in.
Thus am still looking for suggestions on the gunline diameter/material. I hear that dyneema is hard to cut, which might help with toothy critters and steel rig legs but I have dive shears that should work. I have a big spool of mono that has sat around for years, just can't bring myself to use it. Also had a look at string trimmer line but mine is triangular with sharp edges.
 
I keep all my bands in the freezer. Wife won’t let me use refrigerator.
But as mentioned, they still age, albeit much slower
I’ve had bands I made three years ago when my three sons were all diving with me. All have had usage but recently about 4 have had the wishbone knot slip out. I hate that. Haha
I use a double half hitch? Knot. But that seems to lengthen a bit. Plus, my sons are testosterone loaded maniacs who want as much power as they can get, so the band length kept getting shorter. I think that has something to do with them slipping too.
 
.... Anyone else using cable ties? I'm also considering stainless steel cable ties

The purpose of any band tie (cable, ring, nylon, steel, wax thread, dyneema, kevlar, spectra, fishing line, shoe laces and on and on),,,is to prevent the wishbone from slipping out of the inside latex band diameter hole when stretched 300% of it's relaxed state.

You can basically do that 2 ways. Tie or form the end of the wishbone in a size so big it can't escape past it's band tie......Or Constrict the latex band so small enough that the end of the wishbone can't get past the tie.

With latex band material, the smaller the amount of total material, the easier it is to compress. With 1.8mm dyneema, I can easily tie a knot and reduce the band material under it to 1/3 of it's original thickness. But if I take a normal 1/4" wide nylon cable tie (even steel), you won't be able to compress it to even 1/2 the band thickness. There is just so much more material that you are trying to compress. The cable tie will still work, IF you insert a large glass bead at the end of the wishbone.(good luck, it's not fun)

So there is a trade off. Wider band tie equals much bigger wishbone (which is difficult to insert inside the band. It's much easier to use a "string" type band tie material because it requires both a smaller wishbone end and an easier strength to compress down to 1/3 latex thickness. All combinations will pull tight at least once, how long it lasts is another matter.
 
..... I was never a fan of the wooden guns, more from an emotional perspective than functional,...

LOL! That's so 2016.....You should see some of the incredible garage built carbon fiber guns being built with 3D "loss foam" molds and colored webbing. Even though the cost, time and design make mass production unprofitable,,some of these new guns are truly works of art and just sexy as all heck. A value brand 48" wood could be found for ~$275.........A similar length, but custom exotic styled carbon fiber can exceed $3000 !!........:bounce::eek::cheers:
 
exotic styled carbon fiber can exceed $3000 !!

I've seen pictures of a few but never shot one. There is something about refining these hybrid slingshots that makes them labors of love rather than just tools for putting dinner on the table. The inventive spirit is alive and well.
 

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