spear gun bands

[irtrogdor]

what would be the reccomended length of a band for a gun with a 41" stock? (41" from the band holder to the last notch in the spear) I just got 6' of rubber with the idea of making three 24" bands, but i don't think i'm strong enough to stretch them that far!
i believe the rubber is 5/8" if that helps.

[Pastor]

The length of the band depends on the distance between the hole in the muzzle and the notch on the shaft as well as the stretch ratio you want. so as a rough formula:

(((Distance from notch to muzzle hole x2) - length of wishbone) / stretch ratio between 3 & 4) + 3/4"

[irtrogdor]

what's "stretch ratio between 3 & 4" mean? what are 3 & 4?

*EDIT*
oh wait, you mean a three-to-one ratio verses a four-to-one ratio? so by in between you mean a 3.5-to-1 ratio?
what exactly does this ratio represent? does it mean that for every inch of band you are calculating 3.5 inches of stretch?

*edit again*
so i crunched the number and it came to this":
the longest band (with a stretch ratio of 3-to-1) would be in between 25" and 26"
the shorter band (same stretch ratio) would be in between 25" and 25.5"

i'll have to go see if i can stretch that now.

[Pastor]

Yup that's it. You might be better trying a 3:1 first and shortening the band until you find the pull you like best

[iclypso]

Originally Posted by Pastor

Yup that's it. You might be better trying a 3:1 first and shortening the band until you find the pull you like best

Much easier than starting at 4:1 and trying to work your way back to 3:1

[alexrom1207]

Another band question...This is my first post...so I'm not sure if it's proper to add another question to another's post... hopefully it is not. Anyway, I have a 48 biller and I use the standard (I believe they are 9/16) bands for it. However I've seen 5/8 in bands for sale and they're a lot stronger. I usually use 2 of the standard bands, one in each notch in the spear, and I was wondering if changing one of the bands to a 5/8in and keeping the other would be a good idea. Could I use the single 5/8 band on the last notch, thereby shortening reloading time...and if I needed the extra power add the 9/16 band to the shorter notch. Would the different thicknesses not pull the spear evenly? Would even the single 5/8 band decrease the accuracy of the gun? Please let me know what you think, even if you could only speculate.

[irtrogdor]

Originally Posted by alexrom1207

Another band question...This is my first post...so I'm not sure if it's proper to add another question to another's post... hopefully it is not. Anyway, I have a 48 biller and I use the standard (I believe they are 9/16) bands for it. However I've seen 5/8 in bands for sale and they're a lot stronger. I usually use 2 of the standard bands, one in each notch in the spear, and I was wondering if changing one of the bands to a 5/8in and keeping the other would be a good idea. Could I use the single 5/8 band on the last notch, thereby shortening reloading time...and if I needed the extra power add the 9/16 band to the shorter notch. Would the different thicknesses not pull the spear evenly? Would even the single 5/8 band decrease the accuracy of the gun? Please let me know what you think, even if you could only speculate.

yes, you should have started a new thread.

why is it that the new people always tag their questions onto my posts?
i'm not exactly a senior citizen here, but still. there's a big button at the top of the thread list that says,
NEW THREAD

its not scary people, use it.

[alexrom1207]

Sorry about that. Just living and learning.

[irtrogdor]

na, don't take it personally, but i think that's about the third time its happend. and as you can see, i only have thirty posts so i haven't been here to long.

[Pastor]

Originally Posted by irtrogdor

na, don't take it personally, but i think that's about the third time its happend. and as you can see, i only have thirty posts so i haven't been here to long.

I would say you're doing well most threads change direction many times

[foxfish]

What was the question?

[Pastor]

I think it was about diving alone or something

[Bill McIntyre]

1. Take a measure tape and measure the distance from the middle of the
band slot to the center cocking tab.

2. Double the distance ( for both sides of the gun )

3. Subtract the length of the wish bone. (Alexander and Riffe's are
approx 6", Daryl Wong uses about 3".)

4. Divide the number by 3 1/2.

5. This is the length of your powerband if you are using a standard 3 1/2
: 1 stretch ratio. This is a measurement of the powerband from knot to
knot. For actual rubber length, add 1" to this length or 1 1/2" in you
are tapering the ends of the powerbands.

If you have separate holes for each band as with the newer Aimrite/Wong muzzles, then rather than measuring from the center of the band slot (you don't have a slot) to the middle tab, measure from each hole to the appropriate tab, and you will have a different band length for each hole.