enclosed trac: wood or composite?

[jtkwest]

gonna do gun #3 originally planning on delrin track from catalog fitted into a dovetail groove in 5 piece laminated teak barrel, but on my last batch of guns , i ran short of teak, so i experimented using slices of "IPE", (brazilian walnut) i have on my costruction job. According to some , I was going to have a problem possibly because of the different densities of the two different hardwoods or some thing like that. NOT TRUE not in this case, anyway. i put the IPE in a centerlaminate on one barrell , and now the track ,(not enclosed, incidently) is REALLY slick and hard!! way harder than teak! also , ! it is super dense and hard. the problem is that , it sinks, only slighly >buoyant, though, so with 50% teak, will float. they suggest in the catalog for the plastic barrel, that wooden , enclosed tracks wont stay true ,over time, Is this true? i bet it would if i used ipe for track. Anyone ever installed one of these before?

[Bill McIntyre]

Originally Posted by jtkwest

they suggest in the catalog for the plastic barrel, that wooden , enclosed tracks wont stay true ,over time, Is this true?

I'm not sure what you mean, but I've had a Wong ono gun with wood enclosed track for about 10 years, and it has stayed "true." Do you mean "straight"? As we discussed in another thread, the gun is t-laminated, so the gun is straight, and the track in it is straight.

As far as I know, the only drawback to wood tracks is that they can be broken out if you shoot fish so close that the shaft is still in the track, or perhaps drop the gun so that the shaft breaks the track out.

On the Wong guns, the problem is addressed by a delrin reinforcement at the front of the track.

[jtkwest]

[quote=Bill McIntyre;698304]I'm not sure what you mean, but I've had a Wong ono gun with wood enclosed track for about 10 years, and it has stayed "true." Do you mean "straight"? As we discussed in another thread, the gun is t-laminated, so the gun is straight, and the track in it is straight
it would seem they,(custom internet spearguns.com)were just trying to sell delrin tracks. i may go with one anyway, since ball end router bits can be hard to come by and i already have a set of dovetail bits,(required to cut groove for delrin tube) thanx for pics of wong gun, i have never seen one up close.could i see the muzzle? if you get a chance, por favor?

[Bill McIntyre]

Originally Posted by jtkwest

it would seem they,(custom internet spearguns.com)were just trying to sell delrin tracks. i may go with one anyway, since ball end router bits can be hard to come by and i already have a set of dovetail bits,(required to cut groove for delrin tube) thanx for pics of wong gun, i have never seen one up close.could i see the muzzle? if you get a chance, por favor?

I've got three different muzzles on Wong guns.

The Mahi gun uses the Alexander aluminum muzzle, and so does the present ono gun. However, my ono is one of small number that he made with an open slot wood muzzle.

The hybrids have this three hole muzzle.

[jtkwest]

thanks for pics. NICE GUNS!! i am gonna laminate some wood today . for my next gun.i cant afford to buy the one i want,(1600$) so i am robbing parts ,(trigger mech, line anchor,etc.) off a riffe comp42" ,(too short to do anything with anyway) that sits on my rack, and make a 65" enclosed track mid handle. only the safety has yet to be figured out, since the one on the comp42 is fitted strangely, and maybe not good enough for the power i intend to use. I plan on using a SS muzzle, with the holes, so i wont have to drill out big holes on barrell, plus they align bands. what do you think of those things, BILL???

[Bill McIntyre]

I don't know anything about making guns, but it sounds good to me. I would only comment that I don't have a safety on any of my guns.

[jtkwest]

Originally Posted by Bill McIntyre

I don't know anything about making guns, but it sounds good to me. I would only comment that I don't have a safety on any of my guns.

WHAT!???? no safety? is that normal? wong guns dont have one? that is surprising. good though, the safety is gonna be a bitch, so maybe i will skip it .with the amount of pressure it takes to pull trigger i guess dont really need it .

[Bill McIntyre]

Originally Posted by jtkwest

WHAT!???? no safety? is that normal? wong guns dont have one? that is surprising. good though, the safety is gonna be a bitch, so maybe i will skip it .with the amount of pressure it takes to pull trigger i guess dont really need it .

Wongs, Alexanders, Merlos, and most other high end guns don't have safeties.

[Magpie]

You're only safe with slack rubbers

[settingsteel]

Originally Posted by Magpie

You're only safe with slack rubbers

WORD

[MahiMan]

Originally Posted by jtkwest

WHAT!???? no safety? is that normal? wong guns dont have one? that is surprising. good though, the safety is gonna be a bitch, so maybe i will skip it .with the amount of pressure it takes to pull trigger i guess dont really need it .

I know this thread is a week old but like Bill mentioned most high end guns don't have safety but what I like to do is hold the gun by the handle like you would normally but with your trigger finger behind the trigger, seem obvious but here lol:

n18722377_33527082_9399.jpg

........ You'll be missing out on some sweet guns

[kjflyfish]

Hi, as far as the tracks go, a wood enclosed track will be perfect for the life of the gun, provided you don't bust the top out. A great compromise between wood and polymer tracks is to pour an epoxy section in the front 10 inches or so. After it cures, then cut the track. You will have a very durable front section (to prevent the shaft from ripping the top of the enclosed track up) and you won't have to worry about fitting and pinning a poly track.