Earlier this year I got some parts from Ray Odor and assembled a gun for myself. I put together a line release using a fishing flatline release, but it is just too clumsy and slow (edit: for me) to reload with gloves.

After shooting some emails back and forth with Tin Man, I put together a delrin prototype of a shaft actuated side line release today. Photo 1 shows the flatline release. Photo 2 shows the prototype with the shaft in place and a rubber band simulating the line. Photo 3 shows the prototype after the shaft is fired.

The prototype was put together using hand tools. I’m going to get a machine shop to build some out of stainless steel. If anyone has a Biller, SeaHornet, or Spearfishing Specialties gun that is interested, let me know and I’ll order some extras.

More importantly, if you see a problem with the design, please let me know before I start hacking up my new gun (I also cut 4 inches off the barrell, replaced the SeaHornet muzzle with a Biller, cut and re-tied bands today).

Way cool, thats a great idea!!

Thanks deepdestroyer. Tin Man hasn't seen this implementation, but he gave me the basic concept.:toast:

Two changes I already plan:

1. Move the posts closer together to give a little angle towards the butt of the gun
2. Make the barrel cut opposite the trigger on a 45 degree angle to reduce the amount of track removed from 1 ½” to 1 1/8”

Excellent idea!! Simple yet novel!! :smthumbup:

That is a good design, but I could see a potential problem if the release goes too far forward and will not allow the shaft to get back through when reloading. One thing you might try is to put in a stop pin to keep the release from going forward too much. Great design though. Keep the ideas coming!!:smthumbup:

Nice Work! Elegantly simple.

One caution about moving the pins closer, though. The closer the pins, the harder the line tension will cause the release to "pinch" the shaft. This may not affect the shaft much, but it will put more pressure on the pins and could tend to break them out of the Delrin release lever. Maybe not a problem in your final stainless version.

Another approach if you want the exposed end of the release closer to the trigger, without moving the pins closer, is to just shape the lever into a banana shape, curving backwards however far you want.

I've got a thought for you, if you want to make it self-return to the ready position. I'll PM it as soon as I can figure out how to attach a pdf in a PM.

Can't wait to see the final version!

Tin Man

Great design ....are the pins noisy on the shaft? maybe nylon or graphic rollers would quiet it down.. just thinkin out loud..

Great design ....are the pins noisy on the shaft? maybe nylon or graphic rollers would quiet it down.. just thinkin out loud..

threw-er-back,

Thanks for the input. I won't know if its noisy until a final product is installed on a gun. I'll have to cross that bridge when I get there.

Tin Man,

Thanks for the email. I will definately put a nylon bushing under the lever. If I get aggravated with manually resetting it in use, I can always drill the nylon out and add the spring later.

A detailed print went to the machine shop this morning ... hopfully a stainless part will be here next week.

You can use the "snapshot tool" in Acrobat to select a section of a PDF, paste it in Paint, and save it as a JPG:

Gary, good looking drawings, what program did you use to make them? Or did you draw them by hand then scan?

looks like ptc pro/e wildfire or solidworks to me.

as long as the pins are forced against the shaft, there should be no noise. Don't overengineer a simple design. No fish is going to worry about noise when you pull the trigger, nor is it going to jump the shaft. You have hundreds of pounds of force orthogonal to a small cylindrical surface, the pins will not affect shaft flight at all. The only thing you have to worry about is the pins being broken from uneven alignment, or a notch in the shaft. Rollers in this case may help as well as expanding contact area. You might consider two preloaded, bent metal strips as springs on each side instead of pins. That way, you have completely parallel action surfaces and very little chances of binding or catching. Kind of like an arrow rest, but bidirectional so loading and release is both low-friction.

Gary, good looking drawings, what program did you use to make them? Or did you draw them by hand then scan?

The first drawing was made by me using MS Visio. I'm an Electrical Engineer, so they don't let me use the real CAD programs.:D

The spring drawing was made by Tin Man and emailed to me in PDF format.

inletsurf,

You're right, its hard to stick with simple, but simple is usually the best design. :thumbup: The metal strip/spring concept is a good idea. If you select the radius just right it would be self re-setting.

Inlet, Gary, which is the prefered #1 and #2 program to make those kinds of drawings if cost is not an issue?

Inlet, Gary, which is the prefered #1 and #2 program to make those kinds of drawings if cost is not an issue?

Depends on the complexity of the parts. For simple stuff like this, any Autocad type program would work. Autocad is relatively inexpensive.

Now Pro/E and solidworks on the other hand, is very expensive. But you really don't need that unless you are designing machines and assemblies on a regular basis.

For this type of stuff, Autocad is great.

Thanks.

how about this K.I.S.S system. notch one side of the gun so the release sits in the middle of the shaft. the shaft will keep the release from turning on the pivot until it is fired much like you design but no pins to break just a small piece of stainless screwed to the gun. you can adjust the shape, my skills in paint are just terrible.

edit: looking again at your gun the shaft may not sit deep enough in the track for this to work.

SpearEasy,

I used AutoCad Light to make that sketch. It is produced by the same company (AutoDesk) that sells AutoCad, so files are compatible with many of the more common programs. But as the name implies, it does not have all of the features of the full blown AutoCad. AutoCad LT can't do three dimensional modelling, for example, but I find it more than capable for all of my two dimensional drafting.

On the plus side, I found it is fairly easy to learn compared to my limited experience with SolidWorks or other 3D programs.

Tin Man

how about this K.I.S.S system. notch one side of the gun so the release sits in the middle of the shaft. the shaft will keep the release from turning on the pivot until it is fired much like you design but no pins to break just a small piece of stainless screwed to the gun. you can adjust the shape, my skills in paint are just terrible.

edit: looking again at your gun the shaft may not sit deep enough in the track for this to work.

You are in good company. What you've drawn is conceptually what they are using on a $900 Tommy Botha gun ... http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=51327

I agree with inletsurf, the pin/pins could catch on the notch where the trigger mechinism catches the back of the spear, both loading and shooting. If there was a radius that would prevent the pin from going up into the notch, but it would have to be bigger than the notch or it would still catch some. The drawing deepspear showed seems less likely to snag and simpler.

Gary H,

You're in good company too. The first prototype you built is pretty close to what the C4 Mr. Carbon gun uses for a line release.

Chad

You are in good company. What you've drawn is conceptually what they are using on a $900 Tommy Botha gun ... http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=51327

I like the simplicity of the Botha line release but don't like it sitting outside on the top of the gun. I don't see why you could not make a small slot in the side of the stock and have the line release inset and pivot on a screw inside the stock.

I have an SS Commercial with the flat line release system. I would be interested to see what this looks like when installed on the gun and how that would be done. I definately might be interested.

I have not had time to make much progress, but I do have the Stainless Steel version of the release lever. I also got a couple of torsion springs in yesterday to work on the auto reset function. I toyed with a number of different cut-out options including cutting a slot from the side and a circle from the top, but in the spirit of simplicity, I think this is what I'm going to end up doing:

I like it!:smthumbup:

The bands and wishbones don't have a chance of catching on those pins when shooting?

The bands and wishbones don't have a chance of catching on those pins when shooting?

The cutout looks a lot bigger in the photos - from the back of cutout to the pins is 7/16". The total interrupted barrel track is 15/16". Therefore there is enough space to put it behind the band slot.

I've finally got the right torsion spring selected and installed in the mockup. I plan to preload it and use a rubber stop to return exactly perpendicular after each shot.

I'm headed to Fort Bliss for the next 2 weeks so when I get back I'm going to pull on my big-boy underwear and install it on a gun for test firing. The 48 Special is probably going to be the test case before it goes on the Raygun.:D

Back from Fort Bliss and got some time to take this project off the back burner again. Attached are photos of the release installed on the RayGun:

Nice clean work, congrats!

Looking good. Is that a stack of o-rings that you used as a stop? Do they do a good job of dampening the noise when the release springs back?

What an eye Tin Man!

Looking good. Is that a stack of o-rings that you used as a stop? Do they do a good job of dampening the noise when the release springs back?

That's what it is :) It seems pretty quiet on the workbench. I put a little pre-load on it so it doesn't bounce around on return. After a couple of coats of paint dry, it goes in the water for 1st Article Testing (FAT). Hopefully the weather will cooperate for field testing next weekend.

Since the wood is in the "paint" department, here's a shot of the kit. The bushing is bronze with a SS insert. The spring is SS at 1 in/lb.

Thanks again to Tin Man for the help!

Very nice work!

Gary H that design looks simply perfect, congrats:toast:

I'm in the process of making a gun, so I would like to ask you a few questions.

Have you been able to try it out/results?
Is the release exposed, as in the pix, or is it internal?
Thx

The release is exposed as shown in the pics. It could have been cut differently to make it internal, but it didn't seem worth the effort to me.

"Firing" it has been simulated, but it won't go into the water until the wood is sealed. I've got 2 out of 3 coats on it ... so maybe in a couple of days I can re-assemble and get it in the water.

Btw, that's not carpet in the pics, its an old towel.

That's what it is :)
Thanks again to Tin Man for the help!

Ahhh, I missed that, should have known "the heartless one" had a hand in the play:toast:

Thx Gary H, keep us posted:thumbup:

My plans were to get in on some of the grouper action out in the Gulf last weekend but for reasons I don't even want to talk about the plans fell thru :(

Since shooting at live targets was out, the 60 degree water in my swimming pool was frigidly calling my name. With a single wrap to stop the spear far short of the end of the pool I jumped in fearful the line might get tangled up and the spear ricochet back at me :eek:. The result is this low quality video that demonstrates the release works exactly as hoped.

The only reservation I have after about a dozen shots in the pool is occasionally the band ends up on top of the line. It's easy to pull it out from under so reloading is not required, but I was hesitant to pull the trigger with the line under the band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IcgznuAYEw