Vintage Pneumatic Speargun

[capn_tucker]

OK, not sure if this the place for this thread, but here goes. I recently obtained a US Divers Jaguar pneumatic speargun. It appears to be '60s vintage, and looks a great deal like the guns seen in Thunderball.
Problem I'm having is it doesn't want to pump up. I don't have a manual, and don't want to damage the gun. Does anyone have one of these guns, and if so do they have a manual or instructions for it?

[21]

I have one--Junk!

If you can force the spear down the tube (barrel) it is too weak to be useful

If you can't force the spear down the barrel it is strong enough but it is also useless since it can't be loaded.

The US Divers repair manual has a breakdown of the gun and repair procedure--lots of parts & O rings...

Hang it on the wall..

FYI it was designed by Lugi Ferro (Sp) who also designed the Cressi rondine fins etc.

You can read about his expoits in WW11 in the book "Frogmens last battle." He wone the Medal d'Oro aka Italys Congressional medal of honor.

21

[William]

Hi 21 I have a Nemrod Clipper 111 that is in very Unused and Clean looking condition and oprating good with no air oil leaks. One problem though. I have found that once Loaded and the Gun is discharged ( Just to Gently and Slowly remove the Spear from the Gun Barrel = holding the Spear Tip down on the Carpet and only with Lower air pressure in the Air Oil Chamber, I mash the trigger to ease the Spear out ) But then when I try to remove the Spear the Rest of the way out of the Barrel, it seems to be Sticking a good bit in what I think is the Piston end. Is that a normal thing or does the Piston need to be Cleaned Out where the end of the Spear is inserted in the Piston End? The US Divers and Nemrod Clipper 111 look a lot alike and I wanted to ask if they are Very Similar on their Mechanics on the inside the Spear Guns? Can Copies of the Rebuild Manuels for the US Divers Jaguar and the Nemrod Clipper 111 Spear Guns be purchased or copies be obtained? Thank you.

[21]

One of the BIG problems with tube guns ie guns that encase the shaft, is the bending of the shaft (arrow)

Once the shaft is even ever so slightly tweeked -bent -it is useless except for parts or wall hangings.

I do no have anything on Nemrod but as I recall they were not as precision as the Jaguar.

Nemrod did make a super gun called the Crueceo whcih was great so long as it was never used in the sand.. Once off the beach and it needed a complete over haul.

Matter of fact it was the favorite gun of John Gaffney a friend of Bryans..

All the Nemrod guns were named after a war ship--starting with the fragata all the way up to cruecero...(luis help --My spelling is horrivble)

21

[William]

Thank you 21 I have a Small Nemrod Maintanence and Information Manuel Showing the Nemrod Crucero = Nemrod ( Dreadnaught ) but I need the Nemrod Rebuilding Manuel. ((( The Nemrod Crucero which the name is Translated to ( Dreadnaught ). It is 63" long Spear Loaded, 7.5 pounds, Fully Pumped = 150 Pumps Approximately-> no Spear in = 275 psi, Spear Loaded = 512 psi, With the Supercharger Handle Pumped Back Once adds 107 psi to the Air Chamber for a Total of 619 psi of Full Force, Maximum Force Required to Load the Spear is 94 pounds, Effective Range is 30 to 36 feet at a depth of 15 feet, S.A.E.30 Light Oil & Using 3.5 OZ. in the Air Chamber, Requires use of the Oilrod to Lube the Barrel Interior 8 to 10 times before the Daily Dive. Must be Redone before each Daily Dive. The Balance Bar is Required on the Dreadnaught and it is Screwed on the Rear of Speargun. To Clean the Barrel and Remove, and Inspect Piston + Inspect Piston's O-Joint, then Clean All, + To Drain and Change the OIL >>>--> Remove/Unscrew the Balance Bar at Rear of Gun, then Remove the Admission Valve "Cover" ONLY on Gun rear. Point Barrel Down placeing the Muzzle on floor for 2 minutes to Drain All Oil forward in Air Oil Chamber. Press down on the Admission Valve Stem (Similar to a Inner Tube Valve ) to release ( ALL ) the Air Pressure in the Air Oil Chamber Completely and Totally. Unscrew the Barrel Mouthpiece =Muzzle and Insert the Spear in the Barrel untill it engages the Piston. Now Pull the Trigger and pull out Spear and Piston comes out too on end of the Spear. Examine the Piston and it's O-Joint well and Replace O-Joint unless it is in very good condition. Drain Oil Out and Clean Barrel and Piston and ALL. Put in New Oil, 3.5 OZ and Reassemble Speargun. ((( Safety )))Never Ever Remove the Mouthpiece(Muzzle) of the Barrel unless ALL Air is Drained out of the Air-Oil Chamber First through the Admission Valve by Pressing Down on the Valve Pin untill ALL Air Is Drained Out. DANGER = IF the Muzzle is Removed Before all Air Is drained Out then the Piston IS Released from the Barrel and Will Fly-Out of the Barrel at FULL Force and May Cause SERIOUS INJURY. Storing the Speargun is done with the Barrel/Muzzle Down to keep OIL Down and inside the Barrel for constant Lubrication Protection. Note. When Spear Not Loaded in Gun the Piston Stays all the way Forward in the Barrel down near the Muzzle and allows the Oil to Stay in the Barrel.

[SDAquamaster]

In the distant past the shop I worked for sold Nemrod spearguns and I used to service several per year. Servicing was pretty simple and just consisted of draining the pressure dissasembling and inspecting the gun, reassembling with the proper amount of oil and pumping the pressure back up.

Internally, they were pretty simple with relaible 0-ring seals. The biggest killers (other than firing it out of the water) were abrasion of the barrel and piston due to sand and the breakage of the line attachment at the muzzle if a shock cord was not used. The pump that came with it was also very suceptible to cross threading and was also prone to breakage if it was not held firmly inlline with the gun when pumping it up.

In my experience, when de-cocking one, the shaft tended to stick in the end of the piston even on new guns and is not a dirt or gunk issue.

The Nemrod Clippers worked ok but like most similar designs, you had to pump them up to the max pressure to get any useful range out of the comparatively short and lightweight shaft, and when so charges, they required good technique and more than a little muscle to load. In my opinion the longest model was minimally adequate and the shorter ones were cool looking but were a total waste of money.

I owned a Nemrod Clipper for a short period of time, but went running back to my band gun with it;s greater power and range. And to be honest I could not hit the broad side of a barn with the Nemrod Clipper.

[capn_tucker]

You hit the nail on the head. About halfway up the pump threads they're boogered up. Gonna have to find another pump somewhere. One thing about the Jaguar, it's spear shaft is not light or flimsy. It is very heavy and stout. Looks like a tremendous amount of power needed to propel this shaft.
Maybe eventually I'll get it operational...