On the serious side, according to my hunters eduacation instructor, in Washington it is illegal to hunt with a crossbow unless you have a special disabled hunters permit. Still, its great for target practice and medival fairs.
Now that I sort of know how to make one, I might modify one to fire those foam rockets we use in wars in my youth group.
Happier of happy though I be, like them I cannot take possession of the sky, mount with a thoughtless impulse, and wheel there, one of a mighty multitude whose way and motion is a harmony and dance magnificent. - William Wordsworth
After trying to find the right wood... and the right stuff for the bow.. i finally found some!
the bow, is actually part of a root of a tree, when i was little, say 6-10 years old, we used to play on it, because it was springy. well, needless to say, i hacked that off, and used it for the bow, i also found a large limb from the same tree, that can be used later in life...
For the stock, i found a nice sized log, hacked off a good sized peice, and cut it to size, after doing some work on it, making a front hand grip, smoothing the top, adding where the bow connects... ive taken pics... its not even close to complete yet... but so far everything looks well in order!
my foot next to it:
Cross of the rope holding the bow in place:
side views of the top:
hand grip:
the rope goes through a hole twice, and when you pull on both ends, it pulls the rope very tight, and friction helps keep it in place... i dont yet know how im gonna officially tie it though...
Your design is workable however on the belly of the limbs you don't want to cut through rings. Thats where you'll have problems of splitting. you'll have a slightly rounded or D profile that's less likely to split. Your second photo shows what I'm talking about, shape the limbs to follow one ring. Kurt
matt, are you considering making your own bolts? or buying them?
"If there is anything the nonconformist hates worse than a conformist, it is another nonconformist who does not conform to the prevailing standard of nonconformity."- Unknown
i managed to break the stock in half while putting in the trigger... i need a new way to put the trigger in.. at least it wasn the prod [Bow] that broke!!!
*sigh* 4-5 hours of work today... down the drain...
*EDIT*
i still have hope for this thing, when i get home im gonna pin it together, and reglue, and re clamp, it can be saved! the part that broke in half, was where the trigger system goes, the trigger system, which has a metal outside, when glued or tacked into place, should reinforce that whole part as well... i have hope!!!! (that and it will still count as hours worked on my project )
make my own... im debating whether or not to just buy dowels and use the dowels, or actually go and find the right wood
and ive made arrows for my bow the same way.
what type of wood are you aiming for?
"If there is anything the nonconformist hates worse than a conformist, it is another nonconformist who does not conform to the prevailing standard of nonconformity."- Unknown
Well, for the Prod [Bow] i managed to find a VERY springy root from what i believe is VERY old Ash or yew tree that i was unaware i had around here.
The stock [which is currently glueing at home and to be pinned when i get home and work on it] is made of a 3-4 inch diameter tree/large tree limb i found... its been wet recently, so that kinda ruins out me going to find another and starting today, but i may go look and get it inside so it can dry for later use...
Arrows... im thinking... hell i dont know, lol hard wood pobably if i can find some... im gonna go play in the woods later today and find out
Matt, most of the wood I've used for bows in the past has been Osage orange, some call it hedge apple. I've also used Yew, which was the favorite wood of the old English bowyers. I.ve never built a scratch crossbow but I can tell you I always seasoned the wood for several years before final shaping and tillering. There was a tribe in Veit Nam that used a crossbow similiar to your design, You may be able to find some info on it. Keep up the good work. Kurt P.S. I've seen some decent selfbows made from hickory shovel handles.