One last thing i have made. Medieval style crossbow.

[Demonwolf444]

Little crossbow i made out of some scrap yew and other wood reclaimed from the bonfire. The prod is 40lbs at 11inches, wish i had left it thicker as i didn't realize how inefficient the design is, anything it fires drops extremely rapidly, so i am tempted to replace the prod, however for now it will do.

Still need to cut the bolt channel

Roller nut trigger mechanism, the nut is just made from softwood, but it was soaked in superglue to harden it and it holds up well.

The grip is covered in saddle leather.

The nut is accessible from this side.

Thats all folks.

 

[woof]

Looks good.

Rob

 

[Dannytsg]

Looks very good. Nice work

 

[Corso]

how cool is that!

 

[Demonwolf444]

Thanks, need to work on a prod with a little more power!

 

[mrcharly]

Nice one. What did you use for the string?

 

[Demonwolf444]

Im ashamed to admit it but for the crossbow i just used bale string. billy band. Its easy to use because its very strong, doesn't fray, and can be twisted to lengthen and shorten it. The bow is not strung in any of these pictures, when it is it pulls all of the kinks out of the string. The prod is naturally deflexed, this makes stringing it a bit easier.

 

[mrcharly]

If you'd said you had one made up in kevlar by a laboratory in Germany, then I'd have said you should be ashamed.

Using the materials to hand and making them work - that's crafting, that is.

 

[Niels]

Very nice crossbow.

 

[forrestdweller]

do you have any (more) details/pics of the trigger mechanism?!
sadly my nomadic lifestyle does not allow me to practise archery, but a self-made crossbow would be an alternative for small-game hunting(!!! i'm talking NOT about the UK, but some other places where it's legal!!!). last year i made a copy of a crossbow originally used by the hilltribes in vietnam, but the trigger is not really reliable....

 

[mrcharly]

I think it is using a basic nut. You can see the 'notch' extending up from the nut to hold the string. There is a corresponding shape below, with the trigger bar pressing against it. Pull one end of trigger bar up, the other end moves off the nut, allowing it to rotate under pressure from the string.

 

[Demonwolf444]

Yup you have it.
ill post a high quality paint made diagram.

 

[Demonwolf444]

here.

 

[forrestdweller]

aahh!- that explains it even to me!