Scale Wooden Crossbow

version 2

version 1

In this Instructible I will show you how to:

-Create your own scale (1m,1m) crossbow that is powerful enough to punch holes into various items.

-Bow saftey

-where to get materials

-what tools to use

-prices and information

-general tips on fine tuning

(4 years later: please note that I no longer post to this website, I post my projects here now: http://sites.google.com/site/paulmprojects/ )

Step 1 1: gathering materials & general instruction information:

Materials:

-a 2/4 (preferrably a soft wood like pine)or any wood that is wide enough for your adapted crossbow.
-at least tow peices of bamboo
-kite string (a nylon string NOT WIRE)
-a wrappable wire
-door latch (see photo)
-string
-assorted nails and screws (of the 2" and 1" varity)

::note::All these materials came from a mere two stores; Home depot(wood and door latch) and Dollarmart (bammboo and kite string)

Tools

-hammer
-screwdriver
-file
-nippers
-pliers
-file (small)
-sandpaper
-saw

::note:: I used a band saw, although it is not made for wood, you can use any other saw you see fit (wood saw that is)

Comments

[bwells2]

Could it hunt game?

[paulm]

I doubt it,

[Jim123456789]

did you add a like a rail to the firing ditch

[knex gun instructions]

that door latch is called elbow cacth

[meburnfire]

Say, would 1/8th inch 3 strand twisted nylon cord work as the bow string? Cuz thats all that I have, so would it work better or worse?

[Egor22]

Well my Friends sister told about this site and she was right about how awesome it is haha

[matthiasofgondor]

I couldn't find peices of bamboo like that anywhere I looked around town. What exactly did you use and what were they called?

[wangtrevor]

im not sure but would i pvc pipe work

[paulm]

i just used a piece of bamboo, if you are willing to pay extra, you can grab a tiki torch and cut off the torch part.

[matthiasofgondor]

i may have been confused on the thickness of the bamboo than. If at all possible do you think you could give me guestamate of the thickness and length? Thanks for the help :D

[paulm]

i used rather thin bamboo (didnt last very long) that was an avg of 1.3 cm wide and around 1 m long

i would recommend getting slightly thicker bamboo (1.5 cm) to avoid any tearing.

when i built this originally, i used 2 bamboo sticks; just use 1 for better results.

also (most importantly) don't leave it strung. it will tear and bend. mine has been unusable for years now due to my leaving it strung. (i even took archery back in a summer camp... why didnt i remember that golden rule =/)

[minerug]

Since the crossbows of old had steel or metal bow bits (I don't know the proper term) is there any instructable that have metal bow on a wooden stock arrangment?

[red-king]

by bow bits do you mean the limbs and the trigger?

[minerug]

yeah, I probaly maen the limbs

[Phoghat]

If youwant to use a car spring, iy's going to have to be de-tempered, rebent, and tempered again. I saw one made on TV. Meanwhile, try<br/><a rel="nofollow" href="http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/08/01/build-a-hunters-crossbow/?Qwd=./MechanixIllustrated/12-1953/crossbow&Qif=crossbow_0.jpg&Qiv=thumbs&Qis=XL#qdig">http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/08/01/build-a-hunters-crossbow/?Qwd=./MechanixIllustrated/12-1953/crossbow&amp;Qif=crossbow_0.jpg&Qiv=thumbs&Qis=XL#qdig</a><br/>

[Phoghat]

There's also this:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1984-09-01/Make-A-Crossbow.aspx

[paulm]

I plan on making a proper X-bow with a car's leaf-spring for the bow part, but it'll have to wait until I'm less busy there aren't any instructibles I can think of, no.

[grevious]

and when ur done that post it aswell please? :D

[minerug]

Ok

[knex gun instructions]

is there a name for the door lacth?

[knex gun instructions]

what kind of string did you use?

[Shadowblade52]

hey im confused about one of the measurements at the bottom of the drawing. Why is the 5 cm mark put on there on not closer to the top?

[paulm]

its my recommended width for the butt of the crossbow, i think i describe the firing platform in more detail earlier on... i really ought to redo this whole instructible withautsocad and such but the bow itself has been destroyed..

[chickenliver123]

hey, i love this instructable, cannu tell me where to get the door latch?

[paulm]

thanks!

checkout home dept, canadian tire (if in canada =P) or any home hardware store.

[hughligen]

bamboo is really inefficient for bows/crossbows. try yew (type of wood) it's what most bows used to be made out of. nice instructable though. :)

[paulm]

thanks; i made this instructible when i wasn't as tech-savvy as i am now. if i built this tomorrow, i would be researching it and making some sort of plan beforehand.

[matthiasofgondor]

what is a reef knot tie? it seems (according to the picture) similar to a slip knot?

[paulm]

yes, any knot that holds its shape so that you can take off the string when the bow isn't in use will work

[kaos863]

I made a composite bow using high carbon steel and red oak. It has a pull of 80lb.

[Shadowblade52]

Hey you said to use a small file. What exactly is that for and what size is it exactly?

[paulm]

looks like i mentioned file twice just any flat file will do

[Shadowblade52]

okay thanks haha but what do I use it on because i couldn't see where you used it...

[MethAne]

hello there. I made a crossbow these days, and it's pretty different from the yours. now, i have a question; can i use the fishing wire?

[MethAne]

and yes, my trigger is a clothepin and one elastic

[QwertyuioLP]

I've got a different trigger kinda like yours but is doesn't use elastic bands to hold it down. What I did was cut about 1-2 cm off the bottom of a wooden peg whacked a nail through the top and cut it off about 1/2 way. Then I just glued it on and put a nail through the back of the peg. Works wonders.

[paulm]

for that type of power, I'm sure fishing line would last, on my crossbow it might be cut by the trigger

[cheeseboy]

nice, it looks very cleanly done

[naruto 777]

i might make one of these, differint firing mechinism tho, my friends little brother likes to shoot use with wimpy airsof, lets see if they shoot me if i have one of these, oh one sugestion, if you make a longer bolt (so the point is over the edge of the xbow) and you put cloth on it, you can put the cloth on fire and you have a fire bow! or you could fill up a peice of cloth with gun powder, stick a long fuse in it, you got a bomb, you put that on a bolt or arrow (probably wont go far) you have an explosive arrow/bolt, DISSCLAIMER: I'm not resposible for what you do with this information, so if you burn yourself, or blow yourself up with this, IT IS NOT MY FUALT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Asish]

I have some questions. 1. how do you take of the head of the nail for the arrow 2.when you wrap string in the center of the bow and you drill a hole in it, wont it get tangled up 3. can you please make a video on how to make it thank you