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weird archery bow ideas
I was just trying to write up a longbow instructable and a thought struck me. If You have two bows at right angles to one another joined at the handle would you get a better cast.. The arrow nocked at the interces of the two strings. I seem to remember some silly fantasy movie with crossbows set up this way...Any thoughts? The bow is such an old concept i would love to see some new variations
Discussions
12 years ago
yes goodhart thats the puppy....it would be a vicious thing
12 years ago
If you're going to cross two longbows with a joint at the intersection, the real challenge would be to avoid losing a lot of strength at the joint. As well as the problems Lftndbt pointed out, you would have to make sure that each crossing bow was absolutely identical in size and strength. I'm looking forward to reading your longbow 'ible, but if you want to take it down new avenues, why not try and produce a usable old-style longbow with modern materials or easier construction methods (would it be possible to make a longbow that looks and fires like an old English bow, but made of, say, laminated plywood?). Of what about abandoning the traditional bow altogether? Is there some other way of launching an arrow? Or maybe look at arrows themselves - could you make arrows that do something interesting in flight or when they hit their target?
Reply 12 years ago
There's always TimAnderson's Bow Made from Skis...
Reply 12 years ago
I want to see an arrow that can pump electricity into the target it hits to give it a nice shock.
Reply 12 years ago
Slightly fat shaft full of capacitors in parallel, electrodes connected to twin barbs instead of a traditional head.
Reply 12 years ago
now that would be fun to go hunting with!
Reply 12 years ago
Knock out the prey long enough to get a trophy photo?
Reply 12 years ago
yup.
Reply 12 years ago
I'd like to see an alloy... frame design longbow.... Similar to some construction scaffoldings... Four tubes interlaced by a frame work .... If that makes sense... Probably doesn't... ;)
Reply 12 years ago
How about a spy bow? Say, something that looks like a walking stick, but you unscrew the handle and it holds a slender bow, string and a couple of arrows, all in carbon-fibre or fibre-glass to avoid detection at air-ports. (Have I just inspired an instructable, or a terrorist?)
Reply 12 years ago
Maybe you should make the ible and name it "How to take over a plane with a bow" But design it, so when fires, it impails the user..... Problem solved..... Or maybe a disclaimer : Do not make this instructable unless you are a terrorist... LoL
Reply 12 years ago
LOL!
Reply 12 years ago
Arrows do exist that spin in flight for gyroscopic stabilisation. They have twisted fletchings.
12 years ago
isnt there something you can do with powerful magnets which cause a steel ball to accelerate to high speed. Could it do the same to an arrow in a Pipe?
Reply 12 years ago
Um, you are speaking of a Rail Gun (link) ?
12 years ago
Thanks for the input guys...The trouble with longbows is that they arenot the best bows but the were easy produce and could pierce armour.. Mongol bows are great. Their efficiency is very high..But longbows really send me..Its a piece of stick that does more than the sum of its parts. I have tried making mongol bows using limbs from modern ones but hey its a modern bow with a funky handle..
Reply 12 years ago
The trick with a mongol bow is that very little of it flexes. The handle is stiff, the end is stiff, and only about 1/3 of the limb bends-they are much closer to a compound bow than a long bow. ATARN is a good place to start.
'Best' is a very iffy argument-any snew-backed bow is going to loose a huge amount of strength in English weather : )
12 years ago
I heard someone trying this (not here, on a bow building forum) but they got distracted? by the Penobscot style bow, partialy because of the difficulty in how to use it.
12 years ago
Errmmmmm
If this was a machine run rig I would say double bow...
Higher recoil strength etc... Your example of the crossbow was spot on.... maybe a crossbow...
But in practical terms taking too normal bows with normal draw pressures... Combining them would only produce a bow which is twice as powerful yet twice as hard to use and draw....
If your looking at modding long bows i'd consider construction method or materials used for improvement not adding another bows... refine the single...