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Crossbow with wooden stock and rattan bow

by Vidar_76 on August 14, 2009 Table of Contents Crossbow with wooden stock and rattan bow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: Crossbow with wooden stock and rattan bow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1: Making the stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 2: The lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 3: The bow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 4: The string . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 5: Putting it all together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 3 5 6 7 8

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

http://www.instructables.com/id/Crossbow-wooden-stock-and-rattan-bow/

Intro: Crossbow with wooden stock and rattan bow

A while ago i searched Ible' for crossbows and found mainly K'nex thingys and stuff too badly build to be really useful for tagetshooting. ( I am truly sorry if you made one thats don't fit this, please let me know ) This is a crossbow i built in 2002 for a friend. At that time i worked as webprogrammer so my skills and tools were not what they are today after teaching woodshop for the last three years. I see a lot of embarrassing mistakes i made but hopefully you'll avoid them. At that time i mostly built medieval things so this was a nice change for me. I have the Payne-Gallwey-book and wanted to try something from the 17-1800 century chapters. My friend was going to use it for target shooting and live roleplaying (with blunt arrows of course) Using rattan limits the bow a bit but it still fun to use whitout it beeing so heavy its any actual danger. The stock is made of ash and the bow of rattan, wrapped in rawhide for strength and waxed linen for protection. This was made in 2002, way before steampunk as far as i know. If i would build it today i may have gotten more brass on it but i like a clean look (steampunk could be very nice but tend to get a bit christmas treeish) Since i bought my first camera while building there are some pics missing, due to lack of camera and experience in documentation. Hopefully you'll manage anyway. A exact copy would'nt be as fun to see as you own creation. As usual - sorry for misspellings and bad language. You will use axe, knife, powertools, hot wax mixed with turpentine and so on so use common sense. If you dont have any, lend some from a friend. It seems like some americans need a lot of these warnings. As i say to my pupils - if i warn you three times and you still hurt yourself, whos fault is it? ;-) I suppose you all know that this is a sporting tool that in the wrong hands could be dangerous. Please be careful, dont shoot anybody that doesnt want it and use blunt arrows and proper protection when needed. For scandinavians: var fonuftig for f*n!

Image Notes 1. First ruff shape. Note the square end, didnt make any hole until i knew the drawlength of the bow.

Image Notes 1. The making will involve a lot of drilling and shaping. You will enjoy it. 2. Hole for fastening the lock 3. Spring that fits the lock

Image Notes 1. A few fiddly parts, thats just fun.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Crossbow-wooden-stock-and-rattan-bow/

Image Notes 1. Some black tread on the string to mark the middle 2. Covered in linen, waxed to be more resistant

Step 1: Making the stock

First i started making a piece to try out how large the stock should be, where the handrest and trigger would fit. I'm sorry i can't give you any measurements, the crossbow is no longer in my possession. You will have to do some trial and error. As you can see i didn't make the hole for the bow until it was ready and i could try i out to see how far it should be pulled to get the right strength. (normally you want as much as possible but my friend had a limit to ~25 pounds since he was going to use it for live roleplaying) The stock was shaped with the tools i had available at the time - handsaw, electric drill and rasp.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Crossbow-wooden-stock-and-rattan-bow/

Image Notes 1. Tryout just to get the dimentions 2. Notch for the string 3. Workbench from 1957 inherited from my fathers father when his fingers got to stiff.

Image Notes 1. First ruff shape. Note the square end, didnt make any hole until i knew the drawlength of the bow.

Image Notes 1. The making will involve a lot of drilling and shaping. You will enjoy it. 2. Hole for fastening the lock 3. Spring that fits the lock

Image Notes 1. Staining the wood 2. Large rasp 3. Axe used for shaping the wood and opening beers 4. Sandpaper on a handle 5. The triggerprotection fits in a small hole.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Crossbow-wooden-stock-and-rattan-bow/

Image Notes 1. All stained

Image Notes 1. Treated with the same wax/turpentine mixture that was used for the string. Polish until it looks nice.

Step 2: The lock

The lock is the most interesting and fiddly bit to make. It has to be able to hold the bows strenght as long as nessecary, release easily, hock the string i a way that doesent wear it down and so on.

Image Notes 1. This pin fits to the spring mounted in the stock 2. Trigger 3. Bolt that fits in the stock 4. A small notch. When the string is pulled backward this makes the lever gets in the right position 5. The upper part swings around this pin so make sure it fits securly! 6. String goes here. 7. This shape is quite impotant, when the string i pulled backwards it pushes the lever downwards. 8. The trigger revolves around this pin.

Image Notes 1. To be grinded down to a small notch that the string will hook on to and raise the lever.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Crossbow-wooden-stock-and-rattan-bow/

Image Notes 1. Pin that fis in spring 2. Trigger 3. All parts are made of scrap pieces and handsawn and filed to fit. It not so bad when you get used to it 4. Each square is 5 mm 5. String goes here 6. Swings around this hole 7. Notch that holds the upper part 8. Here the upper part rest on the triggerpiece 9. Here there must be a small notch, please see the other pickures.

Image Notes 1. Seen from above 2. Seen from behind 3. Each square is 5mm.

Step 3: The bow

The bow was made of rattan, a kind of grass believe it or not. It got very long fibers so it wont brake. The rawhide helps it go a bit faster and protects the wood. Rawhide could be found in dogs chewingbones, just soak it in water for a few hours and it will be as soft as a dishcloth. I didn't take any pictures of the rattan wile i shaped it, got my first camera after i started building. You could use a small axe and work it down. Test it while you work so it gets symmetrical.

Image Notes 1. The rawhide was bound down so it couldnt mowe while drying. 2. A pice of hard wood between the rawhide and the rattan to make it stronger and give better spring. Also secures the string.

Image Notes 1. Extra layer of rawhide for strengt and protection.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Crossbow-wooden-stock-and-rattan-bow/

Image Notes 1. The rawhide was crudely sewn together 2. And wrapped while drying

Image Notes 1. Softening the tips of the rawhide in water

Image Notes 1. Jugs of mead usd to measure the bows strengt. (and later om mine...) By weightening it down i could measure the bows strengt. 2. Drawings, possibly of the crossbow but may be of tents, kayaks or wierd bikes. It was six years ago, dont really remember... 3. Sorry for the picture beeing in the wrong direction, dont have any image editing on this computer

Image Notes 1. First tryout, it looks thin but will be all right for 25 pounds.

Step 4: The string

The string was made from linen or hemp twisted together with a extra enforcement loop in the end. Before i started making it i throughly waxed the string using a blend of beeswax melted and mixed with turpentine Use a small pot and melt the wax slowly, when its floating mix carefully with the same or a little less amount of turpentine. If you want it to get harder you could add some linseed oil. If you can't see how the string is made ill try to scan page 111 in Payne-Gallweys book.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Crossbow-wooden-stock-and-rattan-bow/

Image Notes 1. Small lashing 2. Extra loop 3. Some of this beeswax was melted and mixed with turpentine.

Image Notes 1. Outer lashing 2. Inner lashing

Step 5: Putting it all together

Final step, putting it all together. Make sure you are careful, misstakes now will be harder to correct. I'm sorry i dont have any pictures of the arrows. They are like ordinary bowarrows but shorter, usually the lenth between the bow and the hooked string. The end should not have the usual notch but should be flat on two sides so it fits between the two flat bars on the lock. I wish you happy and injury-free building and shooting!

Image Notes 1. The lock mounted with a bolt

Image Notes 1. End of the triggerguard is fitted in a small hole 2. This bolt should be filed down.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Crossbow-wooden-stock-and-rattan-bow/

Image Notes 1. Trying out the spring for the lock 2. Will be filed down

Image Notes 1. All stained

Image Notes 1. Treated with the same wax/turpentine mixture that was used for the string. Polish until it looks nice.

Image Notes 1. Staining the wood 2. Large rasp 3. Axe used for shaping the wood and opening beers 4. Sandpaper on a handle 5. The triggerprotection fits in a small hole.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Crossbow-wooden-stock-and-rattan-bow/

Image Notes 1. Rough surface, should be sanded

Image Notes 1. A brass lid to cover the lock. The nails were cut of and grounded down.

Image Notes 1. Two thin wedges opposit each other used to secure the bow and take away some of the stress from the tread. 2. Lashing runs like an 8 throu the stock 3. Thin wooden piece here to protect the bow

Image Notes 1. I used two wooden needles (the kind used for needleknitting, made for another friend) to pull the strings 2. The wedges are important, makes it easier to fit the bow and protects both bow and lashing

Image Notes 1. Finished! Pulling it tight makes the bow secure.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Crossbow-wooden-stock-and-rattan-bow/

Image Notes 1. Some black tread on the string to mark the middle 2. Covered in linen, waxed to be more resistant

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Comments
31 comments Add Comment

knex luver234 says:

nice crossbow crazycreator187, looks nice, i think ill make one like yours! how gooda accuracy and range does it have?

Nov 30, 2010. 4:04 PM REPLY

knex luver234 says:

wy not? looks pretty biesty

Dec 8, 2010. 7:00 PM REPLY

CRAZYCREATOR187 says:

Dec 2, 2010. 9:57 PM REPLY thanks, the accuracy depends on how straight your bolts(arrows) are and what sort of fletchings are on them. As fro the range that also depends on the bolts but if you shoot it straight up the bolt goes out of sight and stays in the air for 10-15 seconds. as I said further up, if you want me to I could probably take the crossbow to pieces (none of it is glued) and make an instructable.

CRAZYCREATOR187 says:

Oct 18, 2010. 12:31 AM REPLY I have just finished a crossbow, it uses a roller nut trigger, has a pine stock with 25 by 25mm square tubing, the bow is made out of a leaf spring.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Crossbow-wooden-stock-and-rattan-bow/

dazedonblu says:
That is a great looking job,I'd love to have designs for that.

Dec 2, 2010. 7:20 PM REPLY

CRAZYCREATOR187 says:

Dec 2, 2010. 9:51 PM REPLY I could probably take it all apart and make an instructable if you want, It would be more of a guide than step by step instructions.

Vidar_76 says:
It looks really nice! How heavy are the bow?

Nov 29, 2010. 5:47 AM REPLY

CRAZYCREATOR187 says:
do you mean weight or pull back weight?

Nov 29, 2010. 1:15 PM REPLY

crossbow nut8899 says:

kool invention i want oooooone

Oct 9, 2010. 2:44 PM REPLY

PastTheVoid says:
A bit big for opening bottles. Not really the right shape either.

Jun 22, 2010. 7:39 PM REPLY

Vidar_76 says:

Jun 23, 2010. 12:07 AM REPLY Have you tried? :) Sometimes you'll just take the first hard thing thats closest to you. I consider it a useful skill to open a bottle with anything laying around.

nutsandbolts_64 says:

May 10, 2010. 9:59 PM REPLY Now this is what you call a vintage crossbow! or real crossbow... ah whatever, I'll just say this: This is the sum of all DIY Technology ever developed in the 21st century! Jan 16, 2010. 7:00 PM REPLY This is probably the best crossbow instructable on the site. The bow you made loos amazing, and I really like how sophisticated you made the stock, with a trigger and everything. I'm not so sure about using rattan as a material though. At my karate class some of the teachers have staffs made of rattan, and I know that if they take enough abuse, they can shatter.

fenrisilver says:

Vidar_76 says:

Jan 16, 2010. 9:51 PM REPLY Thank you! Everything will sooner o later shatter.. I guess that the difference is that your karateteachers were hitting the rattan instead of just bending it. Just lika metal wood vill bend to a certain point and then start to deform och break. Bu using a quite long bow the bending per cm (or inch) gets less than with a shorter bow. The rawhide in front of the bow will make the break less dangerous. Usually the wood vill loose some strenght instead of break when old. (and without a stock and lock it would just be a bow ;) A stock with a stiff bow and som rubberband is a slingshot, not a crossbow. There seems to be a lot of confusion.)

nutsandbolts_64 says:
What if the slingshot (under your definition) has a mechanical trigger?

May 10, 2010. 9:53 PM REPLY

CRAZYCREATOR187 says:
wouldn't you need a slot across the top of the stock for the fletches on the bolt to run in? nice crossbow

Sep 26, 2009. 10:59 PM REPLY

Vidar_76 says:
Thanks! And no, the bolt has only two fletches so its no problem.

Sep 27, 2009. 12:23 AM REPLY

abadfart says:
not true i have 2 and they both have a track

Jan 7, 2010. 1:57 AM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/Crossbow-wooden-stock-and-rattan-bow/

Vidar_76 says:

Jan 7, 2010. 2:52 AM REPLY There are many different ways to solve this problem, since this was a crossbow that was supposed to have some historical feeling to it and most historical crossbows i have seen had two fletches i choosed that solution. Thanks!

abadfart says:
ok both of mine are from the 60s and later

Jan 7, 2010. 3:29 PM REPLY

abadfart says:
but still nice job

Jan 7, 2010. 1:57 AM REPLY

madscientist167 says:
are you sure that friend wanted to use blunt arrows for role-playing and use pine for the bow

Oct 22, 2009. 4:55 PM REPLY

Vidar_76 says:

Oct 23, 2009. 4:08 AM REPLY I assume you are joking. Role-playing withouth blunt arrows would be a sure way to get very few players and after a while they will be few and badly hurt, ie not your friends any more. Be safe and make sure you stay friends even after the game! A bow made of pine would be one of the most useless ones in the history, pine is good for building fences and simple furniture. Cant take any strain at all. (using capital letters and a question mark would make your comment easier to read. Or maybe its just me getting old...)

starfire9532 says:
where do you get the rattan

Nov 1, 2009. 3:36 PM REPLY

Vidar_76 says:
Hi!

Nov 1, 2009. 8:35 PM REPLY

I got the rattan from a German man i met at a SCA-event in southern sweden. If you google you might find something more near you.

NRen2k5 says:

Sep 9, 2009. 10:02 PM REPLY Needs more work. No, not the crossbow - the instructable. It needs more writing, and some more info like how to build your own trigger assembly or where to get a premade one.

Vidar_76 says:

Sep 9, 2009. 10:50 PM REPLY This is a ible' about how i made this particular crossbow, they can be made in hundreds of ways. If i should cover all the ways a crossbow trigger may be built it's better to make a whole new ible'. Considering how long it took to get this one approved and how much spare time i have at the moment it will take a while... If your in a hurry to know more just google and i promise you'll find something useful. I admit that the text is a bit short, will try to write more when i have some spare time.

skimmo says:
if i met you ied shake your hand, you have just summed up what ive been looking since i first found instructables well done

Aug 24, 2009. 5:20 PM REPLY

Vidar_76 says:

Aug 24, 2009. 6:37 PM REPLY Oh, i'm very happy to hear that! :D I did a lot of research and hope to save some of that work for others. Even tho the Payne-Gallwey is incredible to read, written in 1903 by a English lord who obviously had to much time and money on his hands...

jtobako says:
The trigger set reminds me of http://www.atarn.org/chinese/bjng_xbow/bjng_xbow.htm .

Aug 23, 2009. 7:17 PM REPLY

Vidar_76 says:

Aug 23, 2009. 10:45 PM REPLY I was inspired by many different sources, the atarn site was one of them. Wery nice pictures and explanations! Since i wasn't a good enough bronze caster at that time i went for the welded iron solution.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Crossbow-wooden-stock-and-rattan-bow/