Make your own crossbow!

Have you ever wondered how you can make a easy bow and arrow that won't break?

Things you will need:

5-6 foot long piece of wood (see step 1 for more info)
6-7 inch piece of wood (see step 1 for more info)
7 feet of sturdy string (strong fishing line will work)
2.5 foot dowel rod
goose feather
rock
flint
wood glue
hot glue (optional-it is faster "drying")
file
4 screws/nails

Steps:

1. First, gather the materials. The limbs will be made of thin and flexible wood. It should be about 1.5 inches wide, 5-8mm thick and about 5-6 feet long, depending on how tall you are. The type of wood can be anything from pine to yew (preferrably yew) but it must be flexible. Next, buy a thicker piece of wood that is the same width as the first peice but about 3-4 times thicker and about 7 inches long.
2. Find the midpoint of both pieces of wood. Line up the midpoints and glue in place. Make a mark 2cm from each end of the thick piece. Evenly mark the section into 3 smaller equal sections. Find 4 nails or screws that will go through the first piece and hold the thick piece without any nail/screw sticking out. Drill holes at the center of the wood where you marked it. screw the nail/screws in so the head is resting tightly on the thin piece of wood.
3. At the ends of the bow, file 2 small notches for the string, 2 for each end. String the bow so that the string goes around the notches and make sure the string is 1-2 inches shorter than the bow. Make the loops loose so you can unstring it. Leave strung over night. From then on, only string when you need it (or when you want to have some mindless shooting fun).
   
4. To make the arrow, buy a dowel rod about half the length of the bow. To create a arrowhead, shatter a piece of flint and attach (with string, glue, etc.) Fletch the arrow by cutting a goose feather down the middle. Glue it to the back of the shaft.
   
5. There are many different draws, but the simplest one is to pinch the back of the arrow, put it up against the string, draw back and release. This can shoot the arrow a few hundred feet and can last a long time (with care).
   

Tips:

• The bow can last longer if you rub oil on it. Special oil is available for protecting wood.
• 
  Filing a small notch at the middle of the bow may help keep the arrow from slipping.
• 
  To make a blunt arrow, wrap rubberbands around the front of the arrow.
  

Crossbow blueprint

Think that a hardwood bow is too hard to make? Want to make a bow that is simple, durable, and is almost as accurate as a store bought bow? Well heres an easy way to make one with common garden tools that will last a long time.

1. Find a tree with a branch that is 1- 1/12 inches thick. Be sure that it is reasonably straight, without any major bends besides a slight curve in one direction. Preferably Pine wood.
2. Cut down the branch with plant cutters, a hatchet, or saw.
3. Use the cutters, or other tool, to cut off the small branches, and the very thin end of the stick.
4. Take the bark off the branch using the multi-tool. If you are using pine, do not take it off because it will dry out and snap at the handle. The less sap the branch has, the faster you need to work. A good point of reference: if it starts to turn brown like an apple, stop taking off the bark , move on to step 5, and then get rid of the rest of the bark. If the wood dries out before it is strung, then it cannot be used. Also, always start at the point where you plan to line you arrow up at, because the smoother the wood by the arrow, the better the shot.
5. Make a slipknot on the end of the string, and put it around the thickest end, wrapping the excess string around the knot to ensure it stays on. Make a slipknot about 1 to 11/2 inches from the top of the bow, and bend the branch until the knot is over the end. VOILA! Your done!

Tips

• For wood that has a lot of sap, use heavy duty soap, or an SOS pad to get rid of the stickiness.


• Cut the bark off the branch in long strokes. Attempting to slap at the bark too quickly will cause the bow to snap when drawn.


• Make sure the wood isn't too thick for the intended user to hold and shoot.


• Pine is an excellent wood to start with, though Yew, if you can find it, has the best flex.


• If you use real arrows (store bought), remove the tips, or simply don't buy any, as they are usually sold separately.

Plans to make a crossbow

The crossbow I am showing you how to build here is a children's toy, I built this one for my son he hasn't stopped playing with it since, I now have to build 2 more.

They are so easy to make and only take about 5 minutes.
HOW TO BUILD A CROSSBOW

1)YOU NEED 2 FLAT PIECES OF WOOD 1 ABOUT 3FT LONG 1 ABOUT 2FT LONG.
2) 4 NAILS OR SCREWS
3) 4 ELASTIC BANDS or HAIR BANDS
4)CLOTHES PEGS
TOOLS YOU NEED
1 HAMMER OR SCREW DRIVER

DIRECTIONS

LAY THE 3FT PIECE OF WOOD FLAT ON THE DECK AND PUT THE 2FT PIECE NEAR THE TOP TO FORM A (T) NAIL THEM TOGETHER WITH 2 NAILS.
AT EACH END OF THE 2FT PIECE OF WOOD HAMMER
IN A NAIL UNTIL IT IS ABOUT HALF WAY IN AND SECURE THE ELASTIC AT BOTH ENDS.
GET A CLOTHES PEG AND FIT IT ONTO THE ELASTIC IN THE CENTRE OF THE T PULL BACK THE PEG AND LET GO WHEN READY TO FIRE.

Some pegs fly over 30 meters. They wont hurt you if you are hit but great fun for no money at all. Have fun !!!

Plans to make a Crossbow

The March, 1963, edition of Science and Mechanics magazine contained, along with articles about jetpack research, amphibious vehicle reviews and a behind the scenes look at Cape Canaveral, detailed plans for a pistol crossbow. I’ve never built one myself, but I’ve always wanted to. I’ve scanned the article in case anyone else would like to get an early start on their post-apocalypse armory.
It looks like this thing could shoot a pencil through a sheet of plywood. What’s not to like?

Recurve Bow : What is it?

Recurve bows are designed to curve away from the user when drawn, resulting in faster arrows and more forceful shots. They are made up of a riser with two limbs attached to both ends with a hinge. The limbs curve back when the string is pulled and snap back into position when released. This creates a sudden release of tension that propels the arrow with a force higher than the force used to draw.

A basic recurve bow is similar in principle to a longbow, but it is usually smaller. The limbs also curve outward when the bow is held in shooting position. This allows the string to be attached to the limbs themselves, rather than at the tips like other bow designs.

Recurve bows are the only types permitted in Olympic and competitive archery. These bows have limbs made of layers of carbon fiber, fiberglass, or laminated wood cores. The riser is typically aluminum or magnesium, although newer risers use carbon-aluminum hybrids. Risers for beginners are usually wood or plastic.

Important information

Complete information on how to make a recurve bow is available at PickyGuide, the authority in free consumer advice. Access top-ranked, best-reviewed, and most competitively priced recurve bows in PickyGuide's recommended products section.

The Traditional Bow or The Crossbow!

Crossbow hunting has caused a major rift between hunters in recent years. While each hunter should be allowed to choose what they use in theory, the debate centers around the fact that crossbows may be an unfair advantage over traditional bow hunters. Some consider them to be a sort of hybrid of a gun and a bow, and they should be permitted only in gun season. Regardless of the time that passes, the debate seems only to get more and more heated.

At the heart of the crossbow debate is whether it can really be considered a bow, or if it is in fact a sort of gun hybrid, and whether or not the crossbow provides and unfair advantage to the traditional bow hunter. The only way to really find an answer to this question is to examine the statistics. The state of Ohio has allowed hunters use of the crossbow since 1976. The past 30 years has provided ample time to gather information and data comparing the two types of bows. This information is from the Ohio Department of Wildlife in 2001:

- 155,000 registered hunters participated in bow season hunting. - 70,000 used the crossbow exclusively. - 55,000 registered hunters used a traditional vertical bow. - 30,000 registered hunters used both a vertical bow and a crossbow.

Of the Senior Citizens who received free hunting licenses:

- 4,000 used a crossbow. - 1,000 used a vertical bow. - 1,000 used both a vertical and a crossbow.

According to the Ohio Department of Wildlife's statistics, the success rates for both traditional vertical bow hunters and crossbow hunters was identical at 14%.

There was however an independent source that conducted research and compared data relevant to the crossbow debate. According to the independent source, the actual success rates were 23% for crossbow hunting, and 21% for vertical bow hunters. While these numbers are different, they are relatively close and very realistic. The numbers show that crossbows are slightly more effective than the traditional bow, but there isn't enough of a difference to warrant the controversy that has surrounded the debate in recent years. These statistics prove that general assumption isn't always correct; as with any debate, doing some research and looking at numbers is always a sure fire way to make an informed decision. So if a hunter is looking to try something new, a crossbow may be just the thing.