Well, I had to do it eventually...looks like I'm going to be building another crossbow. The dang things really are addicting! My last build is only a couple years old, but I just know I can work out the last few little bugs on this next one (or maybe the one after that, lol! )
Since my current Xbow is rather big and beefy, this one's intended to be compact, but powerful, with a short, heavy (appx. 200#) wood/sinew prod, antler socket reinforcements, and a bone table for wear resistance. The tiller will also be fairly short, probably of walnut wood, and carved in that attractive, curvy German renaissance (AKA short&fat ) style. I'm still debating how to make the trigger; most likely a simple tickler/roller nut setup, but I might attempt some kind of three-axle design if I feel ambitious.
The other important detail I want to include is a canted/offset tiller, as sometimes seen in old crossbows. I'm having issues with the sight picture when I shoot my big bow; basically it's hard to get my eye exactly centered above the bolt, so I have to aim somewhat to the right of the target. I think shifting the rear of the tiller over to the right by an inch or so may solve the problem.
The project isn't very far along, still mostly in the materials-gathering stage. I have the prod core roughed out of fresh-cut osage orange wood, which still needs to dry out a bit. I also have a moose antler base ready to go for the nut and socket reinforcements (which I will probably start on next), and a few other odds and ends including a bit of leftover sinew. Everything else still needs to be sourced. A pic of the goodies so far:
This is likely going to be an exceedingly slow build but I'll post updates as I proceed...thanks for looking folks!
-Orien