I thought I'd share how my first ever build is coming (for those that are in the same boat as I am).

I've managed to do everything with a chisel & hammer, coping saw, and compass saw. Except the drilling (don't have a hand drill). So far it has gone fairly well. I haven't completely botched anything. Drilling the holes for the pegs was a bit scary (many rechecks of measurements) but it came out perfectly. The bolt groove is sized for 13mm shafts.



25" overall
2.75" thick at prod
3.00" thick at nut
2" thick at butt
1.875" wide at all points (thus far)
Dimensions for prod recess, bow irons slot, and nut recess made for use with Alchem's metal components.

Advice/questions/concerns/critique?

Cheers!
Brian

Geezer here: Brian, your stock looks good so far: nice clean work, carefully done. Your roller-nut socket looks rather shallow. The Book of the Crossbow, by Ralph Payne-Gallwey says to put the center of a 1.5 inch dia. roller 3/16 in. below the top of the stock, and that may work for a steel lined socket, but for a plain wood self/socket or one reinforced with bone or antler, I put the center of a 1.5 inch diameter roller- nut 3/8 inch below the top of the socket. For an inch and 3/8 diameter nut, the center is 5/16 below the top of the socket.
With a shallower nut, You might encounter problems with the roller trying to force its way out of the socket after a few months. If that happens, inlet a couple of blocks of antler in front and back edges of the socket and re-cut it a little deeper. I think your bow will work fine as-is, but depending on the fit of the nut and hardness of the wood, you might run into problems later. If so, you fix 'em of course. That's what it's all about.

Thanks for the tip. I do plan to use a curved piece of sheet metal as a socket reinforcement, so this isn't the final product, but I wouldn't have thought to make the placement deeper. I'll make sure to inlet lower down when I carve out more room for the sheet metal. Thank you, sir.

Could always laminate a 1/8" to 1/4" veneer of wood on the deck which would lower the nut in relation to the deck surface..



Todd

Well, I spent my day off finishing up my crossbow. Most of my parts from Alchem came in. I'll have to wait to shoot her but the prod is oriented correctly (confirmed with string) and I hung 200# of weights from the nut and it released fairly easily. Now I have to wait until I can string it and see it it'll take the 250#. I'm just missing the string. Happy Thanksgiving, folks! This year, I'm grateful for all the knowledge I've gained from you all.



Cheers!
Brian