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Crossbows - Everything about Building, Modding, and Using your Crossbow Gear

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5 posters

    My second go

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    Wilhelm
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    Post by Wilhelm Sun Dec 18, 2011 12:17 am

    I have finally finished my second go at a crossbow. This one is intended to be styled on a 15th-century German bow, with a really stocky tiller and inlet nut socket. I took a lot more time to get the details right, but still had plenty of rookie mistakes as I went.

    The tiller is made of walnut, which I laminated because it was more cost-effective than getting a solid board of the thickness required to make a thick bow like this. Laminating the walnut also let me choose the grain of wood that shows on the sides, and I like the "curly" pattern I got out of this one. I inlayed some birdseye maple decoration into the sides, and I like the contrast it provides. The top is a veneer of camel bone, sanded to a mirror shine with 800 grit sandpaper, and the effect is beautiful! I'm really glad I decided to go with real bone, even though it was a pain to work with the file.

    The prod is a 210-pounder from Alchem, which, naturally, took about four months from order to shipping. The nut is made of Delerin (plastic).

    Let me know what you think! Sorry for the image quality - I'll try to take some higher-quality photos, as these really don't do justice to the curves that I took so long to work on. I tried to copy the Ulrich bow's curves, but with my own take added.

    [img]My second go Crossb17[/img]

    [img]My second go Crossb18[/img][img]

    My second go Crossb19[/img]
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    Post by Todd the archer Sun Dec 18, 2011 3:19 am

    Very nice job! Did you inlet the tickler passage before gluing together? Tell us more about the nut socket, what is the bearing material?



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    Post by Basilisk120 Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:56 am

    Wow. What a great looking bow. The bow definitely has some unique curves to it but it was executed well.

    The Camel bone was certainly a good choice and I like the look, the real bone really adds something to it.
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    Post by Lightly Tue Dec 20, 2011 3:32 pm

    Looks great, that bone! Been interested in camel bone for a bit, do you have a good supplier that you use? Bone IS a pain to file, but, boy howdy, once done and sanded to that shine, you can't beat it for looks!

    Good job!

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    Post by Wilhelm Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:33 am

    Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

    Todd, to answer your question, I did not inlet the tiller passage before laminating the boards, but instead drilled it by feel - not without frustration, but I wanted to do it "the right way" instead of "cheating" by cutting before laminating. The bearing block is just wood (cherry), but reenforced heavily by a strong woodglue that binds it to the surrounding stock. I tried bone reenforcers, but my drill bit was not too pleased with those, and I decided that the integrity of the cut mattered more than marginal increase in strength.

    Lightly, I have found OrigIndia to be a great source for camel bone (easy to find via a Google search). They sell 1x6" scales cut flat in a bulk pack of ten for about $30-40 total and are a pleasure to work with. I would recommend them, as well as the pre-cut scales. I knew I'd never get around to cutting bone flat on my own, and this was an economical and convenient way to get that gorgeous real bone look.
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    Post by stoneagebowyer Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:25 pm

    Wilhelm, thanks for the tip on where to source bone. I just placed an order for 10 pairs of flat blanks, which will make life totally easy now. My first crossbow, I got a bunch of cow bones and begain the process of cutting and sanding, but gave up after 2 or 3 hours. That is not a fun, and not entirely safe pastime. Real bone can't be beat for looks, authenticity, and functionality.
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    Post by stoneagebowyer Sat Dec 24, 2011 5:01 am

    Got a question for you, Wilhelm. What type of glue did you use to glue the bone scales to the table? Any special prep work, like roughing up the wood or bone surfaces to help with adhesion? Thanks, Dane
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    Post by Wilhelm Sat Dec 24, 2011 11:51 am

    Hey Dane,

    I did no special prep work, and the bone seems to have adhered quite well. I used a regular wood glue, but you'll want to make sure you use one that dries white instead of yellow - otherwise, the seams will look a little more conspicuous than you might have liked.

    Good luck! I'm excited to see what you create, and bone is an amazing material when it's finished!
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    Post by stoneagebowyer Sun Dec 25, 2011 6:04 am

    Thanks for the info, Wilhelm. My go-to glue is Tightbond III, which is great stuff, easy to find, and waterproof. The bone is coming next week, and today or tomorrow, I'm going to rough cut my maple plank to make the tiller.

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