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4 posters

    New "first project" rubberpowered crossbow

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    emilsew
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    Post by emilsew Sun Apr 08, 2012 7:48 pm

    First off i'd like to say i'll be posting a few pics tomorrow.

    So, i wanted to make a crossbow for my 6 and 11 year old cousins (and a little bit for myself). ive been surfing around looking at different techs, especially Joerges slingshots, since they are closest to what i had in mind.

    I wanted to make a one handheld crossbow with a sort of LARP look to it. Namely a flintlock pistol with a bow at the front.
    Sort of like The Arbalist logo crossbow, but with a proper bend where you hold it.
    Think flintlock-pirate Hugh Jackman's Van helsing.
    i figured from Joerges vids that i had to make it a tad long than i had expected, so i did.

    Right now, its not very powerful and tho i can still release bolts with it, which is a nice name to call a thin wooden stick, it reaches a distance of about 5-6 meters with the poor rubber bands i use, and can pierce a carboard layer Going about 3-5cm deep after impact, but with pretty good accuracy!
    However, these rubber bands and the thin sting i use are just for the prototype.

    The trigger mechanism i used is the simplest i could find, but still not easy to make from wood (atleast since i havent spent a single minute in a woodshop since third grade).
    its a carved wooden roller with a drilled hole with an opening at the top (i know you all use elk/deer/other horns for this, but i cant get ahold of it), and at the bottom a natch where i fitted the trigger.
    Basically a standard crossbow release mech, made out of wood...

    It's about 30cm long and 3cm wide.
    However, i used a 10mm pvc pipe to guide the bolt. Which takes away about 15cm from the length of the whole gun, and half the power. First i did this to keep the rubber bands and string just tense enough to keep the bowstring from falling off. But realised it actually improved accuracy (based on my previous testfires). But again, ofcourse i loose a lot of power.

    The wood im using is just plain old birch, for all the parts. The bowlength is 50cm, about 4cm wide an 2cm deep. The pullback is right around 15cm, which brings me to my first question: how much power can i put on the rubber before my bow breaks?
    i dont need any sort of accurate numbers here, just roundabouts.

    second question is: would you recomend flat rubbers or the tube ones for the string?

    but again, ill post a few pictures so you can see how its built tomorrow.
    i urge you to criticize with kind eyes, after all this is my first build and still just a prototype, if i can hit a tin can from 5 meters with the materials i have on hand, and pierce it, im happy what now? .

    /e

    Basilisk120
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    Post by Basilisk120 Tue Apr 10, 2012 4:57 pm

    Hey and welcome to the site Emilsew. Sounds like you have fun project on your hands. Can't wait to see some of the pictures.



    So to take a stab at answering your questions. As to the first, Since its birch I think it should take quite a bit of force before it breaks. Is the wood flexing or creaking when you load it?



    Not an expert on the elastic but I think the best anser might be what you can get easily. But from what I have heard the round Surgical Tubing type stuff seems to be quite good.



    Yeah so that isn't terriable informative of an aswer but I hopefully can do better with some pictures.


    Last edited by Basilisk120 on Wed Apr 11, 2012 8:52 am; edited 1 time in total
    Gnome
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    Post by Gnome Wed Apr 11, 2012 4:27 am

    Emilsew, welcome to the forum! I don't know much about rubber-powered tossers, but I'm interested in your design. I'm working up a design for my first pistol crossbow, and I'm also going for a "flintlock" look. It would be great to see your work so far.

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    stoneagebowyer
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    Post by stoneagebowyer Wed Apr 11, 2012 4:57 pm

    Yes, pictures would be great. Welcome from me, as well.

    Dane

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