Making a goats foot lever

First topic message reminder :

Now I'd love to make my next two bows powerful enough to need a cranequin, but having seen the prices for cranequins I am going to have to pass. Simply far too expensive. So, I'm thinking of making these two bows powerful enough to need a goats foot lever to span them and thus doing away with the ugly stirrup which wouldn't look appropriate on these two bows anyway. I have the Ralph Payne Gallway crossbow book and I see in there he does provide some measurements and a plan of sorts for creating a goats foot. Is this something I'm going to need to go to a metal worker to get made? Also, from something I read somewhere I recall the goats foot needs to be made to match the bow. So, if I make these two bows so they use the same weight of prod and have the pins located at the same point on the tiller will I be able to use one goats foot for both bows? Finally, what sort of steel stock would you use for this - cold rolled?

Basilieus,

I really like that design for a bastard string. I'm going to make one of those up for when I need to string my next two prods. I'm pretty sure it'll be a much better design than the one with U-bolts that I used before. That one was barely adequate.

kiltedcelt wrote:Basilieus,
I really like that design for a bastard string. I'm going to make one of those up for when I need to string my next two prods. I'm pretty sure it'll be a much better design than the one with U-bolts that I used before. That one was barely adequate.

My fasteners should work well on any steel bows which taper aggressively in width. This type will not work as well on bows that have little width taper, unless you bend the steel plate extremely precisely. Of course, if the fastener is too loose and slides too far towards the bow's center, you can use thin steel strips to make it fit better.

Sorry to resurrect the dead, but this has GOT to be a recurring issue.

One can easily construct a wooden "Wippe" with relatively cheap materials from the Home Depot or hardware store.
First off, 150lbs is not really heavy as crossbows go. It is however pretty much the standard weight for readily available steel and fibreglas prods. The length of pull is usually about 13" for these prods. A wooden wippe will easily cock these weapons.
Payne-Galway is of course a wonderful source.
http://www.crossbowbook.com/page_167.html
http://www.crossbowbook.com/page_166.html
The long lever is made from a red oak 2"x2", length from 24' to 30". The longer length is easier to use, but a bit clumsier. The short cocking lever is made from a 13" length of 1"x4". this is wide enough for a crossbow tiller made from a hardwood 2"x4", use a wider board for a wider tiller. It is not necessary for this lever arm to be curved.
Use 1/4"mild steel rod for the pins, the hook, and the ring (actually a 'D'Ring) lashed to the prod.
Cut a 4" long slot a bit bigger than the width of the tiller at each end of the 1"x4" making an elongated 'H'. Drill one set of 'legs' for the pin, and file a half-round on the other end to engage the bowstring.

Drill a hole about 8" from the end of the long lever for the pin. If the geometry is off, just drill another hole up or down an inch or so. You will not weaken the lever even with a half-dozen holes. It is ok to taper this lever a bit from the pin-hole to the handle area for a better grip.

You can slot the end of the long lever as Payne-Galway for a rotating hook on a 1/4" pin, which works well, or affix a non moving hook about an inch from the end of the lever. Slotting the end can be done by drilling a length of holes and chiseling out the wood.
A round ring does not fit well on the end of the cross bow, so use a vise and a hammer to make a 2' "D" ring. Don't worry about closing the ends.
Using the same cord you used to bind the prod on with, bind the 'D' ring to the front of the prod, wrapping the cord in a figure 8 around the prod. Use about as many windings as used to hold on the prod. That is plenty strong for this weight crossbow.
This wippe will easily cock crossbows in the 150lb range. I've made several of them.

Clinker: perhaps you could add your experiences to the "Making a Wippe" Wiki article:

• http://crossbow.wikia.com/wiki/Making_a_wippe
  

I use a wippe (80cm / 31" long) to cock my ~350 pounder with 25,7cm (~10") power stroke. So far everyone who has tried (women and men alike) has managed to cock that crossbow without any difficulty. I estimate the bow could be ~50% stronger while still being comfortable.