The original poster, William Tell, was asking about alternative
materials, apparently because suitable aluminum is not readily available where he is, and if at all, it is prohibitively expensive. And Ivo introduced "forged aluminum" and I introduced forged aluminum horse shoes. Now I am very fortunate to know two of England's celebrated blacksmiths and I am convinced that these tough old fashioned craftsmen, could forge a sword from tin cans if they were challenged to do so, but even with their calloused and skillful hands they always choose and use the most efficient methods and
materials for any given job; within the capacity of their forge (shop). Yes, there is no doubt in my mind that they could hand forge a crossbow
riser from a chunk of alloy hacked from a wrecked airplane wing spar or even by laminating some of the softer wing skin into a form of damascus.
Now all joking aside, I think we should stay on course here and think instead about the problems some of us might run into when it comes to readily finding suitable stock for our home-built crossbows. When I first started making crossbows a hundred years ago, or so it seems at times,
![riser materials - Riser Material Icon_cry](https://2img.net/i/fa/i/smiles/icon_cry.gif)
I could buy some of the most exotic alloys from a place in London where their customer base was perhaps 5 million people. So naturally, they carried a vast range of metals to meet this huge demand. And just imagine their rolling eyes when a punk hobbyist like me would roll up to their warehouse in a rusty Mini looking for "some stuff to make a crossbow prod". "Do what mate?" Was the usual reply.
![riser materials - Riser Material Icon_rolleyes](https://2img.net/i/fa/i/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif)
Ask Robin Allen about Dural K sometime too. The stuff that a German invented for the envelope frames of early airships.
My source of supply here in Western Canada is very much limited too. And unless I am prepared to place a large order for anything the least bit exotic, and pay up front for it, it 'aint gonna happen. So I scrounge what I can from the few manufactures I have built a relationship with, as well as keep my eyes peeled for "crops" (off-cuts) at either of the two only non-ferrous metal dealers in my nearest city. Other venders are, and can be, literally hundreds of miles from someone here in North America and if there is little or no local demand for a specific material, it won't be found there either. And even if I do find what I'm looking for, I generally only have some toe-rag's word as to what it is. Any colour coding indicating alloy or temper is usually well worn off or simply illegible by then.
Press forging is used where the integrity of the base metal would be severly compromised through what is generally known as "chip machining"; where unwanted metal is removed to arrive at a given shape. Forging and then "coining" in precise dies removes no metal and merely encourages the grain of the metal to flow under enormous pressure. And of course it is possible to cast a
riser as is done for vertical bows, but again this is beyond the capacity of the average do-it-your-self-er and besides that, it can be extremely dangerous and I don't recommend it. Undoubtedly this is why we see them machined from billets of 6061 or 7075 that have been age hardened or otherwise improved for the end uses proposed. To be brief: The T5 designation stands for aluminum that has been heated and rapidly cooled during fabrication, such as extrusion or casting, and then artificially aged. T6 means that is has been heated in a sollution and then age hardened; both being rigidly controlled mill processes.
I like to subcribe to the KISS principal as much as I can. That is: Keep It Super Simple.
Now back to my sintered metal crossbow
riser.
Pavise