The Arbalist Guild

Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

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

Latest topics

» 12th Century Chinese Crossbow Chronographed
by stuckinthemud1 Fri Nov 24, 2023 3:50 pm

» Crossbow Stock
by kenh Tue Oct 31, 2023 6:19 am

» Colletiere a Charavines continuing experiment
by stuckinthemud1 Sat Oct 07, 2023 5:36 am

» Cocking - how
by stuckinthemud1 Thu Aug 03, 2023 4:24 am

» Questions around heavy crossbow lath buildin
by stuckinthemud1 Wed Apr 26, 2023 1:10 am

» Arab Crossbow
by stuckinthemud1 Tue Apr 25, 2023 7:57 am

» prod angle, and lever trigger for sale anyone?
by stuckinthemud1 Mon Mar 20, 2023 5:54 am

» flexible string
by jasper1978 Mon Mar 20, 2023 1:25 am

» [solved]Skane/Lillohus crossbow thread
by stuckinthemud1 Sun Mar 19, 2023 7:44 am

» jens sensfelder
by jasper1978 Wed Mar 08, 2023 11:58 pm

» 400lb Windlass crossbow bolts weight and accuracy shooting high.
by stuckinthemud1 Sun Mar 05, 2023 2:53 pm

» Codex Löffelholz crossbow
by stuckinthemud1 Tue Jan 24, 2023 4:14 pm

» Digitar prodsc
by stuckinthemud1 Sun Jan 15, 2023 2:42 pm

» Troubleshooting
by Andy. Fri Jan 06, 2023 12:29 pm

» Wood Prods
by stuckinthemud1 Fri Dec 30, 2022 12:47 pm

» Colletiere a Charavines crossbow
by stuckinthemud1 Fri Dec 30, 2022 8:54 am

» Simplified Löffelhotz speedloader
by stuckinthemud1 Fri Dec 09, 2022 4:05 pm

» Fiberglass H-bows
by c sitas Sat Nov 12, 2022 8:44 am

» Bad Antler
by drawknife Sat Nov 12, 2022 3:48 am

» Anyone make their own bolts?
by Juniper Mon Oct 17, 2022 8:20 am

» Josef alm in English
by Juniper Sat Oct 15, 2022 4:22 am

» Qin/Han lock drawings
by kenh Fri Sep 23, 2022 8:16 pm

» stirrup dimensions?
by stuckinthemud1 Thu Sep 01, 2022 1:49 pm

» Skane/Lillohus lockbow information needed
by stuckinthemud1 Sun Aug 14, 2022 6:23 am

» need help contacting le musee Dauphinois Grenoble
by stuckinthemud1 Sat Aug 13, 2022 3:22 pm


3 posters

    Greetings!

    OnlyHuman
    OnlyHuman
    OnlyHuman
    Fresh Blood

    Doesn't mean
    I'm new to crossbows


    Fresh Blood Doesn't meanI'm new to crossbows


    Posts : 7
    Join date : 2017-05-14
    Age : 27
    • Post n°1

    Greetings! Empty Greetings!

    Post by OnlyHuman Thu Jun 08, 2017 6:47 am

    I'm a 20 years old, male University student currently studying English Literature. I've been sailing for a long time, and I am very interested, but not very experienced, in outdoor activities.

     I've been interested in making myself a crossbow for a while now. After some online searching and several DIY videos I've found this forum. My goal is to make a strong, preferably long-range crossbow for practice and ultimately when I am assured that I can do it cleanly, hunting. To do that, of course, I need to learn how to.

     What I am stuck with right know is understanding what kind of prod I need to achive the things I want and I would very much appreciate if you could help me with that. If you think I should learn something else related to the subject before that, I am very open to any and all suggestions as I have no practical information about crossbow making and very few theoretical information about it. 

     Thank you for your time and knowledge.
    • Back to top
    kenh
    kenh
    kenh
    Crossbow Junkie

    I live here!


    Crossbow JunkieI live here!


    Posts : 883
    Join date : 2012-08-03
    Age : 75
    Location : Living Aboard a Sailboat in Fort Myers, FL
    • Post n°2

    Greetings! Empty Re: Greetings!

    Post by kenh Thu Jun 08, 2017 10:33 am

    Three basic prod materials -- steel, wood/horn/sinew, composite/fiberglass

    *  Steel  - buy unless you're an experienced metalworker.   Getting delivery on a purchased steel prod 
         can unfortunately take 6 months to a year.
    *  Wood or wood/horn/sinew -  wood-only is not very powerful; wood composite takes a lot of 
        experience to build
    *  Composite/fiberglass -- wood-fiberglass composites are fairly easy to make (like a modern longbow or recurve, just shorter).  Solid (extruded) fiberglass is easy to buy and shape into a prod.  The crossbow in my avatar picture has a solid fiberglass prod of two layers, which draws over 250#, and cost a whopping $7 at a local fence supply store.   You can also use the extruded fiberglass "boat canvas support bars" in multiple layers to get differing draw weights.  Sail battens might also work to make a fiberglass prod.
          


    Draw weight -- a crossbow prod is, relatively speaking, about as powerful as a vertical bow of half the draw weight.  That is, a 100# draw crossbow prod is about the same as a 50# draw "longbow or recurve".  Prods of 120 to 250 pound draw weight are relatively easy to make/buy.  If I were you, I'd make a crossbow in the 200# to 250# draw weight -- not too heavy or too lightweight, good for target or hunting.
    • Back to top
    OnlyHuman
    OnlyHuman
    OnlyHuman
    Fresh Blood

    Doesn't mean
    I'm new to crossbows


    Fresh Blood Doesn't meanI'm new to crossbows


    Posts : 7
    Join date : 2017-05-14
    Age : 27
    • Post n°3

    Greetings! Empty Re: Greetings!

    Post by OnlyHuman Thu Jun 08, 2017 11:27 am

    Greetings! Adsz10
    Thank you very much for your answer. 

     I know a decent workshop nearby and I know a guy there who is fairly experienced so I was thinking about a steel prod. However I need specifications on length, width, thickness of the prod etc. I've done some measurements on a picture of a prod I've found online. (Pic relate)

     I came up with some numbers yet I would prefer your specs over my measurements.
    • Back to top
    kenh
    kenh
    kenh
    Crossbow Junkie

    I live here!


    Crossbow JunkieI live here!


    Posts : 883
    Join date : 2012-08-03
    Age : 75
    Location : Living Aboard a Sailboat in Fort Myers, FL
    • Post n°4

    Greetings! Empty Re: Greetings!

    Post by kenh Thu Jun 08, 2017 11:47 am

    I'm not a steel prod kinda guy, so I don't have a dimensional formula for you;  hopefully someone will jump in with some specs.  Meanwhile, check out the Crossbow Building Wiki (link is on the right side of the main page) you may also find some useful info checking out some of the websites for suppliers found there.  TONS of info here, well worth spending time exploring.
    • Back to top
    OnlyHuman
    OnlyHuman
    OnlyHuman
    Fresh Blood

    Doesn't mean
    I'm new to crossbows


    Fresh Blood Doesn't meanI'm new to crossbows


    Posts : 7
    Join date : 2017-05-14
    Age : 27
    • Post n°5

    Greetings! Empty Re: Greetings!

    Post by OnlyHuman Thu Jun 08, 2017 1:05 pm

    Thanks, sir. Will do.
    • Back to top
    Onager Lovac
    Onager Lovac
    Onager Lovac
    Workshop Savvy

    Did you see my tool collection?


    Workshop SavvyDid you see my tool collection?


    Posts : 120
    Join date : 2015-06-18
    Age : 33
    • Post n°6

    Greetings! Empty Re: Greetings!

    Post by Onager Lovac Fri Jun 09, 2017 3:22 pm

    Hope this helps:
    Onager Lovac wrote:So here's my spring steel prod so far, i made it about 2 weeks ago, its 26" long 7/32" thick and it tapers to 1" with a slight recurve.Greetings! Dsc_0410
    Greetings! Dsc_0412
    Greetings! Dsc_0411
    Greetings! Dsc_0413
    • Back to top
    Onager Lovac
    Onager Lovac
    Onager Lovac
    Workshop Savvy

    Did you see my tool collection?


    Workshop SavvyDid you see my tool collection?


    Posts : 120
    Join date : 2015-06-18
    Age : 33
    • Post n°7

    Greetings! Empty Re: Greetings!

    Post by Onager Lovac Fri Jun 09, 2017 3:29 pm

    Here it is finished:
    Greetings! Dsc_0510
    • Back to top
    Onager Lovac
    Onager Lovac
    Onager Lovac
    Workshop Savvy

    Did you see my tool collection?


    Workshop SavvyDid you see my tool collection?


    Posts : 120
    Join date : 2015-06-18
    Age : 33
    • Post n°8

    Greetings! Empty Re: Greetings!

    Post by Onager Lovac Fri Jun 09, 2017 3:46 pm

    This might help also:
    http://www.vintageprojects.com/archery/cross-bow-leaf-spring.html
    • Back to top
    kenh
    kenh
    kenh
    Crossbow Junkie

    I live here!


    Crossbow JunkieI live here!


    Posts : 883
    Join date : 2012-08-03
    Age : 75
    Location : Living Aboard a Sailboat in Fort Myers, FL
    • Post n°9

    Greetings! Empty Re: Greetings!

    Post by kenh Fri Jun 09, 2017 7:46 pm

    Nice job, Onager!  How's it shooting?
    • Back to top
    OnlyHuman
    OnlyHuman
    OnlyHuman
    Fresh Blood

    Doesn't mean
    I'm new to crossbows


    Fresh Blood Doesn't meanI'm new to crossbows


    Posts : 7
    Join date : 2017-05-14
    Age : 27
    • Post n°10

    Greetings! Empty Re: Greetings!

    Post by OnlyHuman Mon Jun 12, 2017 7:40 am

    Onager Lovac wrote:Hope this helps:
    Onager Lovac wrote:So here's my spring steel prod so far, i made it about 2 weeks ago, its 26" long 7/32" thick and it tapers to 1" with a slight recurve.Greetings! Dsc_0410
    Greetings! Dsc_0412
    Greetings! Dsc_0411
    Greetings! Dsc_0413

    It did. Thank you.
    • Back to top
    Sponsored content

    Sponsored content


    • Post n°11

    Greetings! Empty Re: Greetings!

    Post by Sponsored content

    • Back to top

      Current date/time is Fri Apr 19, 2024 2:58 am