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

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» 12th Century Chinese Crossbow Chronographed
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» [solved]Skane/Lillohus crossbow thread
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» Troubleshooting
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» Wood Prods
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    thornwarbler
    Fresh Blood

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    Fresh Blood Doesn't meanI'm new to crossbows


    Posts : 8
    Join date : 2012-03-16
    Location : Northumberland England

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    Post by thornwarbler Sat Mar 17, 2012 12:30 pm

    Hello everyone i live in a small village in Northumberland in the UK i have had an unhealthy interest in all things crossbow since i was a lad i own an old Barnett Wildcat from the 70s and i have a homemade with a shaped leaf spring as a power source it shoots reasonably well but i still have lots to learn.Thorn'
    basileus
    basileus
    Crossbow Building Wiki
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    Crossbow Building WikiFounder & Curator


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    Post by basileus Sat Mar 17, 2012 2:35 pm

    Hi Thom,

    You might enjoy this article if you want to tune your leaf spring crossbow to the max. These too might be of some interest to you:

    • Plan for a simple leaf spring prod
    • Making a steel prod from a leaf spring

    Basileus
    stoneagebowyer
    stoneagebowyer
    Crossbow Junkie

    I live here!


    Crossbow JunkieI live here!


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    Post by stoneagebowyer Sat Mar 17, 2012 6:47 pm

    Welcome aboard, Thorn.

    Dane
    Michael
    Michael
    Techno Weeny

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    Techno WeenyLets put a laser on it!!!


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    new to this site Empty new to this site; lef spring for prod?!..

    Post by Michael Sat Mar 17, 2012 9:16 pm

    Hey Thorn Welcome to the site Now if you like crossbows you found the home / house of crossbows Modern > Medieval. Making a Prod (bow) from an old auto leaf spring works? I made one many years ago when I was still a kid?! Be careful as this way is very dangerous. It can and will ruin your whole day. Have funfore you are with a group of great guys all willing to help. Take care now. Mike
    basileus
    basileus
    Crossbow Building Wiki
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    Post by basileus Sun Mar 18, 2012 2:40 am

    Michael wrote:Hey Thorn Welcome to the site Now if you like crossbows you found the home / house of crossbows Modern > Medieval. Making a Prod (bow) from an old auto leaf spring works? I made one many years ago when I was still a kid?! Be careful as this way is very dangerous. It can and will ruin your whole day. Have funfore you are with a group of great guys all willing to help. Take care now. Mike

    I used leaf springs for crossbow prods exclusively until I started experimenting with wooden bowmaking a few years back. The leaf spring leaves I use are new, not used. Now, I would argue that a properly heat-treated and designed steel prod is not any more dangerous than any other prod that stores the equal amounts of energy. I think the reason for the bad reputation of leaf spring prods is twofold:

    • They're easy to make without knowing much/anything about bowmaking and due to this they've been almost always designed badly
    • They store large amount of energy

    Bad design combined with high energy storage is a good recipe for a disaster.

    Now, there are several things to remember when making a safe and efficient steel prods:

    • Ensure there are no weak points (e.g. the hole in the middle, look here for ideas)
    • The width taper is proper, so that all parts of the bow bear equal load (look here)
    • The steel is heat-treated so that the prod bends before breaking (look here)
    • Draw length is increased slowly to see if the prod gains "set" (=bends without returning to it's original form)
    • The areas around the width tapering cuts are ground or filed cold, so that the softened areas are removed

    That said, used leaf springs are usually rusty to the extent they have small pits all over their surface. These obviously reduce the integrity of the bow somewhat. However, unlike with wooden bows, this is not critical. It will hold together just fine.

    That said, you experiment with any bows and prods at your own risk Smile.

    Basileus
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    thornwarbler
    Fresh Blood

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    I'm new to crossbows


    Fresh Blood Doesn't meanI'm new to crossbows


    Posts : 8
    Join date : 2012-03-16
    Location : Northumberland England

    new to this site Empty thanks guys

    Post by thornwarbler Sun Mar 18, 2012 7:34 am

    i've learned more in your welcome posts than i ever knew thanks alot. Thorn
    basileus
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    Post by basileus Sun Mar 18, 2012 12:30 pm

    thornwarbler wrote:i've learned more in your welcome posts than i ever knew thanks alot. Thorn

    Glad to be of assistance!

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