Harlequin Crossbow

First topic message reminder :

Today I went to the lumber store and bought me a big ol hunk of white oak.



A little bowed I know but I like him just fine. My buddy let me come over and use his shop so I had access to a lot of nice machiney A little time on the jointer and the issue is solved.

Did a rough sketch of what I wanted exactly. then took it to the band saw.



Then drilled the thumbhole and started sanding.... and sanding... and, well you get the picture.





I wanted to use his nice drill bits for the tigger mech hole thingie so I did that too.





Here's where I'm at so far...







I've got a ways to go, but I'd thaught I'd share my progress on this one. I think I know someone who'll enjoy watching this guy get built.

Side note: Why does the insert button exist? does anyone ever use it enough to a point where they say "hey, thank god this button is so close to the backspace button I use almost every two keystrokes. It makes it so convienient."

Anyway back on topic....

You might be wondering why this topic is called "Harlequin Crossbow" I'm getting to that, hold on.

You see, a very good person decided to entrust me with a beautiful custom made trigger and I feel the need to build a worthy home for it.



Ok, that picture stinks and does not do it justice. but here is a link to the topic it was spawned in.

https://thearbalistguild.forumotion.com/t529-casting-the-harlequin-trigger?highlight=harlequin

And my congrats as well. Looking forward to seeing video footage, when that happens.

Dane

And there he sits on his little throne. Surrounded by blood, sweat, tears and a lot of foul words.

Sorry, I had a Narcissistic moment here for the few bits I threw down for this project . ...you take some nice pictures man....enjoy your bloody throne, the bow is really something. I hope it lasts and lasts for many years to come.

I'm not going to spill too much excitement, better save it for the sound of Thunder ...and Then there's more in the details (always loved that bit )..., but one thing I'll say now...

~ from the start I had a strong feeling you would pull through this build like a champ, learn a crap load of stuff in the process, and instantly apply....and even though I was worried at times...not for a second did I doubt you, man.

Haha, I also kinda feel that this is just the beginning...wait till you get your hands on some brazing rods or better - a welder! And I'll pull through with the CAD/CAM deal.

Regerald,

I'll post something about the trigger after the "THUNDER"

...and you are a dad now? Last time (a whiiile ago) I remember you mentioned a girlfriend ...Maaan , well congrats to you Good Sir! Kids are great and knowing you, you are definitely a great dad. I mean just that one bit about a purple crossbow already says it all. Best wishes to the family!


Ivo

PS:

In case there is a genius among us that is thinking of stitching leather with Dacron or any other such fiber...read on...

I also wrapped my limbs in thin leather, and I'm not here to brag, but rather with a !WARNING!...if anyone is ever dumb enough to try and tightly stitch somethign with dacron without some proper tools/protection - you will be sorry.

~ I was wearing thick leather construction gloves and decided to pull that b-50 tight..tight...tight, till my hand felt sore. What I didn't realize is that I had cut through the glove and straight into my fingers. I'm fine now(after almost a month of healing time), but just saying... don't be an idiot like me.

Build smart.

[quote="Ivo"]

... don't be an idiot like me.

Build smart.

Ouch! Timely advice, I sewed up a fiberglass prod with leather lace, but I just started making my own strings and was thinking about using the b-50 to sew with. Apart from the injury, were you successful? I mean, if it cut your gloves and your fingers, wouldn't it cut the leather you're stitching, too?

Ivo wrote:
Last time (a whiiile ago) I remember you mentioned a girlfriend ...

ääh.. Women. Those evil creatures that distract me from making crossbows..

Get them on your side, but hide the bolts, just in case.

Speaking of bolts, that's my next chore. I've been talking to a bow hunter friend of mine who might have some spare arrow shafts lying around. Hopefully I can scrounge up a couple and make them into some purple and green dealers of death.

I found a red dot scope at Sportco today and slapped it onto the rail and it looks pretty good. the cheek rest sits a little high but it's not a big deal. I can still see the dot fine. I just need some proper bolts to sight it in.

Czech it out!

Okay so it's been a while since an update but I finally got around to making some custom bolts.

One down, 6 more to go.







It's hard to tell in the picture but they are made from oak dowels and colored the same as the crossbow. I was also very lucky to have some old arrow shafts laying around that fit super snug around the dowel so I was able to make it have inserts with screw in heads. This means I can put broadheads on the bolts no problem. Like almost everything I build everything just seemed to luckily fall into place.

I ordered a fletching jig online and it came yesterday. It's a slow process taking at least 15-20 mins for each fletch to dry (I'm using two part epoxy so they are super strong.) as you can see I have one finished bolt and I was able to shoot it and I'll be damned if it didn't go right where I had the litttle red dot. It was only 10 yards cause I shot it in my garage. (it's nighttime and hard to see outside)

So yeah, hopefully I'll have a video made here shortly.

Impressive peace it is!
I like the way u kept it "simple".
Not saying it was easy to make, far from easy, but no pully's and stuff.
Just looks nice and tight.
Looking forward to seeing that film.

Nice looking bolts. I use Gorilla super glue for my fletchings, and have never had one come off, even if it punches through the target and I have to pull it our from the back of the target. That speeds up the fletching process, not something I enjoy at all.

Well here it is, finally a video.



Thanks for taking interest in this bow I hope you all enjoyed watching it being built. Hopefully I'll have time for more projects.

Abo,

No disappointment here ...............very impressive ! Congrats on the build and it's performance !

And are doing a build with the cue-ball roller nut?

Chaz

Cool video, thanks for posting that for us here to watch. It looks like this project exceeded your expectations. Any idea what kind of performance it is getting? Chrony it maybe?

Abo...Haha!!!

I was in the dumps for a while...the little bits that kept my mood up was working on the blade you sent me and twirling crossbow ideas...but this...Dude, that really brought me back to life!!!

Very happy to see your project finally finished. ~ Blood, sweat, and tears...yeh man...like some sick creatures of the night...that's what crossbows feed on.

And...Thanks on the good words about the trigger, Hope the little joker trigger keeps it's luster for many years man. And yeh...I know it wasn't perfect...but after all, it was a prototype and it takes a true jester to test the poison and survive. You pulled through man, and that is badass.

Few quick questions, since I didn't get a chance to test everything due to last minute changes I made before sending it out.

You said you might be testing it with trigger pull gage...how did that work out?

Also, what's the trigger travel on it (how far you need pull the trigger to release the string) ?

And...I don't really like asking this question, but if I don't...who, besides you, will?

With this build complete and experience gained...anything you would do differently when building another one?

Hey man...it was great watching this build. Again, thanks for this fantastic presentation. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we all did (or in other words...I hope it wasn't *all* blood, sweat, and tears).

Cheers man!

Ivo

"PS":