any tips on making a crossbow?

Meaningful discussion outside of the potato gun realm. Projects, theories, current events. Non-productive discussion will be locked.
User avatar
Mr.Sandman
Corporal 3
Corporal 3
Posts: 762
Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 9:10 am
Contact:

Donating Members

Wed May 02, 2012 3:05 pm

Goats spudz wrote: How is a Crossbow loud and uncomfortable to shoot with if it has a metal prod? my friend has one and its almost silent and is comfortable to shoot, whats uncomefortable to shoot is a 180lb compound bow when it hits your hand and cuts off skin :D
Lol, You obviously know nothing about compound bows. Not even medieval longbows were that high of a draw weight.
Yeah, it's that important.
Goats spudz
Specialist 4
Specialist 4
Posts: 458
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 12:31 pm
Contact:

Wed May 02, 2012 4:21 pm

Mr.Sandman wrote:
Goats spudz wrote: How is a Crossbow loud and uncomfortable to shoot with if it has a metal prod? my friend has one and its almost silent and is comfortable to shoot, whats uncomefortable to shoot is a 180lb compound bow when it hits your hand and cuts off skin :D
Lol, You obviously know nothing about compound bows. Not even medieval longbows were that high of a draw weight.
Sorry 80lb not 180
Where's my Chuck key?
User avatar
inonickname
First Sergeant 4
First Sergeant 4
Posts: 2606
Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2008 3:27 am

Thu May 03, 2012 5:21 am

Mr.Sandman wrote:
Goats spudz wrote: How is a Crossbow loud and uncomfortable to shoot with if it has a metal prod? my friend has one and its almost silent and is comfortable to shoot, whats uncomefortable to shoot is a 180lb compound bow when it hits your hand and cuts off skin :D
Lol, You obviously know nothing about compound bows. Not even medieval longbows were that high of a draw weight.
Indeed, but some English longbows would reach 100-185lb, however the archers were trained from birth and the style of shooting was very rapid to minimise fatigue. There's no way that weight could be physically shot on a modern recurve bow, the shot cycle would simply make it too hard.

Edit: Goatz, if it hit your hand, then you're probably a tad impaired mentally.
PimpAssasinG wrote:no im strong but you are a fat gay mother sucker that gets raped by black man for fun
Goats spudz
Specialist 4
Specialist 4
Posts: 458
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 12:31 pm
Contact:

Thu May 03, 2012 12:13 pm

no when you fire if you dont wear a leather glove at full draw, sometimes it just pulls a tiny bit of skin off your hand where your thumb is.
Where's my Chuck key?
User avatar
Zeus
Staff Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Posts: 1505
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:34 pm
Location: 'Straya, C*nt

Thu May 03, 2012 7:04 pm

That's more related to technique than the bow. I've never been bitten by my 50lb, and I had shitty technique for quite a while. Just keep your arm slightly bent outwards.

If you can't draw the bow with your arm like that, then the bow's too heavy for you.
/sarcasm, /hyperbole
User avatar
inonickname
First Sergeant 4
First Sergeant 4
Posts: 2606
Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2008 3:27 am

Thu May 03, 2012 10:19 pm

Goats spudz wrote:no when you fire if you dont wear a leather glove at full draw, sometimes it just pulls a tiny bit of skin off your hand where your thumb is.
Zeus, he means on his release hand

1. Use a mechanical release
2. Use a mechanical release
3. If it hits your thumb, then you have the worst release on the planet. Your thumb shouldn't even come close to the string.

@Zeus, angling your knuckles at about 45 degrees on the grip will naturally rotate the elbow out of the way :wink:
PimpAssasinG wrote:no im strong but you are a fat gay mother sucker that gets raped by black man for fun
beastmode986
Specialist
Specialist
Posts: 170
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:13 am

Thu May 24, 2012 2:32 pm

sorry to bring back this old thread i forgot about it :oops:

anyway i have multiple fiberglass rods in my basement and garage. However they arent too thick there about the width of a bic pen. i was wondering if i were to somehow quadruple them up would that work? i need something fun to do because my project is on a stand still due to slow shipping :(.
How would i go along using wood? i assumed it would snap with what i had in mind.
User avatar
Fnord
First Sergeant 2
First Sergeant 2
Posts: 2239
Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2007 9:20 pm
Location: Pripyat
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Thu May 24, 2012 7:41 pm

You can bind four of them together as you described. If you want a bow with longer arms(say, three feet total width), two or three may be sufficient. Just start out with two and add them as needed.

Thinking of using wood? Ha. You're in for frustration.
Crossbows have to store a lot of energy in very little material, and most woods don't like being deformed to such a degree. You could back a thin oak board with some fiberglass (not difficult), but otherwise expect a lot of wooden shrapnel flying.

Longer wooded bows are not difficult, but takes patience and quite a thorough understanding of how wood behaves if you want a bow which doesn't suck.

And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with using a simple bent stick for starters, but don't expect much. Those bamboo garden stakes work well when bundled together. Avoid using pine.
Image
beastmode986
Specialist
Specialist
Posts: 170
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:13 am

Thu May 24, 2012 10:24 pm

ok thanks, im going to use the fiberglass rods. as far as a trigger mechanism goes what do you recommend i have a few ideas in mind.
User avatar
Gun Freak
Lieutenant 5
Lieutenant 5
Posts: 4971
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 4:38 pm
Location: Florida
Been thanked: 8 times

Fri May 25, 2012 7:27 pm

You could do a Joerg Sprave style slingshot crossbow trigger...
OG Anti-Hybrid
One man's trash is a true Spudder's treasure!
Golf Ball Cannon "Superna"M16 BBMGPengunHammer Valve Airsoft SniperHigh Pressure .22 Coax
Holy Shat!
Post Reply