Adam Bortz Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 hey all i currently attempting to create a steel crossbow inspired by the Elder Scrolls Skyrim (many of you may not be familiar with the video game Skyrim) i need help with the cocking mech. and overall design: Photo's added below! Im not to strong with CAD programs or know anyone who could help engineer this but il looking for some help here! hope i can find it! Hail Regin the Smith! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bret Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 Google is your friend.. Look here Crossbow wiki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Price Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 And, IIRC, there was a long thread here not too long ago about the risks of steel crossbow limbs. The consequence of catastrophic failure is not to be trifled with. Good luck! The Tidewater Forge Christopher Price, Bladesmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Gillespie Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 I'm actually in tue process of making one inspired by this as well, basically, they're very dangerous, make a fragment stopper, in case.of failure, I'm making mine fairly soft, but I'm precurving it quite a bit with a recurve at each end, and reinforcing the front and sides with steel plate, and the entire prod is going to be wire and string wrapped and epoxied. And safe guard on these things is a plus, I've seen one go bad, and well, its not pretty, its the equivalent of a rifle bolt blowing out, or a grenade going off. The trigger is based on the original chinese design, a lever and a catch, which rotates when the lever is released. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orien M Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 (edited) I tried awhile ago to throw together a small crossbow, a simple one with a 24" long, 70-ish lb draw wooden prod. Despite quite a bit of experience making handheld archery bows, I managed to blow the thing up before it reached full draw... If you've never made a bow before, I would highly suggest trying a few wooden ones before attempting steel. Using wood makes it much easier to adjust the bend ("tiller the bow") by scraping the belly...you'll need a good sense of tiller to make such a short, high-weight bow work well and be safe. Longer lower weight bows are easier to pull off; short, heavy ones such as this are at the more difficult end. (From the looks of it, that prod will pull 400 lbs or so... ) This is perhaps a little overcautious, but I don't think that having the prod deeply etched/engraved, as it appears in the pic, is a good idea. That front face will be under huge tension, any irregularity there may make the prod more prone to fail. In wooden bow making one typically tries to get that surface (called the back) as smooth and regular as humanly possible. Edited November 18, 2012 by Orien M My hand-forged knives and tools at Etsy.com: http://www.etsy.com/shop/oldschooltools Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orien M Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 PS: If I make another crossbow I'll be patterning it after THIS...a Hmong crossbow with a bamboo prod. I love the simplicity of the design, the trigger mechanism especially. My hand-forged knives and tools at Etsy.com: http://www.etsy.com/shop/oldschooltools Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragoncutlery Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 sca has ppl wrap the bow in raw hid or leather to use a steel or aluminum bow on a cross bow and this is on commercial bows so might not be a bad idea on a home made with that in mind i made a mini crossbow with a steel bow cut as a button just never got around to making a real string for it Brandon Sawisch bladesmith eagles may soar but weasels don't get sucked in to jet engines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsterling Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 Try asking your question: http://thearbalistguild.forumotion.com They have lots of information, lots of folks make their own crossbows, and lots of ideas (some good, some bad...) for "embellishment." Tom Tom SterlingTom's Instagram Tom's FacebookSterling Sculptures Web Site Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Gillespie Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 PS: If I make another crossbow I'll be patterning it after THIS...a Hmong crossbow with a bamboo prod. I love the simplicity of the design, the trigger mechanism especially. I have one of these, the on these are very strong, mine came back with my great uncle from the vietnam war, he had to destroy the trigger, and destring it. The prods are made from the same wood as the bow body, some were replaced with bamboo, or it my be bamboo, but I don't see the iconic rings of bamboo. But yes, don't try this unless you have some experience in bow making, or metalworking. And remember, the designers of the game didn't keep it completely realistic, but some parts are, the engraving wouldn't work, but everything else looks fine. I'm a skyrim fan and I can attest to the 400lbs or so, well for my bow anyways, I single shot dragons out of the air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riley weiss Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 sca has ppl wrap the bow in raw hid or leather to use a steel or aluminum bow on a cross bow and this is on commercial bows so might not be a bad idea on a home made with that in mind i made a mini crossbow with a steel bow cut as a button just never got around to making a real string for it <_</> very good idea man, dont want some metal shrapnel in your eye... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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