![]() ![]() After the 4th century BC, the technology of producing crossbows was very sophisticated. Because it used the elasticity of the bow and the bowstring to shoot arrows, it was used for long-distance attacks. It was one of the most frequently used weapons during the 5th century BC to the 18th century AD. I made a jib and steamed the pieces to get it close to the shape I wanted.In ancient China, people integrated the original bow, the bowstring, and a cam mechanism to develop a powerful weapon which was named the crossbow. No glueing for this, as they need to ride against each other as you cock and fire the bow. The bow itself is two pieces o bamboo, planed and sanded down, and nested on on top of the other. This ugly little shot is an ugly mockup of the bow itself, just to make sure I got my geomerty and dimension right. Make sure it is nice and smooth, with smoothed edges so they don't cause an early demise of your string. You can hopefully see, along with the photos of the magazine, that this slot is for the string. It really isnt hard to do, and just takes a bit of practice.Ĭlearning up the string slot. Making the rivets was really easy, just placed the rod into the vise, peened down one end, cut the rod to length leaving just a tiny bit, about 1/8" past the second washer, and peened it down carefully so I didnt wack and mess up my wood. I used brass threaded rod for the rivets, and four brass washers. I had to drill three holes, on in the stock and two in the two cocking handle pieces. The last photo shows it being either pushed foreward or the opposite. The magazine glued up and ready to be sanded.Īnother detail of how the T-shaped trigger works. It rides freely in the slot, and when you bring down the magazine via the handle, the trigger is pushed up, therefore pushing up the bow string held in place by the slot. This is the trigger and string slot along with the trigger. This is the front block of the magazine, and will become also the barrel. The magazine, stock, and lower magazine with the antler trigger. ![]() I also used Tightbond III instead of hide or fish glue. Mostly, the weapon is an exact replica of one that dates to late 19th century. That would have been way no fun, so I cheated on this here. An actual Chinese builder would have used one solid piece of wood, chiseled or sawed out to make the cavity for the bolts. If you don't sense I am totally nuts, here are some pictures, from beginning to end, with a few explainatory notes. It has been about a year ago I built this little guy. I bought it in New York's Chinatown, and this is one instance where you actually want a product to me "made in China." Second, I just got myself a new wok, and have been doing a lot of cooking with it, so that is another reason this build came to mind. An article will have all the grungy details on how and whyįirst, I should say that the Chinese jacket you see me wearing is a bit of the inspiration for this.dumb, but true. This is not a detailed buildalong, but more a photo essay kind of thing. Maybe you guys would enjoy seeing this little weapon as I created it. Well, if memory is not messing with me, I posted these in progress shots on a crossbow community, but not here. And they shoot fast, about 1 bolt a second. The symbol I had painted on the magazine is a symbol for rain, the poetic idea being it puts for a rain of arrows. However, I have seen a painting of very large ones being used during naval battles, and they were used during the Boxer Rebellion, 1898 - 1901.įeel free to ask questions. They were normally tipped with poison, as they are very weak. A peasant's weapon, the have a box magazine and 10 fletchless, gravity fed bolts. They go back to perhaps 250 BC or earlier. It is a very simple project, and I build this one from scrap wood, with the only metal being two brass rods and four brass washers. ![]() I let everyone who wanted to try it, and at least three other guys wanted info to build their own. I do plan to do a detailed buildalong of one of these, and probably write an article for PA, since everyone who plays with this have such fun. This is a little Chu Ko Nu, the Chinese repeating crossbow. This is only one photo a friend took at last week's NEPSG in Woodbury. ![]()
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