Make Your Own Crossbows & Etc - Mad Abe-Organizer

BUILD YOUR OWN
OLD & MODERN

CLASSICAL
OR
CONVENTIONAL,
CARBINE
OR
PISTOL,
SINGLE-SHOT
OR
REPEATING
CROSSBOWS,
PLUS
BOWS & ARROWS
&
EXPLOSIVE & FRAG-GRENADE
ARROWS & BOLTS
BY MAD ABE, EDITOR

Folks, the weapons´ll show you how to build now are based on a
very old concept.
These weapons are called Crossbows.
But the one´s I´ll show you now are modern versions of those old
classical weapons.
The starting point is that these weapons are legal anywhere in the
whole World, do not need to use controlled materials or
substances, don´t depend on commercial ammunition nor
components, and you can build any or all of them for a fraction of
the cost of a similar so effective weapon for combat, defense,
hunting, fishing, or survival.
That is, these modern weapons are just that: WEAPONS.
They are really deadly weapons, and you must think of them as
such, all the time – they are as deadly as any combat or big-game
hunting rifle in use today.
These modern Crossbows can bring down any animal on the

surface of Earth, or even the Oceans´ dwellers.
About how potent one of these modern Crossbows are, you can
reproduce an experiment I´ve done years ago, and repeated
several times along the past years.
Take a couple of ice blocks (or more ice blocks) that you can put
one in front of the other over a flat surface, covering 1,2 m.(one
meter and twenty centimeters) or 4’ (four feet).
Place another group of identical ice-blocks at the side of the first
one, a foot (30 cm.) apart.
You´ll need a full-power Rifle, like the WWII military ones, or the
current sniper rifles (in such high-penetration calibers as
7.62x63mm/.30-06 Springfield, 7x57mm./7mm. Mauser,
7.92x57mm./8mm. Mauser, or 7.62x51mm NATO/.308
Winchester, using FMJ-Full Metal Jacket or better, AP-Armor
Piercing rounds), and one of the carbine-sized Crossbows
detailed below, with bolts with single-point steel-tipped heads,
also called field-heads (not broadheads, the so-called hunting-
heads).
Position yourself 15 meters (50 feet) in a good, solid bench (or be
in prone position) to be sure you´ll shoot as straight as possible.
Shot one block with the Rifle.
With a Mauser 1908 in 7.62x51mm NATO caliber, using a full-
power military-grade AP round, the bullet penetrated 57 cm.
Using the Crossbow (with a 150 lbs. steel prod) to shot the other
ice-block, the bolt penetrated 87 cm.
Shooting against soft body-armor vests, a similar wooden bolt

with an identical steel head penetrated both sides (from the front)
of a Level III-A vest (33 layers of Kevlar 29 in each side), with a
plastic bag with 20 Kg. of salted pork meat inside.
Similarly, it also penetrated cars windshields as well as the

7.62x51mm NATO rounds (much better than any 5.56x45mm
NATO or 7.62x39mm Russian AP rounds), completely penetrated
cars doors, and deflates tires faster than the 7.62x51mm NATO
rounds (in reality, almost as instantly as a 12-gauge slug does).
Any big-game or dangerous animal in existence had one of it´s
exemplars killed as fast as if the hunter used the most potent rifle
for the species, and men have been killed both in war and peace
with Crossbows.
And this is nothing yet…
There are plans to build a Pistol Crossbow (as potent as a

Magnum handgun in penetration and killing capabilities) and a
Repeating Crossbow, a home-defense or jungle-combat weapon
that can bring down any foe, man or beast!
Dot not take my words as granted, build these Crossbows and go

try for yourselves.
And have fun!
Mad Abe.
Uma publicação eletrônica da EDITORA SUPERVIRTUAL LTDA.
Colaborando com a preservação do Patrimônio Intelectual da Humanidade.
WebSite: http://www.supervirtual.com.br
E-Mail: [email protected]
(reprodução permitida para fins não-comerciais)
My Crossbow
Well, here it is. My crossbow. It is unfortunately far from
authentic as medieval crossbows go. With the help of Master
Iolo (through a guy named Ailean), I learned the
manufacturer of the crossbow, but I have since forgotten it. I
think it was made by some business in Texas or something.
The prod is aluminum, which greatly reduced the weight of

the crossbow. Aluminum gets stress cracks after a lot of use,
so it isn't the best material for a prod. Plus, it is attached to
the tiller with a nut and washer, which puts a lot of
unnecessary stress on the prod. Of course, I don't use it
much, nor will I ever use it much (in all likelihood), so I guess
it's not that big of a deal. The string is a piece of 800 pound (I
think) cable.
The tiller is some sort of pine. It is made more like a rifle

stock, so it is certainly not in the medieval style. The trigger is also like a rifle trigger and is
equally unlike a
medieval style trigger. Although I have not taken it apart to inspect the mechanism, I
believe that the trigger
mechanism is a simple lever system. It seems that the trigger and the nut is one piece
hinged on an arm protruding
to the rear of the crossbow. This crude diagram is how I believe the trigger/nut mechanism
is designed on my
crossbow.
I have only shot my crossbow on three occasions. On the first two occasions I was using a
paper plate attached to a
hay bale as a target. At 30 meters, the crossbow was moderately accurate. The bolts
regularly sunk into the hay
bale 30 cm (12 inches) or more at that distance. A few times, the entire length of the bolts
sunk into the hay bale
(45 cm or 18 inches). I took the crossbow to a sporting goods store with an draw weight
scale, and it maxed out their
100 pound scale. My guess is that the draw weight is approximately 125 pounds (that was
their guess too).
The third time I shot my crossbow was at an archery range. (I got a lot of looks from the
other archers, I believe in
amazement that I was actually shooting such a beast.) In a short time, I was able to shoot
quite accurately at 40
meters. The difficulty came in being forced to aim through the tiller of the crossbow. My
aiming point was actually
the top of the butt (target) in order to hit the yellow. Shooting at 60 meters proved to be too
much for the crossbow.
There was no hope for accuracy. In this respect, the bolts being used likely have much to do
with the problem. The
fletching of my bolts is made of a rubberized material. The cock feather travels down a
groove on the tiller. The
cock fletching on my bolts have become warped due to the friction of traveling down the
grove, yielding unstable
flight.
Since the lathe of my crossbow seems to be a bit longer than a hand-spanned medieval
crossbow, it should be more
efficient, and is thus probably equal in strength to a 200 pound medieval crossbow. I do not
no the difference in the
elastic modulus of my aluminum prod and the composite or steel prods of medieval
crossbows though, so perhaps
my crossbow is less efficient after-all.
I guess that's about it. I'll add more as I think of it.
NEWS FLASH!!!
Someone who found this page made a crossbow exactly like the one that I have. He was
kind enough to give me
some new information on it, which follows:
"I saw your crossbow page for the first time today. It brought back lots of memories for me.
I have an identical
crossbow with a walnut stock.
"I built it from a kit in high school shop class. That was about 1982. The kit was about $30.
I spent about a month
making and finishing the stock. I used to have a fishing kit for it. Shot a couple carp with it
in the local resevoir.
"The catalog draw weight was 150lbs, but that could be changed by adjusting the size of the
stock. 125 lbs for yours
sounds very reasonable.
"The only drawback to the kit was the bolts that came with it. The nocks were plastic and
were standard arrow
nocks. The cable had a spring wrapped around it, to reduce friction when firing. This spring
was to big to fit in the
nocks and you would split them almost immediately.
"I really enjoyed your page. I just thought you might appreciate some background info from
someone with a
similiar crossbow
"Don . . ."
Thanks for the info Don! I really appreciate it.

REPEATING
CROSSBOW
By Austin H. Phelps
THIS REPEATING CROSSBOW has all the

handling characteristics of a fine repeating
rifle of the slide-action type. In the hands of an
experienced crossbowman it will deliver five
shots in five seconds with near-rifle accuracy
over ranges up to 40 yards. The steel-pointed
arrows, or quarrels, as they are correctly called,
are loaded from the top into a magazine just as
are the cartridges in a bolt-action rifle. After
loading, the bow is cocked by a slide, and the
quarrel is fired by pressing a trigger which re-
leases the bowstring. Nocking of the five quar-
rels in the magazine is done automatically by
the repeating mechanism as shown in the lower
detail in Fig. 3. The two-piece barrel, Figs. 1 and
2, has a square bore, the groove being cut to full
depth in both halves. Then parts
of both halves are cut away so that
when assembled there will be an
offset slot for the bowstring as in
the lower detail in Fig. 2. Brass
runners, fitted with 3½-in. brass
strips soldered edgewise to them,
are screwed to the lower barrel as
in the center left-hand detail in
Fig. 2. Care must be taken to space
the runner strips so that the inner
edges are exactly flush with the
inner edges of the magazine liners.
After making a trial assembly, it
may be necessary to file the slant-
ing ends of the 3½-in. strips or the
underside of the upper barrel to
permit free passage of the bow-
string through the offset slot. The
purpose of the offset in the slot is
to force the bowstring upward suf-
ficiently to release it from the
notch in the quarrel, permitting
An assembly view of the two-piece barrel showing the pump the latter to enter the bore in free
slide, brass runners, and the top barrel in position. Stock should
be handmade to specifications that fit individual user in the same
flight.
way as a rifle or shotgun stock. Use hardwood for all parts In making the stock, it's a good
idea to copy a rifle or shotgun
stock that fits you and has a grip
and tang shaped to your liking.
Bandsaw the wood to the rough
outline of the stock selected, then
finish to contour with wood rasps
and sandpaper. Care must be used
in cutting and finishing the maga-
zine slot in the stock, as the maga-
zine liners must be spaced accu-
rately so that the quarrels drop
freely into firing position, Fig. 3.
The inner rear corners of the lin-
ers are rounded to a smooth curve.
To assure free movement of the
quarrel in firing position, it may
also be necessary to round the in-
ner corners of the brass runners.
The pump slide, Fig. 2, engages the
bowstring as in Fig. 1 when in
the forward position. Overhanging
brass strips, which are screwed to
Above, this repeating crossbow is loaded just like a bolt-action
the guide blocks, Fig. 2, ride on the
rifle, five quarrels being placed in the box magazine at one
brass runners. In cocking, the
loading. Below, note the trim lines of the finished job. If de- slide is drawn back as far as it will
sired, you can install either open or peep sights on the barrel go and the forward end is pulled
166 POPULAR MECHANICS

NUT EMBEDDED
IN WOOD 15°
15°
2½" BOW
1¾"
2" 2" WEDGE

DETAIL A
¼"
Bow PLATE
BUTT HINGE WALNUT STOCK
7¼"
3"
1½" ½"
METAL CLAMP
STEEL POINT sQ.

DRLLED FOR
TENON ON SHAFT
LEMONWOOD, HICKORY OR YEW BOW

COVER, 3/8" X 1 X 9" ROUNDED CORNERS
MAGAZINE LINERS,
¼ x 1½ x 5"'
2
2½"
TOP BARREL
TRIGGER GUARD,
3/8 x 1" x 5"
1" SQ. RUNNERS.
1/8" BRASS 5/8"
10¼ 1/8"
3
3½"
LOWER BARREL
3/8" 13½"
18"'
4½" 7½ 4
¾" 1½" .5 2½
BRASS PUMP SLIDE
1"
¼" ½"
14½"
1/8" 3/8" 3½"' ¼ 3¼

4½" 13½
5". 4
18"
Fig. 17 - Two Modern Oriental
CO2 Rifles
Top specimen is a Howa bolt- Fig.17A - Airgun Torpedoes!

action CO2 rifle from Japan.
Howa mainly has produced These devices, beautifully lathe-
absolutely top grade production turned from brass, are
firearms under their own name "torpedoes", designed to be
and the names of several charged with shaped-charges of
American firearm producers. high explosives, such as TNT,
Their air rifle shows the same and then fired from Philippine
attention to quality and solid .38" and .50" (9 & 12.5 mm)
construction. caliber CO2 rifles, such as the
specimen to the left. When he
Bottom specimen is a left several different versions of
"Mountain Rancher's Rifle" these rifles at our office, the
from the Philippines. This CO2 factory representative presented
rifle is made with a .50" caliber us with these specimens. He
brass barrel with inserts for also had some, which he took
.177", .22", and .38" caliber with him for trials with a
projectiles. relative in Southern California,
Note the laminated stock of that were already charged.
semi-futuristic design (some of When we asked him how he
our other similar specimens brought them, when he flew in,
have stocks with thumbholes he replied: "In my vest pocket"!.
and saddle-like dual Talk about airport security!
cheekpieces and ornate carvings
- they look like something out There are both .38" and .50"
of science-fiction!). Note the caliber torpedoes here, some
spinning reel under the with round heads for surface
forearm! This is used to retrieve detonation, others with pointed
frog and fish spears, and arrows heads for deep detonation. He
fired from the .38" barrel. The indicated that they use them for
.50" caliber barrel is used to fire killing animals up to the size of
cattle/big game tranquilizer water buffaloes. But, he added,
dart/syringes and, hold your the problem is that they may
hat, TNT explosive torpedoes! (I blow away "one-quarter" of the
put a whole chapter on water buffalo"!
Philippine airguns into our Blue
Book of Airguns). Beeman collection.
Photos 16 and 17 are items in the Beeman
Collection, photographed by Ulrich Eichstädt.
The Chinese Repeating Crossbow
Ralph Payne-Gallwey 'The Crossbow'

Longman's, Green & Co. London, 1903
(The following text and illustrations are no longer protected by copyright;
but this HTML typographical arrangement is © ATARN 2000)
CHAPTER XLIX
THE CHINESE REPEATING CROSSBOW
HERE we have surely the most curious of all the weapons I have described.
Though the antiquity of the repeating crossbow is so great that the date of its introduction is beyond
conjecture, it is to this day carried by Chinese soldiers in the more remote districts of their empire.
In the recent war between China and Japan, 1894-95, the repeating crossbow was frequently seen among
troops who came from the interior of the first-named country.
The interesting and unique feature of this crossbow is its repeating action, which though so crudely simple
acts perfectly and enables the crossbowman to discharge ten arrows in fifteen seconds.
When bows, and crossbows which shot one bolt at a time, were the usual missive weapons of the Chinese, it is
probable that the repeating crossbow was very effective for stopping the rush of an enemy in the open, or for
defending fortified positions.
For example, one hundred men with repeating crossbows could send a thousand arrows into their opponents'
ranks in a quarter of a minute.
On the other hand, one hundred men with bows, or with ordinary crossbows that shot only one arrow at a
discharge, would not be able to loose more than about two hundred arrows in fifteen seconds.
The effect of a continuous stream of a thousand arrows flying into a crowd of assailants-in so short a space as
fifteen seconds-would, of course, be infinitely greater than that of only two hundred in the same time,
especially as the arrows of barbaric nations were often smeared with poison.
The small and light arrow of the comparatively weak Chinese crossbow here described had little penetrative
power. For this reason the head of the arrow was sometimes dipped in poison, in order that a slight wound
might prove fatal.
The impetus of the heavy bolt of the mediaeval European crossbow which had a thick steel bow, was
sufficient to destroy life without the aid of such a cruel accessory as poison.
file:///C|/WINDOWS/Desktop/The%20Chinese%20Repeating%20Crossbow.htm (1 of 6) [21/09/01 01:12:43]


THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CHINESE REPEATING CROSSBOW, Figs. 171, 172
The magazine in which the ten or twelve small arrows are laid (one on the other) when the
A, A.
weapon is made ready for use.
B, B. The stock in which the bamboo bow is fixed.
The lever that works the crossbow. The lever is hinged to the stock of the crossbow and its
C.
magazine by metal pins, fig. 174.
The piece of wood along the upper surface of which a groove is cut. for an arrow to rest in, and
E.
that also has a notch in it to hold the bowstring.
This piece is attached to the magazine and forms the lower part of it.
HOW TO WORK THE CROSSBOW, FIG. 174
By pushing forward the magazine by means of the lever, the bow-string is automatically caught in the notch
above the trigger, A, fig. 174.
At the moment when the bow-string is thus secured, an arrow falls from the magazine into the groove cut out
in front of the notch. An arrow cannot drop from the magazine into the groove till the bow-string is in the
notch, fig. 175.
The trigger consists of a little piece of hard wood. When the lever is fully pulled back the trigger pushes the
stretched bow-string upwards out of the notch that holds it, B, fig. 174. The trigger works in an upright slot. It
has its upper end enlarged to prevent it from dropping out of the slot in which it moves up or down, fig. 173,

FIG. 174 -THE ACTION OF THE TRIGGER OF THE CHINESE REPEATING CROSSBOW.
A. The magazine, full of arrows, pushed forward by the lever. The bow-string is caught in the notch above the trigger.
B. The crossbow just before it is discharged. The trigger, as its lowest extremity is pressed against the surface of the stock by
the action of the lever lifts the bow-string out of the notch.

B, fig. 174. The lever is here pulled back, with the result that the bow is bent and the bow-string stretched. By
pulling back the lever a little farther than shown in this sketch, the projecting end of the trigger will be pressed
against the surface of the stock of the crossbow. This causes the upper end of the trigger to lift the bow-string
out of the notch and set it free. The arrow is then discharged and the crossbow returns to the position shown in
fig. 171, and is ready for the next shot.
From this description, it will be understood how simple and rapid is the action of the crossbow. All that need
be done to shoot off the arrows contained in its magazine, is to work the lever to and fro as slowly or as
quickly as desired.
It is even possible to discharge a dozen arrows in fifteen seconds.
By a slight alteration in the construction of the crossbow it was sometimes made to shoot two arrows, instead
of one, every time its bow recoiled.
In such a case, the magazine and stock were about ¾ in. wider than in the weapon just described. The
magazine had a thin partition down its centre which divided it into two compartments. On each side of the
central partition a dozen arrows were laid, one over the other. The bow-string passed over two parallel
grooves instead of over a single one, each groove being, of course, exactly beneath a compartment in the
magazine. As the lever was worked, two arrows dropped from the magazine and remained side-by-side, one in
each groove, both arrows being propelled together when the bow-string was released.
By means of this arrangement one hundred men could discharge two thousand arrows in fifteen seconds, or
double the number which one hundred men could shoot off in the same time with the ordinary repeating
crossbow.
The effective range of these Chinese weapons was about 80 yards; their extreme range from 180 to 200 yards.
The bamboo arrows, though short and light, were well made and had steel heads that were heavy in proportion
to the length of their shafts. They had no feathers, so that their freedom of movement might not be impeded as
they dropped one by one from the magazine when the crossbow was being used.
For the same reason, the width of the magazine-inside-was slightly in excess of the diameter of the arrow.
The length of the arrow was from 12 in. to 16 in., according to the size of the crossbow; its diameter 5/16 in.
to 3/8 in.
The bow was made either of one stout piece of male bamboo, about 3 ft. 6 in. long, or of several flat strips
lashed together.
In the latter case, the bow-string passed through a hole in each end of the bow, fig. 174. The bow-string
consisted of animal sinew twisted into a cord of suitable strength.

FIG. 175.-THE MAGAZINE OF THE CHINESE REPEATING CROSSBOW WITH ITS SIDES REMOVED.
It will be seen that an arrow cannot drop down from the magazine into the groove along which the bow-string
travels till the latter is in the notch above the trigger, as shown in A, fig. 174.
Last up-dated 09 October, 2000

Crossbow page
Part One - Basic Dimentions.
Matereal used for stock is the birch.
Part Two - The Prod.

Well, not much to say about it. They say, best matereal is the fiberglass, but I have not found a suitable peace
of it. So, the first bow was made from some unknown plastic, found in the garage. It was 65 cm long and has
about 37 kg draw weight. All was OK for some weeks, but then it got a terrible string follow. My current prod
is made next way: I took an old slalom ski, sawed a back part of it, then sawed it lengthwise. Thus I got limbs
and mounted them on central section with long bolts. So I got a prod wich is some longer than normal, but it
works good, and does not have any string follow. It's draw weight is about 43 kg.
file:///C|/boom/docs/Crossbow page.htm (1 of 5) [12/16/2000 2:06:39 PM]

Crossbow page
Part Three - Bow Irons and assembling.

Of coarse, I wanted to make a prod removable. So, I took a catch from old-fashioned ski bindings and used a
resilient hook When the catch is locking on the hook, the hook is folding and clasping the prod to the stock.
Notches on the stock an on the prod get into each other and the prod is reliable fasten at place.
Here is the general sheme of what it looks like
And here is a more detailed drawing

Crossbow page
Part Four - release mechanism.

I made the most simple mechanism, containing only two steel details, excepting a spring.
I hope pictures show, how does it work.

Crossbow page
Here are release mechanism dimentions

Crossbow page

crossbowinstr http://www.combat-archery.com/crossbowinstr.htm
Inexpensive 2x4 Combat Crossbow Plans

By Wulfric Alemaker
NOTE: Plans do not include bowstring, you must make or procure a 32" string.
First off, I can’t claim credit for the 2x4 design. It was introduced into the Northern Region of the East
Kingdom by Baron Mutsura Ishikage no Ishido, and it gave Combat Archery in this region a real boost by
allowing new archers to try it out without a spending a lot of cash. The design of His Excellency’s bow
utilized a rotating nut and had longer limbs consisting of 3 fiberglass posts stacked vertically, and a
handgrip but no buttstock. I decided to eliminate the nut in favor of a cheaper, simpler-to-build trigger
mechanism. My bow uses a rising pin trigger, which I believe is feature found on period Pictish bows.
When cocked, the string rests behind 2 steel fence staples and on top of the rising pin. When the tickler is
squeezed upward, the pin pushes the string up until it slips over the rounded top of the staples and sends
the bolt on it’s way. I wanted more power (grunt, grunt), so I added a fourth fiberglass post and shortened
the limbs/draw length, which coincidentally gave the bow a narrower profile for working through a
shieldwall. I also added a buttstock to steady it while aiming. My bow draws a little under 600
inch-pounds so it can use any bolt allowed on the field but works best with fiberglass-shafted or siloflex
bolts. I have been told that some kingdoms have a minimum bolt length, if you live in one you may need
to adjust your dimensions. Plenty of modifications and refinements to this design are possible, feel free to
experiment.
These things won’t win any beauty contests, but they are an effective munitions-grade weapon and a great
way to get started. All the materials can be purchased at hardware or farm supply stores, and damaged
components are easily replaced. The limbs and trigger pieces are all made from 3/8" fiberglass fence posts.
The usual precautions about working with fiberglass apply (i.e. don’t breathe the dust, don’t get it on your
skin or in your eyes.) Having seen fiberglass bows experience catastrophic failure, I don’t consider this
design unsafe; since when fiberglass breaks it usually just folds in half with splintered ends and doesn’t go
flying apart like wood does. Plus, there are three other posts to support one if it goes. I’ve only had one
post fail in the 3 years I’ve been using the bow. After a battle I noticed that it had started to split apart, so
I replaced it in about 5 minutes in camp. After a while the posts start to take a "set" so it wouldn’t hurt to
replace them every year.
Tools needed:
Drill & bits: 3/32", 3/8" (drill press makes life easier)
Hammer
Hand saw or bandsaw
Hacksaw
Wood rasp, coarse file, Surfoam cutter, or dremel for wood shaping
3/8" Round file
Screwdriver
Sandpaper or power sander
Measuring tape or ruler
1 de 8 11/7/2008 16:46
Vise
1/2" chisel
Propane torch or stove burner
Heat resistant gloves
Materials needed:
1 - nice straight 2x4 cut to length of stock (mine is 28")
4 - 3/8" dia. 48" long white fiberglass fence posts
2 - 12" lengths of wood approx. 3" x 1/2" for side rails. (I used some baseboard molding)
2 - Fence staples for barbed wire
2 - Copper pipe caps for 1" pipe
1 - Strip of barrel plastic 7" x 1-1/2"
1 6-penny finish nail for pivot
2 dimes or pennies
2 wood screws 1" long
Dozen 1-1/2" finish nails or 1" wood screws
Short piece of sinew/dacron twine/wire, etc to lash the rising pin to the tickler
Strapping tape or duct tape
If you want to make an optional stirrup, you’ll need material for that, too. I just brace the buttstock
against my belly armor when cocking, so I don’t have to look down from combat. That’s how archers get
dead.
Procedure:
Decide which edge of the 2x4 will be the top of the bow (the track) and make sure it is reasonably smooth
and straight. Measure back from the front of the bow 14 ½". Drill a 3/8" hole dead center in the track at
this point, as perfectly perpendicular as you can. A drill press really helps here. Drill at least 3 inches
deep. This is the hole for the rising-pin.
Mark the position of the staples so their back edges are just forward of the pin, one on either side 1" apart.
Position them so that when the pin rises upward it will push the string up over the staples. Drill pilot holes
and hammer the staples into the stock until the tops are 5/8" above the track. Make sure the backs of the
staples are in alignment with each other and perpendicular to the stock, and they are even in height. If one
is taller or more forward than the other the string may not slip off both at the same time, resulting in a
misfire or hangfire. Make sure you sand or file the tops and backs of the staples smooth so they don’t
abrade the string.
Next mark the position of the 4 holes for the limbs. Make sure you leave at least 1/4" of wood between
them. Drill them through the stock, as perpendicular as possible. IMPORTANT! Bevel the edges of the
holes so there isn’t a sharp edge to focus stress on the limbs.
Now take your saw and cut out the bottom of the stock as indicated in the diagram, starting about 11"
2 de 8 11/7/2008 16:46
back from the front. It narrows to about 2" at the grip. Round off the corners of the grip area top &
bottom until your hand can comfortably grip the stock.
Take your hacksaw and cut three of the fiberglass fence posts at 31" and the fourth at 33-1/2". These will
become the limbs of your prod. I have found the best way is to cut most of the way through, then finish
the cut from the other side so they don’t split. Bevel the ends slightly to keep them from splitting in use.
Take your dimes and drill a 3/32" hole through the center of each (or use a whitney punch). Set aside.
One of the leftover pieces of post will become your pin. Cut it about 1/4" longer than the distance from
the top of the staples to the bottom of the pin hole in the stock. Slightly bevel the top of the pin. Drill a
3/32" hole through the pin near the bottom and round that end. Insert the pin in it’s hole in the stock.
Take another cut-off piece and make it about 6" long. This is now your tickler. With the top of the pin
even with the top of the staples, hold your tickler at right angles to the bottom of the pin and mark where
it intersects the forearm of the stock. This will be the elevation of the tickler bar at full squeeze. Now
place your 3/8" drill bit in that position and drill straight into the stock (i.e. parallel to the track) about
1-1/2".
Round one end of the tickler and stuff it into the hole you just drilled. Mark the location for the pivot
point on the side of the stock and drill all the way through the stock and the tickler. Now remove the
tickler and lay it on the side of the stock in the same relative position. Use your 6-penny finish nail to
temporarily hold the tickler to the side of the stock. Now push the pin down so it’s top is flush with the
track. This is where it will be in the cocked position. Line up the tickler with the bottom of the pin and
trace it’s position on the side of the stock with a pencil. This will show you the angle that you need to drill
the stock to meet the previous hole at the pivot point. Remove the tickler and drill out the hole. Drill about
1/4" past the intersection of the holes. Now chisel out the wood between both holes so that you have a
3/8" pocket in your stock that will allow your tickler to move up and down between cock position and
fire. (Optional Northern Army Thug method - cut with the side of your drill bit and just hog through the
soft pine.) Rasp or file it smooth so the tickler moves freely up and down (see cut-away diagram). When
you’re satisfied, permanently pin the tickler in the pocket with the pivot nail, using the drilled dimes as
washers on either side of the stock. Cut the point of the nail off close to the dime and gently peen the end
of it like a rivet. The pivot nail is now secure. Drill a 3/32" hole in the tickler directly below the hole in the
pin and lash the two pieces together. Your trigger mechanism is now functional.
Nail or screw the side rails to the stock with your dozen 1-1/2" finish nails or small wood screws. The top
of the side rails should be 1/2" above the track. Sand the tops very smooth and round the edges since this
is where your string will ride. Bevel the outside corners closest to the staples as shown to allow the string
to transition freely from the staples to the top of the side rails without snagging.
Make your bolt hold down by heating the strip of barrel plastic and bending it to shape. You want it to
flare up a little at the tip for ease of loading the bolts. Screw it to the stock with 2 screws behind the
trigger mechanism.
Drill a 3/8" hole through the pipe caps near the sides and deburr the holes. Now insert the prod posts into
the stock and center them. The longest post goes in the rearmost hole. Wrap tape around the posts as
indicated in the diagram. The pipe caps should be a snug, but not tight, fit when you press them on. The
string will hold them in place.
Finally, make or procure a string 32" long. If it’s a little too long, give it a few twists to shorten the overall
length. If it’s a little too short, file a little off the length of your limbs. Get someone to help you string the
bow. Carefully draw it back halfway a few times to make sure everything is behaving. Expect some
creaking noises as the posts slide against each other a little bit. Cock it, load & fire. If you are using a
stirrup, be careful not to depress the tickler with your leg when cocking. Inspect the bow carefully for any
signs of stress or cracking each time for the first few shots.
3 de 8 11/7/2008 16:46
To avoid accidental discharges, you can keep your fingers wrapped around the grip and your knuckles will
prevent the tickler from moving upward and tripping the trigger. However, a good bump to the string may
still result in discharge so as with any projectile weapon, be aware of where it’s pointed at all times.
4 de 8 11/7/2008 16:46
5 de 8 11/7/2008 16:46
6 de 8 11/7/2008 16:46
7 de 8 11/7/2008 16:46
Happy Hunting!
Wulfric Alemaker
East Kingdom
***Thanks to Wulfric Alemaker for writing up these instructions for us.***
8 de 8 11/7/2008 16:46
Tom Jennings of S. & J. Archery checks the weight oi a finished laminated recurve bow with spring scale
and graduated base board. Glass and core lamination thicknesses largely determine weight of each bow.
114
How to Make
a Recurve Bow
The knowledge gained through the experience of making your
own bow makes this more than just a prideful accomplishment.
OONER or later the enthusiastic archer gets a yen to make his own bow.
S His reasons may be economical or experimental, but whatever they are,
his skill as a craftsman should be equal to his enthusiasm or his venture into
bow-making could prove dismal and costly. It's one thing to get a slat or stave
of lemonwood and whittle out a simple bow that will perform to a fair degree
of satisfaction, but the beginner who attempts to make a laminated recurve
bow is tackling the most difficult project in the critical field of bow-making.
There are so many variables and pitfalls in the construction of a laminated bow
that to turn out a successful job on the first try is an achievement in itself. Yet,
the thrill of accomplishment and the knowledge gained through this experience
make it a worthwhile venture, even if it takes two tries to succeed.
Today's modern bow is made up of laminations of wood and Fiberglas, the
wood serving as a neutral core or spacer between two laminations of Fiberglas.
Actually it is the Fiberglas that does the work of the bow, carrying 88 percent
of the load while the wood core carries only 12 percent. As you increase the
spacing between the two Fiberglas laminations by using a thicker core, you
automatically increase the strength of the bow by the square. Thus, if you
double the thickness of the core, you increase the weight of the bow four times.
Since the thickness of the laminations is measured in thousandths of an jnch,
it is easy to see how just a few thousandths of an inch more thickness in the
core can make a bow too heavy for your use.
There are several woods that are suitable for bow-making, among them
hickory, Osage orange, yew and lemonwood. However, maple is the most com-
mon core wood used in glass-faced and backed bows because it is a consistently
hard dense wood, very straight-grained, and readily available in good clear
grades. The beginner is wise to use maple rather than some of the other woods
which are tricky to handle because of knots and twisty grain patterns.
To make things easier for the beginner, there is a bow kit available that con-
Core laminations are cut from same block of Kit contains all materials needed for mak-
hard maple in order to insure matched limbs. ing laminated recurve bow in weight desired.
tains all the necessary woods, Fiberglas and
glues to make a custom, 5-foot 6-inch re-
curve bow. The wood sections and Fiber-
glas strips are of uniform thickness and
the wood is cut from matched sections of
hard maple wood of the finest quality. The
kit, which sells for $24.95, is put out by
S. & J. Archery, 10945 Burbank Blvd.,
North Hollywood, Calif., makers of custom
Smithwick bows, and provides all the nec-
essary materials to make a custom bow, as
shown in the photos in this chapter.
Before making a bow, however, it is a
good idea to acquaint yourself with the
anatomy of a bow and the terms used to
denote its various parts. As shown in the
diagram on this page, the bow, when held
Glue up risen and base core laminations; damp vertically, has an upper and lower limb,
unit to straight bar to insure good glue lines. each extending from the central handle or
grip. The smooth ledge cut into the upper
part of the grip on the side where the
arrow will travel is called the arrow rest or
plate. The side of the bow facing away
from the archer is called the back, while
the side facing the archer is called the belly
or face. The belly portions on either end
of the handle that taper inward toward
the limbs are called the fadeouts or dips.
At the end of each limb is a string groove
which is called the nock, known respec-
tively as the upper and lower nock. The
bowstring has a reinforced center section
called the serving; the little ball of string
located opposite the arrow plate and used
After glue has dried, clean off edges of bow as-

sembly and lay out curve it is to be cut down to.
116
to take the guesswork out of nocking the
arrow is called the nocking point.
To make the custom bow shown in the
photos, you will need the following ma-
terials, all of which are supplied in the bow
kit mentioned above, and can be purchased
as a unit or as separate items:
The thicknesses of the glass and core

laminations determine to a large extent the
weight of the finished bow and should be
carefully selected with that in mind. It is
practically impossible to draw up a formula
that will give you the correct thicknesses
for any specific weight bow because of the
many other factors that can affect your
bow weight. For instance, your bow weight
will be affected also by the length of the
bow, the design and amount of recurve,
its width and taper, and the type wood used
in the core. A long center-section riser
Use a bond s a w or jig s a w to cut out this curve,

taking care not to cut into fade-out lamination.
117
will shorten the working limbs and in- The lighter 25-30 lb. bow is usually a
crease the weight of the bow, while a lady's bow and requires additional changes
shorter grip section will allow you longer in the tapering of the billet to bring the
working limbs and thus lighten the bow. weight down without reducing the thick-
It takes very little to add or subtract 10 ness of the limbs too much. This is because
pounds from the weight of a bow and, for there is a ratio between the thickness and
this reason, anyone building a laminated the width of the limbs where the bow gives
bow of his own design can never be sure the best performance.
what weight it will be until he can actually With all your materials laid out, you
test the bow. are now ready for the first step in making
Bow makers make many bows and do a your bow. This step consists of gluing the
considerable amount of experimenting be- riser blocks to the core laminations. How-
fore they establish a standard of operation ever, before applying any glue, it is a good
for any one bow, and because this has been idea to assemble the component parts dry
done with the Smithwick Custom Bow, it and familiarize yourself with the position
is possible to order a bow kit for the weight each piece occupies so that there will be
bow you wish to make. The kit will then no mistakes when the glue is applied. Once
have laminations of the correct thickness to the glue has been applied, you must join
give you the right basis from which to start. and clamp the pieces together without
Even then, the success of your ultimate delay in order to get a perfect bond. To
weight goal will depend on how skillfully make sure that the pieces are positioned
you shape and taper the limbs. Once the properly, mark the center line across the
billet or roughed-out bow is completed, side edge of each piece. When all units are
you cannot add any more weight to it. You assembled, the center lines should coincide
can only take weight off. to form a straight line across the edge of
As a general rule, the following lamina- the risers.
tion thickness specifications will, if applied In this first step, you glue together only
to the bow design shown, produce a bow the three riser blocks, the fade-out lamina-
that will correspond closely to the desired tion, and one pair of core laminations. The
weight you wish to achieve: for a 50 lb. pair of core laminatioris are laid end to end
bow: .175-inch core, .050-inch back glass under the riser blocks to form a con-
and .060-inch belly glass; for a 40 lb. bow: tinuous 6-foot long core as shown in the
.175-inch core, .042-inch back glass and diagram. This core comes in two sections;
.048-inch belly glass; for a 25-30 lb. bow: in order to assure perfectly matched upper
.160-inch core, .040-inch back glass and and lower limbs, two 36-inch lengths of
.045-inch belly glass. core lamination are cut from the same 36-
Taper fadeout into base lamination. Extreme care End of fadeout blends into base lamination. When
must be taken to avoid gouging base lamination. done right, there won't be any detectable ridge.
Glue second pair of core laminations, Fiberglas Inner-tube strips or tape can be used to secure
facings to bow assembly and secure to bow form. assembly to bow form to establish recurve shape.
inch long block of hard maple. The two

pieces, coming from the same section of
wood, are as closely matched in grain and
wood characteristics as is possible to
achieve. This is true also of the second pair
of core laminations which are glued to the
assembly in another operation.
The wood portions can be cemented to-
gether with any good wood glue, such as
urea-base glues or Elmer's Glue. The glue
supplied with the kit is Urac No. 185, which
is used with a Urac hardener. Apply the
glue evenly with a 1-1/2-in. brush to both
surfaces being joined and clamp the as-
sembly firmly between blocks and a
straight bar of wood or metal. The straight
bar is important for insuring good glue
lines. Use enough clamps to distribute the
pressure evenly along the entire area being
glued. Allow 24 hours drying time, the first
six hours at at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
A closed car in the summer sun will usually
get at least this hot. Another trick is to
wrap the glued assembly in a sheet of
canvas that has been treated for water-
proofing and let this lie in the direct sun.
The heat will build up in the canvas
wrapping to a very high degree. Howard
Hill improvises a drying chamber by
wrapping a length of 10-inch stovepipe
with asbestos, closing it off at both ends,
but leaving a small enough opening at one
Glued bow assembly is clamped to steel form and end through which to direct the heat of a
dried in heating chamber in professional set-up. blowtorch.
While the assembly is drying, make a
wooden form for shaping the billet. This
Howard Hill dries his bows with heat of a blow form should be bandsawed out of a 2-inch
torch directed into improvised drying chamber. thick solid wood block that is seven inches
wide and 70 inches long. In the absence of
solid wood, plywood can be used by lam-
inating two lengths of 3/4-in. and one
length of 1/2-in. plywood together to build
up the 2-inch thickness required. Cut the
form out to the shape shown in the diagram,
making sure that both ends of the form cut
out are identical in shape. The best way
to assure this is to make a template, from
heavy cardboard or thin sheet metal, of one
half of the desired shape, then trace this
onto the form block, first on one end of the
block and then, flopped, on the other end
of the block. The form, when cut out,
should be perfectly square to insure a firm
even base for clamping the glued lamina-
tions. After cutting out the recurve con-
tour, draw a line on the form parallel to
After drying by heat at recommended temperature, bindings are taken off and billet is removed from
form. Billet will have taken recurve shape. Clean and square up both sides of the billet by sanding.
this shape and spaced three inches from
it and cut away the excess wood along this
line. The precision and evenness with
which you make this form will determine
the quality of your finished bow to a great
degree.
After the bow assembly has dried, clean
the excess glue off both sides of the riser
section and then lay out the curve it is to
be cut down to as shown in diagram (Step
No. 3). Since both sides of the riser section
fadeouts are the same shape and equally
distant from the center line, a half tem-
plate can be used in both positions to trace Cover outer Fiberglas surfaces with masking tape
the curve onto the riser section. The fade- for protection and to facilitate marking layout
out must be a very gradual curve into the
base or core lamination. This is essential to
the final tiller of the bow. Using a flexible tape measure or rule, establish
Use a band saw or jig saw to cut out this the center of the bow, taking care to be precise
curve but do not cut into the fade-out
lamination. The gradation of the fadeout
is too critical an operation to be done with
a saw. It should be done by careful sand-
ing, preferably using a drum sander, until
the fadeout gradually blends into the core
lamination. Be very careful not to cut into
the core lamination or leave even the
slightest ridge at the end of the fadeout.
Cutting into the core lamination will
weaken the bow at that point, while leav-
ing a ridge will stiffen the limb, add to the
bow's weight, and interfere with the bow's
performance.
The next step is to glue the second pair of
core laminations to the bow assembly. This
operation is performed in the bow form in
order to establish the recurve shape. The
Now draw two center lines on the bow. one crosswise and the other lengthwise. All measurements should
be very carefully made as even a slight error will be reflected in the accuracy of the finished bow.
Measure exact distance from, center to end of Mark off bow tips for required width, then lay
either fadeout. Mark off equal distance other limb. out limb tapers from end of fadeout to bow tip.
best way to do this is to set the two strips loops are wound around the assembly. This
end to end and secure them together tempo- spacer strip will equalize the pressure ex-
rarily with masking tape across their out- erted over the entire surface and insure a
er surfaces. Then apply glue to the inner good glue line. No glue is applied to this
surfaces of both strips and the back surface spacer strip.
of the bow assembly. Now join the lamina- As you work your way toward the bow
tions together, centering the taped joint tips, the laminations will be forced down
with the center line on the riser section and into the form and will take the shape of the
lining it up with the center line on the bow curve cut into the form. Do this along both
form. Do this in the form, using a C-clamp ends, securing the entire length, then set
on the center line to clamp the assembly to the form into a hot place to dry. Because
the form. Then, starting at the center point extreme heat may melt natural rubber,
and using loops cut from an old inner tube, loops preferably should be cut from one
numerous clamps or masking tape, secure of the synthetic-type tubes which are more
the laminations firmly to the form. To facil- heat resistant. Dry the billet at no less than
itate removal of the billet from the form, 100 degrees F. When the glue dries, the
wax paper should be placed between the laminations will retain the shape of the
form and the laminations. Also, because the form. Clean off the excess glue from the
rubber loops and tape, when tightly wound sides of the core and, with No. 1/2 grit sand-
around the assembly, exert most of the paper, clean off any wax that might have
pressure on the edges of the laminations transferred to the core from the wax paper.
and very little in the middle, a spacer strip, The next step is to apply the Fiberglas
consisting of "a strip of wood 1/16 in. thick to the bow assembly. The Fiberglas is ob-
and 1/8 inch narrower than the laminations, tained in two thicknesses, the heavier strips
should be laid along the top of the billet being used on the belly of the bow and the
and centered to leave a 1/16-in. margin lighter ones on the back. Rough the sides
along each side before the tape or rubber of the glass to be glued (either side can be
122
Cut away the excess limb. Clean and iace
the edges up to the layout lines, round-
ing Fiberglas slightly with a mill file.
Having determined which is to be the up-

per limb and which the lower, lay out the
handle and sight window and cut to shape.
Following the photos on these pages, rough shape Curve top surface of the arrow rest slightly so
the bow handle, on a disc sander if you have one. that shaft does not rest on too broad a surface.
used) with very coarse sandpaper, prefer- However, once it is spread on the lamina-
ably using a drum sander, to remove all the tions and glass, you have 30 minutes to join
glaze. Do not be afraid to sand. and clamp the pieces together. Glue sur-
Next, join the two strips of back glass end faces must be absolutely free of moisture.
to end with masking tape applied to the side After you've glued the surfaces, set them
opposite the one roughed up for gluing and into the form with a spacer strip laid across
lay this glass, rough side up, into the form. the top as was done when gluing the second
The wooden bow assembly then sets in on pair of laminations to the first, and after
this, and the belly glass, joined end to end lining up the center mark with the one on
with masking tape like the back glass, is the form, use a C-clamp over the center
set on top of the whole assembly. This is a mark to hold the assembly to the form.
"dry run" to make sure that all the com- Then, as was done before, wrap the billet
ponent parts are properly sanded and ready tightly to the form with loops of inner-tube
for gluing. It is a good idea to cover the rubber or masking tape, starting from the
outer surfaces of both the back and belly center point and working your way toward
glass with masking tape. The tape will keep the tips. The glass will take the shape of
the glass clean and provide a surface for the curved form as you carry the wrappings
measuring and marking off the limb tapers outward. Be sure to save some of the plastic
to be cut later. glue and hardener (in unmixed form) for
Now, using M-74 plastic glue and C-31 the tip blocks. Dry the billet with heat of
hardener, apply glue to the roughened glass at least 120 degrees F., but not over 140 de-
surfaces first, then to both sides of the grees, for six hours, then let harden for an-
wood core, using a 1-1/2-in. brush. Plastic other 48 hours. Important: this glue will
glue and hardener should be applied imme- not function properly without observing
diately after they are mixed. The glue is the stated degree of temperature.
mixed four parts adhesive to one part You now have the completed billet. Clean
hardener by weight. Add the hardener to and square up both sides of the billet with
the resin and stir for five minutes. The very coarse sandpaper, using your disc
maximum time you can allow the mixed sander. Leave the masking tape on the bow
glue to set in the pot is five to 10 minutes. for use in marking the layout. Now draw
124
Final shaping is done with files. You can shape the sighting window to your own requirements, there
being no hard rales concerning the location oi the window or the depth to which is should be cut.
two center lines on the bow, one lengthwise are rough width at the tips and will be
and the other crosswise. From the cross- changed when the bow is lined up.
wise center line, measure the distance to Next, locate the points for the string
the exact end of the fadeout on one side grooves by measuring 33 inches each way
and draw another crossline at this point. from the center line with a flexible tape or
Then measure an equal distance on the rule, letting the rule follow the curve of
other side of the center line and draw an- the bow along the belly. Use a small round
other line across the bow belly. These lines rat-tail file and file the string grooves 1/8
at the ends of the fadeout will mark the inch deep on both sides of the tip, round-
points from which the bow limbs begin to ing them off slightly to prevent their cut-
taper toward the tips. ting the tillering string.
Next, at the tips of the bow, measure % You are now ready to string the bow for
inch from each side of the longitudinal tillering. The tiller is the shape of the bow
center line. This will give you %-inch at strung position. Use a string with large
wide bow tips. Now draw diagonal lines loops for the tillering string. After stringing
from these bow tip marks to the outer ends up the bow, check its limbs for evenness by
of the fadeout cross lines and you will have sighting along the string from tip to the
the correct limb taper as shown in diagram. middle of the main part of the limb as
For a 25 to 30 lb. lady's bow, the billet, shown in photo. If the recurve twists to one
which is normally 1-5/8 in. wide, should side of the middle of the limb, remove
be narrowed down on a disc sander to a material on that side and refile the string
width of 1-1/2 in. and the limb taper groove on that side. Repeat this process
should end up with 5/8-inch-wide tips in- until the recurve is in the middle of the
stead of 3/4-inch. main part of the bow.
After marking off the limb tapers, cut After the tips are in line, sight along each
away the excess limb along these lines and side of the limb and file out any bumps you
then clean and face the edges up to the lay- may see. In doing this, you may change the
out lines. Round the glass slightly on the tiller of the bow, so check frequently to see
face and back with a mill file, but do not go that the recurves do not take on an off-side
to too much trouble because these Limbs twist. If they do, you can correct it by tak-
125
String grooves, 1/8 inch deep, are filed into both Glue tip blocks to bow tips over string grooves;
sides of each bow tip using small rat-tail file. Fiberglas should be well roughened before gluing.
Shape bow tips to the contour of the bow limbs. Finishing off the bow, file string grooves along
File string grooves into tips with rat-tail file. the recurve cm belly side of each of the limbs.
ing off sufficient material from the side to equidistant from the center line of the bow.
which the limb twists to even out the limb. The weaker limb should then measure 3/16
Before the handle can be shaped out, you inch more between limb face and string
must determine which limb will be the than the stronger limb and this limb should
upper limb, since the upper limb should be be used as the upper limb. If it measures
weaker than the lower limb. This is because less than 3/16 inch, you can lighten the limb
when drawing the bow, you will be exert- by rounding the face glass slightly.
ing more palm pressure below the center Having tillered the bow and determined
line on your grip, as well as putting more which is to be the upper limb, you can now
tension on the lower half of the bow string mark the handle for the grip and window
due to having two fingers below the nock cutout as shown in diagram, lining it up so
of the arrow and only one above it. To that the window cutout is on the upper
equalize this, the lower limb of the bow limb. Cut out the handle as shown in photos
should be a little stiffer than the upper with files and disc sander; round out the
limb, and you determine this by measuring handle and sight window to the desired
the distance between the bow string and shape as shown in diagram. You can shape
the limb curve at the point of the fadeout this to your own taste, there being no hard
on both limbs. The points along the limbs and fast rules concerning the location of
at which you take this measure should be the sight window and the depth to which it
126
String the bow and check the
limbs foi evenness by sight
ing along the bowstring from
tip to tip. If recurve tends
to twist to one side, correc-
tion can be made by removing
additional material from side
to which limb twists, refiling
string groove on that side.
should be cut. However, it should not be SOME FINAL TIPS:

cut to a depth greater than 1/8 inch from 1. When removing masking tape, strip
the longitudinal center line as shown. This from center of bow out toward tips so as
sight window should be cut on the left side not to lift any glass splinters along the
of the bow (as bow is seen by archer when edges. Use care.
shooting) for right-handed shooters, on the
opposite side from that shown in the dia- 2. When filing bow, always file toward
gram for left-handed shooters. File a slight glass to avoid chipping.
curve into the top surface of the arrow rest 3. Before any clamping, always have a
so that the shaft does not rest on too broad "dry run" before applying glue.
a surface when shooting. 4. Remember, you must use heat to cure
Filially, cement the tip blocks to the bow this glue right.
tips over the string grooves. Finish off the 5. Glass surfaces to be glued must be
tips by shaping them down to the contour roughed thoroughly.
of the bow limbs and filing the string 6. Extreme care should be used in fade-
grooves into them with a rat-tail file. out to avoid gouging base lamination or
Your bow is now ready for sanding and have fadeout end too abruptly.
painting. Sand to a fine smoothness and 7. Do not get impatient to shoot bow be-
paint with clear varnish or lacquer. fore it is finished. •
127
OUTDOOR SPORTS
Now you can shoot
THE NEW
American
FLAT BOW
w HEN the white man provided the American
Indian with a cheap trade musket in place of
his native bow and arrow, he saved himself a
good deal of grief, for had the red man de-
veloped his weapon along a logical path he might have arrived
at an approximation of the bow we now know as the "semi-
Indian," "flat," or "American" bow. With such a bow he could
have shot with accuracy at a hundred yards (about the extreme
The completed bow bends accurate range of the long rifle), and could have delivered ar-
perfectly, shoots far, rows faster than any frontier scout could load his rifle.
and hits hard. Robin Any home workman, equipped with ordinary tools, can readily
Hood himself never had
so scientific a weapon. build the most modern and most efficient bow yet designed. The
This illustration shows best material for the amateur is the imported wood known as
the bow drawn back al- "lemonwood." It can be worked almost entirely by measure-
most to the "full draw"
ment, without much regard to the grain. California yew and
Osage orange probably make a better bow, but not for the
inexperienced builder.
Lemonwood can be had from most dealers in archery sup-
plies, either in the rough stave or cut to approximate outline.
The price ranges from about $1.75 to $3. In ordering you
should be careful to say you need a wide stave for a flat bow.
The dimensions given are for a bow 5 ft. 8 in. long with a
weight (the archer's term for the strength of a bow) of from
45 to 50 lb. at a draw of from 27 to 28 in. This combination is
Bows are among the oldest weapons suitable for the average man. When new the bow will draw
in the world, yet an amazing thing was 5 lb. or more above these figures. For clearness, only the upper
only recently discovered about them.
limb of the bow is shown on the drawings. The lower limb is
similar but slightly stronger. It should be 7/16 by 1½ in. at a
Through mathematical analysis, labo- point 14¼ in. below the center line; 3/8 by ¾ in. at a point
ratory investigation, high-speed pho- 24¾ in. below the center; and 3/8 by 9/16 in. (instead of 3/8 by
tography, and painstaking field tests,
½ in.) at a point 1 in. from the very end.
The stave, as it comes from the dealer, has been shellacked
it was found that the famous English or varnished to prevent checking. Remove this coating from
long bow, after which practically all the back—the side away from the archer as the bow is held in
target bows are patterned, does not position to shoot. Plane and sandpaper the wood just enough
to provide a smooth surface. Stretch a fine piece of unkinked
have the most efficient shape. Its beau- copper wire tightly down the center line of the stave, mark dots
tifully rounded limbs are a delight to at regular intervals, and connect the dots, using a long T-square
the eye, but the best cross section for or other straightedge and a sharp, hard pencil.
Lay out cross lines as shown on the drawing and mark the
a bow is something much simpler—just widths by dots. Connect these dots with straight lines, giving a
a plain rectangle. This discovery led rough idea of the back of the bow. Since the sharp shoulders
to the development of the modern and angles are unsightly, change them free-hand to graceful
curves along one side, then trace paper templates in order to
American flat bow, one easily made reproduce the curves on the opposite side.
variety of which is described here. With drawknife, spokeshave, and finally a pocketknife or
scraper and garnet paper, work to the lines marked on the back,
keeping the cuts at right angles to the surface of the back.
Run straight lines along the edges of the stave from the center
OUTDOOR SPORTS 49
out to the tips to mark
the thickness of the bow,
following the dimensions
on the drawing. Both edges
of the stave should be
marked. Now mark the
profile of the riser at the
grip, dipping it boldly into
the run of the belly at
each side of the handle.
If the stave did not come
with a piece glued on to
form the handle, you will,
of course, have to cut a
suitable block of hardwood
about ½ by 1 by 8 in.
and glue it on.
Set the bow in the vise,
belly up, and shave off the
wood above the lines just Using an old T-square to mark the lines showing the height of the
drawn. For the deeper belly of the bow. The vise is faced with removable wooden jaws
part of the cut near the
tips, a drawknife may be used with caution; The tiller serves to hold the bow bent for
but nearer the handle where the cut is shal- inspection during construction and, as it
low, a spokeshave and small block plane are will be used often, should be carefully and
safer. When the bow has been worked to a accurately made.
rectangular cross section over its whole The string for tillering must be far
length, except at the riser, which is rounded, stronger than the one ultimately used for
you are ready to test it for curve. shooting—at least 60 strands of No. 20
This work has probably consumed an eve- linen thread. Lay up twenty strands 18
ning, and you are obliged to lay the bow in. longer than the bow, stretch them
away until you have more spare time. Be- smoothly, and wax them together. Make
fore you do so, rub the whole bow with shel- two more sets and tie the three together.
lac to prevent any possible checking or With the tied ends over a hook twist each
absorption of water. of the three groups of thread individually
You now need what is known as a "tiller" to the right and have an assistant hold the
for testing the bow, as well as a temporary twist in. Now take all three and lay them
or working bowstring and a shooting tab for round each other to the left, as if making
protecting the fingers. The tiller is a piece rope. The right-hand twist makes them
of scrap wood about 7/8 by 3 by 30 in., grip one another and cling together. Put
notched at 2- or 3-in. intervals as shown to the string under tension and rub thorough-
catch the bowstring and notched at one end ly with beeswax. Work it round and com-
to fit over the handle of the bow. As the tiller pact by rubbing with a small piece of
may be used later on the finished handle, it is leather held between the fingers. Tie a
just as well to pad the end jaw with leather. permanent loop (bowline) at one end and
use a timber hitch to fasten
the lower end to the bow.
Later you will need a
shooting string, and because
a breaking string endangers
not only the bow but the
archer and bystanders as well,
it is better for a beginner to
buy a few strings. When one
of these becomes frayed, take
it apart, study the make-up,
read a bit on the subject, and
try to make one yourself.
You will soon be able to pro-
duce a creditable string.
The notches at the ends of
the bow, or "nocks" as an
archer calls them, are best
put in with a small round file.
At the side, near the back,
the nocks are half round,
slanting across the side to-
ward the grip and flaring
slightly to give room for the
string to change direction as
the bow is drawn. They
should not extend across the
back of the bow as this would
seriously weaken the bow tip.
Slip the loop down over
the upper tip, draw the string
down the bow, and fasten it
at the lower nock with a tim-
ber hitch. Have the string
At left are the back and side views of the upper limb and handle
about 3 in. shorter than the
of the flat bow. Above are sketches showing how the handle and length of the bow, that is,
nocks are finished and how a shooting tab, tiller, and peg are made measuring from nock to nock.
50 AMATEUR CRAFTSMAN'S CYCLOPEDIA
line, chalk line, or braided trolling line. The
total length of the grip should be about 4.
in., the winding occupying 3¼ in. of this
space and the balance being covered by
leather circlets. The upper circlet has a
projection at the left of the bow; this
serves as an arrow plate and prevents ar-
rows from wearing the wood as they leave
the bow. Use rather thick leather so it
may be whittled away from the underside
to a thickness equal to the string binding.
The outer edge is trimmed to a feather
Testing the curve of the tillered bow on a grid- edge and the ends thinned to make a neat
iron chalked on the floor. In circle: Using a joint; then the leather is dampened, glue
spokeshave to cut the belly down to guide lines coated, and bound in place with narrow
strips of cloth until dry. As soon as the
Place the bow in the vise and have an leather is dry, shellac the whole handle.
assistant pull carefully on the lower tip The cord may then be painted as suits the
while you pull the upper and slip the loop bowyer's fancy, and another coat of shel-
in place in the nock. Do not push on the lac applied to protect the color.
limbs, for a breaking bow nearly always
throws splinters forward with murderous
LUSH, velvet, leather, and gimp braid
force. The string is likely to stretch con-
siderably, and you will have to adjust the Paffords
are also used to pad handles, but cord
a firm grip and is very durable.
timber hitch several times before you hold
the bow bent to any great depth. Once the new bow has been well tested
and has proved itself satisfactory it should
S soon as you have a bend of some 5 are about the right weight for this purpose; be cleaned carefully. Remove all tool
A or six in. in the bow, place the tiller
on the handle and hold the bow, back down,
otherwise use cheap birch target arrows.
They can be obtained from archery dealers
marks and thoroughly sand it with the fin-
est garnet paper. Thin some white shellac
on the floor, steadying it with your toes. or sporting goods stores for so little that about fifty percent with alcohol, turn a
Then pull the string up a few notches on it hardly pays to attempt to make them. little on a soft, lintless cotton cloth, and
the tiller with both hands. Have your as- Besides the shooting tab to protect the rub the bow briskly until the shellac has
sistant ready with a piece of chalk to mark fingers, an arm guard or "bracer" is needed dried and a surface begins to show. It w i l l
any section which does not bend evenly, to prevent the bowstring from bruising the be necessary to work a short section at a
or the whole bow must contribute to the left forearm. The conventional bracer is time and to go over the whole bow several
shot to obtain the utmost efficiency. made of heavy leather, but a piece of times to build up a shellac surface. Smooth
Let the bow down, unbrace it—that is, fiber or thin, narrow strip of hardwood may lightly with very fine paper or steel wool
slip the loop out of the upper nock—and be tied on to serve the purpose. and rub with furniture or piano polish
replace in the vise for scraping at the Now tiller the bow again. It will have until a dull gloss finish results. This meth-
spots marked by the chalk. To make sure lost weight and changed shape slightly, od builds up a surface so thin that it will
that the whole section is reduced evenly, and will need further correction. not crack with bending, yet thoroughly
rub the part to be scraped with soft pen- Glue on a thin piece of white pine to water resistant and beautiful to the eye.
cil lead. By scraping the marks away, you round out the back of the bow. Taper it A bow carefully waxed and polished after
remove a thin layer of wood and will not in gracefully to meet the back of the bow, each field day soon takes on a fine luster,
risk reducing one side more than the other. and round it into the sides. A serviceable and the surface becomes toughened.
Flat bows bend in a different arc than grip is made by serving the bow with crab I f , after a month or so of regular shoot-
ordinary long bows—practically a perfect ing, the bow is found too strong for com-
arc, slightly flattened in the center opposite fort, it can be reduced to suit.
the grip. So slight is this flattening that So far as the making of various types
the radius of the curve of each limb should of arrows, bowstrings, bracers, quivers,
be the same as the length of the draw—in targets, and other archery tackle is con-
this case 28 in. If a template like that cerned, there are several excellent hand-
on the following page is laid on the floor books and a variety of booklets that give
and the bow worked down carefully until detailed information.
it fits neatly within the arcs, you are prac- Keep the bow unbraced when not in use.
tically sure to produce a bow which will Hang it from a peg or lay it on a shelf or
give flat trajectory, good distance, and across a pair of pegs supporting the middle
little jar. Do not keep the bow at full third of the bow. A good bow rack can be
draw more than a few seconds at a time. made by driving sharp-pointed finishing
Generally speaking, the bend should nails from which the heads have been
show first in the center of the limbs, then
in toward the grip, and lastly in the third
of the limbs nearest the tips. Allowing the
tips to bend too early in the work weakens
them excessively and produces what are
known as "whip ends."
Finally the corners of the limbs are
rounded slightly to lessen the danger of
denting. Draw a line 1/16 in. each side of
the back corners and 3/32 in. from the
belly corners and round only to these lines.
Sand with No. 6/0 garnet paper until fairly
smooth and rub on a good coat of shellac. Slight reductions are made with the
The bow is now ready to shoot for the blade of a penknife or a steel scraper.
first time. Although it is not essential, a The wood is first marked with soft
good practice in breaking in a new bow pencil so no spots will be overlooked
is to select arrows considerably heavier
than those to be used later. If heavy ar- Especial care and delicacy are
arrows are available, use them for about required in trimming down the
200 shots, as this works the bow down tips or ends of the limbs where
the bow is narrow. The best
without permitting it to recoil too sharply. safeguard is to test the bend
Bitch hunting arrows 3/8 in. in diameter frequently by using the tiller
OUTDOOR SPORTS 51
Wrapping the grip with crab line. The line
is clove-hitched to a convenient nail or hook
clipped part way into a plaster wall and
slipping over them dowels in which a hole
has been bored. The holes in the dowels
should be a close fit. If the nails are
driven at a slight upward angle and the
dowels are cut to fit the wall closely, the
effect will be that of wooden pins set in the
plaster. If the nails alone were used, the
iron would corrode and leave unsightly
marks on the bow.
A SHELF, too narrow to accumulate

other impedimenta and with a raised
edge, makes an excellent place to lay a
bow. It can be provided with a backboard
bearing pegs for hanging other tackle.
If you must keep your bow in a steam-
heated apartment during the winter, place
it in the coolest dry room. Hot, dry heat
soon makes a bow brittle. When storing
the bow, wrap it from end to end in a strip
of woolen cloth, such as an old spiral leg-
ging before slipping it into a bow case. It
should be inspected from time to time,
warmed occasionally, and strung and bent
at intervals during the off season. In short,
it should have about the same considera-
tion that you give your rifle or your golf
equipment.
A flat bow stave with handle riser glued on,

as purchased from dealer; and the knots used
at upper and lower ends of the bowstring
52
Making a Flight Bow
Few flight bows are commercially produced, and the construction of
his own record-making bow is the dream of many an ambitious archer
T HE flight bow is the ultimate in the
bowyer's field. Many flight bows are
made, shot once and then abandoned. Or,
they may shatter during that single use
and go into discard that way. Just the
same, flight bows serve a valid purpose in
the archers' world, for they are somewhat
like the Formula cars in international rac-
ing—paving the way for future develop-
ments based on their performance.
To make a record-setting flight bow is
the aim and dream of many a bowyer—a
goal all too seldom realized. Because flight
bows are the final word in bowyery they
are seldom, if ever, commercially pro-
duced. You just cannot go into your
nearest tackle shop and buy a flight bow
You may be able to have one made for
you, if you're lucky, but essentially the
flight bow is a personal thing. It conforms
to you and to your ideas. It may be the
result of months of planning and days of
work and when once it's finished, you will
be faced with the decision as to whether or
not you'll overdraw just once, in the big
gamble which may—or may not—pay off.
For these reasons, any plans for a flight
bow must be offered somewhat diffidently.
They are the end product of someone else's
thinking—not yours—and they may not
embody the ideas and principles which you,
as a bowyer, feel are necessary for suc-
cess. However, the bow which resulted
from these particular plans is a lovely
thing, light in the hand, sweet in per-
formance with no harshness on the hand.
Surprisingly enough, there seems to be
no drastic stacking up at the end of the
draw and there is comparatively little
pinch. However, since all good flight
shooting today is done by means of the
hook, the matter of finger-pinch is rela-
tively unimportant.
The plans have been designed by Frank
Bilson, one of England's foremost archers,
and in his capacity as head of the Yeoman
Bow Company, a liveryman of the Wor-
shipful Company of Bowyers. These then
are the plans and specifications of the
Yeoman Flight Bow (Copyright 1960)
Many flight bows, following the prec-
edent established by the Turkish and Per-
sian bowyers, carry the big siyahs, or ears,
which impart additional impetus and cast.
Now siyahs were developed long before
our new synthetics and it is our contention
that using modern fiberglass, it is no longer
necessary to incorporate them in flight bow
design. Since the siyah is not an integral
part of the limb-arcs, it is slow moving in
relationship to the bow itself. Thus, with
the materials available today, i.e. those
Elongated view of the bow shows powerful curves Here the bow is braced. Comparison shows way in
which impart cast; retain smoothness in shooting. which power is converted within bow when braced.
Ornamental nock beautifies bow. Thin strips of View of the braced bow, showing a part of upper
plastic strengthen any inherent weakness in bow. limb cut away to form "semi-center shot" section.
With center-shot device, force of the string is This is a view of the finished handle of a good
exerted down center of bow with greatest effect. target bow. Also shown is laminated handle riser.
110
The "feather" arrow rest is seen above. This is After taking laminated bow from clamps, excess
great aid to efficient use of plastic fletchings. glue must then be removed from handle and limbs.
which inherently do the work formerly in order to get the right dimension. The
given to the siyah, the addition of the ears width must be a minimum 1-3/4" and it may
results in a lowered performance. be advisable to have it an inch wider. Since
Dr. Paul Klopsteg has advanced the this is a one-step glue-up, you can use the
theory that the ideal bow for cast would spare width to place brads, in order to hold
be based on the principle of the uncoiling the materials in position.
arc. These plans are adaptations of his When the former is cut, you can rout
theory using fiberglass both for the back- out the excess material along the base line
ing and the facing in the two limbs. so that the jig follows the working area.
This is not essential, but unless you are
MATERIALS using extra large C-clamps, it will facili-
For a 48" bow you will need the fol- tate the clamping. Be sure that the work-
lowing materials: ing surface is absolutely flat and free from
Four (4) Maple Laminations24-1/2"xl-7/8" splintering.
The taper on these should run from .68 Cover the former with two layers of your
thousandths of an inch down to .45. An grease-proof paper, holding it in position
additional .15 thousandths will give you, with Scotch tape or thumb tacks. This will
in your finished bow, an increased draw keep the bow from sticking to the jig with
weight of approximately 20 pounds. There- any expressed glue.
after the draw weight increase is partially Prepare the fiberglass and the lamina-
nullified by the mass increase. tions carefully. The pair of lams which
One (1) Handle Riser. This should be will be on the back of the bow will have
of any good hardwood, with walnut being a 1/2" overlap at the center and accord-
a good choice. 8-1/2" in length, the riser ingly must be feathered or chamfered to
tapers at both ends. form a smooth overlay. Set up your series
Four (4) Fiberglass Strips 24-1/4"xl-7/8" in a dry run, clamping as you go so that
Personally I prefer Bo-tuff, but any similar when you are ready to glue you will know
material can be used. Get strips which what you are doing.
measure .40 thousandths in thickness. With the backing down and the first pair
Twelve (12) C-clamps. Glue. Urac-185 of lams, you are ready to set the handle
by preference. One (1) Former. See in- riser. Since this block will come above
structions which follow. Rubber wrapping. the line of the bow belly the lams and glass
Thin plywood battens. Grease-proof pa- will not meet over it and they must be
per. feathered down to lie as smoothly as pos-
sible.
INSTRUCTIONS Having finished your dry run, you will
The former is cut according to the scale now do your actual gluing up. There are
shown. Your material is any block of six surfaces to be covered—the insides of
sufficient length and thickness, free from the glass and both sides of the laminations.
knots and twists. The basing line, along Make sure that with the latter the taper
which the inch-stations are located, should runs along the outside of the pairs and that
be perfectly flat. If a block of sufficient the flat sides are together. If you are using
thickness is not available, you can make Urac-185, work carefully in a room with
one by gluing sheets of plywood together as low a temperature as you can manage.
A wheel with lamb's wool buffer is used here to French curve would come in handy to mark curva-
apply final glossy finish to the nock of the bow. ture of handle riser, but other ways can be used.
If French curves are unavailable then cut your Finish the bow with series of coats of plastic-
own patterns in reverse and use them for marking. based elasticized varnish, to protect from wear.
Shaft (left) and footing (center) are used when Successive stages show how the gradual rounding
you decide to make your own target arrow (right). of the shaft is done with planes and sandpaper.
112
Being a heat-curing adhesive, the lower your gluing-up done with equal pressures
room temperature will give you more time down along both limbs, the curves should
to finish the work. need very little fixing.
Once your glue is applied, thoroughly Lay out the arrow rest on your handle
but not too thickly, cover your glass-lam- riser, remembering that the view given
ination sandwich with more grease-proof here is from the back of the bow. Remove
paper. Over this lay a strip of rubber the wood with a draw shave and finish off
wrapping, 2" wide and running slightly with a file. The handle can then be cov-
longer than your bow. Now take your ered with leather.
battens and lay them along the surface, in Nocks are cut with a file, rounding them
the place of the more conventional pres- in carefully so as to avoid any friction on
sure blocks. the string. At the throat of the nocks,
Apply your clamps, working out along bring a groove down the back of the re-
both limbs from the center and putting curve so that the string will lie there when
minimum pressure on at first. When all the bow is braced. Due to the working of
the clamps are in place go back to the these curves the string will not entirely
handle and increase the pressure on each clear them until the bow is nearly at full
in turn. Don't attempt to tighten them draw. It is vitally important that these
beyond hand pressure since this will glue- nocks are exactly in the center of the re-
starve your joinings. curves, since to off-center them in any
Now set your bow aside in a warm, dry way will cause twist and may easily ruin
place. The ideal temperature is just above your bow.
80° and it should be maintained for at least This finished bow is designed to take a
five days. By that time the glue should twenty-four inch arrow and will give you
have made a specific weld, but remember just about 45 pounds at full draw. You
that Urac and other urea-based adhesives may want to overdraw it, to gain that extra
make a firmer bond as times passes. few yards, but it is not a course that can
The limbs of the bow should now be re- be recommended. Far better to practice
duced according to the profile given here. until you are sure that you are getting the
The best method is to cut With a hack saw, maximum flight from your arrow before
the blade having been turned flat so as to you experiment with overdrawing. A
give you a firm guide as you cut. Make snapping or shattering bow is not only dan-
the cut 1/16 wider than the profile and gerous but it represents the waste of all
finish by rounding both back and face your time and energy spent in making it.
toward the core. During this process you Psychologically, too, careful handling is
should tiller the bow, as you would greatly to your advantage, because getting
any other, remembering that if your lami- gradually used to your bow will imbue you
nations have been tapered correctly and with the confidence you need. •
Now comes the fined part

of making your arrow. It
is finished by a careful
sanding of the shaft It
calls for meticulous and
time-consuming work, but
it's still a pleasure to
many archers who desire
a set of matched arrows.
113
By Sam Brown
Hunting game with bow and
•*• -*- arrow packs a real wallop.
There's a thrill in seeing an arrow
go winging toward its mark. Even
a close miss is fun. So many
sportsmen have adopted this sport
that some states h a v e exclusive
bow-and-arrow hunting reserves
where firearms are prohibited.
A bow for h u n t i n g
should be as s h o r t as
practical, ranging in
length from 4 ft. 8 in. to
5 ft. 6 in. It should be a
plain bow, able to stand
a lot of knocking around.
36
The drawing weight need not be excessive; you can
bring down the toughest game in the country, in-
cluding moose, bear and wild boar, with a 45 to 50-
1b. bow and a steel broadhead arrow. Most hunters
prefer a flat or semiflat bow. The demountable type
of semiflat bow described here is popular because
of ease of transportation, and the knockdown handle
in no way affects smooth, fast shooting. If this is
your first bow, by all means make it of lemonwood,
as this compact and nearly grainless wood permits
mechanical shaping without any regard to grain
structure. If you want the best, however, use osage
orange or boam. Yew is good, too, although a little
too soft for rough usage. All bow woods except lem-
onwood require careful following of the grain.
Start by roughing out the back of the bow. Osage
orange is perfect in this respect; just peel off the
bark, and the remaining layer of sapwood, about Via
in. thick, is just right. Yew and boam have more
sapwood and will require trimming down. This can
be done best on a band saw as in Figs. 1 and 2,
mounting the stave on a guide board and then saw-
37
• - • • . - . - . . : • - ; -
ing on a line the required distance away in. longer than the lower one, as in Fig. 9.
from the heartwood. Pins holding the stave The demountable feature is accomplished
should be a snug drive fit in holes drilled by fitting the limbs of the bow inside a
squarely across the chord of the grain, as metal tube. You can buy telescoping tubes
indicated in Fig. 1, If there is too much for this purpose, or you can make your
heartwood, it can be trimmed down with own. Fig. 14 shows the general nature of
the same setup. Where there is just a little the assembly. The short inside tube is
extra wood on the heart side, a planer head pinned to the lower limb and the long outer
in the drill press will remove it in a jiffy, tube is pinned solidly to the upper limb,
Fig. 3. In the absence of power tools, the the lower limb being a slide fit inside the
staves can be trimmed with a drawknife. outer tube, where it is held rigidly by
The first stage of cutting gives you a flat means of a setscrew. Making your own
stick about % by lx/z in. with a thin layer telescoping tube is just a matter of turning
of white sapwood on the back as shown in and boring, Fig. 12, and then squeezing the
Fig. 5. Here you can see why it is easy to assembled tubes in a vise as in Fig. 13, to
work with lemon wood; you have no sap- get the required oval section. It is advis-
wood to worry about, and the compact able to heat the work, otherwise the steel
grain permits ripping and jointing to may crack at the shoulder portion. The
straight lines. All the other woods will be original fit of the round tubes should not
crooked, the back of the bow following be too snug.
every dip and curve in the grain. After Figs. 10 and 11 show the final stage of
band-sawing, smooth up the back of the shaping the bow, rounding off the belly
bow -with drawknife and scraper, follow- with a drawknife or coarse and fine rasps.
ing the grain. Fig. 4 shows table of net Osage orange may be so knotty as to re-
sizes for bows of different woods. quire entire shaping by filing. Whenever
On the back of the stave, draw the out- you run into a knot, leave a little extra
line shown in Fig. 5, band-saw to shape and wood to compensate for the natural weak-
taper the belly side as in Fig. 6. You will ness caused by the defect. Finish off the
c u t a c r o s s tKo grain to some e x t e n t in limbs by scraping with a hook scraper or
both operations, but it is only on the back a p i e c e of b r o k e n glass.
of bow that you positively must follow As you work down the belly side, tiller
the grain. Glue the handle riser in place, the bow frequently as shown in Fig. 15,
Fig. 8, and then band-saw it both ways checking its drawing weight, and more
to the shape shown in Fig. 7. Both limbs important, the bend of the limbs. Some
of the bow are treated in the same way workers tiller against a -wall and use a grid
except that the upper limb should be 2 of pencil lines to check for equal bending.
38
However, good results can be obtained by eye
inspection alone, and by noting if the string tends
to pull off to one side as you pull it back. The bow
should be rigid through the handle, and almost
rigid the full length of the handle riser. Starting at
the end of the handle riser, the limbs should bend
in a graceful arc. Go slow at this stage; it is very
easy to remove too much wood and r u i n the bow.
If you get a little under the poundage you want,
cut an inch off both limbs and try it again. Get
the pull about 5 lbs. more t h a n you want; it will
let down about that much after you have used it a
few hours. If the bow is much too heavy through-
out, make a fast dip immediately beyond the han-
dle riser to get a thinner section, and then taper
gradually to the tips. Nocks should be of the plain
type cut into the wood as in Figs. 16 and 17. Fig.
18 shows the finished bow at the handle.
There are two kinds of hunting arrows: blunts
and broadheads. The blunt points, details A, B
and C of Fig. 19, can be made from cartridge cases
dous hitting power. They will bowl over a rabbit
or knock a squirrel out of a tree. The need for the
blunt point is obvious; you can imagine what hap-
pens to a sharp steel broadhead when you w h a m it
into a tree trunk, or worse, a high tree limb.
Steel broadheads are needed for both small and
big game. With sharp-cutting edges, even a 40-lb.
39
bow will send one of these shafts right triangular shape without tang. Old power
through a two-point buck. The smallest hacksaw blades furnish good steel for
practical head is the lancet shown at D, heads. All of the styles shown can be pur-
Fig. 19. This is made by slotting a regular chased readymade if desired. Fletching of
bullet-type arrow head, and then soldering shafts follows standard practice except that
the notched steel head into the slot as in the feathers are preferably of the low, long
Figs. 20, 21 and 22. Easiest type to make triangular style as shown in Fig. 25. Com-
in any size of broadhead is the tang-and- plete construction kits including heads, cut
sleeve style shown at E and explained in feathers and birch shafts can be purchased
Fig. 20. The step-by-step operation in mak- at a nominal cost and provide an ideal
ing a broadhead, style F, is shown in Figs. method of working. The diameter of shafts
23 to 28. If you use .30-cal. ball cartridge will depend somewhat on the pull of your
cases, it will be necessary to have a tang bow. If the pull is 40 lbs. or under, %e, or
n
on the broadhead for needed strength. /32-in. shafts are plenty heavy. Bows pull-
With a sleeve of thicker copper or steel ing over 45 lbs., especially when big broad-
tubing, the split ends of tube alone will heads are used, must have %-in. shafts to
hold the head, which can be made a simple, stand up under the terrific impact.
Holes in W i n d o w Screen M e n d e d by Easily-Made Patches

Small holes in window screens can be necessary to replace the entire screen. To
mended by easily-made patches cut from make a patch, cut a piece of screen a little
ordinary screen wire, thus making it un- larger than the hole to be mended. Next,
pull two strands from each side of the cut
piece, and bend up the projecting wires at
a right angle as shown. Place the patch
over the hole, push the wire ends through
the screen and fold them inward to secure
the patch. For a tight seam all around, tap
the folds lightly with a hammer, using a
block of wood as a support.
H. S. Siegele, Emporia, Kas.
Sticking of Stamps Avoided

W h e n Carried in Pocket
I find that when carrying loose postage
S t a m p s i n m y p o c k e t o x p u ™ : Lhcy w i l l n o t
stick together if I first r u b the gummed
surfaces lightly over my hair. The thin oil
film deposited on the stamps from the hair
will last indefinitely and keep the stamps
ready for use without interfering with the
adhesive.
George K. McKeowan, Painesville, Ohio.
40
Tennis Ball Crossbow
Tennis Ball Launching Crossbow

Construction Instructions
Aug 30, 1997 Matuesz z Plocka (mka Matt Henson)
Modified Sept 7, 1997
Top view #1 Top view #2
Side View #1
Material List
Amounts per
Trigger assembly not included
Crossbow
qty Item Cost ea. extended
1 Leather pouch (7 1/2) $1.00 $1.00
4 Grommets #0 $0.25 $1.00
36 1/4" Rubber tubing in inches $0.04 $1.44
4 50 lb tie-wraps $0.13 $0.52
1 3/4" Steel Welded Ring $0.35 $0.35
1 3/4" Quick Link $0.95 $0.95
2 leather Strip 24-28" long, (1 1/4") Wide $1.00 $1.00
2 Lag Bolts $0.64 $1.28
1 stock 32" (2x4 Wood) $0.78 $0.78
1 Prod 25" (2x2 Wood) $0.49 $0.49
1 rod 1 5/8th long 19/64th $0.16 $0.16
2 Triangle supports 2/4 (3.5)x(3.5)x(4 7/8th ) $0.10 $0.10
3 Wood Screw #8 (2 1/2) for Prod $0.16 $0.48
4 wood Screw #8 (1 1/2) For Supports $0.10 $0.40
Total $10.60
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Other Materials and tools not priced out.

● White Glue (for wood to wood joints)
● Barge Cement (for leather to leather and wood to leather)
● Pencil
● Tape Measure
● Leather Punch
● Knife
● Small amount of Bee's Wax
● Phillips screwdriver
● Corner clamp (optional)
● Hammer
● Chainsaw file
● Pliers
● Hacksaw
● Hand Saw (I use a hand held jig saw or a draw knife)
● Sandpaper (I use 80, 120, 220, and 400 grits for finishing) (optional)
● A Finnish (I have used stains, Tru-Oil, and Wood Sealers) (optional)
● Drill and Drill bits
● ❍ 19/64th"
❍ 7/32"
❍ 11/32"
❍ 1/8"
Stock
Cut a 2x4 to a length of 32 inches. You can adjust the overall length to your preference and size but this gives you a starting point. I
used Hemlock as it was cheap in my area You could use any wood for the stock. If your choice is a Hard Wood be aware that it will
weigh more. If you use softer wood like cedar the joints and the center rod may loosen.
Cut shape of stock 10" to 12" from the front end tapering to 1 9/16th" at the front end. But no smaller than the width of the Prod that
you are using. Mark the centerline of the stock along the top of the stock.

Drill a 19/64th" hole ¾ " deep on top of the stock 19 1/8th" from the front and centered.
For the Trigger Post cut from rod (19/64th) a length of 1 5/8th" long then with a drop of glue drive into the stock. There should be 1
1/8" should be exposed.
Notch with a chainsaw file 1/16th" from the top about 1/64th" deep on the back side of the Trigger Post.
Prod
Cut a prod 25" long from a 2x2. I use both VG Fir and Oak with good success. I did one with Cedar and found that the lag bolts
loosen and pull out of the wood. This could be very DANGEROUS!
Drill 7/32" pilot hole 1 1/8th" deep along the centerline 1 ½" from each end on the top of one side. and mark it as TOP. Mark the
center of the Prod for later alignment to the stock.
Turn the prod 90 degrees. Mark this side as Front and pre drill 3 pilot holes completely through with a 1/8" bit in the center of the
prod. I normally use a corner clamp to place the prod against the stock so that when I drill the pilot holes they are also in the stock at
the correct positions.
Counter sink with a 11/32" bit. This is for #8 wood screws 2 ½ inches long to mount to stock.
Prod supports
Cut 2x4 into 2 triangle pieces approximately 3 ½ x 3 ½ x 4 7/8.
Drill a 1/8" pilot hole in Hypotenuse face about 1" from each edge along centerline. And counter sink with 11/32" bit.

Leather work
Cut ball pouch as shown
I used suede and found that I needed two layers to prevent tear-out after repeated use. I have also use old Eye Glasses cases. Lay out
and cut 2 pieces of leather then glue the layers with Barge Cement or other leather glue.
Punch holes and set the #0 grommets in the pouch. I have used #1 size for the tubing ends but they are too big for the center holes.
Cut leather strip 24 to 28 inches long 1 ¼ inch wide. Punch a hole (19/64th ) about 4 ¼ from one end in the center of the strip. This
strip will go on the top of the stock
Assembly
Mount Prod with white glue and screw the Prod to the Stock. Glue and screw the angled supports to the Prod and Stock. To install
the Lag Eye Bolts use wax on the threads, then insert till about 2 1.4" is left exposed.
Glue Leather Strip with Barge Cement. Place the strip so that the punched hole is over the trigger post and the other end wraps
around the Prod to the bottom. Trim the strip to the joint of the Prod and Stock at the bottom. This strip provides two functions. To
protect the edge of the prod from the Steel ring and Quick link as it rebounds after it is shot. The other function is to provide a path
for the tennis ball.
Take a length of tubing (18") and thread it through the end hole of the Ball Pouch to the center of the tubing. Thread both ends of the
tubing through the Eye of the bolt so that about three inches overlap. Secure with a tie wrap about one inch for the eye and another
one inch from the ends. Tighten the tie wraps with the pliers. Repeat with the other end of the Ball Pouch.
Use the Quick Link to join the Steel ring and the Ball Pouch.
Draw the Steel Ring to the trigger post and allow it to rest in the notch (cocked position). Re-tighten the tie wraps and snip the
excess tie wrap.
Store the Crossbow in the un-cocked position.
Firing and Use.

I find it easiest to hold the crossbow with one hand, brace the back end against my hip, and draw to the cocked position with a tennis
ball in the other hand. Fire the crossbow with a "Plucking" action of the thumb and forefinger. Hold the crossbow securely as it will
recoil.

Trigger Assembly (optional)

Some people like the variation of the trigger add-on.
Trigger detail #1 Trigger detail #2
Trigger in forward position Trigger in fired position

I do plan on improving the photo's in the near future. I am sorry they are hard to see clearly, but I wanted to get this on-line as soon
as I could.
Material List
Trigger add-on for Crossbow
Qty Item Cost ea. Extended
2 mending plates 2x1/2 $0.53 $1.06
2 upper nut 10x24 $0.17 $0.34
2 upper bolt 10x24x1/2 $0.22 $0.44
1 coarse hex cap grade 5 bolt 2 1/2x 1/4 $0.14 $0.14
3 nylon washers 1/4 $0.10 $0.30
3 USS flat Washer 1/4 $0.03 $0.09
1 USS flat Washer 5/16 $0.04 $0.04
1 nylon lock nut 1/4x20 $0.15 $0.15
1 corner iron 4 x 7/8 $1.29 $1.29
1 wood dowel handle 4 x 3/4 $0.40 $0.40
1 wood screw 1 3/4 $0.16 $0.16
2 Wood Screw 3/4 $0.10 $0.20
Total $4.61
Assembly
Cut angle iron 1 3/4" from the right angle corner (Measure from the inside of the angle). An angle iron is what they are called in the
hardware store. used mostly as shelving brackets.
Drill 13/64 holes in the iron 5/8" from the outside of the corner and drill the other hole so that the distance between the two plates is
slightly larger than the post.
Assemble the mending plates (That's what they are called in the hardware store. They are small strips of metal that Have two holes
drilled in them.) to the bottom of the iron with the nuts on the bottom

To assemble the handle drill pilot hole in the center end with a 3/32" bit and use a 2" wood screw with glue to attach the handle to
the iron.
Drill a 1/4" hole in the stock 1 1/4" back from the post and 2 5/8" from the top of the stock.
Assemble handle to the stock as shown.

Front view
Place the handle in the forward position (rest) and install a 3/4" screw as a stop.
Place the handle in the back position (fired) so that the ends of the mending plates are about 1/4" from the post and install a 3/4"
screw as a stop. This will prevent the nuts from gouging the stock when fired.
Happy Hunting!
If you find a link that is not working or just to give me feedback, I can be reached at
[email protected]
Thanks for stopping by.
Disclaimer: This WebPages is maintained courtesy of Matt Henson. It is not a publication of the SCA, Inc. nor does it delineate SCA
policies. Neither the SCA, Inc. nor Matt Henson assumes any liability for the accuracy of information contained on this page nor the
suitability of any materials linked to this page.
Master Index Page | About Matt | Spirit Makers Guild | SCA Missile Combatants | Hobbies | Web Crawler | Yahoo |

Henson Consulting
Henson Consulting
Last Modified: Monday, June 19, 2000
Matt Henson, CNE, MCP, Provides consulting in MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Win98 &
WinNT, Novell 1.5- 5 and a full range of business software in the Kitsap County area. Go here for
more about Matt a Certified NetWare Engineer (CNE) since 1993
Laura Henson provides Desktop Publishing, Newsletters, and Web Designs. Laura also provides
beginner training on MS Windows, Word, and Excel.
Thank you for checking out my simple web pages.
I have removed several pages from my site that I really don't use that often. If you are looking for a
link that is no longer here just email me and I will be more than happy to send you the link.
I have had several of my friends ask that I re-write my web-pages with fancy effects. After long
thought I decided that I like to keep it simple. Faster load time and less distractions. If you would like
to see more styles with frames and spinning logo's drop me a note. If we get enough I will make some
changes. Laura has done some very nice work in web designs. to see some take a look at Ingasbo.
We are also working on Autumn Creek. Take a look to see at a work in progress.
Currently I am working on my MCSE (Microsoft Certified System Engineer). After working with NT
for over a year it was time. I have just completed NT Server 4.0 test, Workstation class and Server in
the Enterprise tests. The TCP/IP class was fun now to take the test!
At my place of full time employment, I maintain a network with Novell, NT, OS2, Linux and UNIX
servers. In my off time I help several small business with their networks. As everyone knows the Y2K
is becoming a higher priority and Henson Consulting is there to help evaluate PC's and apply the
software patches from major vendors.
Other issues that we help with is teaching data backup strategies and disaster recovery planning. Many
of our clients have had poor or no data backup before we were called to help. Just remember your
insurance payment won't be able to replace your customer records.
Computer tips for Novell, DOS, Windows 3.1 and 95/98 at PUD #1 of Kitsap , the place I work.
I will also write pages on anything else that fancies me. So check every now and then to see the latest.
Links
Network Professionals of Puget Sound | Interim Books | Washington State Gymnastics Home Page |
Ingasbo
SCA Links
Spirit Makers Guild | SCA Missile Combatants | Barony of Dragons' Laire SCA Inc | The Kingdom of
An Tir Infoscroll | Current Middle Ages Web Server | Autumn Creek gifts
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Henson Consulting
Soon to come to a viewer near you will be articles like:

Bowyering (that is making archery equipment), with my efforts in learning how to do it! Located on
My SCA Marshalling homepage.
Brewing and what our local brew club is doing. Also Located on My Spirit Makers Guild homepage.
[email protected]
Disclaimer: This web-page is maintained courtesy of Matt and Laura Henson. The Henson's do not
assume any liability for the accuracy of information contained on this page nor the suitability of any
materials linked to this page.
copyright 19 Jun 2000
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Matt Henson Resume'
Matthew T. Henson
Professional and Personal Resume'

Certified NetWare Engineer (CNE)1993, re-certified 26 June 1996
Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) March 1999
Currently working on Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) 3 tests down 3 to go
1993 to present - Public Utility District #1 of Kitsap County Washington. - Data Network Manager
1992 to present - Henson Consulting, Small Business Network Administration.
1989 to 1993 - Barlows Electronics Inc. - Computer Repair Technician, Computer Consultant, Tutor,
and Salesman.
1989 - Communications West - Voice Mail System Installer and Salesman
1979-1989 - United States Navy - Petty Officer First Class Electronics Technician (Submarine
Qualified), Reactor Controls Division Work Center Supervisor, Engineering Department Training
Coordinator, Automated Data Processing Security Officer, Nuclear Reactor Operator.
1976-1979 - Actor, Stage hand, Stage Manager, Lighting Designer, Scenery Shop Foreman.
My background includes experience which provides direct working knowledge in the following areas:
● Staff supervision, scheduling, evaluation
● Formal instruction, lesson plan development, lecture presentation, technical proficiency

certifications
● Administrative responsibilities including records, reports, material history and personnel
qualifications
● Budget development and tracking
● TCP/IP Management, File Management
● Developing Automated Data Processing Microcomputer systems for hardware/software security

and accessibility, Firewall Administration
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Matt Henson Resume'
● Well-developed communication skills, written and oral.

● Proven leadership abilities.
Extensive experience in the following operating systems
● Novell versions 1.5 through 5.1
● Microsoft DOS 2.2 through 7.0
● Microsoft Windows versions 1.0 to Win95/98
● Microsoft Windows NT ver4 Workstation and Server
● Linux
Some experience with

● UNIX
● Xenix
● OS2
Provide help desk for many programs including

● Microsoft Office
● WordPerfect
● Email, Internet and Intranet
● Connectivity
● Scheduling software
● Desktop Publishing software
Member of Seattle Chapter of Network Professionals of Puget Sound (NPPS) 1996 to present
Networking Professionals Association (NPA) 1992 to 1997
Member of Kitsap Regional Telecommunications Committee 1999 to present
Founding Board Member of West Sound Technical Association 2000
Last Modified: Monday, June 19, 2000
Master Index Page
[email protected]
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Matt's Year 2000 Page
Year 2000 Page

As the year 2000 approaches the media hype starts to increase. Yes there is some problems with the
computers and software concerning the transition from 31 December 1999 to 1 January 2000.
However I believe that the real problems are being fixed and the problems that we will see are the
product of fear and lack of understanding.
Health and safety items are getting addressed. I foresee that the real problems on January 1 will be
only a minor inconvenience. I have been identifying and fixing problems for the last two years. Most
of the computers I deal with are fixable. Now I do not work with Mini/Main Frames but with PC's.
I won't talk about the government your utilities or other outside entities. Rather I will talk briefly
about small business and home computer systems.
First of all back up your data. Not just once but on a regular schedule. If you do not have a zip drive
or tape backup I recommend that you get one. It really is good insurance. If you do not know how to
implement a backup schedule then please read my backup plan page. If you plan on using a zip drive
many of the ideas that I outline may require babysitting.
Upgrade your software to the latest release. Test your PC. There are several ways to test your
hardware. See the links below on how. Take a look at the data you have now. If you just surf the web
or use a word processor you do not have much to worry about. If you track date related data like your
IRA or balloon payments then you may need to change your date data to have a 4 digit year. Make
sure that you test each change that you make for the current year as well as setting your computer for
some date in the year 2000, and 2001.
The links below are good source for more information on the Y2K Issues.
The Year 2000 Information Center
Washington State Y2K Information & Links
Westergaard Year 2000
BECRC Year 2000 Issues Y2K Y2000 resources
Microsoft TechNet - Year 2000
[email protected]
Disclaimer: This webpage is maintained courtesy of Matt and Laura Henson. The Henson's do not
Last Modified: Tuesday, February 16, 1999
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Backup your data
Backup your data!

Not just once but on a regular schedule. If you do not have a zip drive or tape backup I recommend
that you get one. It really is good insurance.
Here is a short description of a back up plan that I recommend. It requires about twenty backup sets a
year. Five are active the rest are off site archives. I use the term "sets" as one backup may exceed one
tape or zip disk. For the sake of clarity I will refer to each set as a single tape.
I recomend that you do a complete backup of your hard drive. Yes I said the entire drive. You only
need to do this once and then only after you install or remove software. After that you should backup
your data. Take your "Total backup" to an offsite location like your neighbor or good friend.
Label the first five sets as one, two, three, four, and the fifth one as daily.
Keep your data in an easy to find place. If you have Windows 95/98 then you have a directory called
My Documents. A good place to keep all your data together. Save your files here. If you have
programs that save data elsewhere (like Quicken) make a note of the directory name where your data
resides.
On Friday night or early Saturaday morning (if you have an automated tape backup software) backup
all you data directories to tape set number one.
Monday night set up tape "daily" to backup data that has changed since set one. This is called a
differential backup in your software. I set this to tape to erase before backing up. Repeat the schedule
for Tues, Wed, Thur, but set the tape to append.
Friday morning as you are getting your cup of coffee eject your tape and and put in the next numbered
tape.
On the first Monday of each month take the Friday tape to an off site location. Make sure that you
date it! Get a new tape and label it with the number you took off site.
Thats how simple it is. Just takes some time to incorprate it in your schedule.
You should also test that you can recover data from the back up at least once a quater and more often
if you find a problem. When you test the restore function I recommend that you create a dummy
directory and a few un-important files in it. Back up as laid out above. Then delete the dummy
directory. Check that the directory is indeed gone. Then try to restore the directory that you deleted. If
you can not seek some help.
Backups are very important part of your computer use. Most people don't do any type of backup.
When their computer hard drive crashes or some other major problem occurs and there is no back up.
The data is gone forever. Customer data, Checkbook, Your great novel all gone or at best, days to
re-create. If the worse happens such as a fire or flooding (this includes the upstairs bathroom tub
running over and soaking your PC) or something that destroy's your residence or place of business and
you have an off site backup then you can restore you data. When your insurance payment comes in all
you need is a new computer with the same backup device that you had.
[email protected]
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Backup your data

Disclaimer: This webpage is maintained courtesy of Matt and Laura Henson. The Henson's do not
copyright 14 May 1999
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The Barony of Dragons Laire Spirit Makers Guild
THE GUILD
The guild does not just do beer. That’s just where we currently have the talent. Meetings are usually
on the third Monday of each month with occasional meetings as required.
At each meeting we have samplings, but you do not have to drink to participate. We do this to educate
our palates. Most meetings are working meetings with brewing bottling or vinting. Specifically there
are no dues but contributions are appreciated. this is to cover expenses like prizes for contests and
projects like the Baronial brews so far.
● Barony of Dragons' Laire SCA Inc

● The Kingdom of An Tir Infoscroll
● Current Middle Ages Web Server
Links to points in this page

● Most recent meeting notes
● SCA Alcohol Policy

● Disclaimer
The Most Recent Meeting

I am way behind on my meeting notes being posted here. Hopefully I will get caught up in the next
couple of days.
Remember "Drink responsibly!"
SCA Alcohol Policy

&
SCA Insurance Policy
(as issued at the Seneschal's meeting Autumn Crown Council November 8, 1997)
SCA, INC--As per SCA Policy, it is prohibited to use any SCA funds for the purchase of alcohol This includes the
USA and Canada.
This includes the following:

1. For use as Prizes in tournaments or raffles
2. As gifts
3. For re-sale at Taverns, Bar's or Inn's
4. Or given away at a Tavern, Bar or Inn
Any donated alcoholic items for any of the above reasons is also prohibited. SCA Funds are permitted for the
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following:
1. Alcohol purchased for use in cooking.
2. The purchase of equipment and ingredients by
Guilds. for the study and recreation of alcoholic
recipes, as long as it does not fall under one of the
four reasons listed above.
Failure to adhere to this policy will cause the SCA Insurance Policy to become null and void at an event. This only
applies to the USA and all it's territories.
AS PER SCA INSURANCE POLICY--It is prohibited under the Insurance Policy for the SCA to participate in any of
the following:
1. The Manufacturing of Alcohol
2. The Distribution of Alcohol
3. The Selling of Alcohol
4. The Serving of Alcohol
5. The Furnishing of Alcohol
The Manufacturing of alcohol for an A&S Competition is permitted as long as the following applies:
1. No SCA Funds were used
2. The competition is being judged by persons
qualified in that field
3. Competition is held in a controlled area
always, Modern Laws apply regarding minors with alcohol
An Tir Alcohol Policy

SCA insurance will defend the SCA on host liquor liability claims relating to the
incidental use of alcohol at events, but not if we go into the business of selling the stuff.
SCA sponsored taverns are not allowed where the branch is serving alcohol. The risk of a
tavern-keepers' lawsuit is more than the SCA can stand.
A. Minors with alcohol will not be tolerated. This means that a minor with alcohol will
be told to leave the site immediately. The minors guardian/parent will be required to
leave the site with the minor. No exceptions. failure to comply must be followed by a call
to the police.
B. If the minor is on site without a parent or guardian, the constables responsible for
granting access to that minor must be warned such action is a violation of duties. The
minor must become sober and then told to go home. No exceptions. Failure to comply
must be followed by a call to the police.
C. If the minor is 18 years of age but under 21 years of age and on site without a parent
or legal guardian (as none would be required in most jurisdictions at that age) the minor
must become sober and then told to go home. No exceptions. failure to comply must be
followed by a call to the police.
D. if a minor came to the event with other participants who are not dunk but are the
minors sole source of transportation - all in said vehicle must be told to go home with tile

minor. No exceptions. failure to comply must be followed by a call to the police.

E. If the person with alcohol is not a minor but disruptive to the event and its participants
(reasonability issues apply here) the person must be told to go home - by means of a
sober driver or cab or given time to sober up and then told to go home. No exceptions.
failure to comply must be followed by a call to the police.
Spirit Making links

Recipies
● Baronial Beer batch 1 |
● Guild Mead batch 1 |
Minutes and Reports Have been moved off line
Other SCA related Links

● SCA Missile Combatants page that I maintain
● SCA Arts and Sciences Homepage
Matt's SCA resume'
[email protected]
Disclaimer: This webpage is maintained courtesy of Matt Henson. It is not a publication of the SCA,
Inc. nor does it delineate SCA policies. Neither the SCA, Inc. nor Matt Henson assumes any liability
for the accuracy of information contained on this page nor the suitability of any materials linked to
this page.
Last Modified: Friday, May 14, 1999
copyright 1999

bb001.htmPage
Last Modified: Sunday, October 04, 1998
Baronial Batch for June Faire 1995

Bad Notes
May 8, 1995
We used
1 Can Geordie mild scottish Ale
3 lbs M&F dry malt amber
Boiled in Two Gallons of water for one hour
og= 1.054 @ 60F
May 14, 1995 Racked into second carboy sg= 1.020 @ 60F
May 15, 1995 Bottling day
Primed with 3/4 cup Corn sugar, 1 pint of water
Bottled 48 20oz Bottles with sg 1.015
Presented at June Faire 1995
Everyone thought it was great. The guild thought it was too young
[email protected]
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Baronial Beer Batch 2
Baronial Batch for Candlemas

Started 18 Dec 1995
Recipe by Derek Lyons (aka Lord Theodoric the Scholar), Chuck Babcock, Matt Henson (aka HL
Mateusz z Plocka)
1/4 lb roast barley light 350L
1/4 lb roast barley dark 500L
2 lbs crystal Malt 20L
1/4 lb chocolate malt 350L
W yeast 1028 London Yeast culture
Put grain in 2 grain bags slpit evenly

18:25 put to steep in 2 gallons 158 F water
18:32 stirred
18:40 stirred
18:55 Shifted grains to spare tub
19:00 2 gallons water added to brew kettle
19:04 added malt extract to Brew kettle
20:00 removed kettle from heat. placed in Cold water bath
20:05 Added Ice to sink
20:15 poured into Primary og 1.032 at 70F
27 Dec 1995 sg 1.027 at 70F

3 Jan Bottled
Conditioned between 60 to 65F
Opened first bottle 10 Feb 1996
19 Feb 96 Tasted and Judged at Dragons Laire Spirtmakers Guild

Need to add hops for better balance.
[email protected]
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Baronial Batch for June Faire 1996

Started Mar 23, 1996
Recipe by Derek Lyons (aka Lord Theodoric the Scholar), Chuck Babcock, Matt Henson (aka HL
Mateusz z Plocka)
Ingredients
1 lbs Wheat DME
1/4 lb roast barley 350L
1oz roast barley dark 500L
1 lbs crystal Malt 20L
1 lbs Special B 190L
1/4 lb chocolate malt 350L
1 oz Black Patent
1/2 oz Willamette Hops
1/4 teaspoon Irish Moss
W yeast 1028 London Yeast culture
14:11 Started the Steep

14:42 Started the Sparge
NOTE: Don't use a small pot. We used a 2gal pot and the bags displaced half of the volume.
14:45 End sparge
15:06 Added extract
15:35 Start boil and added 1/2 oz Willamette hops
15:50 Added Irish moss
16:35 End Boil, Began chilling in ice bath
17:36 og= 1.055 at 60 degrees F Pitched Yeast
March 4, 1996 Racked 5 full gallons sg=1.020 @60F
Costs of Brew
$ 2.00 Ice
$26.29 Grain
$ 2.00 Hops
$11.00 Bottles
$ 4.00 Yeast ------------------------
$45.29 Total
Donations from Guild Members $25.00 to date Mar 5, 1996 (Derek and Matt still need to be
re-embersed)
[email protected]
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gm001.htmPage
Guild 5 year Mead

October 16, 1995
Boiled 2 gal Water and added 16+ cups of Raw Blackberry honey (aproximently 12 lbs)
Boiled for 30 Minutes skiming
Added 2 tsp yeast nuterient, 4 tsp acid blend.
Cooled to room temp with water and ice bath
Made starter with Prisse yeast at 90F
added 2 gals to carboy and added the must
og=0.068 @ 60F
March 9, 1996 Racked with Sparkloid (fining agent)

sg= 1.000 @ 57F
March 18, 1996 Bottling day, sg=0.997 @ 60F

Bottled 24 Wine bottles and Named the "Stumbling Bumble Bee"
[email protected]
http://kendaco.telebyte.com/~mhenson/gm001.html [13/01/2001 22:53:03]

SCA Missile Combat
SCA Missile Combat

Alpine Pass War 1989

Jump point
Master Index Page | Spirit Makers Guild | Draft AnTir One-On-One Combat Rules
Links to points in this page.

● Non-Contact Combat WAR!
● Bowerying Longbows
● Other Archery pages both SCA and Not
● Disclaimer yes I have one too.
Missile Combatants
I have just finised writting a new page for Tennis Ball Launching Crossbows. Pleas take a look at it ant let me know what
you think.
We recently held war practice at my home on Sunday, All Dragons Laire citizens are encourged to support you troops!
Tennis balls are available to anyone in the Barony. If I am at the war and you need some just ask. If you are planning to go
to a war and I am not, just call and I will arrange to get them you.
Work is progressing on the tennis ball crossbows I am making for tourney season. I plan to have more than one with me at
any war I am going to. If you show up and THEY decide at the last minute no Arrows see me!
I have gone out with my equipment and determined the ranges each performs at. I shot 12 times with each weapon into the
wind and with the wind. Here is what I have found.
What range and accuracy do you get with your combat arrows.
1) Type and weight of bow: eg solid fiberglass, laminate recurve,crossbow, etc.
1. Tennis ball cross bow 35# at 17" for 595 inch pounds made from lumber and rubber tubing.
2. Fiberglass recurve 25# at 28" draw
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SCA Missile Combat
3. Wood fiberglass laminate recurve 30# at 28" draw

2) Type of combat arrow: Golf tube, tennis ball or thrusting head.
1. unaltered tennis balls (moderatly flat)
2. ii) and iii) Wood shaft, 3/4 inch blunt
3) Maximum range at 45 degree angle.
1. Average 34 yrds
2. average 63 yds
3. average 84 yds
For comparision I shoot 12 wood shafted target arrows both with and against the wind for an average of 107 yrds.
4) Maximum range at which you can <usually> hit a fighter.
1. 20 yds
2. 35 yds
3. 40 yds
I have found that I can hit where I want more in armor on a war field than I can on a royal round.
5) Best range for <almost always> hitting a fighter.
1. 20 yds
2. 25 yds
3. 30 yds
6) If you have used both golftubes and woodshaft, how would you compare them?
One time effort using sone else golf tubes at AnTir/ West
1. na
2. no range could'nt even get close enough.
3. maybe 10 yds.
Even though I have short range with the tennis ball crossbow, I have more heavies acknowledge the hits. The low cost of
the weapon and amunation make it less painful to play. I can play in more battles than shafted weapons. My oponents do
not need screening. The disadvantge is I do a lot of running. Too easy to get too close to heavies engaged in combat. takes
about twice as long to reload and fire than shafts but I am working on that.
Top of page
Jump point
Bowerying
I am really enjoying making strings. Getting ready to start a few kid's bows. I found a hard wood store in Seattle that I can
buy seasoned kilm dried wood. I figure for about $30.00 I can get two bows out of some Ash. That is as soon as I can talk a
friend into cutting the boards with his band saw.
I have completed my first bow of Oak. Learned a lot about wood in making it. but I over tillered and it is now a 15 pound
kids bow.
My original intention was to make a period style long bow with a 30 pound pull at 28". What I ended up with is a bow the
is an over tillered replica of a Frankish flatbow. The bow is similar to the dimensions as the Asby-Stigtoma find dated
between 400 and 700 A. D. The bow is un-backed Spruce that is man height.
I started off by going to a bow making class taught at Pacific Yew, Inc.(Northwest Archery) by Jay St. Charles. And then
reading everything I could. When I felt brave enough I spent several days visiting many lumber yards searching for a
suitable wood and grain structure. The early bows of Europe were made from Yew, Elm, Spruce, and Oak. I did find a 2 by
2, eight foot piece of straight grained Oak.
After picking the best six feet of the board and cutting it to height, I then used a draw knife to bring the bow to life. By

SCA Missile Combat
using the Draw knife upside down I was able to shape the bow and follow the growth rings. I then began to use a spoke
shave to further tiller the bow and shape the riser section. When the bow felt ready and floor tillered evenly I cut the string
notches with a file. I started using a tillering stick to match the limbs curves. By paying too much attention to the shape of
the bend I lost the desired weight. I was down to a five pound pull. To compensate I started removing length. The Bow is
now 6 inches shorter and I brought the pull to 13 pounds at 28". A good kids bow.
I then used a scraper to remove most of the tool marks. To polish the bow before applying the finish I used a glass bottle.
The olive bottle is about the same shape of a polishing stone. Then I used a wet towel to raise the grain and ran the scraper
over the entire length again. After repeating the process of damping, scraping and polishing three times I was no longer in
danger of raising splinters.
The finish is commercially available as Tru-Oil, a linseed based finish used on gun stocks. I then buffed the bow with steel
wool and 400 grit sandpaper after each of 10 coats. I then cut and glued the handle and arrow rest to the bow.
I picked up a 10 foot 1 by 4 of Elm for another try. The cost was $15.00, a good start. From this piece I was able to make
one bow at 25# for my nephew, Broke one while tillering it, and Currently working on the third and final bow I could get
from the board. Not too bad eh.
Top of page
Jump point
My Schedule (or where I have been)
An Tir/West War 3-6 July, 1997
This is me at Master Ed 1996

Top of page
Jump point

SCA Missile Combat
Other Links
● SCA Archery Homepage
● SCA Archery mailing list home page
● Archery This is a collection of Rialto (rec.org.sca) articles made by Stefan li Rous
● Rialto Archive This is a collection of Rialto (rec.org.sca) articles made by Stefan li Rous
● Historic Enterprises Great for Armor ans some other stuff.
● Kingdom of An Tir - An Tir Book of Combat
● Home-built Crossbows
● DETAILS AND OPTIONS Crossbow's
● Timber Framers Guild: Report on the Trebuchet Workshop
Non SCA but good

● Gold Fox Traditional Archery
● Ryan Herco Products Corporation[Home Page] Possible source for shafts
● (Ted Nugent World Bowhunters)The official Ted Nugent World Bowhunters pages, with Nugent biography and
(soon we hope) stuffed with stuff.
● Maryland Archery (Kennesaw Archery Club) The pages have club information, tournament schedule and tournament
results.
● Pacific Yew, Inc. - - Maker of fine yew longbows
● Traditional Bowsites
[email protected]
Disclaimer: This webpage is maintained courtesy of Matt Henson. It is not a publication of the SCA, Inc. nor does it
delineate SCA policies. Neither the SCA, Inc. nor Matt Henson assumes any liability for the accuracy of information
contained on this page nor the suitability of any materials linked to this page.
Jump point
Top of page

Draft AnTir One-On-One Combat Rules

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY
9 May 1998
Rules for Missile Combat Tournaments
By H. L. Eric de Dragonslaire, OGGS, An Tir Royal Archer
These are the rules for the An Tir Kingdom Protector Tournament and for standardized one-on-one
missile combat tournaments within the Kingdom of An Tir.
THE ERIC:
Combat shall take place in two squares, 10 feet by 10 feet, which be set up so that the distance from
the back of one square to the back of the other is 20 yards. (Make sure that the poles used to hold the
ropes do not pose a threat to the combatants should they fall on one.) The eric will be centered in a 20
yard by 60 yard overshoot area where no one other than authorized marshals will be permitted during
combat. It is recommended that the overshoot area by demarcated, preferably by roping the area off so
that spectators do not stray into the area. Spectators should not be permitted along the short ends of
the field.
ARMOR AND WEAPON STANDARDS:
All combatants must wear light combatant armor that meets the standards set in the An Tir Book of
Combat. Only missile weapons that meet the standard set in the An Tir Book of Combat may be used;
except that experimental missile weapons may be used if approved by the marshal in charge and the
person's opponents do not object to the use of the experimental weapons. A combatant may only use
weapons that they are authorized touse.
Each combatant may carry up to 12 missiles with them into the eric; e.g., 12 arrows, or 11 arrows and
one throwing axe, or 6 tennis balls and 6 javelins, etc.
Each combatant may carry only 1 projectile launching piece of equipment; e.g., a bow, crossbow,
stone bow, or staff-sling, etc. One buckler may be used, provided it is not greater than 15 inches in
any dimension.
All armor, weapons and ammunition must be inspected by a warranted light marshal prior to each
tournament.
The minimum sized blunt on combat arrows shall be 5/4 inch. Arrows shall be inspected prior to each
fight by the contestant or a light marshal.
COMBAT:
The rules of the lists shall be enforced. Contestants must show their authorization card when signing
up for the lists.
Upon the Marshal's command of "lay on" fighting shall commence. Prior to lay on arrows may be
nocked, but not drawn; crossbows and stonebows may be drawn and loaded, but must pointed
groundward; and hand weapons may be at the ready (the arm may be cocked). A fighter wins the
battle by killing the enemy, having their opponent
step out of the square during combat or scoring more points.
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If a combatant steps out of the square, the combatant is considered to have lost. This is at the
marshal's discretion and should be judged leniently. (It is very difficult to see the lines at one's feet
while wearing a helm and watching one's opponent.) If a bow is struck, it is considered to be broken,
and must be discarded.
If a quiver is struck by an arrow, one arrow is considered to be broken, and must be removed from the
quiver and not loosed at the opponent. If it is struck by a javelin or throwing axe, all the arrows are
considered broken. Note that arrows and bolts are damageable, but javelins, throwing axes, and rocks
(from a staff sling or stone bow), are not vulnerable.
An arrow hitting the ground for any reason is dead for that fight. Other projectile weapons that are
dropped must be re-inspected by the combatant before being used.
The entire body is a legitimate target, from toes to fingertips (it is recommended that combatants do
not intentionally shoot at the bow hand or groin). A hit to a limb disables that limb. A hit to the head
or torso kills. If both combatants run out of missiles without either one being killed, the winner shall
be determined by points. An arm or a leg being disabled counts as a point. Multiple hits on the same
limb do not score multiple points. Shots that hit a stray piece of cloth do not count as a hit. A bow hit
does not count as apoint. Thrown arrows or rocks do not score.
If points are equal at the end of combat, or if a double-kill occurs, the bout is considered a tie. A tie is
re-fought, then if a tie occurs on the second bout, both combatants are considered to have lost.
MARSHALS:
The marshal in charge of the tournament must be a warranted junior or senior light marshal. Marshals
must wear a minimum armor of a light helm or three weapon fencing mask. Full light armor is
recommended.
Marshals shall bear fair witness when requested. The marshal in charge of the tournament shall
declare before the fighting begins what type of tournament it is; e.g., round robin, double elimination,
triple elimination, etc.
[email protected]
Disclaimer: This webpage is maintained courtesy of Matt Henson. It is not a publication of the SCA,
Inc. nor does it delineate SCA policies. Neither the SCA, Inc. nor Matt Henson assumes any liability
for the accuracy of information contained on this page nor the suitability of any materials linked to
this page.
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HL Matuesz z Plocka
SCA Resume'
In 1976 my wife Laura (then girlfriend) told me about an SCA event that she had been to, in fact she
had attended two events. Immediately we began searching for a chapter of the SCA in that town. In
1987 We found Dragons’ Laire and our hearts had found their home.
I hold my Lady with the highest regard and carry her favor with honor.
There for I put my SCA Resume' forth
HL Matuesz z Plocka
Joined the SCA and Dragons’ Laire in 1987 AS XXI
Offices and Jobs
Seneschal of Dragons’ Laire Apr. 1990 to Aug. 1992

Dragons Laire Spirit Makers Guild head 1994 to present.
Commander of Lights for the Barony of Dragons Laire 1995 to present
Baronial Constable July 1996 to 1998
Autocrat
May Crown 1991

June Faire 1993
Barony of Dragons Laire Sargentry Yeoman Gallant trials 1996
Qualified
Senior Lights Marshall

Junior Heavy Marshall
Senior Constable (Teaching) at large
Apprentice level Archer
Skills
Maker of Mead’s and Beers.

Apprentice level Bowyer (maker of Bows, Arrows etc.)
Awards
● Award of Arms -1991

● Order of Goute de Sang - 1992
● Dragons Laire Wyvern Service Award - 1992
● Kingdom Constabulary Award 1995
● Bumble Bee Award for Spirtmaking 1996
● Snapdragon Baronial Service Award 1996
● Baronal Arts and Sciences Champion 1996-1998
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HL Matuesz z Plocka
● Jambe de lione 1998

Last Modified: Saturday, January 30, 1999
Master Index Page
[email protected]
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Make Your Own Crossbows & Etc - Mad Abe-Organizer

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What are crossbows described as in the document?

What are crossbows described as in the document?

What experiment is described to demonstrate the potency of crossbows?

What experiment is described to demonstrate the potency of crossbows?

BUILD YOUR OWN

OLD & MODERN

BY MAD ABE, EDITOR

These weapons are called Crossbows.

That is, these modern weapons are just that: WEAPONS.

These modern Crossbows can bring down any animal on the

Shooting against soft body-armor vests, a similar wooden bolt

Similarly, it also penetrated cars windshields as well as the

And this is nothing yet…

There are plans to build a Pistol Crossbow (as potent as a

Dot not take my words as granted, build these Crossbows and go

And have fun!

The prod is aluminum, which greatly reduced the weight of

The tiller is some sort of pine. It is made more like a rifle

I guess that's about it. I'll add more as I think of it.

Thanks for the info Don! I really appreciate it.

THIS REPEATING CROSSBOW has all the

166 POPULAR MECHANICS

2" 2" WEDGE

BUTT HINGE WALNUT STOCK

STEEL POINT sQ.

LEMONWOOD, HICKORY OR YEW BOW

1/8" 3/8" 3½"' ¼ 3¼

Top specimen is a Howa bolt- Fig.17A - Airgun Torpedoes!

Ralph Payne-Gallwey 'The Crossbow'

file:///C|/WINDOWS/Desktop/The%20Chinese%20Repeating%20Crossbow.htm (1 of 6) [21/09/01 01:12:43]

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THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CHINESE REPEATING CROSSBOW, Figs. 171, 172

HOW TO WORK THE CROSSBOW, FIG. 174

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file:///C|/WINDOWS/Desktop/The%20Chinese%20Repeating%20Crossbow.htm (5 of 6) [21/09/01 01:12:43]

Last up-dated 09 October, 2000

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Part One - Basic Dimentions.

Matereal used for stock is the birch.

Part Two - The Prod.

file:///C|/boom/docs/Crossbow page.htm (1 of 5) [12/16/2000 2:06:39 PM]

Part Three - Bow Irons and assembling.

And here is a more detailed drawing

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Part Four - release mechanism.

I hope pictures show, how does it work.

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Here are release mechanism dimentions

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Inexpensive 2x4 Combat Crossbow Plans

Hand saw or bandsaw

3/8" Round file

Sandpaper or power sander

Measuring tape or ruler

Propane torch or stove burner

Heat resistant gloves

1 - nice straight 2x4 cut to length of stock (mine is 28")

Thanks to Wulfric Alemaker for writing up these instructions for us.