Chinese crossbow replica

Romain · Post by **Romain** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 7:22 am

Hi Stephen,

After I managed to find a working crossbow mechanism (eastern Han), I decided to do like you and to give it to Juyuanhao so Master YANG Fuxi could rebuild the whole crossbow around it.

From your own experience shooting a similar replica, could you tell me if any point needs to be strengthened / ameliorated compared to your prototype ?

I'd like a bit more feedback than what I could find in your Atarn article (was it nice to shoot with by the way ?)

Stephen Selby · Post by **Stephen Selby** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 10:44 am

I wonder whether that one would be robust enough to use. Although it moves, it looks a bit corroded and might be too fragile.

I suggest that you ask Ju Yuan Hao to make the prods out of bamboo strips instead of a hornbow (like the repeating crossbows). Also, he needs to have the prods angled downward, just like he puts the prods on his repeating crossbows.

S.

Romain · Post by **Romain** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 12:16 pm

The angle downward, does is have something to do with the crossbow precision ?

About the prod, why would bamboo be better than a horn bow ?

I must tell YANG Fuxi quickly what I want...

Stephen Selby · Post by **Stephen Selby** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 1:26 am

Without the downward angle, the crossbow will frequently unstring because when you pull the string back, the bow can't turn as it does in your hand, so it gets torqued.

I suggest bamboo for the prods because (a) it would still be authentic, but (b) it would save making a horn bow which is likely to break very quickly when used as a crossbow prod.

S.

Romain · Post by **Romain** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 3:54 am

OK Stephen, I understood (I think) for the angle.

If you check your magnificent crossbow stock below, it would appear that the prod on this old crossbow was not angled at all. Drawing a line, that would project underneath the mechanism (line number 1).

So the question is, should the angle of the prod be in line with the mechanism at full draw (line 2) or with the resting position of the string after the shot (line 3) ? Or maybe in between ?

Subsidiary question : how come the old Chinese crossbow do not show any downward angle ?

About the bow potential breakage, I will ask Juyuanhao a guarantee so if the bow breaks, he should fix or change it. Do you think that the reason for early breakage is that the assembly point stock/prod is too rigid ? Should we add some kind of padding ?

Bede · Post by **Bede** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 7:46 am

You might find that the bow position was adjusted with small wedges. The hole might only be a rough guide to the position of the bow.

Excavated crossbows often had just a slightly hollowed area at the front of the stock so the bow position could be varied easily.

Stephen Selby · Post by **Stephen Selby** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 9:42 am

Romain,

The angle should be as the blue line (2). I am certain that the old crossbow had bamboo prods, angled up with some sort of wedge (as Bede suggests.) It was also not very string and appears to have shot lead pellets rather than arrows.

You should not ask for makers of hornbows to give a guarantee, as the only ones who would offer it are fools.

Thomas Duvernay · Post by **Thomas Duvernay** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 1:03 pm

As with Stephen, no horn bowyer I know would give a guarantee on a horn bow. Guarantees are easy to give with bows that are low-maintenance and durable, two things horn bows generally are not. With that said, I know that many horn bowyers would still try to help out, even though they were under no obligation to do so; often, though, a broken horn bow is beyond repair.

T

Romain · Post by **Romain** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 2:07 am

You should not ask for makers of hornbows to give a guarantee, as the only ones who would offer it are fools.

In fact he told me himself I should not worry as I live so close to his shop. We can maybe do a middle way that will not cost him too much money or time : first a horn prod, and if it breaks, replace it with a bamboo one.

The angle should be as the blue line (2). I am certain that the old crossbow had bamboo prods, angled up with some sort of wedge (as Bede suggests.)

I keep in mind the idea of "tuning" wedges. But I guess in order to use these efficiently, the "handle" of the prod should present a flat side and not a round handle as a bow.

Romain · Post by **Romain** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 3:28 am

Just wanted to give you an update on my crossbow.

Juyuan Hao first dismounted the mechanism and greased it

Romain · Post by **Romain** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 3:29 am

He started to build the stock in a log of elm

Romain · Post by **Romain** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 3:32 am

detail of the casing for the mechanism

Romain · Post by **Romain** » Sat May 14, 2005 2:31 pm

Today, I've seen that my crossbow tiller has advanced a lot.

The guard below the trigger is made of horn, bent with heat

Romain · Post by **Romain** » Sat May 14, 2005 2:35 pm

It starts to look nice, isn't it ?

Romain · Post by **Romain** » Sat May 14, 2005 2:44 pm

A proud future Han crossbowman