It's been several months in the making, but I have a new crossbow "kit" from Tod's Stuff that I thought I'd share. Please excuse the terrible photography as I am not photographing under great conditions (it gets dark early here).

http://imgur.com/a/fR8XZ/1

Overall it seems very well constructed and solid. The finish is pretty good, though I can see file marks on the goatsfoot lever and a few on the trigger. They don't really bother me as they are not all over the place, and it is a munitions grade bow rather than a custom piece, but are worth mentioning. If it really bothers me I'll disassemble it and sand it. I also like that the metal pieces are forged rather than machined.

It spans quite smoothly as well, though I haven't done that since I had to replace the string since shooting the bow without a bolt in it is a bad idea.

The quiver is also quite nice, very even stitching on the back and the stamping along the rim is a nice touch.

I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet unfortunately, as I am in downtown Portland and without transportation, but I am hoping to remedy that as soon as I get home. :)

Tod has been great throughout the process of getting everything shipped over here - he was very prompt in answering emails and questions I have had along the way. I'm quite pleased with my interactions with Tod and his product, and would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone.

Very nice.

I wish these came as build-it-yourself kits also. Would make a great project.

Johan-
I know there are several places that sell the metal parts for crossbows as well as severl forums dedicated to the topic.
I haven't spent too much time looking for places in Europe but they do exist. if you want more info let me know.

I was looking into this crossbow too. Good to see that you are happy with this nice piece. Is there a bolt clip, so the bolt won´t slide out when shooting from a wall?

No, I don't think it does. Is this what they look like?

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Well having a good fit between the bolt and the roller nut should accomplish almost the same thing.

But I forgot to add in my earlier post. Those are both some great looking crossbows. How do they shoot?

Makes me want my new crossbow to show up.

I haven't had a chance to shoot it, as I am at school in an urban environment for another three weeks. I will be going home soon though and can't wait to give it a shot (pun intended). I have never shot anything (bow or gun) before though, so I may not be the best person to judge.

I think I will make a bolt clip though; it seems like a handy thing to have, and not all that complicated.

Thank you for the tips Jean; I appreciate it :) I am thinking of setting up a double thick block of blue insulating foam, the blue ones you can get at the hardware store.

Well, I went into the studio tonight and made a bolt clip. I'm pretty happy with it - clamping it to the table seems to apply enough pressure to the clip to make the bolts resistant to falling out without feeling like it's clamped down. I'll make some nails and test it on the actual bow tomorrow (with a clamp first) - I don't like to bring my crossbow to the studio every night (haha).

Once again, sorry for the bad photography.

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It is a lovely piece. Tod does some great work. Be careful with your test shooting. Make sure that if the bolt goes through the target you have a fair amount of space behind it as a buffer zone.

As for the clip. Most medieval crossbows lack this so you might want to see how it goes without it. The clip makes somethings easier but as Tod showed me years ago with one he just finished they are not needed to keep the bolt set.

RPM

Thanks Randall; I will definitely see how it works without the clip prior to attaching it. It does seem like a fairly useful device though; I'll have to do some looking and see if I can find evidence of any in period artwork. Are there any down-sides to the clip, such as reduced range or accuracy due to the extra drag?

I did a bit of looking and found a few, later crossbows that have bolt clips - I can't seem to find earlier ones though, nor anything on their disadvantages (if any). Could anyone offer some insight on the subject? As a note, I am looking for information on disadvantages to the bolt clip more so than if it's strictly historically accurate, though that is welcome as well.

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German, 1730

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Close-up of ivory bow, and what appears to be a bolt clip at the top, Unknown provenance/period

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German, 1475 [ Download ]

Hi All

Felix R wrote

Quote:

was looking into this crossbow too. Good to see that you are happy with this nice piece. Is there a bolt clip, so the bolt won´t slide out when shooting from a wall?

As Randall and Addison point out later in this thread bolt clips were not really around until about 1500/1520 or so, so really they would be innappropriate for the 15thC which is where this bow fits. I will not argue that a bolt clip is a handy addition to a bow, but it does depend on how historically pure you want to be.

If the bolt is well fitted to the nut or lightly wedged in with a slip of cloth etc they can be pointed down, it is also possible to hold the bolt down with your left thumb just in front of the nut and let the string skid under your thumb ( courage is required but generally not pain killers). Both methods allow you to hold a bolt in place without a clip.

Addison - caution. The bolt clip will need to swivel out of the way for the goats foot lever to operate so use only one fixing point and you are better off with a screw or a bolt (both OK historically if you use a slot head) as a nail is likely to loosen. The trigger mechanism passes right under where you need to fix the clip, so keep the fixings shallow to about 3/8" or so. Finally it is better to have a clip that flexes and though a nice bit of forging, I think this should allow for flex more. I have seen them made in thin sheet steel, so you could kill a hacksaw blade. Failing that I could send you a horn one.

As regards any negative points to a bolt clip? They slow the reload slightly and as any museum collection will testify, you will break it off at some point due to accident. On the plus side, they hold the bolt in place if you are shooting down or moving about and they look pretty.

Regards

Tod

Thanks very much Tod, this is exactly what I wanted to know. Also thank you for pointing out the fact that it needs to swivel - I hadn't considered that but I now see the problem. I will see how things go without a clip, and if I still feel it's necessary after actually using the bow, perhaps I'll make another.