crossbow questions

freiman the minstrel · Thu Feb 07, 2002 10:33 am

I have been enjoying making sketches of crossbow construction. I find that making the drawings is a whole lot cheaper than making the crossbows (or pennsic encampments, or entirely new suits of armor, or rope beds, or pavillions, or viking boats ect).

I have some questions, though.

The bows (prods) seem to be attached to the stocks with rope in all the artifact weapons I have been able to get a look at. What kind of rope?

Also, the combat archery rules seem to use a different set of measurements (a different measurement system) than for bows, when measuring allowable force.

Also, I have not seen any primaries that include any provision for a sling. It seems to me that anybody who was forced to carry a fifteen pound weapon a few hundred miles would certainly want to have a sling. Just a gut feeling, but this is one I trust.

also, I know practically nothing about this, is there anything elso that is very important to know?

muttman · Post by **muttman** » Thu Feb 07, 2002 4:23 pm

http://members.aol.com/AGPitts/frame.html
This might be a good place to start. Some good info here, near as I can tell

jgalak · Post by **jgalak** » Fri Feb 08, 2002 4:50 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by freiman the minstrel:
 The bows (prods) seem to be attached to the stocks with rope in all the artifact weapons I have been able to get a look at. What kind of rope?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Probably any rope available at the time - hemp, horsehair, etc.

Note however, that many period bows used bowirons instead of rope. Bowirons are a set of metal plates and wedges that hold the prod in place.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
Also, the combat archery rules seem to use a different set of measurements (a different measurement system) than for bows, when measuring allowable force.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'm not sure which rules you are looking at, but I've seen one confusing issue before. In terms of physics, to figure out the strength of the bow in inch-pounds, the formula is this:

1/2 * (Bow weight when cocked - Bow weight at rest) * Distance from rest position to cock position

The "Bow weight at rest" is always 0, and the "Bow weight when cocked" is whatever the weight of the prod is.

However, most SCA combat archery rules that address this issue drop the "1/2" at the beginning. This is fine, since the computed value is just used for comparisons, but it may be that some people are using the equation with that factor in. If that's the case, it could lead to confusion.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
also, I know practically nothing about this, is there anything elso that is very important to know?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You may want to pick up the "Book of the Crossbow" by Payne-Galloway. It's pretty good, but don't take it as gospel, since it's the epitome of Victorian-era research - some things he researched, others he made up.

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Yehuda ben Moshe
mka Juliean Galak