Make 'T his Powerful

PISTOL CROSSBOW

This article was taken from a 1960 era issl,IeojScience and Mechanics,
which is no longer published This publication was very advancedfor its
time and era. . B Edwin Love

You' ll create quite a sensation Making tbe Two Cocking ofihe stock grip to a thickness ofl­
at your next archery meet when you Plates by first transferring your 118". Clamp the cocking plates to
start banging away at the target with full-size drawing of each to 1I8-in­ the sides ofthe grip so that they are
bolts from your own hand-crafted thick steel. A series of prick-punch positioned as shown in Fig 3 and
pistol crossbow. In fact, drill rivet holes through the grip.
everyone will want to try his Then mark the grip for
skill at shooting this rare one­ mortising the plates into it by
of-a-kind weapon. This is no tracing around the plates with a
toy, either, and should be sharp pencil. Remove the plates
treated with the same respect and cut around the mortise edge
due any weapon. For the wallop with a gouge or narrow chisel
this baby packs makes it making it slightly undersize.
capable of driving a 6-in bolt Make several cut lines across
through a bull's-eye at 150 ft. the grain to break up chips and
Its power is stored in a spring- establish the 1I8-in. depth ofthe
steel bow which requires a mortise. Hollow out the mortise
.special cocking device ("goat's by hand chiseling or with a
foot") to provide the leverage router bit in a drill press.
necessary to draw back the Replace the plates and hammer-
bowstring and set it in the tap them into the mortise edges
notched wheel of the weapon's so that an imprint is left; after
trigger mechanism. Fig. 1. "G<rat'.t l crot" co<kl cro,ukw"':hcokt 10 t~ , trimming to this imprint the
Your First Step in making "et'.ide., .1.""$ b~tk bowstting••~ it I", wh~ plates will fit snugly. Before
the crossbow is to draw a 5-112 x 9­ marks spaced about 1/8 in. Apart replacing the plates, work the grip
in. Grid of Y:z in. Squares on paper. along the outline will serve as a down to its rounded form with
Then copy the outline of the pistol dotted guide line to follow when chisel and rasp. To aid in forming it
stock (side view, Fig 3) using the cutting the steel. The latter is done symmetrically, ' make a couple of
112-in squares to enlarge it. Also by using a jigsaw or hand coping cardboard templates (fig 3B) to
copy the outline ofthe cocking side saw fitted with a fine-tooth metal- check the roundness of the grip.
plate and trigger guard . Use carbon cutting blade. (In a pinch you can Fair off the grip toward the top and
paper to transfer the pistol-stock rough-cut these parts to size with a round the comers of the stock.
drawing to 1-1I4-in thick maple or cold chisel, then file and grind them Mortising for tbe Trigger
walnut stock. After sawing the stock to the correct dimensions) Now M~banism can be done now or
to shape drill a 1I2-in hole up clamp the two plates together and after the plates are riveted to the
through the center ofthe pistol grip drill the holes for the rivets-made grip. In either case layout the size ·
and then insert a 1I2-in dowel, from the shanks of 16d (3-1I2-in) of the mortise on top of the stock
gluing it in place. This will prevent common nails. Countersink these and bore it out, starting with the end
the grip from splitting with the holes so that the rivets set flush. holes and working toward the center
grain. Next rough-file down each side with holes overlapping (Fig 3C). Set
51
 the drill-press depth
gauge to avoid boring
" too deeply. Chisel the
sides of the mortise
TOP VIEW
smooth and square the
,"
2: 50S.
ends.
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Before attaching
the cocking plates grind
"
-- == -­ -. -­- them roughly to the
~_~:_Q I I II SIDE V IE't' :I \I
_I
C 'S'INK ~ '
FOR
I
,"
..: M;'R:~SE~
~l " contour of the grip.
RI VE~ /Y f'/i I ~ ~ I ~~ Then force them into
K( I l~ II.­ I-JRIGGER the mortises, push the
QI,/ARD S'tATION r
. t" "
! nails through and cut
/l ~ L6' 5T ATION 2
[g)j :j 50S.
them to length for
if ~~. STATIONl
1\
1'-. "­
GRIP
riveting. By the way,
;-! . ,7 , .•
"
1.
/ GRA(IJ ' , _ ,
. i' PISTOL GRiP 11 aUTT the nails can be
softened for easier
1'-7
i r7.~
..lIT .!lQ.£!i.

"
STATION ·2
riveting by heating the
B TEMPLATES FOR GR!
~I' ends red hot with a
torch and allowing
them to cool slowly.
Now rest the pistol grip
on the vise anvil, nail
heads down, and rivet
the cut ends. Turn the
stock over then and
hammer the nail heads
into the countersunk
holes. Finish by filing
the rivets flush with the
plates.
The Trigger
Mechanism Itself is
started by first making
the ' notched wheel and
detent, following the
same procedure used
when making the
cocking plates (note
that these parts are
shown full size in Fig
5). Forge the trigger
from a 5/16-in. round
steel rod by heating it
red hot and hammering
it to shape. Flatten the
upper part and shape
the trigger section with
a ball peen hammer
(Fig 3E). Cut, clamp
together and drill the

holes through both side plates. The your fingers until it

plate drawing (Fig 5) is full size so
just paste it on the plate and center
punch the hole locations. Be sure to
pair and countersink the plates on
the outsides so that the pivot post
ends can be riveted flush on the
outside after assembly.
Make pivot posts from nails,
shouldering them on a metal-turning
lathe (Fig 10). Lacking a lathe you
can do this work on a drill press by
gripping the nails in a chuck and
filing the ends down to fit the plate
holes. Use a 'file having smooth or
safe edges to make the shoulders
square and sharp.
Here's How the Trigger
Mechanism Works: The slot in the
notched wheel is held in position
for accepting the bowstring loop by
a small helical spring beneath the
wheel and anchored to the left plate
with a screw (Fig 9). The flat spring
which holds down the detent is bent
stops, checking to see
if the wheel releases
when the trigger is
pulled.
The Spring-Steel
Bow was made from
the coiled spring of a
hood hinge from a
1953 Ford and was
obtained from an auto
wrecking yard. It is
straightened by
gripping it in a vise
(Fig 6A), lifting the
free end of the spring ,
and sliding a steel bar '
under it so that the
latter rests on the vise
jaws. Now hammer the
curved spring to flatten
it on the bar. Then
draw another curved
section over the bar for
straightening.
~

:.
"
I
form a hair curler. The detent locks Straighten 15 in. ofthe .
the wheel against the pull of the spring, then nick if on ,
locked bowstring. The lower end of a grinder and break it i~
the detent, pressing against the back to length. . -' ,- t, .
of the trigger, holds the trigger The unstrung bow ~ .
against its stop. When pulled, the should be , btmt
trigger pushes back the detent, the
detent releases the wheel and the
bow-string springs forward and fires
the bolt.
When assembling the trigger
mechanism, first rivet the pivot
posts to one side plate. Then add the ends of the bow to take the
washers, working parts and upper .' bowstring. To strengthen the bow
washers. Before riveting the second straighten a 6" length ofspring steel
side plate, test the action by and taper down the thickness
pressing the wheel forward with
 by grinding the 3/S" notch - in the
center ofthe upper edges ofthe bow
and leaves - which serves to clear
the shot bolt.
The bow is held in place with
clips bent from liS xl" steel (Fig
2C). A lag screw passing through
.the clips into the end of the stock
locks the bow between the clips.
Two machine screws passing
through the forward end of the
stock, and at an outward angle
toward the bottom so as to clear the
lag screw, fasten the clips and
channel to the stock.
To Make The Channel
detailed in Fig 2A, bend 1116" sheet
metal as shown in Fig3A, then trim
and file the upper edges. Cut the
notch at the rear ofthe channel with
a file and drill the holes for the
screws. The center screw also
serves to fasten the forward end of
the trigger guard, while a couple of
roundhead wood screws near the
back, bear against the sides of the
channel, their heads bearing on the
top edges.
Make the trigger guard from
lISx3/S" steel or aluminum bar
stock, bending it as indicated in the
drawing of the gun stock.
In assembling the pistol, place
the trigger mechanism into its
mortise, set the channel on top of
the stock, insert the screws, then
add the bow, clips and trigger guard
as shown in Fig. 2.
Make the bowstring (Fig 6B) by
bending one end into a loop just
large enough to slip over the end of
the bow. Holding the loop in a vise,
wrap half the length of the short
cable with spooled binding wire.
Then fray out the cable end, bend
the strands back over the binding
and wrap these also with wire.
Making tbe Cocking Loop
(Fig 2B) from coat-hanger wire and
slip it in the bowstring before
binding the other loop. To "brace"
or string the bow, make a jig from floor sealer. Polish the metal parts
scrap wood as in Fig 4. The bolt on and blue them with bluing ·
the end of the jig presses against a compound obtainable at gun shops.
piece of metal set between the ******
cocking plates. As the bolt
is tightened the forward end
of the jig is pulled against
the bow, bending it. Further
bending can be achieved by
driving wedges between the
jig and bow. Slip the
bowstring loops over the
bow ends, and to keep them
from slipping out of the
bow nocks wrap binding
wire behind the nocks,
around to the front and then
back over the bowstring
loops. Twist the wire ends
tightly and cut them off
short.
The Goat's Foot or
cocking handle (Fig 7) is
shaped from hardwood and
fitted with a half cylinder
made from a hardwood
dowel which bears on the
cocking bolt. The hooks are
bent from coat-hanger wire
passed through' an off­
center hole in an iron
bushing. A spreader made
from a dowel is fashioned
to make a sliding fit
between the hooks and the
outer edges of the channe1.
The goat's foot cocks the
crossbow by · drawing the
bow-string back and setting
it in the wheel notch which
is attached to the trigger
mechanism. Once the
crossbow is cocked the
goat's foot is removed. For
easy carrying, the goat's
foot can be fitted with a
hook and you can hang it
from your belt.
Finish the wooden parts
of the pistol and the goat's
foot with three coats of
54 ·