How to Make a Crossbow

Are you an outdoors sportsman who likes to occupy your time by indulging in ancient sportsmanship and by building your own weapons the way the Indians once did? Then you need to know some of the essentials to making a crossbow. There are several different kinds of bows that you can make. It depends on what you want to shoot, and how far you want the arrow to reach. These sorts of slingshots can be constructed out of most anything; however, the higher the quality of the material you use, the better the crossbow will be. It does not require a great amount of skill, nor money to build a homemade crossbow. Here are the basic things you will need to get started: 2 pieces of wood about 2 inches in width (one of the pieces must be about 2ft long, and the other 3ft long), some nails, a hammer, and a really strong elastic band, or a thick rubber band. These are the essentials. However, you can substitute these supplies with steel rods, or use wire instead of elastic, and screws instead of nails. Now you are ready to build your crossbow.

1. You begin by building your cross. Take the longer piece of wood and hold it straight out from you. You can either place the other, shorter piece of wood, closer to your body, or farther from you. It really does not matter, as long as the two pieces of wood have the shape of a T. Drive your nails or screws into the intersection of the two separate pieces of wood, to hold them together. Then drive one nail on each end of the shorter piece of wood, but leave about 1/8 inch of the nail sticking up. This will be used to fix the elastic band to the device. Be sure that all the nails are very secure, so that the wood pieces do not slip out of place. Sturdiness in a bow is crucial for its performance.
2. Take your band, wire, or elastic and attach it to the nail that you left protruding from the wood, and loop it on one end of the cross. Stretch it taut towards the other end, and attach it. If it is not secure and tight, it will not launch properly, because the band is too slack to do its job.   
 3. Make sure that the wire or elastic is straight to ensure correct targeting. If it is crooked, you will not be able to shoot it accurately towards a specific target. You can use a stick, or clothespin to pull back the bow, but first lay the object that you are going to release against the elastic, pull it back towards you holding the bow firmly in your hand, and release it in the direction you want it to follow.
   
     This is an entertaining and beneficial project for a person to do. It is easy to accomplish and does not require a great deal of time to complete. Building a Crossbow can also save quite a bit of money, especially if it is to be utilized by kids or young people. You do not need to worry about losing or breaking this bow, because it would be so much fun to make another one.