If you’re looking for a fun DIY survival project, then constructing your own crossbow is an excellent place to start. Not only will you learn about carpentry and engineering, but you’ll also be able to use the crossbow for things like hunting or even target practice in your backyard. Today’s guide will help you understand everything about how to build your own crossbow, from sourcing materials and building the body of the bow itself all the way through assembling every last component. By the end of it, you’ll have a solid understanding of how to build your very own working crossbow. So what are we waiting for? Let’s get started!
Cut a wooden dowel in half.
Cut a wooden dowel in half. Your crossbow will have two halves, each composed of a wooden dowel that’s been cut in half. You’ll need to do this with a miter saw or hacksaw. In order to make sure your crossbow is as strong and durable as possible, it’s important that the two pieces are identical in shape and size. That means they should be exactly the same length and thickness, but also that they’re both perfectly straight (think of what happens if you cut one piece crooked). Finally, these pieces must fit snugly into the PVC pipe when pushed all the way through it so no gaps appear between them at any point along their length.
Glue the wooden dowel halves to the sides of the PVC pipe.
Glue the wooden dowel halves to the sides of the PVC pipe.
- Use PVC cement to glue the dowels to the PVC pipe, following manufacturer’s directions on how much glue to use and how long it should dry for before handling. If you don’t have a clamp handy, you can use a rubber band as an impromptu clamp until everything dries completely (this applies especially if your PVC pipe is made from thinner plastic or has been cut with some imperfections—the rubber band will hold things in place as they dry). Once all of your pieces are glued together and dried properly, remove any extra adhesive that may have squirted out onto surrounding areas (you’ll want this material off before you start attaching anything else).
- Use clamps or rubber bands (if necessary) to hold each piece firmly while they dry (following instructions above).
Create handles by cutting 2 inch sections of PVC pipe and gluing them onto the front of your bow.
In order to build your own crossbow, you will first need to create handles for your bow. To do this, you’ll want to cut two inch sections of PVC pipe and glue them onto the front of your bow.
Wooden handles are a possibility but more expensive than plastic ones. Once you’ve finished gluing on all four pieces of PVC, it’s time to move on!
Create a trigger mechanism out of string and wood.
You can create a trigger mechanism out of string and wood. First, you will need a piece of wood that is about half an inch thick. Then you will need a piece of string that is about a foot long (the longer the better). Finally, you need to cut the wood into two pieces: one piece should be about six inches long and another should be about ten inches long.
Next, tie your string on both ends so that it forms an L shape when you pull it back fully against your crossbow’s bowstring. You may want to use duct tape or some other kind of binding agent to ensure that the strings do not slip on themselves during use in order to keep them tight enough for maximum efficiency without having them slip off while shooting arrows at targets!
Once this step has been completed successfully then we’re ready for our final step before going out hunting with our new weapon; installing sights onto our crossbow’s stock!
Sand everything down to make it smooth.
Before you paint your crossbow, you will need to smooth out any rough edges so the paint will stick properly. This is an important step that can’t be skipped!
If you have access to a power sander, this is what we recommend using because it’ll save you a lot of time and effort. If not, don’t worry! You can do the same thing with sandpaper, files and chisels—it just might take longer than if you had access to a power sander.
The tools we recommend for this job are:
You can make a crossbow for about twenty dollars with some hardware store parts and a little know-how.
You can make a crossbow for about twenty dollars with some hardware store parts and a little know-how.
You will need to know how to use the following tools:
- Tape measurer (for measuring the wood)
- Wood saw (for cutting the wood)
- Sandpaper (to smooth out rough edges)
