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How to Make a Crossbow out of Household Items

Tulika Nair
Do you want to learn to make a crossbow out of things that you can find around your house? If yes, then read on to make a bow that will allow you some form of target practice.
An interest in archery may inspire you to take up the crossbow. It may not be an actual weapon but it will allow you to better your aim.
If you study its history you will learn that it is one of the oldest weapons that was modeled by mankind, first made almost 300,000 years ago in the Mesolithic age, primarily for hunting.
It was around 12000 BC that the weapon that we know as crossbow was fashioned. This happened around the same time, by both the Roman empire and the civilizations of Far East Asia.
For the longest time this shooting device was considered to be one of the deadliest weapons to be used for warfare. This was mainly because of the accuracy with which you could shoot your target.
Before you learn to make this weapon, it is important that you understand its mechanics. The weapon has a bow that is placed on a wooden stick with a groove. This stick is known as a stock or a tiller. It also has a pulled bow string attached which is referred to as the trigger.
The arrows shot from a crossbow are much smaller than normal arrows but much heavier, and are known as bolts. The bolts are mounted on the stock and then shot using the trigger mechanism of the bow string.
While there are many tutorials available on making a crossbow that is sophisticated in its functioning, making one out of household items needs hardly any effort or resources.

The Process
To make a proper device, you will need to obtain proper woodworking tools. But in case you want to make a small crossbow for no other reason than your entertainment, then follow the steps given here. All you need is a pen, rubber band, electrical tape, and four unsharpened pencils.
● Take two pencils and place them on a flat surface parallel to each other. Now tape these pencils together with an electrical tape leaving both ends of the pencils tape-free. Repeat the same process with the other two pencils.
● Take the two sets of pencils and get them to form a figure which resembles the alphabet 't', in lower case. Tape the pencils together and ensure that they are tightly bound.
● Next empty the pen of its tip on the front side, unscrew the back of the pen and remove the ink cartridge, spring mechanism (if any), etc., to get an empty and hollow tube. After this you need to tape the tube to the vertical end of the 't' structure you have made with the pencils.
● Now take the rubber band and extend it horizontally across the pencils exactly in front of the tube. Attach the rubber band to the pencils at both sides by placing one side of the rubber band between two pencils on each end.
● Take a piece of the tape and roll it around the center of the band.

● Put the ink cartridge back into the tube and let a part of the cartridge hang out of the back of the tube. Stretch the rubber band backwards, with the portion that you have taped together behind the cartridge and pull it back. Now let it go.
Ensure that once you have made the crossbow, you maintain caution and do not hurt people around you, by randomly shooting out cartridges. This is important because while this is a fun activity, it could cause serious injury.