This article will be useful for novice reenactors or masterful fathers, whose children yearned to play Robin Hoods. So, our goal is to create something that shoots, has an acceptable appearance, with low costs for materials and a minimum set of tools. The simplest to make, but very effective and effective model is the compound longbow. The product consists of a shoulder handle and a bowstring. In order to make an onion at home, you must have:

• screwdriver or drill;
• plane;
• confirmation (furniture) drill;
• chisel (semicircular) or knife;
• electric or conventional jigsaw;
• a large amount of sanding paper with different grain sizes;
• rasp.

Step one - the handle

The material from which the handle is made depends on the intended pulling force. If it is less than 10 kg, then an all-wood block of dense rocks can be taken. It can be beech, cherry, oak (very difficult to process), in extreme cases, birch. Conifers - pine or spruce is not suitable for this element. If the shoulders provide a tensile force of more than 10 kg, then a composite of several types of wood glued together is required. Usually beech and walnut strips alternate.

For a monolithic handle, a block of dry, seasoned wood 30x50x400 is taken. The wood fibers should run along the long side. There are many anatomical handle designs. Let's dwell on the most ergonomic of the simplest ones.

Using the provided template, we mark the wide side (50mm). Then we mark out the narrow side (30 mm). We divide into four parts across, into two along. On the second quarter from the top, select the shelf for the arrow, as indicated in the photo. On the first and last quarter, mark the places for the shoulder bindings. They are located 25 mm from the edge of the quarter.

We cut off according to the marking with a jigsaw, then we carry out rough processing of the edges and corners with a rasp and a chisel. The main thing is not to get carried away when processing the "refinement of forms", otherwise the handle will not withstand even one shot. We process burrs and blemishes with a coarse sandpaper, then we put a zero gloss. We drill holes for the bolts with a confirmation drill for M6. It is advisable to install a leather pad made from an old belt between the handle and the shoulders.

We cover the semi-finished product with stain and varnish. Ordinary furniture polish or wax may work. Ultimately, the product should look something like this.

Step one and a half - making a blank for a composite handle

Prepare thin planks of various woods - beech and walnut. All of them will be of different thicknesses: walnut, two strips of 15 mm and one 5 mm, beech, two strips of 7 - 8 mm. Fibers in all bendable composite strips should be oriented along the long side. For a high-quality, snug fit, it is necessary to process the boards with a plane, sand with medium sandpaper. For gluing, any specialized composition for wood is used. The substance is applied in a small strip along the entire length and rubbed in a thin layer over the surface. Carefully read the instructions for the glue, some formulations require the application of the substance on both surfaces. Next, the planks are connected and fixed with a clamp, make sure there are no gaps between the elements. Excessive adhesive is removed.

Step two - shoulders

This element has the greatest load and percentage of breakdowns. There are many options, let's look at the most popular ones.

Skis

Before shredding a pair of skis, make sure no one else needs them. For a 40 cm handle, it is optimal to use 60 cm ski cuts. Considering that 10 cm of the shoulder will be used for fastening, the total length of the bow will be 120 cm. This calculation is suitable for plastic cross-country skis with a metal insert. Using a square, we mark up and make a cut with a hacksaw for metal. Holes for fastening, we also drill with a drill for metal. At the ends of the skis, on both sides, we cut grooves for the bowstring. The final product will turn out to be more powerful and more durable than wood, however, its aesthetic component leaves much to be desired. Even in a colored form, a recycled product is guessed in the shoulders of such a bow.

Lamella

Another peaceful element that can be easily adapted for "militaristic" purposes. A lamella is an elastic plywood structure in which all layers are glued in one direction, along the product. You can buy it in any reputable furniture store, but it is better in a specialized store that sells accessories and goods for furniture makers. The cost is more than modest, about 10 rubles per piece, dimensions: 120 mm long, 50 mm wide and 12 mm thick. The optimal length of one arm should be 700 mm.

Since the width of the element should be 30 mm at the handle, and 20 mm at the far end, there is no need to purchase two elastic elements. We cut the future shoulders obliquely along the entire length and get the required. Taking into account the 10 cm overlay on the handle of each element, the total length of the bow is 160 cm.

It is impractical to make a shorter length of the shoulders from the lamellas, since a too sharp bend during tension increases the likelihood of breakage. The tensile force of such a product will be in the range of 10-12 kg.

It is possible to significantly strengthen the bow. To do this, you need to purchase 2 elastic elements 8 mm thick, glue them together. You can use epoxy as an adhesive, adding a little less hardener to the composition in order to keep the mixture mobile, otherwise it will burst and crumble under tension. It is better to use a special glue with high viscosity - PVA - Moment from the manufacturer Pritt Henkel. When joining the lamellas, it is advisable to use the clamps along the entire length as often as possible. We process the resulting blanks in the same way as the previous ones. The pulling force of 16mm shoulders will be up to 18kg. A reinforced composite handle is required to use them. In order to give the shoulders of the bow absolute symmetry, we put them together, secure with a clamp, and carry out the final adjustment with two elements at the same time.

Another important detail is the bowstring shelf. It can be made from scraps of the same lamella.

This is done as follows:

• Two parts are cut out slightly wider in size than the ends of the shoulders;
• We attach the piece to the end of the shoulder and drill two holes;
• We coat the surfaces of the parts with glue, and hammer furniture dowels into the holes, also pre-treated with glue;
• Fasten to dry;
• We draw an arbitrary shape;
• We cut off all unnecessary with a jigsaw;
• We make the final cleaning with sandpaper;
• We make cuts at the end of the shelf 3 mm wide and 7-8 mm deep.

For such a reinforced bow, a kevlar climbing line with a thickness of at least 3.5 mm is used as a bowstring, which can be purchased at any travel store. But if you are not looking for easy ways, you can make a bowstring yourself.

Step three - bowstring

It is quite easy to build a bowstring that has the necessary characteristics and an authentic (well, almost) appearance. To do this, you need a spool of nylon threads, you can take Chinese ones from a fishing supply store for 25 rubles. You will also need a board slightly longer than the bowstring, two nails without a head and a coil. Having measured the required distance with a rope, we transfer the size to the board. We drive in nails and carefully with a uniform tension we wind the nylon thread until a total thickness of 3-3.5 mm is reached. Using a coil, we wrap the edges and center of the bowstring with the same thread. We remove the finished product from the nails.

Step four - final

Putting all the details together, enjoying the product you received and the respect of your friends.