Figured I would post this up here as it was and still is one of my favorite never ending projects to work on. This is one of those projects that sits on the shelf for 6 months and then I pull it back out and tweak it a bit. Then it sits for another 6 months until the bug bites me again.
I didn't really try to replicate a specific historic piece with this, it was made from scrap parts and pieces laying around the shop.
The stock is cut from scrap pine 2"x6"
Tickler was from a piece of left over 1/2" bar stock
Side plates were cut from left over 16ga mild sheet steel from another project
Prod was from an old leaf spring laying around
lock nut was from some left over dowel (need to replace this as it has worn out already, probably going to reinforce it with a bit of metal)
Stirrup is from a piece of 1" flat stock found behind the work bench (no idea what project this would have been from but win for me)
string is B-50 and served with scrap pieces left from making other strings
And the result of my scavenging is something that looks (I hope) like a medieval themed crossbow (maybe 14-15th century??). It is pulling 65lbs right now with a brace height just under 4". Draw length is roughly 9-10" (this is from memory I honestly don't remember exactly how long I made the original draw length).
Any questions or comments always welcome