Making A Crossbow from an Old Bourbon Barrel

In this video I'm using two old barrel staves to make a crossbow for my kids.
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:12 Taking Apart Barrel
2:10 Shaping The Bow
4:05 Cutting Mortise
5:18 Assembly
6:08 Making Bolt Track
7:44 Crossbow Trigger
13:42 Outro
15:38 Test Shooting with Kids
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[@edwardaelredson4703]

You asked for comments on the construction. For background, I've been an archery safety guide for almost 30 yrs. 1 - by making the hole in the prod (the bow arm) you've effectively just weakened it. It will fail significantly faster. 2 - your slot for the arrow is at least twice as deep as it needs to be if not deeper. 3 - if that is shooting the bolts 40 yds, it's probably at least a 50# bow. You can put a scale on it and see for sure. 4 - teach your kids (and yourself) never to put your fingers up through the string path. Even with that temporary string, you'll quickly lose a finger. Be safe and have fun

[@AndyRawls]

Thanks! This is great feedback coming from someone who obviously know way more than me. Much appreciated

[@141poolplayer]

Now let's see if Andy can build a Bourbon Barrel from an old Crossbow.

[@curm1778]

"Can we shoot animals?" asks the adorable little girl. Texans. Dang.

[@dietrichnsons]

They ain’t playin’ in Texas😅

[@rodpotts2666]

Heck ya. That’s a country girl!

[@Mrcaffinebean]

Fun little cross bow! Looks like the kids enjoyed it a lot!

[@elcaminowoodworks8535]

They are great for making curvy rocking chairs.

[@RatelLaw]

Thank you for sharing.

[@airford13]

This was a very cool build!!

[@MCsCreations]

Pretty nice work, Andy! It looks beautiful! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@arnieanime2792]

Ah! Feels good to be back. I left for a while, the last video I watched was when you made a spoon out of a 100 year old pine. Now, I'm back to watch all I missed and waiting for the next.

[@bartoszrochowski3218]

Awesome idea. Now, you gonna have to look after your kids even more ;-)

[@ryoonit]

Love this. White oak is good bow wood and one of the strongest woods in tension, hickory being better known for its tension properties. Using barrel staves is good in theory because the grain is nice and straight but you have to make due with the curve of the stave and the charred inner surface. It’s on my to do list to make a longbow with barrel staves like this.

[@idontknowu6422]

This is too wholesome for me

[@donaldtrabeaux5235]

cool project Andy

[@terrancehall9359]

That's awesome love it

[@r6yamirider]

Very nice

[@maxkaiser9316]

Awesome Dad keep it up !!!!

[@dajesterman]

Haha! Kind of dangerous gifts from dad are the best! Great crossbow, thanks for sharing.

[@backyard.craftsman]

very creative way to make a crossbow

[@GenderSkins]

Andy you should put a sliding safety wedge under the trigger, that can be locked in place so that the kids do not accidentally hurt themselves.

[@jasonturner1045]

now you're going to have to build a giant one for #demolitionranch so Matt can mount it on the 5 ton and destroy cars

[@tocov]

Jorg Sprave logged in.

[@danzer57]

Super cool video ange.

[@good__wood9945]

beautiful chield

[@lucasmurphy3890]

That's dope

[@auger8451]

The catalpa tree is known to have the best wood for making bows. It be nice to see you make a real nice long bow or recurve. Then find some port orford cedar arrow shafts. You can add a few inches of hard wood to the top of each arrow

[@Davey768]

"Don't shoot at the building" Proceeds to whip it straight at the building.

[@jamesk8730]

What an awesome toy, great job. You are clearly very skilled in woodworking, although if you want a more efficient/powerful crossbow I have some advice. 1: The bow of the crossbow (aka the "prod") shouldn't have a thickened center. It would be best if the bow bent throughout the entire length of the bow, except perhaps at the tips. This is because the bow is very short, and by keeping the middle of the bow stiff, you are essentially making the bow even shorter (less length of wood is available to take the strain of the bend). Generally, bend in the middle of the bow will result in a longer draw length without any extra strain on the bow. This is important because a longer draw length contributes just as much to the power of the bow as draw weight. If the bow is very long, then it can be a good idea to keep the middle of the bow stiff, since a longer bow doesn't need the extra durability. 2: Your method of mounting the bow to the stock, while fine here, would not be suitable for a more powerful crossbow. Traditionally wooden crossbow prods are lashed or tied onto the stock, because it doesn't weaken the bow. Look up "crossbow prod lashing" to see examples. Tod's Workshop on youtube has a good video about it. 3: The bolt groove is too deep for the bolts. Ideally the center of the bolt should be in line with the string, but in this case it looks like the center of the bolt is beneath the surface of the stock. If you don't have the right tool to make a round groove of the right size, just make a V-shaped groove with chisels. 4: The top face of the stock (the one with the bolt groove on it) appears to be convex. This instead should be either flat or slightly concave, to reduce friction of the string on the stock. 5: Ideally you would use a straight piece of wood for the bow, not one which is already bent. When a bow is bent towards the belly (the concave side of the bow, which faces towards the bowstring), even when it is unstrung, that greatly reduces its efficiency. This is called "set" or "string follow" and it happens even when you start with a straight piece of wood. But since this is just a toy, it's actually fine because it also increases durability. Finally, check out this video by Tod's Workshop: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYjMi6Obo7d6rpo Tod has lots of other excellent videos on similar topics, check out his "Making Tutorials" playlist.

[@necronomicon-xmortis9362]

love watching the build it came out great im doing an composit crosbow build prototype...just need to design and build pulies and its using vehicle springs for bow hoping for 100 to 200 pounds force...its like the 3rd time im restarting ran into some flaws weak materials and found beter and safer triger builds thanx for the preview ....make more

[@dietrichnsons]

Awesome video Andy, gives me an idea for a couple of boys in Illinois😂

[@AndyRawls]

Thanks Justin!!

[@robertyoung5748]

I like it.

[@dylansousa5571]

Good video

[@scaira60]

Andy very cool, I know you probably won’t read this but I have the same Marples chisels with the blue handles I have had mine for over 20yrs but I find they do not hold an edge very well. God Bless 🙏🙏🙏🇺🇸🇺🇸🔨📐🪚🚪🪑🪟🔨🔨👨🏻‍🦯

[@sirindekorist]

Like it.. I want to try :)

[@jasonturner1045]

HEY! you found your spoke shave @ 9:09! nice

[@raphlvlogs271]

a bolt clip can also be added on to it.

[@mattpeacock5208]

I like how your daughter asks "Can we use it for animals?" Well raised Texas children you got there.

[@williamellis8993]

That looked like a lot of fun, Andy. No comment about the drawknife. What kind of wood - white oak? Enjoy those little ones. Take care. Bill

[@AndyRawls]

Yes white oak

[@NateBury]

I think you could have made it a bow if you had bent the woods the opposite way of the curve. But I think the crossbow is cooler!

[@mattpeacock5208]

I have a steel crossbow that shoots the same bolts. Those bolts are cheap and awesome! Teach the children well the reponsibilities of weaponry, those darts will pierce a possum without trying. IFF you push em fast enough.

[@dpmeyer4867]

cool

[@ludvigtande1236]

Made pvc bows for my grandsons. Not the craftsmanship like this. But had the same effect with my grandsons. All six know how to shoot a bow. The ten year old is deadly😅

[@outthasky]

Spokeshave is funner to say, I bet.

[@jrehtil1494]

Please no more ads

[@kenshores9900]

Good build. Where did you get the barrel?

[@AndyRawls]

Cibolo Creek Brewery

[@kenshores9900]

@@AndyRawls Will have to Google them.

[@ablelock]

Andy just a suggestion why don’t you pick yourself up a bale of straw and put you at target in front of it and make you a stand to hold the bale of straw this way they can shoot it out and it won’t hurt anything just an idea

[@Paul-ow6of]

👍

[@nacaniel2027]

hi! what should i buy first table saw or band saw? i'm 17 thinking to start my woodworking shop, focusing on making wood cabinets & wood boxes and more on future

[@jeffnc]

I'm not an expert but for those purposes I think a table saw would provide a lot more useful utility. Best of luck

[@AndyRawls]

Yeah if you’re focusing on cabinets and using sheet good then a table saw is a good choice. However, if your focus is on solid wood furniture a good band saw combine with a router and track saw can go a long ways. Hope that helps

[@nacaniel2027]

@@AndyRawls thank you

[@AlAmantea]

Careful, you'll shoot your eye out, Kid! (Name that movie quote!)

[@cajunstump]

And all the neighborhood birds and squirrels vanished... 😂

[@randywoodworth5990]

In woodworking class back in junior high, the teacher made us go through two weeks of safety rules instructions, and told us that when the class ends, he wanted everyone to have 8 fingers and 2 thumbs.

[@Traderjoe]

My feeling is that you may stumble upon a better way to do something accidentally while experimenting with what seems logical to do from a design perspective.

[@ferryirawan5840]

Danger

[@29lookingood]

🥰👍🏾💙

[@nofaljamjoom]

On top of edwards comments, i think you shoud add a spring under the finger point to avoid from charging alone

[@nofaljamjoom]

Under the trigger i mean. And it will return it to its position too

[@AndyRawls]

Good idea

[@cuttwice3905]

Five Star Review: I spent many happy hours when at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, England. Bolt or quarrel are the terms for the doohickey that takes flight. If you ever get the chance you will discover it is a great place to nerd out over weaponry. Due to luck I was there on a school day and was invited to hold a lance. I spent time talking with two lecturers there and learned tons. A crossbow from the Hundred Years' War. collections.royalarmouries.org/hundred-years-war/arms-and-armour/type/rac-narrative-1170.html

[@mauriceryton]

Fun build, the kids love it. If the wife ever wants to shoot an apple off you head. Suggest buying her dinner.

[@AndyRawls]

Hahaha!! Not happening

[@VAdu56]

Les enfants doivent TOUJOURS être DERRIERE une arme chargée... Même cette arbalète peut tuer...!! Mais bravo pour le travail de fabrication...!!

[@shubingopinath]

New friend

[@larryfisher7056]

You're a good dad...

[@jpsimon206]

I'm no expert, but in college I spent quite a bit of time with Salish tribes for anthropology major. As I understand it, the most important focus when bow making is that the outside is sapwood going up to the tips. The inside is supposed to be heart wood, which would be progressively shaped until the heart wood is roughly 1/2 of the back of the bow. The idea is that the sapwood can be stretched repeatedly and return. The heart wood provides a strong spine to reinforce the structure. I don't know anything about barrel making, but I would assume the charring process would ruin these characteristics. Furthermore, I believe barrel staves are typically oak, natives would use a softer wood. I think the most relevant part is that the charring process resets the memory of the wood. The wood would not typically be steam bent, because you want to retain the memory in the sapwood that makes it want to return to vertical, thus propelling the arrow or bolt. I hope that is of some help.

[@jpsimon206]

I know that there is also a huge spectrum of bowcrafting, at least as it was practiced by native Americans. Fairly obvious that different regions would prefer different woods and that different woods would require slightly different designs. This variance it's also seen by native populations all around the world, Mongols, Maori, all different designs and materials.

[@AndyRawls]

I think you’re actually right. I’ve looked into it some and they split it from the tree leaving the sap on the outside. Thanks fir sharing the info

[@jpsimon206]

@@AndyRawls I doubt it is of use to you, but when I spent all this time with the natives, I took extensive notes, photos and sketches. I'm afraid they are less about the technical construction and more about cultural significance, tree choice, and a lot of translated names. If it is of any use, I'm happy to try to dig it up.

[@TheLimalha]

IT'S DANGEROUS FOR CHILDREN !

[@raphlvlogs271]

multiple crossbows can be made from a single wine barrel.

[@sivashankar9966]

Hi

[@npreschel]

Not for kids, trust me, Im an eye surgeon

[@raphlvlogs271]

how old are your children?

[@OscarSommerbo]

Bloodthirsty kids, "Can we use it for animals?"

[@wernerpfeifer]

This is how you should raise children, in a few years they might be able to rob a bank on their own!

[@thelegend-ux4pi]

فيه عربي؟

[@bluevanu]

Checkout Kramer Ammons KZbin. He is a very good bowyer.

[@jasonturner1045]

HAHA!! "can we use it for animals?" yes, but only if they're edible

[@toddcorey3190]

Andy…you’re so bad for my business. I’m many tables behind already in my shop and then I watch another one of your videos. I already sent this to my partner and I’m sure he’s gonna want to make a few. I use a steamer, so I’ll end up doing ours fresh. I’ve a friend named Matt Sabo that makes osage orange bows already. I won’t use your exact design. I’ll make one significantly stronger. What you should have made with 2 pieces is a Turkish bow. Great video

[@ot9180]

Why make weapons, when you can make something that adds to this world, not remove precious things. I think you should be more thoughtful.

[@rickswordfire4774]

That's a drawknife, not a spokeshave.

[@joyardley1742]

Hate crossbows 😢 sorry Andy but they only kill and destroy….and we have enough of that

[@KstewLover1]

Guns are worse this is just harmless fun unless you’re a cardboard box