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What do you think about the concept, I've made cross bows with polypropylene pipe but haven't thought of a full size bow. It should be at least better then wood I think?

It looks like the bow is very easily pulled and the shot is weak. Isn't it better idea to make a bow out of polyester resin and fiberglass ?

I actually have done this before! PVC bows can be amazing if you make them correctly. Here I made a PVC crossbow, as far as I can tell it's the first of its kind. Skip ahead for shooting:
[youtube][/youtube]

And some cheap bows I made:
[youtube][/youtube]

And check out BackyardBowyer. He literally wrote the books on how to make PVC bows:
http://www.youtube.com/user/BackyardBowyer

[youtube][/youtube]

I learned to shoot on one when I was young, they work well emough, but even my cheap 25 year old compound smashes them. I find the limb recoil can be really jarring, and you'll need a solid stock.

In general I've found that CPVC is more elastic than normal PVC. Normal PVC is stiffer and does not recover its shape as nicely unless you nest a fiberglass rod inside.

I've made plenty of "toy" bows using CPVC.

Also,

Thanks for the responses in videos. I've had success mostly with rubber so far. My two crossbows were for larp anyway, so they were ok with their low penetration. Looks like all the home made stuff is far from my 55lbs commercial compound bow, but great for games . At least it's not like that with sling shots. The home made ones are just as effective as the commercials. Often more


edited by BTB.
please read the Spudfiles rules, found here:
http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/rules.html

pay extra attention to rule #2...

For LARP-type games you should not use anything stronger than 3/4" CPVC.

I don't advocate shooting anyone even with toy bows, but if you must, make sure you take extra care not only to cushion the arrows with foam, but also ensure that the foam can't break off and cause a direct impact between the arrow shaft and other players. Make sure everyone wears eye protection.

I recommend using 1/2" I.D. foam pipe insulation with at least 2" of foam extending past the arrow shaft for cushion, then tape the tip with duct tape.


If you want to ensure that you stay within a wide safety margin, you can sacrifice a bit of realism and build something like these instead:

Nerf Crossbow
Nerf Bow