Recently, many began to get involved in historical reconstruction. Anyone who is not alien to medieval romance, at least sometimes dreamed of visiting the place of a knight in sparkling armor. It is not surprising that some of them were eager to bring this to life. The first option is to do it yourself. It is inexpensive, interesting, but requires some skills in working with materials. And if there is no possibility and skills for forging metal products, then it is worth starting with the manufacture of wooden, namely, onions.
Diversity
Before you make a bow and arrow, it is worth deciding on its type and, therefore, structure. Here again, it all depends on the skills of working with wood. If you do not know how to make onions, then it is worth starting with the simplest - direct Mongolian.
Materials
The main difficulty in choosing will be the selection of suitable wood. It should be flexible so that the bow does not crack when pulled, but at the same time stiff enough to ensure the strength of the shot. The experience of those who for centuries have been thinking about how to make a bow and arrows suggests that the best choice is white acacia, ash, hazel or another tree with straight layers of wood and without knots. In addition, you need a rope for a bowstring, thin enough, but not stretched.
Billet
The base of the onion is a straight piece of wood, flat or slightly oval, thinning to the ends, but thicker on the hilt. In this case, the latter is recommended to be slightly shifted away from the center. The length of the bow should be approximately equal to the range of the user's hands, and the thickness is selected based on the tension force. The workpiece should be leveled and ground.
Bowstring
To attach it, make small cuts at the ends of the bow. After that, a bowstring is attached to one of them (it is best to wrap the end of the rope several times around the base). Then she throws herself over the other end and stretches. This is the main thing - to find a “middle ground”, in which the bow will receive sufficient tension, but will not crack when fired. The bowstring is tied to several knots, which will provide a strong mount and at the same time give an opportunity to adjust.
Debugging
The thickening on the base, which will become a hilt, can be made rougher so that the bow does not slip out of the hands. In addition, a recess for the boom can be made on the side of it.
Arrows
They will be made of the same material as the bow itself. Their thickness is six to ten millimeters. The main thing is to make sure that the arrow is even and straight. Its length should be five to seven centimeters longer than a hand. A tip is attached to it on one side. It is best to make it out of plastic or metal, but you can also use foam rubber wrapped with electrical tape (this should be decided before making a bow and arrow). From the other end, it is necessary to cut the groove for the bowstring one and a half times its thickness. To stabilize the flight, it is desirable to make plumage from thin sheets of durable plastic, paper or bird feathers cut along. Any material must be given a shape similar to the latter. After that, he wraps himself around the arrow with threads. It is necessary to take three “feathers” and evenly place them three centimeters from the rear end of the boom.
If everything turned out right, then the bow should launch an arrow along a wide arc over fairly large distances. If you want exotic, then you can make it folding or in a special way curved. It will be like making a bow and arrow in the usual way, only a little more complicated. Of course, some skills will also be required. And if you just had a desire to shoot, then it’s easier to get a sports bow, which you can buy in any sporting goods store.