How To Build a Crossbow

I get messages from people interested in building their very own crossbow. Most of them don’t have access to advanced tools and would just want to build using the common household items. Some of them want the strongest crossbow they could make and others want something else. So, we decided to create this guide for them, people who do not have access to advanced tools and would want to build a crossbow with the basic tools found in the household.

First Guide: Well, this is probably the easiest one here. It’s actually easy and a bit fun and most tools are already in your house. If they aren’t they should be easy to find and inexpensive. This one is from Wiki Tutorials. The problem with this tutorial is that it doesn’t give you the fine control you need with the final result, and it’s probably far from safe to shoot but could use as props or as a decoration. But if you want to shoot safely with this one you have to pick the best materials and make sure the measurements are 100% correct.

Pros: it’s easy and fun to build, it doesn’t need you to have advanced carpentry skills.

Cons: the crossbow isn’t reliable for shooting.

Second Guide: If you’re searching for a challenge that’s bigger, here’s a good one from instructables. This crossbow guide gives you a good control ono how your crossbow would look like at the end. This is also fairly safe to use as a weapon. This has a design which is unlikely for the arrow to hit you, even when the limbs accidentally break. But unlike the other one above, this one needs more tools as well as some power tools like an orbital sander. 

Pros: this has good quality and it’s also sturdy. It’s fun to build it.

Cons: not a project for beginners or small places.

Third Guide: The last one on our list is from one of Mike’s blog post. This is a very detailed and good guide to making a crossbow but lacks some images. But if you aren’t a person who needs the visuals, this one will be something really helpful. But it also has a video that’s decent so it could still work for others. This has a step by step instruction so if you can follow it, you would be able to create your very own pistol crossbow that would last for years and could be used for target shooting. 

Pros: You don’t need any power tools, it’s very easy to follow this guide if you can do step by step with a video. The materials used to create the crossbow is easy to find.

Cons: When it comes to power, don’t expect too much because it’s a pistol crossbow. It’s more cost effective to actually purchase a new one.

Conclusion

We hope that the guides above were able to give you an idea of the different plans there are to build your very own crossbow. You can also look into the Best long bows to make sure you’ve done your research before deciding anything. If you have tried any of the guides above, please let us know in the comment section, we would love to hear what you think about these guides too! Which one do you think is the best youth crossbow? Checkout our article about the Best excalibur crossbows, it’s really something you will benefit from.