A wooden toy crossbow is pretty simple in design but really fun for both kid and adult. Here are some photos of a quick and uncomplicated project for a rainy day.
Who doesn’t love crossbows?
I think back on my own childhood. Am I just making the toy that I would have thought the world of when I was a kid? Yes. Am I using my own kids as an excuse to make this project? Perhaps.
Of course, the internet is filled with toy crossbows involving plastic bows and elastic or rubber bands. I stick to the traditional wooden bow. Why? Because I like look down my nose and feel superior to all those cop-outs of course! No, but seriously, with practice, the skill of whittling out a bow becomes not so big of a deal. Plus it just looks better! Want try your hand at wooden bows? You can read in more depth about how I make toy bows.
A clothes-pin is also one of many options. It makes a good, spring-loaded trigger. Furthermore, it is a ready-made mechanism that makes the project quick to complete.
There are two ways to use the clothes-pin trigger. In the photos above, the string is inserted into the pin itself. You may have problems in keeping the string from slipping prematurely from the pin. If that is the case, here is an alternative method pictured below.
Just carve the notch so that the clothes-pin sits deeper. The bow-string then sits on top of the pin. When the pin is pressed, it disengages the string from the notch.
What you need:
Materials used:
- For the crossbow stock: block of wood about 1″ in thickness and 8-12″ long.
- For the bow (properly called the prod): a springy twig about 13-14″ long. It can be green or dry. Willow is good for toy bows. Other good woods are hazel, ash, and viburnum.
- Wooden clothes pin
- screw
- twine: both for securing the prod to the stock and for the bow-string.
Tools used:
- Knife
- hand saw
- drill and a bit that is the size of
- spoon gouge: for carving out the track where the projectile sits.
Obviously, a toy crossbow is great for outdoors or indoors. For indoor use, q-tips are fantastic projectiles. Now all that is left is for your kids to build a fort out of the couch cushions and lay siege to those little squirts.–Nathanael
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