"You could do it yourself." That's where you're wrong Tod, you underestimate my incompetence. You should be glad that's so common, you'd be out of business if we could do stuff ourselves.
Sorry I simply don't believe that! on a serious note, we all spend too much time saying "I can't do that" but actually what we mean is "I don't know how to do that" and so we unknowingly lock ourselves into a thought of not doing things where actually what we really should mean "I don't know how to do that yet" - Solution; go find out and YT is great for that
I have to agree with Todd on this. You currently might not have the skills required to make a crossbow, but there's nothing stopping you from learning. You might make a crossbow or two that's not particularly good, but after a couple of tries, I'd imagine you'd be proficient. That's how it is though, you have to push your skills to learn, and it's intimidating and difficult to push your skills, and when you inevitably make mistakes it's really discouraging. The reason why people like Todd get so good at what they do is because they started, stuck with it, and continue to push themselves to do better. Nobody is born with an innate ability to build things, it all comes with practice.
@@deef631 Well for doing that at WW2 you MUST be 100 at least....She must have been between 23 and 24 when those V1 's where flying. But I would be surprised if you can shoot a flying bomb with only a standard crossbow. It must be very close to do that and you must hit some part of the steering system in that thing. I do not think they had explosive arrows at that time. And an arrow has not much energy left when shooting to a higher altitude.
@@onebackzach Correct , even my child has build a working (miniature, 1 meter in size) copy of a roman catapult, using strings. (no , not good for shooting game, but for demonstrating at school at the history subject about Romans.....he was 11 years old at that moment. I admit he had some help from his older brother.But that was not the building but how it should looking, with parts needed and how to construct it...in other words....the how do you do it knowledge. Not the work itself.
The chances of penetrating a fish with that bolt is very near to zero. The biggest chance of getting a fish with that is to hit one of those small ones in the video on the head so they get paralyzed. Fishing with bows, spears, etc. is hard enough but with that ancient crossbow it‘s nearly impossible. Sure there must have been people who tried it back then but not for a long time, that’s for sure 😁
@@asdfg2560 yeah, but regardless of the era people also wanted to have fun. Getting on the mead with mates and bowfishing sounds like a right good time.
Hey Tod, just ordered a three piece eating lot from you as I start up my soft kit for medievalism activities. Thank you so much for everything you do for the hobby on screen, in the workshop, and behind the scenes
In the US we've got rules by state; for example bow hunting a great White shark with a 60lb crossbow is illegal and silly (protected species, bow fishing in the open ocean doesn't seem to be covered...probably because...ocean deep 😄)
@@brianreddeman951 i would think the water would put lots of resistance on an arrow or bolt so it wouldn't penetrate enough but i don't know if that is true
@@gerardmcquade you'd be suprised a 60lbs crossbow will probably go 4-6 inches underwater which if your in a small pond that would be around the depth fish swim near the surface. My only problem is the so called mirror effect you have looking down at fish in the water so it would look its directly in front of you but actually its just slighty forward or to the left depending on how your standing
@@SasoriZert It's Refraction. The image of the fish is bent on the air to water boundary .so it is deeper that it seems. Not sure what the refractive index of water is.
I was quite impressed with that crossbow, and went back to find your ‘making of’ video. Very interesting! I’m an amateur woodworker, using mostly hand tools, so your video made perfect sense to me. And now I find myself making one of those crossbows. Madness!
The couch arrived in two boxes four days early, which was great because we'd just moved into a new house and needed places to sit. My son and I put it together pretty quickly ruclips.net/user/postUgkxitRzxya-XugamYgLwa_2G1gxPg4MCJHa . Another reviewer suggested inserting the seat into the side and I'm glad they did as the instructions weren't clear on that matter. It's incredibly light and slides easily across the wood floor, making it easy to move. It's firm, but comfortable. It will even be great to nap on. I got the gray, which definitely has strong blue undertones, but I'm okay with that.
That fishpond is unhealthy, too many roach, not enough food. They have developed into what we in Denmark call "Tusinbrødre" (Thousand Brothers) where there are so many fish that none of them individually get more food than for survival, not enough for growth. Far to many of them pooping and polluting the water for too many algea to grow. The pond needs a few pike. That should help.
>so many fish that none of them individually get more food than for survival >Far to many of them pooping and polluting the water That fishpond needs a Great Reset
I've always looked down on crossbows as being worse than regular bows, but this video gave me a new appreciation for them. Thanks for making another great video, as always.
Hey, Todd. Thank you for the video. I made one of these today out of a chunk of wood (I used half for the bow, half for the stock and a split for the trigger) I cut during our last Hema event and some linen string. It's absurdly fun to use despite being a bit rough around the edges.
My grandfather, born in Norway 1915 told about how the made "arrowguns" when he was a youngster and shot salmon coming from the Atlantic into streams to spawn. As an arrowhead they used nails with the tip bent into a hookshape. The arrows were tied to a cord for retriving the catch
Very interesting video. It would have been nice if you found some fish free water and shot at some underwater targets. This would have verified both the accuracy and the effective range in water.
I like doing some bone carving ,it's amazing looking at the bone harpoons and some of the intricate carving and functionality of the heads produced by Polynesian cultures
Very nice crossbow. Tried to build 1 of these myself but unfortunately it broke instantly. My craftsmanship is poor. Your channel is 1 of the best I've seen you make great bows
Well done for trying, but don't be disheartened. The stock is straight forward enough, but making the bow takes practice and they do break - it happens, just have another go and make you r next one a bit longer
I tried to buy a bauernwehr and couldn't complete my order because their website said no to my address. I contacted them, and pointed out that I had bought a stiletto previously without issue. Long story short, they didn't bother to sort it (I even offered to email my order and pay by PayPal), but my £300 wasn't worth their time.
@@ivanharlokin When was your trouble free stiletto purchase? My guess is that it was probably before brexit kicked in properly at beginning of 2020. There might be significant customs paperwork problems to export weapons from UK/import weapons to the EU that a small business just can't justify dealing with. Won't go on as it's a politically hot topic for the UK.
Interesting to think about. I’d find it hard to believe people wouldn’t have taken a shot at fish or anything else that could make a meal. I really like this simple little crossbow, after watching your how to video I made some for my sons. Good fun.
Fishing, birding, small mammals I like this video used in conjunction with the bushcraft survival bow because it shows how awesome some time spent on a crossbow can make it.
Also good training and practice for the lads. Same could be said for spears. In the Philippines, I watched young boys hunting birds with slings with good results.
Great video as always. I hope I can impose for two very different questions: would the bolts for hunting fish have a string attached for easy retrieval? And why do European crossbows have a much lesser span than Oriental ones?
In the Orient they started by adapting the hand bow(usually composite) to a stock/tiller so it could be effectively shot with little training or skill for the Chinese militia. That way they kept largely the efficiency of the hand bow(thinner string, lighter limbs & much longer power stroke= much better mechanical efficiency). Because the bow weren't silly weights as European crossbows became, they could also be reloaded & shot quite quickly. Here in Europe we disappeared up a nonsensical blind alley with thick very heavy strings, tiny draw lengths giving very short power strokes, thick, short(so they could be shot from castle loopholes better)massive limbs(Even solid steel) which take a lot of the bows energy to shift requiring more & more heavy draw weights to get anywhere near hand warbow performance. That also required mechanical assistance to draw & load, so slowing the rate of shooting a lot. Also much more expensive & specialised to make. I'd say why make a bow that takes 1,000lb to draw to produce no better, much slower shooting than a 140/150lb longbow or a slightly lighter composite bow?
Love the scruff. Love the short practical on historical relevance and application. Don't be holding out on us if you have shorts this good in your back pocket.
I watched that old video to make myself a LARP crossbow. I used a straight piece of wood for the trigger so it cant go over the top of the shaft. That way when I pull the string the trigger sets itself :D
In my place in France ( mansle)they usually fished with similar crossbows from the bank of the river or wooden boats it was super common +50 years ago when it was super fishy, your thinking is just right
Great to see a vid on this again! I have made a crossbow like your dark ages one, with a hazel prod with some 90lbs of draw, at 10" drawlength, and I have to say that the prod has some compression fractures on it and it lost a lot of power over use as it was the second bow I made. But! I found that a very easy and comfortable way to load it is to just set the butt of the stock into the ground and lean into the string untill it hooks in the recess. Kind of like the gastrophetes! I am currently making a new prod for it, longer one so that it doesn't have to bend into such a curvature, and backed with rawhide. Love your videos! Cheers!
Suggested experiment: use a water tank or pool; tow a fish-shaped target (or even a fish from the market) through it, and see how the bolt penetrates. As mentioned before, a line attached to the bolt would certainly aid in retrieving both bolt and fish.
I don't doubt that hunters may occasionally take a shot at a shallow fish, but when passive means like gill nets are far more effective, with much less effort and risk of equipment, I'd agree that waterfowl are the much more likely targets for these things.
Never tied a net have ya mate, a small Gill net of about 10' x 4' takes me up to a week to tie. Arrows take under an hour. And resources for arrow making are much easier to scrounge than enough material to make a net
This is what experimental archaeology is all about, Tod. I'm sure there are some archaeological groups down in that area who'd want to give this a try. Is Tony Robinson still doing Time Team?
Time Team only survived one season without Mick Aston who was the archaeologist in charge and sadly he is now dead. Mr Robinson is fine to work with but he was just the presenter. Tim Taylor the producer the driving force behind it all the way from season 1, where i first meet him, has said he will revive it this year on youtube, without I think Mr Robinson but most of the old names.
Problems that are easily overcome with practice. Modern bow fishing is not that uncommon a sport. And primitive bow fishing is well documented in South America.
Imagine if medieval Frenchmen (or late West Franks) knew about the skipping/bouncing arrows of Ugrofinnic hunters. It would be a waterfowl massacre with these C-a-C wooden crossbows and bouncing bolts, LOL. :-O :-)
@@viridisxiv766 Flint isn't any sharper than anything else. Theoretically you could get wood just as sharp and steel can certainly have the same sharpness. However, it's much easier to get flint to that level of sharpness. Thus, if you need something sharp and aren't worried about holding the edge you go with flint, or more likely obsidian.
@@Seelenschmiede Sharpness is just the angle a solid object's atoms are at. Any object can get as sharp as the sharpest known edge. What makes obsidian special is that it's easier to get it that sharp than anything else.
Similar crossbows were also used in Vietnam/Indo-China, though variants used over there have the thumb trigger mounted on the side of the stock. This allows the shooter to sight down the arrow.
There is a form of fishing called "clubbing". You basically walk on thin ice without snow and once you spot a fish under the ice you hit ice with some blunt object and quickly remove it to recover the stunned fish. This got me wondering if you could transfer enough energy with those bolts to get the same effect(with no ice)?
Thanks Luke and yes I do have a longbow simulator shooting into a pool and velocity is certainly lost fairly quickly, but at lets say 30cm down there would be very little loss
seeing how the fish react, if you got overly stale bread, or some sort of grain/nut that wasn't great for people, drop some in to a pond and use it as bait. A couple of guys with crossbows, that could be a viable tactic.
I was wondering if you could borrow a mates pool or go to some pond somewhere and try shooting at a dead fish with it to see how well it works. I'm curious whether a 60lb bow with those light bolts would retain enough energy to skewer the fish.
Love the videos, very interesting! In the US Bowfishing is gaining in popularity. Fish would've been more plentiful in some places back then. I think its highly likely at least some people bow fished back then. Like you said it's just human nature to try something like that. You have a bow, you see a good sized fish... Also Neolithic people bow hunted fish (or so we think) I'd be surprised if the idea was completely lost.
Second time watching. Thanks Todd. It is always a good watch. I’m trying to decide on one to build. I support two kids in the Philippines, One little girl and one little boy. I’m thinking the boy could use this bow or one similar to hunt fish, frogs and the odd dove. He climbs palms and trees to pinch coconuts or mangoes or other fruits s to eat or sell. Sparrows, starlings or doves might be possible with practice. Rats are the only rodent that I know of as wild game on Mindanao. I will need to look into this. Something about registration of arrows etc.
I don't know why this is but when you shoot your heavier steel bows, the bolts tend to wobble massively before they stabelize. But when you shoot lighter bows, the bolts fly straight as an I beam right from the get go. It can be seen in this videos slo mo and in your earlier videos of 11th and 12th century crossbows with bows made of yew. Bolts flew perfectly straight 💪
Bow and bolt tuning is tricky, but as a rule of thumb, longer bolts fly better and more powerful bows need longer bolts. Modern customers like their bolts to not over balance so really for the bigger bows another 1"/25mm on the length would be helpful, which is fine if you put your thumb on it and would stabilise much better
You previously established that arrows fired into water lose energy VERY rapidy, making jumping in the water a reasonable way of evading arrows. Could you put some dead fish into water at different depths to see if we can determine how much energy is lost at each depth? Thing about spear fishing is that the 'power stroke' is the entire thrust of the spear into the water and there will be no measurable loss of energy as it is driven into the target. (Probably?)
It's a pity you can't bowfish. It's fun! I shot 5 large carp back in April. I have better luck with a heavy arrow as it deflects less when hitting the water.
The hunting crossbow was around since the fall of the Roman Empire. But I've always been wondering if there was a crossbow that could be used as a substitute or competitor to a smooth-bore musket (Brown-Bess). This is a reflection on a Quip made by Benjamin Franklin that if the Colonial Rebels were low on arms why not use the Bow & Arrow. Well why not use a crossbow; it was still known about in that time.
No idea how common crossbows were then, but my guess would be probably not enough skilled craftsman to make enough of them in time to make a difference.
I just ordered the plans and I'm stoked to give it a go, but what did you use to whip the crossbow string where it contacts the body/bolt? I can't really tell from the video and it looks a bit different from the previous build's string. I really appreciate that you put the plans up!
One advantage is that you can use the crossbow to hunt rabbits and birds if there are no fish. Another advantage is that you can burn the hemp strings and inhale the smoke if you're bored and you wanna get high.
I wonder, can you make a wooden crossbow with much more heavier poundage? like something along the lines of 100lb - 150lb (45kg - 68kg for people who perfer the metric system), something like a battlefield ready one. could the wood even support it?
At todsworkshop.com, Tod has the option to make this particular crossbow up to 100lb. He also used to list another wooden-prod crossbow that you can see in the link to and header of the crossbow page. I think it was called the 12th century crossbow or something like that, and I know he offered it in a slightly higher weight range than this Dark Ages crossbow (I think it was available up to 150lb, but don't quote me on that).
Yes, sources tell as about yew crossbows, and simple (or not so simple) selfbow crossbows were in fact most probably most common ones up to 14th century. Here are the photos of preserved wooden crossbows, unfortunately trough wayback machine. web.archive.org/web/20210102193953/www.themcs.org/weaponry/crossbows/crossbows.htm And here is great reconstruction. ruclips.net/video/gaGCrv4LyUQ/видео.html Wood obviously can support it, though if you want it to make it more "portable" (as in have short/narrow bow like in this crossbow or late medieval ones), it will cause lots of stress on the wood, requiring making it thicker and thus less dynamic. Still, you can cover this with more draw weight. ;)
I love the fact it was found at an archaeological site of a real world, early medieval equivalent of Tolkien's Lake-town. :-)) Though, from what I've read about the Colletiere-a-Charavines site near Lyon, it also had a palisade-fortified stilt-manor of sorts, in additions to parts of the village being on stilts in the same lake. So a bit of material culture of both rural peasants and the rural nobility. The fact that someone of them owned a little hunting crossbow like that is not as surprising when you factor in that social background, even though it's a very, very basic crossbow. More seriously, considering this is a simple, all-wooden hunting crossbow for shooting at small prey, I suppose there might have been occassional attempts at bow-fishing on the shores of the lake, or from a boat. Depends on the depth. Bowfishing isn't as practical if you can't see the fish in the water below you, so a shallower part of the lake in the 11th century would be one of the more ideal places to skewer a fish with a bolt. Unless you could find some preserved remnants of caught fish at the same digsite, ones with signs of arrow wounds - unlikely, given the easily decomposing soft tissues involved - it'll probably remain one of history's little mysteries. Could they have used it ? Possibly. With some skill, sure. Will we ever know for certain ? Unlikely. I like the harpoon-heads you've made for the bolts. :-) Even though bowfishing is not allowed in the UK, maybe you could put a rubber duck or a floating rubber fish in some fishless pond and try shooting at that as a target. Or... Buy a little floatation bladder that you can blow air into with a bike pump. Buy a fish on tha market (e.g. a trout), then place the little floatation bladder inside the cavity of the fish. Put the fish in the pond and let it float. Pretend it's just emerged for a few moments from under the surface and shoot it with a bolt. The conditions should be relatively similar enough to shooting a live fish.
Thanks for that and yes an interesting place. I have never bow fished so cant really comment, but I do see fish come to the surface sometimes and so it is possible. What I would add is that in parts of Asia, particularly Vietnam, they use crossbows for fishing, so it is certainly a subsistence thing
What's the advantage of fishing with a crossbow over using a fishing rod? I imagine you need bait in both cases and the fishing rod doesn't have accuracy issues. Plus you get to keep your feet dry
I would love to see some experiments where you shoot at simulated fish (or already dead fish) in water. It seems like a logical conclusion that might have tried crossbow fishing. On the other hand, line fishing is a lot less work. :)
I probably could try and make that crossbow. But that would require cleaning out the barn and re-wiring the equipment cause squirrels got into the ban saw and
I wonder if strong bows or crossbows have the same problem as guns were the ammunition has less water penetration power due to high velocity. A interesting test would be to build an acrylic water tank just large and deep enough to test the distance of water penetration. It would also give you data on which bolt were usefull for fishing
I can’t recall my source but I recall (maybe the mythbusters or some other group) a test where they found that the increased mass of the bolts/arrows allowed the projectiles to retain sufficient lethal force even when passing through a significant distance of water But since I can’t remember the source I can’t say that with certainty; HOWEVER! Spear fishing with spearguns are very comparable I would say in that they operate well enough underwater with a relatively heavy projectile(at point blank range more or less though)
"I wonder if strong bows or crossbows have the same problem as guns..." They don't, Bow-fishing is a fairly common sport in the US especially in swampy areas where using rods aren't feasible. While water density does slow down the velocity of an arrow or bolt more than air, it isn't moving anywhere near as fast as a rifle round and the arrow's length helps stabilize the direction of the shot. In fact, FMJ low-velocity pistol ammunition tends to remain ballistically stable for the first meter or so when shot into water. Being as the fastest arrow speeds are still considerably slower than even the most lethargic gunpowder ammunition, arrows don't have the same issues you describe. It should also be mentioned that rifle rounds tend to fail when enter water due to the bullet itself disintegrating on impact with the water. Being as arrows don't disintegrate on impact with water, it should be fairly obvious that these results shouldn't be comparable. IIrc Tod has already produced a couple of videos shooting crossbows through water to measure their efficacy.
Tod - I hope you obtained the Lord's permission before setting out. I'd hate for you to be flogged for poaching hay bales! Joking aside - another excellent video that make me think of what life may have been like for our ancestors.
Did lots of bowfishing when younger, penetration into water is surprisingly low, those bolts and that crossbow would only be effective in very shallow water.
Excellent video as always. My thoughts on the whole deal, as a spearfisher - Yes, you could probably catch a fish with a crossbow, I'm fairly certain that somebody at someplace in time has done exactly that, but generally it's hard to hit a fish if you're shooting from above the surface, I'm sure bow fishers will chime in and explain something about refraction and so on. But, much in the same way it's a problem for bow fishers to retrieve their catch if they don't have a line connected to their arrows, it is a problem for us spearos to do the same, if we "free shaft". Now, most spearos go for center mass shots, and kill their prey once they have it under control, personally, I prefer to go for headshots in the hope that I'll either kill or immobilize, so the prey won't suffer a struggle to get free - a poorly placed shot low in the guts usually results in a fish ripping itself free with horrendous injuries, we don't want that. But to get back on track, unless you as a spearo or bow hunter can place your shot straight through the brain or spinal column of your prey, you will not be taking home any meat, if your projectile isn't connected to a line of some sort. So, although it is possible that someone at some point in time has shot a fish with a crossbow, I don't see it as a viable hunting method, and especially not if you plan on using it to keep a whole lot of people fed regularly. In that case a net would be the way to go.
I wonder what the drag would be like if you attached a twine to the back of the harpoon headed bolt? Would it still have useful power as well as the ability retrieve the bolt and target from deeper water.
"You could do it yourself." That's where you're wrong Tod, you underestimate my incompetence.
You should be glad that's so common, you'd be out of business if we could do stuff ourselves.
Sorry I simply don't believe that! on a serious note, we all spend too much time saying "I can't do that" but actually what we mean is "I don't know how to do that" and so we unknowingly lock ourselves into a thought of not doing things where actually what we really should mean "I don't know how to do that yet" - Solution; go find out and YT is great for that
@@tods_workshop I have never hunted fish with a crossbow, but my Grandmother, who turns 100 in December, used to blast V1 flying bombs out of the sky!
I have to agree with Todd on this. You currently might not have the skills required to make a crossbow, but there's nothing stopping you from learning. You might make a crossbow or two that's not particularly good, but after a couple of tries, I'd imagine you'd be proficient. That's how it is though, you have to push your skills to learn, and it's intimidating and difficult to push your skills, and when you inevitably make mistakes it's really discouraging. The reason why people like Todd get so good at what they do is because they started, stuck with it, and continue to push themselves to do better. Nobody is born with an innate ability to build things, it all comes with practice.
@@deef631 Well for doing that at WW2 you MUST be 100 at least....She must have been between 23 and 24 when those V1 's where flying. But I would be surprised if you can shoot a flying bomb with only a standard crossbow. It must be very close to do that and you must hit some part of the steering system in that thing. I do not think they had explosive arrows at that time. And an arrow has not much energy left when shooting to a higher altitude.
@@onebackzach Correct , even my child has build a working (miniature, 1 meter in size) copy of a roman catapult, using strings. (no , not good for shooting game, but for demonstrating at school at the history subject about Romans.....he was 11 years old at that moment. I admit he had some help from his older brother.But that was not the building but how it should looking, with parts needed and how to construct it...in other words....the how do you do it knowledge. Not the work itself.
I'm interested to see the effectiveness of that harpoon bolt. Maybe a fish from the market would be a good target.
And now I'm imagining him at the chippy firing that into the deep fryer to retrieve his dinner
The chances of penetrating a fish with that bolt is very near to zero. The biggest chance of getting a fish with that is to hit one of those small ones in the video on the head so they get paralyzed. Fishing with bows, spears, etc. is hard enough but with that ancient crossbow it‘s nearly impossible. Sure there must have been people who tried it back then but not for a long time, that’s for sure 😁
@@lanasmith4795 Excellent. "Pick/catch your own".
Lots of birds on the side of a lake, probably hunting ducks goose swans herons and such
Yes but meat is also meat, it was most likely used for birds but i have zero doubt someone would have taken a pot shot at a fish if they saw one.
@@asdfg2560 If you look at the size a trout can get to, those are the kind of fish, you would (cross-)bowhunt.
@@JainZar1 yes but throwing out some nets and letting them passively work while you do other things is more practical for fishing
@@asdfg2560 yeah, but regardless of the era people also wanted to have fun. Getting on the mead with mates and bowfishing sounds like a right good time.
This man that lost his crossbow a thousand years ago smile in happiness seeing you from above 😇
plot twist: Tod IS that very man, reborn :-)
Can you be sure? He might be grimacing as he looks up from below!
@@couchcamperTM Not even reborn. It's just the same man
@@riffhurricane
Or, angrily looking on as he is stuck in Purgatory, still, looking for his bow.😄
Thanks and I would hope so
Hey Tod, just ordered a three piece eating lot from you as I start up my soft kit for medievalism activities. Thank you so much for everything you do for the hobby on screen, in the workshop, and behind the scenes
Thank you - appreciated
when I got near the end of the video I was just about to comment why didn't you shoot a fish then you answered that right at the end
In the US we've got rules by state; for example bow hunting a great White shark with a 60lb crossbow is illegal and silly (protected species, bow fishing in the open ocean doesn't seem to be covered...probably because...ocean deep 😄)
@@brianreddeman951 i would think the water would put lots of resistance on an arrow or bolt so it wouldn't penetrate enough but i don't know if that is true
@@gerardmcquade you'd be suprised a 60lbs crossbow will probably go 4-6 inches underwater which if your in a small pond that would be around the depth fish swim near the surface. My only problem is the so called mirror effect you have looking down at fish in the water so it would look its directly in front of you but actually its just slighty forward or to the left depending on how your standing
@@SasoriZert thanks for the information
@@SasoriZert It's Refraction. The image of the fish is bent on the air to water boundary .so it is deeper that it seems. Not sure what the refractive index of water is.
It always makes me smile when I see a new video up on this channel. Thanks, Tod!
I was quite impressed with that crossbow, and went back to find your ‘making of’ video. Very interesting! I’m an amateur woodworker, using mostly hand tools, so your video made perfect sense to me. And now I find myself making one of those crossbows. Madness!
The couch arrived in two boxes four days early, which was great because we'd just moved into a new house and needed places to sit. My son and I put it together pretty quickly ruclips.net/user/postUgkxitRzxya-XugamYgLwa_2G1gxPg4MCJHa . Another reviewer suggested inserting the seat into the side and I'm glad they did as the instructions weren't clear on that matter. It's incredibly light and slides easily across the wood floor, making it easy to move. It's firm, but comfortable. It will even be great to nap on. I got the gray, which definitely has strong blue undertones, but I'm okay with that.
That fishpond is unhealthy, too many roach, not enough food. They have developed into what we in Denmark call "Tusinbrødre" (Thousand Brothers) where there are so many fish that none of them individually get more food than for survival, not enough for growth. Far to many of them pooping and polluting the water for too many algea to grow. The pond needs a few pike. That should help.
Yep. Or just pull some out of there regulary so rest have more room to grow.
Sounds like the city has a job for some local crossbow fisherman...
I was going to say, those fish look really small. I wouldn't want any of those things.
@@jonathanboerger274
Also, those bolts would rip those tiny fish to pieces, if they even hit.
>so many fish that none of them individually get more food than for survival
>Far to many of them pooping and polluting the water
That fishpond needs a Great Reset
Hopefully Tod could do another video there with a pike he's made himself
I've always looked down on crossbows as being worse than regular bows, but this video gave me a new appreciation for them. Thanks for making another great video, as always.
I would rather have a hand bow most of the time, but crossbows have a role
Hey, Todd. Thank you for the video. I made one of these today out of a chunk of wood (I used half for the bow, half for the stock and a split for the trigger) I cut during our last Hema event and some linen string. It's absurdly fun to use despite being a bit rough around the edges.
My grandfather, born in Norway 1915 told about how the made "arrowguns" when he was a youngster and shot salmon coming from the Atlantic into streams to spawn. As an arrowhead they used nails with the tip bent into a hookshape. The arrows were tied to a cord for retriving the catch
Thanks
Very interesting video. It would have been nice if you found some fish free water and shot at some underwater targets. This would have verified both the accuracy and the effective range in water.
I like doing some bone carving ,it's amazing looking at the bone harpoons and some of the intricate carving and functionality of the heads produced by Polynesian cultures
Very nice crossbow. Tried to build 1 of these myself but unfortunately it broke instantly. My craftsmanship is poor. Your channel is 1 of the best I've seen you make great bows
Well done for trying, but don't be disheartened. The stock is straight forward enough, but making the bow takes practice and they do break - it happens, just have another go and make you r next one a bit longer
Tod: "if you wanna help, buy the merch"
Me: "I've been eyeing up the same dagger for weeks and its still sold out! >.
Send him a message asking if it will ever be in stock again?
I tried to buy a bauernwehr and couldn't complete my order because their website said no to my address. I contacted them, and pointed out that I had bought a stiletto previously without issue. Long story short, they didn't bother to sort it (I even offered to email my order and pay by PayPal), but my £300 wasn't worth their time.
@@ivanharlokin When was your trouble free stiletto purchase? My guess is that it was probably before brexit kicked in properly at beginning of 2020. There might be significant customs paperwork problems to export weapons from UK/import weapons to the EU that a small business just can't justify dealing with. Won't go on as it's a politically hot topic for the UK.
Hi GingerNinja - thanks for trying and the odd one is out of stock, but we should be fully loaded again soo, so hang in there
HI Ivan, sorry. must have missed that, but try again as I guess it was a website burp
Interesting to think about. I’d find it hard to believe people wouldn’t have taken a shot at fish or anything else that could make a meal. I really like this simple little crossbow, after watching your how to video I made some for my sons. Good fun.
Fishing, birding, small mammals I like this video used in conjunction with the bushcraft survival bow because it shows how awesome some time spent on a crossbow can make it.
Also good training and practice for the lads. Same could be said for spears. In the Philippines, I watched young boys hunting birds with slings with good results.
This video makes me feel empowered, so cool how simple yet effective it is, weird to think that I could probably craft one of these biters.
Great video as always. I hope I can impose for two very different questions: would the bolts for hunting fish have a string attached for easy retrieval? And why do European crossbows have a much lesser span than Oriental ones?
There is no conclusive understanding on why the bows were so different, but I would imagine longer draws would always rule
@@tods_workshop Thanks.
In the Orient they started by adapting the hand bow(usually composite) to a stock/tiller so it could be effectively shot with little training or skill for the Chinese militia. That way they kept largely the efficiency of the hand bow(thinner string, lighter limbs & much longer power stroke= much better mechanical efficiency). Because the bow weren't silly weights as European crossbows became, they could also be reloaded & shot quite quickly. Here in Europe we disappeared up a nonsensical blind alley with thick very heavy strings, tiny draw lengths giving very short power strokes, thick, short(so they could be shot from castle loopholes better)massive limbs(Even solid steel) which take a lot of the bows energy to shift requiring more & more heavy draw weights to get anywhere near hand warbow performance. That also required mechanical assistance to draw & load, so slowing the rate of shooting a lot. Also much more expensive & specialised to make. I'd say why make a bow that takes 1,000lb to draw to produce no better, much slower shooting than a 140/150lb longbow or a slightly lighter composite bow?
I followed your video ages ago making the prod which works very well but i used a lever and peg action ie a skane bow. Very easy to make,
Tribes in South America fish with bow and arrow as well btw
love the crossbow :)
I'm oddly in love with those light wood sounds at 3:14
This feels like a infomercial...and I'm totally soled!
Save that line for a shoe cobbler video? (sold vs soled...)
@@fredygump5578 A sole is a type of fish.
Lovely piece of craftsmanship
Thanks
What a well produced video! This was great Todd. The location, the close ups of the bow and usage. Your stuff is top notch friend.
Your video's are always very interesting, me and my dad love them.
Love the scruff. Love the short practical on historical relevance and application. Don't be holding out on us if you have shorts this good in your back pocket.
Thanks and I have a few on the to do list
Maybe for waterfowl primarily? Crossbow could allow you to lie down fairly easily at water level and hide in the reeds.
This is what I thought but Tod's right after a day of nothing you look into the pond and see the fish you're going to think, "Why not take the shot?"
Thanks, Tod. This video in particular opens a key possibility for my writings about the lore/worldbuilding for my own bronze age fantasy story.
I watched that old video to make myself a LARP crossbow. I used a straight piece of wood for the trigger so it cant go over the top of the shaft. That way when I pull the string the trigger sets itself :D
Very interesting, thanks for the consistently entertaining and informative content!
Thanks
In my place in France ( mansle)they usually fished with similar crossbows from the bank of the river or wooden boats it was super common +50 years ago when it was super fishy, your thinking is just right
Great to see a vid on this again! I have made a crossbow like your dark ages one, with a hazel prod with some 90lbs of draw, at 10" drawlength, and I have to say that the prod has some compression fractures on it and it lost a lot of power over use as it was the second bow I made. But! I found that a very easy and comfortable way to load it is to just set the butt of the stock into the ground and lean into the string untill it hooks in the recess. Kind of like the gastrophetes! I am currently making a new prod for it, longer one so that it doesn't have to bend into such a curvature, and backed with rawhide. Love your videos! Cheers!
Down at the local lake there are huge trout that swim just under the surface, easy pickings with that crossbow as are the waterfowl.
I owe you for your entertainment and teaching approach.
I really want to see a test of short and longer power stroke in heavy crossbow.. how much the different??
More dark ages crossbow stuff! Yes!
I love that early style of crossbows, like this one, the arcuballista, or chinese crossbows, with that longer draw and lower draw weight.
Thank you , Tod
Suggested experiment: use a water tank or pool; tow a fish-shaped target (or even a fish from the market) through it, and see how the bolt penetrates.
As mentioned before, a line attached to the bolt would certainly aid in retrieving both bolt and fish.
I don't doubt that hunters may occasionally take a shot at a shallow fish, but when passive means like gill nets are far more effective, with much less effort and risk of equipment, I'd agree that waterfowl are the much more likely targets for these things.
Never tied a net have ya mate, a small Gill net of about 10' x 4' takes me up to a week to tie. Arrows take under an hour. And resources for arrow making are much easier to scrounge than enough material to make a net
Thanks Tod
Thanks Tod. I like the plans.
Glad you like them!
Getting super inspired to make cool crossbows and bows after watching this and other cntent, tods crossbows are coolest though
Great video, can't wait to see the next one!
This is what experimental archaeology is all about, Tod. I'm sure there are some archaeological groups down in that area who'd want to give this a try. Is Tony Robinson still doing Time Team?
Time Team only survived one season without Mick Aston who was the archaeologist in charge and sadly he is now dead. Mr Robinson is fine to work with but he was just the presenter. Tim Taylor the producer the driving force behind it all the way from season 1, where i first meet him, has said he will revive it this year on youtube, without I think Mr Robinson but most of the old names.
@@somersethuscarl2938 If you got a link to that channel i'd love to have it. I watch TT on Amazon here in the US.
@@jansenart0 I don't think has launched yet. Keep an eye on the time team twitter feed for up dates
I hope someone makes video about crossbow fishing, so we can be sure Tod's idea was good.
I have been crossbow fishing. Same sort of deal as spear fishing but you get to shoot from above the water.
Another advantage, if you're hunting somewhere were you're only allowed to hunt small game. You're a lot less likely to be mistaken for a poacher.
I'm thinking waterfowl were a more likely target than fish. shooting into water is fraught with a variety of problems.
A lot of people do it in the states, including myself and maybe you. It definitely has a learning curve to it.
Problems that are easily overcome with practice. Modern bow fishing is not that uncommon a sport. And primitive bow fishing is well documented in South America.
Imagine if medieval Frenchmen (or late West Franks) knew about the skipping/bouncing arrows of Ugrofinnic hunters. It would be a waterfowl massacre with these C-a-C wooden crossbows and bouncing bolts, LOL. :-O :-)
No metal even on most of the bolts, a neolithic person could make one.
For sure
flint is silly sharp, and you can literally pick it up off the ground.
@@viridisxiv766 Flint isn't any sharper than anything else.
Theoretically you could get wood just as sharp and steel can certainly have the same sharpness.
However, it's much easier to get flint to that level of sharpness.
Thus, if you need something sharp and aren't worried about holding the edge you go with flint, or more likely obsidian.
@@bolbyballinger obsidian holds the sharpest edge known to mankind. Flint not so much, but it is on a razor edge level.
@@Seelenschmiede Sharpness is just the angle a solid object's atoms are at.
Any object can get as sharp as the sharpest known edge.
What makes obsidian special is that it's easier to get it that sharp than anything else.
If you are shooting fish normally there is a line connected to the arrow.
How about a tether/line to draw in the fish or retrieve the bolt?
What do you think their kids were for, they had to earn their keep.
Hey Tod great video as always. Hope u have another video with Joe Gibbs and Tony etc cheers man
Similar crossbows were also used in Vietnam/Indo-China, though variants used over there have the thumb trigger mounted on the side of the stock. This allows the shooter to sight down the arrow.
I think next time my field floods I will try that as this can be a bit awkward
There is a form of fishing called "clubbing". You basically walk on thin ice without snow and once you spot a fish under the ice you hit ice with some blunt object and quickly remove it to recover the stunned fish. This got me wondering if you could transfer enough energy with those bolts to get the same effect(with no ice)?
Very good crossbow!!!!
Great video, thanks for all your hard work.
It's akin to the .22 Rifle of it's day. Not very powerful but can be used for subsistence hunting and recreational target shooting.
As always. Good watch.
So it's like the .22 rifle of the day. Simple, reliable, and easy to use.
Could you do a testing video of this with a tank of water? See how much energy it could actually deliver after breaking the water surface?
He has a video of him shooting in his pool
Thanks Luke and yes I do have a longbow simulator shooting into a pool and velocity is certainly lost fairly quickly, but at lets say 30cm down there would be very little loss
@@tods_workshop great, thanks that answers my questions. :)
Excellent as always!
seeing how the fish react, if you got overly stale bread, or some sort of grain/nut that wasn't great for people, drop some in to a pond and use it as bait. A couple of guys with crossbows, that could be a viable tactic.
I was wondering if you could borrow a mates pool or go to some pond somewhere and try shooting at a dead fish with it to see how well it works. I'm curious whether a 60lb bow with those light bolts would retain enough energy to skewer the fish.
close to the surface it would be fine, but not deep, but I do have a film about a year ago where I shot into water
You are a great maker 👍👍👍
Love the videos, very interesting! In the US Bowfishing is gaining in popularity. Fish would've been more plentiful in some places back then. I think its highly likely at least some people bow fished back then. Like you said it's just human nature to try something like that. You have a bow, you see a good sized fish... Also Neolithic people bow hunted fish (or so we think) I'd be surprised if the idea was completely lost.
If Todd were zapped back in time to the dark ages, he would be making the super weapons of the day.
Or being a hermit
Second time watching. Thanks Todd. It is always a good watch. I’m trying to decide on one to build. I support two kids in the Philippines, One little girl and one little boy. I’m thinking the boy could use this bow or one similar to hunt fish, frogs and the odd dove. He climbs palms and trees to pinch coconuts or mangoes or other fruits s to eat or sell. Sparrows, starlings or doves might be possible with practice. Rats are the only rodent that I know of as wild game on Mindanao. I will need to look into this. Something about registration of arrows etc.
Very very cool!
I don't know why this is but when you shoot your heavier steel bows, the bolts tend to wobble massively before they stabelize.
But when you shoot lighter bows, the bolts fly straight as an I beam right from the get go. It can be seen in this videos slo mo and in your earlier videos of 11th and 12th century crossbows with bows made of yew. Bolts flew perfectly straight 💪
Bow and bolt tuning is tricky, but as a rule of thumb, longer bolts fly better and more powerful bows need longer bolts. Modern customers like their bolts to not over balance so really for the bigger bows another 1"/25mm on the length would be helpful, which is fine if you put your thumb on it and would stabilise much better
You previously established that arrows fired into water lose energy VERY rapidy, making jumping in the water a reasonable way of evading arrows. Could you put some dead fish into water at different depths to see if we can determine how much energy is lost at each depth? Thing about spear fishing is that the 'power stroke' is the entire thrust of the spear into the water and there will be no measurable loss of energy as it is driven into the target. (Probably?)
Achei esse lugar muito sinistro, lago muito sujo. A besta é otima, foi um exelente trabalho.
Love this guy
It's a pity you can't bowfish. It's fun! I shot 5 large carp back in April. I have better luck with a heavy arrow as it deflects less when hitting the water.
The hunting crossbow was around since the fall of the Roman Empire. But I've always been wondering if there was a crossbow that could be used as a substitute or competitor to a smooth-bore musket (Brown-Bess). This is a reflection on a Quip made by Benjamin Franklin that if the Colonial Rebels were low on arms why not use the Bow & Arrow. Well why not use a crossbow; it was still known about in that time.
No idea how common crossbows were then, but my guess would be probably not enough skilled craftsman to make enough of them in time to make a difference.
I just ordered the plans and I'm stoked to give it a go, but what did you use to whip the crossbow string where it contacts the body/bolt? I can't really tell from the video and it looks a bit different from the previous build's string. I really appreciate that you put the plans up!
You could definitely 'fish' with this. I am not immediately sure what advantage it would have over a simple sharp spear though.
One advantage is that you can use the crossbow to hunt rabbits and birds if there are no fish. Another advantage is that you can burn the hemp strings and inhale the smoke if you're bored and you wanna get high.
I wonder, can you make a wooden crossbow with much more heavier poundage? like something along the lines of 100lb - 150lb (45kg - 68kg for people who perfer the metric system), something like a battlefield ready one. could the wood even support it?
At todsworkshop.com, Tod has the option to make this particular crossbow up to 100lb. He also used to list another wooden-prod crossbow that you can see in the link to and header of the crossbow page. I think it was called the 12th century crossbow or something like that, and I know he offered it in a slightly higher weight range than this Dark Ages crossbow (I think it was available up to 150lb, but don't quote me on that).
Yes, sources tell as about yew crossbows, and simple (or not so simple) selfbow crossbows were in fact most probably most common ones up to 14th century.
Here are the photos of preserved wooden crossbows, unfortunately trough wayback machine.
web.archive.org/web/20210102193953/www.themcs.org/weaponry/crossbows/crossbows.htm
And here is great reconstruction.
ruclips.net/video/gaGCrv4LyUQ/видео.html
Wood obviously can support it, though if you want it to make it more "portable" (as in have short/narrow bow like in this crossbow or late medieval ones), it will cause lots of stress on the wood, requiring making it thicker and thus less dynamic. Still, you can cover this with more draw weight. ;)
Thanks for these responses. Was just a bit curious about it.
I love the fact it was found at an archaeological site of a real world, early medieval equivalent of Tolkien's Lake-town. :-)) Though, from what I've read about the Colletiere-a-Charavines site near Lyon, it also had a palisade-fortified stilt-manor of sorts, in additions to parts of the village being on stilts in the same lake. So a bit of material culture of both rural peasants and the rural nobility. The fact that someone of them owned a little hunting crossbow like that is not as surprising when you factor in that social background, even though it's a very, very basic crossbow.
More seriously, considering this is a simple, all-wooden hunting crossbow for shooting at small prey, I suppose there might have been occassional attempts at bow-fishing on the shores of the lake, or from a boat. Depends on the depth. Bowfishing isn't as practical if you can't see the fish in the water below you, so a shallower part of the lake in the 11th century would be one of the more ideal places to skewer a fish with a bolt. Unless you could find some preserved remnants of caught fish at the same digsite, ones with signs of arrow wounds - unlikely, given the easily decomposing soft tissues involved - it'll probably remain one of history's little mysteries. Could they have used it ? Possibly. With some skill, sure. Will we ever know for certain ? Unlikely.
I like the harpoon-heads you've made for the bolts. :-) Even though bowfishing is not allowed in the UK, maybe you could put a rubber duck or a floating rubber fish in some fishless pond and try shooting at that as a target. Or... Buy a little floatation bladder that you can blow air into with a bike pump. Buy a fish on tha market (e.g. a trout), then place the little floatation bladder inside the cavity of the fish. Put the fish in the pond and let it float. Pretend it's just emerged for a few moments from under the surface and shoot it with a bolt. The conditions should be relatively similar enough to shooting a live fish.
Thanks for that and yes an interesting place. I have never bow fished so cant really comment, but I do see fish come to the surface sometimes and so it is possible. What I would add is that in parts of Asia, particularly Vietnam, they use crossbows for fishing, so it is certainly a subsistence thing
What's the advantage of fishing with a crossbow over using a fishing rod? I imagine you need bait in both cases and the fishing rod doesn't have accuracy issues. Plus you get to keep your feet dry
Probably better for bigger catch, I imagine that fishing poles were not as strong as ours today
I would love to see some experiments where you shoot at simulated fish (or already dead fish) in water. It seems like a logical conclusion that might have tried crossbow fishing. On the other hand, line fishing is a lot less work. :)
I probably could try and make that crossbow. But that would require cleaning out the barn and re-wiring the equipment cause squirrels got into the ban saw and
It's ashame you can't bowhunt in a country so rich with history of archery hunting
Can't bowhunt legally, that is. When I was a kid I took dozens of rabbits with a home made bow. Lots of people still do.
So how heavy in poundage can a stirrup bow get and still be pullable with just hands and the one foot?
But for fishing should the bolts have a line tied to them for retrieval? If so, how could it affect the accuracy?
I wonder if strong bows or crossbows have the same problem as guns were the ammunition has less water penetration power due to high velocity.
A interesting test would be to build an acrylic water tank just large and deep enough to test the distance of water penetration. It would also give you data on which bolt were usefull for fishing
I can’t recall my source but I recall (maybe the mythbusters or some other group) a test where they found that the increased mass of the bolts/arrows allowed the projectiles to retain sufficient lethal force even when passing through a significant distance of water
But since I can’t remember the source I can’t say that with certainty; HOWEVER! Spear fishing with spearguns are very comparable I would say in that they operate well enough underwater with a relatively heavy projectile(at point blank range more or less though)
"I wonder if strong bows or crossbows have the same problem as guns..."
They don't, Bow-fishing is a fairly common sport in the US especially in swampy areas where using rods aren't feasible. While water density does slow down the velocity of an arrow or bolt more than air, it isn't moving anywhere near as fast as a rifle round and the arrow's length helps stabilize the direction of the shot. In fact, FMJ low-velocity pistol ammunition tends to remain ballistically stable for the first meter or so when shot into water. Being as the fastest arrow speeds are still considerably slower than even the most lethargic gunpowder ammunition, arrows don't have the same issues you describe. It should also be mentioned that rifle rounds tend to fail when enter water due to the bullet itself disintegrating on impact with the water. Being as arrows don't disintegrate on impact with water, it should be fairly obvious that these results shouldn't be comparable.
IIrc Tod has already produced a couple of videos shooting crossbows through water to measure their efficacy.
Hi Peter, I filmed this very thing a few months ago ruclips.net/video/IuMweJ7_lt0/видео.html
Modefied bow.
Cross bow and long bow
And a spread for Fishing.
And fishing rod.
On one equipment
I once saw someone shoot a carp with a .22 from a few yards. So quite feasible.
Bullets are oddly stopped sooner then arrows.
Tod - I hope you obtained the Lord's permission before setting out. I'd hate for you to be flogged for poaching hay bales!
Joking aside - another excellent video that make me think of what life may have been like for our ancestors.
Did lots of bowfishing when younger, penetration into water is surprisingly low, those bolts and that crossbow would only be effective in very shallow water.
Agreed, but in the right places fish often come right up
Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up
I think the blunts would be more effective on rabbits and squirrels than you think. Also a lot less meat damage which would mean more food too.
Excellent video as always.
My thoughts on the whole deal, as a spearfisher - Yes, you could probably catch a fish with a crossbow, I'm fairly certain that somebody at someplace in time has done exactly that, but generally it's hard to hit a fish if you're shooting from above the surface, I'm sure bow fishers will chime in and explain something about refraction and so on. But, much in the same way it's a problem for bow fishers to retrieve their catch if they don't have a line connected to their arrows, it is a problem for us spearos to do the same, if we "free shaft". Now, most spearos go for center mass shots, and kill their prey once they have it under control, personally, I prefer to go for headshots in the hope that I'll either kill or immobilize, so the prey won't suffer a struggle to get free - a poorly placed shot low in the guts usually results in a fish ripping itself free with horrendous injuries, we don't want that. But to get back on track, unless you as a spearo or bow hunter can place your shot straight through the brain or spinal column of your prey, you will not be taking home any meat, if your projectile isn't connected to a line of some sort. So, although it is possible that someone at some point in time has shot a fish with a crossbow, I don't see it as a viable hunting method, and especially not if you plan on using it to keep a whole lot of people fed regularly. In that case a net would be the way to go.
In a general way I agree with you, but crossbow fishing in Asia is a still a big thing for poorer communities
@@tods_workshop They must be excellent shots then, if they don't use lines on their bolts.
@Tod Just incase you missed it there is a cut in audio and video at 4:38 and a few seconds after it. Otherwise great video as always :)
I wonder what the drag would be like if you attached a twine to the back of the harpoon headed bolt? Would it still have useful power as well as the ability retrieve the bolt and target from deeper water.
I guess you could, but there is still loads of bow fishing in Asia without cords
does the top trigger that was sticking out makes it difficult to aim?
Unhelpful
i think a medieval net is next on the agenda :)