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An interesting discovery
Topic Started: Apr 14 2011, 11:21 PM (396 Views)
Cormac Elsinore
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So today, while working on the sword and arrows I intend to bring to phoenix this weekend, i happened upon an old fiberglass core (one of the 3/8 inch Home Depot reflector poles) to a long-abandoned project. I had wrapped it in a layer or two of strapping tape, and then a layer overtop of that of duct tape. Since i was bored, had time to kill waiting for dap to dry, and happened to have a bit of nylon cord handy, I quickly wrapped tape thickly around the ends of the pole, tied the string into a bowstring, and strung it. It looked ridiculously short when strung, but i took one of my target arrows, loped out into my yard, drew back the shaft, aimed, released...

I quickly discovered that, as if to spite me, this cheap little time-killer works a LOT better than both of my PROFESSIONALLY MADE bows! If I were to guess it, I'd estimate that it pulls somewhere between 30-35 pounds at 28", and it is far more accurate than either of my bows. With my first ten shots, i centered in the target 8 times. Range wise, I accidentally overshot my target on one shot and the arrow flew for at least 50 yards before it hit the ground, where it skittered another several yards and vanished into a massive cactus bed, where it still sits right now. And in terms of accuracy, it is, hands down, the best bow I own! Better than my 35# Longbow or my 25# Recurve. And in terms of price, all materials accounted for, I'd say it costs no more than $10 bucks to make.

Looking at it, there are refinements I could make to the design, such as, for example, adding washers to the tape nocks to keep the bowstring from slowly forcing the tape downwards along the shaft. In addition, it needs a handgrip, and a handgrip would also help keep the center of the bow slightly more rigid, which would be good for it's structural integrity as a whole. Overall, it's definitely something to experiment a bit if you're ever bored and happen to have a bizarrely taped fiberglass rod handy!

Any of you guys have any thoughts on this, or interesting discoveries of your own?
Edited by Cormac Elsinore, Apr 15 2011, 03:44 AM.
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savetuba
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yep. How not to use glue. Best told in person.
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