Thank goodness for you. I thought I was the only person on earth who noticed this design flaw, but you address in your video, and I feel validated now. I've watched sooo many videos about this and not one video or comment I've found (besides yours) mentions how the string actually gets past the arrows when loading the arrows. I'm still not sure how Jörg does it in his "Designing the best slingbow on the planet" video, because in the video it appears he is using arrows that are shorter than the string minimum distance. My guess is he probably uses dulled arrows and also I can see a slight valley in the device that might supposedly reduce the amount of jamming.
The video is fantastic and opens our horizons of new models and techniques achievable and doable in archery. Also I love how well organized the video is and how easy is to move back and forward!!
my argument about the production problems itself for medieval time is a self underestimation. Craftsmans & blacksmiths at the time made many tools, weapons, & definitely armors that are arguably far more labor intensive & certainly way more expensive. Your works has little to no metals is enough factors to be a far more economically viable, more so than many crossbows at that time. So from this alone, I would argue that it may very well be much more viable, not just military usage, but also civilian usage. It's even more make sense with modularity of the Instant legolas tool & it could work as heirloom tools for many generations (despite being made from wood materials)
Some lawmakers would probably argue that your concept converted it into crossbow :> but it doesn’t matter your voice should be used for telling stories either way.
In most places to be considered a crossbow you have to be able to let go of the device without it discharging. In other words an x-bow needs to be able to hold the bow cocked without human intervention. It’s hard to convey on camera but with this device if you release your hands it will discharge-you’re holding the full weight of the device more like a bow and unlike a crossbow. It looks like a crossbow, but the fact that I cannot let go and am holding the draw weight in my hands means it isn’t one, at least in the US. Even in the shooting modes where the crossbow takes on the full draw weight of the bow, the hands are still required to balance the bow-i could not let go of the device so that it would remain cocked without intervention
@@DanSantanaBows right it’s hard to tell from the pictures. To me it looked as if the wooden part can be placed in between but I didn’t think about whether or not it would be stable enough to hold on its own.
I can see this being relatively easy for a skilled woodworker of a bygone age to copy. Of course the pvc parts would have to be made of metal or horn but otherwise, I believe that the trade off between ease of use and added cost/encumbrance is very favorable. How much does this weigh?
@@DanSantanaBows The paid for military in Europe were faster at shouting arrows. However the Chinese did have a repeating crossbow 3000 years ago. The Europeans lost to the Mongolians and the Huns because they were much faster at shooting arrows and much better at riding horses quicker. So I don't feel that the necessity was a luxury. It's just history for Europeans to do nothing until it becomes a crisis. And even after it's a crisis history is shown that they ignore or neglect the problem until it has overrun their country and now become a catastrophe. Then they stand around and cry victim, look for an escape goat and blame whoever they can find. But at no point do they ever attempt to take any personal responsibility for their failure to act. They learn nothing from these lessons and fail to mitigate when the next crisis shows up as a pending possibility. They habitually wait until it's a complete disaster, before they even bother to notice that maybe something went wrong. Unfortunately this is the history. And they have made no advancements in this mentality for several thousand years. The Chinese of stockpile lumber for 100-year supply. Iron steel and other metals for also 100 years. They have turned their deserts into farmland, with technology that the United States and European countries failed to invest in. So I strongly believe that a poorly trained Archer with this advantage, would have a chance to harvest game, or chance to defend himself when it goes completely sideways in whatever country they're in.
I agree with you except having made one I think the barrier to production is too high compared to bows. The reason I say this was likely a luxury device is that in the time it takes to make and tinker with one you could have multiple bows ready. I’m not convinced that this would be a pragmatic enough device for use at military scale. Putting aside production issues, if you grant the ability to produce them for an army then it could certainly be a game changer
I’m not big on folding bows. They’re a fun gimmick but ultimately a gimmick. IMO the folding mechanisms sacrifice too much function. Many bowyers have tried to make that design stick and it never has. Takedowns are a much better design for travel because they don’t sacrifice functionality and end up being just as quick to set up and string
I talk about all this in the video and also description section. it’s not a crossbow just like the instant legolas because it’s not self locking-the user holds the full draw weight. Draw weight depends on what bow you use of course. The smaller one is in the 20 lbs range but you can also see some shots with a 40 pound bow in the video. With these very light bolts that is about the limit Im comfortable with but with heavier bolts you can go way higher
Definitely would. I haven’t made one yet because i haven’t figured out how to taper the limbs like that kind of bow. For recurves and flat bows you can just press the limbs into a taper, but this doesn’t give you the right shape for an ELB. Workin on it!
Interesting piece of work. Imho, a very professional production/film and particularly, I like your way out of the video.... Took it seriously and have already started 😏
Joe Gibs shot a 150# warbow through one on the Tod’s Workshop channel. The design doesn’t really have a limit in principle, as long as the arrows you shoot can handle the bow. With these cobra bolts 40 is already pushing it
Sure, I can make you a custom bow, or I might have something in your specs already. You can see more of my work and contact for orders through dansantanabows.com
Joerg got around the arrow tips by putting a groove beneath the arrow head. It means you need to pull down a bit as you pull back, but if you're bracing your hand against the device you're going to be doing that a bit anyway. It can best be seen in his video "When Inventions Fail ("Double Trouble" Bolt Shooter)"
I remember that. I used that method in some of the prototypes but I think it works better for arrows with regular field tips. With these bolts I would still have a bit of an issue with the string snagging. In general the build is much easier with longer arrows. I stubbornly insisted on the cobra bolts but they come with some complications if you want to use them in a longer power stroke bow
@@DanSantanaBows Fair point, and standard 16-20" crossbow bolts are a good compromise and should be long enough to poke past the bowstring. Though then you'd also need a peg to stop the string from going past the tips when shooting, which could make for a pretty violent dry-fire. I guess there are always trade-offs
They would need too much modification for each person. I tried to keep the video general enough so you can figure out the right dimensions for your own kit
This has a very different use case than Joergs design. I don’t have the rack system for the same reason I don’t have an arrow shelf on any of my bows. I see these as training wheels features that are more fun when removed. This device is not for inexperienced archers and it’s job isn’t to make it easy for you. It’s made to be easy to build not easy to shoot. If the purpose was accuracy and firing speed I would obviously use Jeorgs design. The goal for me was something like a tong ah with multiple shots, and not a device that makes archery easy for beginners. Archery is fun because it’s hard not because it’s easy
