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| The Pentamere Free Company
Building a stopper tipped tubular crossbow bolt for SCA combat |
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1) First step is to cut your 'siloflex' (100# psi tubular hose - check you Kingdom's rules on exact specs you can use) to the length you desire.
The Midrealm currently requires a 14" minimum from end of shaft to behind the head. We like making ours slightly longer (approx. 15") to remove any doubts about the length. We then smoothed over the ends of the tube using a lit candle, holding the tube over it and slowly turning it to melt the plastic smooth. 2) Drill 2 sets of holes all the way thru the bolt (leaving 4 holes) approx 1" & 1 1/4" down from the "head" of the bolt. These need to be approx 90 degrees offset so you can tie the stopper in place on 4 points. Insert stopper and tie off with strong cord (we use artificial sinew).  3) Next using a drill bit slightly thicker than your craft foam (we use 1/8") drill one set of holes approx. 1" from the tail end/bottom of the bolt and the other set 2 1/2" above the first (towards the head). Carefully using a knife, cut away a strip between the two sets of holes. The strip should be slightly less than the thickness of your craft foam (this will hold the foam fin in place). 
At this point, you bolt should look like this:  4) Next using strapping tape, tape the stopper down to the shaft. We make sure a bit of our strapping tape is showing so marshals can easily see it during inspection; they can also run their fingers along the bolt and feel the sinew holding the stopper in place. Cut out the closed cell foam padding slightly larger than the diameter of the stopper.  5) Using red duct tape, tape the foam onto the top of the stopper (be sure to leave a little bit of the strapping tape showing at the bottom). We do not put the foam under the strapping tape as the foam tends to die out (e.g. become squished or torn up) after a dozen or so impacts and will need to be replaced easily. 6) Cut a square piece of the craft foam approx 3" wide by 2 1/2" long. Feed this thru the fin slots you cut earlier at the bottom of the bolt. We used long needle nosed pliers reaching down the inside of the tube to help feed the length of the foam thru the 2nd slit. Don't use the pliers to "pull" the foam as it will only stretch or tear. Once the craft foam fin is in place, trim the top edges on an angle. If you had cut the fin slits too wide (larger than the thickness of your craft foam), you can use a small bead of glue or tape to hold the fin in place. 
 Using our 85# crossbows, the fins held up to about a dozen shots/impacts before needing to be replaced. But since it is easy to cut new ones out and insert them in the slots, the replacement of them and the foam on the stopper head are part of regular maintenance. Your completed bolt should look like this:  7) Your last step is to put your "owner's info" on the bolt so they can work their way back to you. We print off a batch via laser printer, cut them to size and tape them on using clear Scotch packaging tape (it holds up very well to abuse and stays clear with lots of UV exposure). Any questions or comments (or requests for extra or detailed pictures of any of the above steps) can be directed to Sgt. Iain or Sgt. William, who are always willing to help out! (email contact info on the Contacts page). Web/Mail Steward |