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I watched this episode on television the other day and found it pretty interesting. As it's relevant, I thought I'd post up a link to the video. I think they kind of "cheated" because their crossbows don't actually bend, but impressive nonetheless.
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discove … -video.htm
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That was in the shape (I won't say design) of a crossbow, but it didn't function as a crossbow. What they produced was a slingshot. An interesting slingshot, but a slingshot, not a crossbow.
Sue
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At first I thought Sue was wrong (surely that is not possible!!!??)
But then I found she was right (of course, how could I have doubted her)
A crossbow relies on the forward part being a bow, that is flexible and able to exert tremendous force.
This design is entirely fixed apart from the elastic, so the principle is the same as the slingshot or, as we call it in UK, a catapult. We are more familiar with this as a Y shape, elastic attached to each of the upper arms.
DavidO
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David, David! When will you learn?
Sue
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Yeah, I agree, functionally, they were more like slingshots than crossbows. Still, they only had two days to make them (and I'm sure they had other jobs/projects besides these going at the same time) which was doubtlessly a factor, plus, I don't think either Jamie or Adam has a lot of experience with constructing objects from newsprint.
I don't recall ever making a crossbow, but I've made a couple of small bows, as accessories for my papier mache action figures. While they can be "drawn", they're not really functional for launching projectiles.
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If it is possible to make a working crossbow from paper, the only way I can see it happening is lamination with adhesive (carefully chosen, probably synthetic) and pressure.
It would be an interesting REAL experiment. And it would take more than two days.
Sue
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