D.S. Adams

The taper was forged in, I have yet to complete the new prod due to time constraints, thank you for your interest, the project is on hold while I make swords, and continue forging knives, be safe, have fun, research well, take recommendations and constructive criticism, best of luck

Yes the place where the prod makes contact with the stock is indeed angled. To reduce friction from stock and string as much as possible

Thank you I will consider that, I hoping to challenge myself with this project and have the ability to produce proper spring temper to make this personal crossbow self sufficiently, I do not intend to sell this or give it away. I was hoping to forge it from scratch from bar stock and woodwork the maple and create the mechanism which I have, all I need to accomplish this it to iron out the heat treatment

Thank you, It is tapered to each end from center

I have considered that to be a risk as well as being warned by some, I am not a student or minor thankfully and am not currently involving anyone in the potential test or proximity to it. I do not or have not intended to take on this project without considering risks or liability involved with the amount of potential energy haha Unfortunately I am in a mountain town and do not have a spring shop. I genuinely appreciate the responses and insight.

I have no way of knowing aside from checking with a magnet for reaching critical temperature or by obtaining a high temperature contactless thermometer that I’m in the works of getting. Thank you for your patience

Thank you. Yes, rotating nut cut and ground to shape from 1018 mild steel, I thought of other traditional nut materials or stronger steels but decided to go with an easy steel to grind for convenience, the trigger is of the medieval type and is a single axle trigger and forged to shape from 1084 as well as the stirrup

385f for an hour for 3 times and cooling in the oven after each. This is experimental with addition of  inexperience with hardening and tempering longer pieces. If I had hardened it I didn’t want it to be too brittle and destroy the work or too soft after after tempering and not hold the draw weight because of the nature of its intended use. I should have file tested post quench but I was eager to clean off the oil and go to tempering. I am not totally sure if oven temperature is exact and I intend to get an accurate thermometer to stick inside. The oven is new bought within 3 years ago.

The steel is said to be 5160, ordered from Jantz supply. I am quenching in corn/ canola oil, i cannot afford dedicated quench oils currently. Thank you for replying

New here, glad I am surrounded by some experienced people here. I have been forging for about 2 and a half years and have made and heat treated successful knives from 1084, and 5160,  I have started challenging myself with a generic medieval crossbow and steel prod and have finished grinding tried hardening and tempered and even fired some bolts accurately from the assembled crossbow. However, unlike the 1084 I don’t think I’m hardening the 5160 like I can with the 1084 as files do not skate off the 5160 before or after tempering cycles. I have constructed a expanded volume forge from wood stove tubing and casted refractory cement that I intended to replace my last two forges (2  40 psi propane burners)to have enough space for the prod and other wider objects. I have a vertical quench tank of 43 inches tall and 6 1/2 inch tube diameter that replaced my 4 inch diameter quench tube. I have evenly heated the prod a little past non-magnetic  and quickly and as accurately as I can plunged it into the oil and agitated it best I could. I’ve tried pre-heating the oil to 130f before quench but I am not able to evenly heat the oil in the tube all the way down/ evenly at the moment. im considering an immersion heating/ boiling element. precision temperature control/ soaking steel pre-quench is impossible for me at the moment. I’m not worried about tempering it because it fits into a conventional oven. The prod sits in the forge out of direct flame and is heated by ambient heat inside the chamber from the flame. What am I missing/ misunderstanding / doing wrong here? quite frustrated my first first steel crossbow slowly loses power due to unsuccessful hardening. Happy to provide forge internal and external dimensions as I’m not sure if I straight up decarburize from to much heat / too little space in forge/ uneven heating, I do have minimal scale when at or above non-magnetic? help! Thank you