Pulley Windlass to medieval crossbows

Pulley Windlass to medieval crossbows

You can span / tension all the crossbows listed below with this windlass. Customers often ask, up to what draw weight a crossbow can be spanned just with hands (without windlass).

Most men can draw a crossbow up to 75 kg (165 lb) by hand. A draw weight of about 110 kg (242lb) can be drawn by hand only approx. by one of ten. Men tend to exaggerate their strength. Believe us, you will not manage it! In addition, you need the windlass when you replace the strink from about 54 kg (119lb) draw weight of the prod.

• The wooden handles are approx. 110mm long and have a diameter of approx. 25.28mm
• The cranks connecting the shaft with the handles are approx. 158mm long
• The socket for the crossbow butt (tiller) is approx. 27mm wide; 57.5mm high and 99.5mm deep
• The base boards with burnt-in crosses are made of 5mm thick steel sheet
• The 80mm long hooks for the string are made of round steel with a diameter of approx. 6mm. The hooks are approx. 67.5mm apart
• The hemp rope has a diameter of approx. 7mm
• Total weight approx. 1660 g

The specifications may slightly vary from item to item.

Made in the Czech Republic.

Important Note

The hemp rope wears out with use. Before each use, check its entire length and if you find any damage, the rope must be replaced with a new one. The use of this historical windlass is at your own risk.

How to draw a crossbow

1. Turn the nut to the locked (ready to fire) position and lock it with the trigger.
2. Place the wooden anti-dry-fire safety between the trigger and the stock (tiller).
3. Insert the tip of your foot into the metal stirrup at the front end of the crossbow
4. With crossbows up to approx. 77lbs draw weight, the string can be drawn by hand
5. For crossbows with a draw weight of over approx. 77 lbs you need a belt hook for cocking
6. We recommend drawing crossbows with draw weights of over approx. 150 lbs with a windlass
7. Make sure that the metal hooks of the respective drawing aid are symmetrically hooked onto the string, otherwise you could scratch the stock when tensioning
8. As soon as the string sits in the hooks of the nut, the drawing/tensioning process is complete and the drawing aid can be removed
9. Now you can insert the crossbow bolt, so that the flat end (or its nock) is snug against the string
10. Remove the anti-dry-fire safety just before shooting.
11. If you then decide not to shoot, use your hands or a drawing aid to release the string. Never dry-fire the crossbow (without an arrow/bolt), this could damage the crossbow bow!