Plans For Crossbows And Archery

                                      

Lots of people want to build their own bow, arrows and archery supplies.We  have a free plan,which you can get from our website ,for  building a flat bow and a traditional English long bow. The flat bow is particularly easy to build and is a very accurate shooter.   The long bow  was used very successfully  by English archers  in winning many  battles hundreds of years ago prior to the invention of  guns and gun powder.

We also give you free plans for archery gear including arrows and at our website vintage plans

We also have free plans for crossbows which are amazingly accurate weapons and the  Chinese antique repeating crossbow is a particularly interesting item. Chinese soldiers carried this bow for hundreds of years, and  used it right into the 20th century unbelievably. This amazing bow has a magazine which holds  many  bolts(arrows) and these could be fired in rapid succession by pulling on a lever which cocked and fired them very quickly one after another. 

A group of archers could send a positive cloud of arrows (which often had poisoned tips) at enemy soldiers which was to say the least  discouraging for them when they tried to advance. Just a little prick from a poison arrow could be very quickly fatal.


We  have also free plans for a wonderful more modern repeating crossbow which works much the same as a slide action gun, and fires several arrows one after another in rapid succession. We also have free plans for a more modern crossbow which is a great crossbow for hunting as well as for target shooting or just for fun. You can download these plans and many more  free at  vintage plans


                                                         

Free Vintage Plans For You

                                                       
I have been interested in old plans for many years. It seemed that I was always on the prowl  for plans from which I could build all kinds of  things I wanted but couldn,t really afford to buy. I found out quite early on that many very suitable plans were to be found in old editions of magazines such as Science And Mechanics and  a number of other similar magazines.  Over a period of years I put together a collection of many hundreds of  plans for all kinds of things.

Later I discovered  that the majority of these plans  which were first published prior to 1964 were no longer copyright and were in fact in the "public domain", as a result of their copyright never being renewed before the expiry date. Everything published in the USA before the year 1923 is also automatically in the public domain with no exceptions. Since they are no longer in copyright, all of these items may be used by anyone at all for any purpose they desire. This includes printed material, and also audio (old radio shows) and videos (old movies). All of these non copyright items may be copied and republished or resold. The material cannot be copyrighted by any person in their original state, but a new version of the item may be copyrighted if  there have been significant changes made to the material.

Then in 1964 copyright laws were changed for the USA, and material published after that year remains in copyright for a very much longer period of time.  There are actually certain exceptions to this with some publications up to the year 1978 which are in the public domain.

To avoid any  possibility of copyright problems I  personally will only republish material which was  copyrighted before 1964, and which is now  in the public domain, which can be proven by checking the publication and its author at the US copyright office, a job which can be completed online very simply.

My website Vintage Plans has available to everyone free copies of a selection of these old plans. This is an ongoing work and will undoubtedly take considerable time to finish. The simple fact is that it will very likely never be finished as new material continues to come to light continually from a number of sources.

I also intend to republish freely copies of  plans, articles etc which date far back into the 1800s and even further than that. Many  interesting and useful plans and  articles etc are available from this time.

Check back with this blog and our website often and you will get much interesting material http://www.vintageplans.org. It is my hope that many of you will find a lot of interest in these  plans and articles and plenty of items which will be of use to you. They are all free--so the price is not a problem is it?. Go to our website, and help yourself to the free PDF downloads you will find there. the

Take a look now at Vintage Plans and check out all the really interesting stuff that is totally free. You can if you wish leave your comments below or ask your question about anything.

                                           

New Plans Just Posted

We have some interesting new free plans which have just been posted on www.vintageplans.org. One is for a really unique folding kayak which you can carry under your arm and walk in to a fishing spot or lake with it very easily. It is light in weight and truly portable. You can extend the plans to make a bigger kayak if you wish.

Then we have also posted a plan for a folding row boat which is also quite unique. Actually folding is a bit of a misnomer since the boat actually comes apart into three pieces. This makes it easy to stow in your car trunk for a trip to the lake.

When you get there you just bolt the three pieces together and there is your row boat ready to go. You can even power it with a small outboard or electric fishing motor if you want to.

Take a look at these and many other great plans now at our vintage plans website. They are all free for your use.

Free plans. Build Model Stirling Hot Air Engines.

Stirling engines, which are actually hot air engines, are great engines to make working models from. The hot air engine was an early invention in the 1800s, and looked verty promisimng as a source of power for all kinds of projects. However the low power to weight ratio of these engines makes them most suitable for stationary power rather than for use in vehicles of any kind. That being said several hot air engine powered large ships were built in the 1800s and they worked very well. Hot air engines are of course run by hot air which is heated from a heat source such as coal or wood burning, as it was in these ships.

Model small scale Stirling engines are usually powered by an alcohol flame or even by a candle flame.

We have free plans for hot air engines which you can download at our website, and we also have a free plan for a rather unique candle powered engine. This amazing little engine gets its power solely from a candle flame. This is a simple to build vintage project and runs really well.

When you build model hot air engines the key to success is to get all the moving parts air tight, but as friction free as possible. The engine will then run perfectly. If there is a significant air leak it will not run, and if there is too much friction it will run poorly if at all.

Go to our website and download the free PDF plans for these and many other vintage projects.

Free Plans.Beehives and Equipment

Building your beehives can be a big money saver if you have a beekeeping business or even if you need two or three hives for your own supply of honey.You can purchase commercially built beehives but they are quite expensive and you will also incur delivery charges if you order from a distant supplier.


Building beehives is quite simple for anyone who has done any woodworking. Hand tools are all that is required to do the work. A tablesaw can be a help if you want to do the job faster but a hand circular saw or even jigsaw can do it very well.

Many beekeepers who will be happy to buy hives from you,particularly local people.

For more information and free plans for beehives see our website

Free Plans.Build A Seismograph To Detect Earthquakes

A seismograph is a scientific instrument detects and records earthquakes. Needless to say if a large earthquake occurs closeby you do not need anything to tell you what has happened.

Every day however, there are minor seismic events which may not be noticeable unless you have a sensitive seismograph to make a record of them . These small seismic events do not usually cause any great damage but are interesting to demonstrate that the crust of the earth is in a constant state of movement.

Using our free plans you can build a very sensitive seismograph which will make a record of even distant earthquakes hundreds or thousands of miles away fro your location. It all depends on the magnitude of the quake naturally. A big earthquake can be detected much further away from you than a smaller disturbance can.

This seismograph filters out nearby vibrations such as the shaking caused by traffic going by. It records real seismic occurences in the earths crust only.

Go to our website to download your free plan for building a seismograph.

Free Plans. Build A Cartop Boat For Fishing, Rowing, Camping

Many people would love to have a boat to take on vacation with them. A major problem is the need for a trailer to transport the boat behind a car or truck. Not only are good trailers costly, but it can be very inconvenient to park in many places if you have a trailer attached to your vehicle. Parking spots are generally made to accomodate the vehicle only.

The easy solution to this is to have a cartop boat, which is light enough to load on top of your vehicle, on a luggage ramp. This free plan details how to build a light 11/1/2 foot plywood boat which is ideal for fishing and can easily carry three people with fishing gear.

It can be loaded by one person but it is much easier to do if you have two people to get it up on top of the car.It is a very stable boat which can be rowed or powered by a small outboard motor and is roomy enough to be comfortable.

This is an ideal fishing boat and is also great fun just as a general purpose knockabout or rowing boat. Have a look at these free plans now and build yoursaelf a great boat. Boat Plans