11-17-2010, 04:55 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
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[Low-Tech] Windlass and cranequin
Would the authors of Low-Tech be kind enough to share with me any sources employed to write the section on mechanical devices used to span crossbows?
I'm engaged in trying to write a consistent rule system for crossbows to use in my own campaigns and some of the assumptions made in this chapter seem to clash with my own (admittedly imperfect) understanding of the subject. For example, I have trouble finding historical examples of 1.125 lbs. or 2 lbs. cranequins. The smallest I can recall are 3 lbs. or so. Also, the prices for cranequins, what are they based on? Payne-Gallway considered cranequins a far more expensive method of spanning crossbows than windlasses and therefore unsuitable for issue to common soldiers. Has this view been discredited? In addition, I would love it if the authors could point me toward historical artifacts or authentic replicas of period windlasses, weighted and tested. Does the weight of the windlass given in Low-Tech include the stirrup necessary for the crossbow? Do they weight of the steel bows?
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Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela! |
11-17-2010, 10:25 AM | #2 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: [Low-Tech] Windlass and cranequin
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Bill Stoddard |
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11-17-2010, 11:27 AM | #3 | |
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
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Re: [Low-Tech] Windlass and cranequin
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On the other hand, even with judicious web searches, I have been unable to find any historical 1-2 lbs. cranequins. Since Low-Tech lists such devices, I assume that you have found them. Could you direct me to the websites in question? Since I'm using actual poundage to stat the bows, I'll have to rework the ST multipliers into something else and it would help to have clearer descriptions of the devices, maybe a researcher's estimate of how long it takes to crank.
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Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela! Last edited by Icelander; 11-17-2010 at 11:48 AM. |
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11-17-2010, 12:31 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: [Low-Tech] Windlass and cranequin
The formula for a windlass is 4s * (BL for rated bow ST) / (BL for wielder). If we assume that a crossbow with a rated ST of 10 is an 80 lb bow, which is at least believable, just go with 'poundage/BL seconds'. I have no idea why the weight of a windlass would vary significantly with its strength ratio in the first place, you adjust the strength ratio by just changing the ratio of shaft radius to arm radius. You need stronger structure (and cord) for a stronger bow, but the weight increase shouldn't be very large and in any case is only dependent on the draw weight of the bow.
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11-17-2010, 04:12 PM | #5 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: [Low-Tech] Windlass and cranequin
Quote:
Bill Stoddard |
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11-17-2010, 05:17 PM | #6 | |
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
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Re: [Low-Tech] Windlass and cranequin
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In any event, if the stats for cranequins are not a deliberate nod to some new scholarship challenging Payne-Gallwey's work and of which I was unaware, they are simply not accurate. All authorities I have read agree that cranequins were heavier than the weights given in Low-Tech and while historians unaccountably neglect to give GURPS $ Costs, it may be safely said that cranequins are more expensive to construct than windlasses.
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Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela! |
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11-17-2010, 05:36 PM | #7 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: [Low-Tech] Windlass and cranequin
Quote:
Bill Stoddard |
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11-17-2010, 05:47 PM | #8 | ||
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Torino, Italy
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Re: [Low-Tech] Windlass and cranequin
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I can't help it, right now I am picturing some GURPS author who gets stalked by an angry GURPS player, who obsessively asks "WHERE could you find a historical 2 lbs cranequin? DID YOU PERSONALLY WEIGH some historical cranequins?" I think that everybody already understood that was your point. Since you appear to be so expert on cranequins, I think you could have said it straight in the first post... "I think cranequins in Low Tech are too light, they should weight more according to Payne-Gallwey"...
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Last edited by Lupo; 11-17-2010 at 05:55 PM. |
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11-17-2010, 06:24 PM | #9 | |
"Gimme 18 minutes . . ."
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Albuquerque, NM
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Re: [Low-Tech] Windlass and cranequin
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There's a couple museums with dimensions but no weights. A politely worded e-mail might convince one of them to weigh an actual historical sample, but maybe not, I'm not sure how busy they usually are. |
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11-18-2010, 04:28 AM | #10 | |
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
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Re: [Low-Tech] Windlass and cranequin
Quote:
In addition, replicas have been made of many of the cranequins that Payne-Gallwey describes and these weight between 3-6 lbs. Blackmore's 'Hunting Weapons from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century', also cited in playtest comments, has the same 3-6 lbs. weight range.
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Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela! Last edited by Icelander; 11-18-2010 at 04:50 AM. |
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Tags |
ccoi, crossbows, low-tech |
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