Medieval crossbow guide

This is NOT made by me nor do I take credit, but it comes from a certain hungarian who will probably read this soon anyway. This is a (very picture heavy) guide on making a moderately powerful medieval crossbow.

First the lever for the trigger.

Now the piece from which the nut will be made - its from bone. Feel free to improvise.

Side view of the body - still a lump of wood, but you can see how the lever goes.

Top view.

After shaping the body.

Preparing the front.

Another look at the trigger, some extra holes& carving done.

Now the actual mechanism.

 There is a small steel spike here to stop the nut from being worn out by the lever.

The bow.

The holding piece.

 The parts after some finishing touches and finally - assembly.

 

This is what the end of the string looks like. 

Now this is for a fairly low power crossbow and the design can be modded for more durability. Anyone who tries this only needs to know the mechanical principles after all. I for once would add a thumb holder for the bolts.