Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

110

Lincoln and Locke didn't waste another second and put themselves to work. Locke wanted to make the swords, while Lincoln took to making the crossbows. Locke leaned over the piece of metal, taking a sharpie into his hand as he made an outline of how he wanted the blade to be shaped. From the top corner of the edge, he drew a swooping line, stopping just short enough to create a nice sharp point. He then took up the metal into his hand and went right for the drill press, donning a pair of goggles to protect his eyes.

He hooked the machine up and lined his piece of metal up with the drill bit where he wanted to begin cutting and he turned the machine on.

The sound that pealed through the room garnered Lincoln's attention as he scanned over his notes, but he quickly resumed studying them.

Lincoln reached for the piece of wood and measured it using his body for the stock. He held the piece of wood in his hands like a rifle, with one end pressed against his shoulder while his hands gripped the wood. He wanted the stock to have some length to it for power when he shoots, but not too much that it causes the PVC to shatter. Once he discovered the length he was comfortable with, he set the wood on the piece table and marked it with a marker. Sweat began to bead his forehead as he worked, and he wiped it off with the back of his hand. For the first time since he thought of this idea, he was starting to feel nervous.

Lincoln then reached for his own pair of protective goggles and he grabbed the hand saw. He began sawing off the extra piece of wood that wasn't adding to the stock, and saw dust billowed below him onto the floor as he propped his piece of wood against the table. He was satisfied with his work, blowing off the extra sawdust. He took the stock into his hands once again like a rifle and gauged where it would be comfortable to have the trigger and the handle. Setting the piece of wood down, he took the marker and marked an intricate rectangular shape in the center where he wanted the trigger.

This was where the tricky part came in. Lincoln would have to chisel the rectangular piece that he drew into the wood out, without splintering the wood. If he splintered the wood, he could have to start off fresh and they only bought enough supplies to make three. He set off to work cutting out this rectangular piece, his tongue protruding from his mouth as he worked slowly.

Locke was seated at the bench grinder, grinding the metal to sharpen the blade that he had created. The shrill metal against metal sound caused him to wince, but he had to pay attention to what he was doing at the same time otherwise he was going to hurt himself. Sparks flew, and he was glad that he had been smart enough to wear the goggles before he started.

Lincoln grinned excitedly, taking a piece of sandpaper and smoothing the area out where he had cut the wood. The next step was to chisel out the groove where the string would be resting horizontally across the rectangular opening, and he took to the chisel and was just as gentle handed as before. After he was finished with that, he took sandpaper to that to smooth it down and then he had to make the groove that would hold the bolt. Taking his marker into his hand, marking the end of the wood the furthest away from the groove he created for the string, he placed a dot dead center. He then marked the end of the rectangular opening furthest from the grooves in the same fashion, then connected the dots with a solid straight line using a ruler.

Lincoln went to work carving out a 1/4th inch channel in the line that he had marked with a chisel, hammer, and drill. This took him approximately ten minutes because he wanted to be careful not to splinter the wood, and then when he was finished he smoothed the area down with sandpaper. He was grinning at his handiwork so far, looking over his shoulder to see what Locke was up to.

Locke had found a sharpener that he was using to sharpen the blade that he had created, giving Lincoln a thumbs up with a grin. Lincoln returned the thumbs up and turned back around in his seat, reaching for another piece of pinewood to make a grip for the crossbow. He made the grip approximately 8 inches long, and then he cut the piece of wood, taking wood glue and gluing it to the bottom of the stock. It was going to take some time for that to dry, so he decided to start making the bow with the PVC pipe while he waited. After the stock and grip had finished drying, he planned on finishing it off with wood varnish to protect it keep it nicer looking longer.

Lincoln used a hacksaw to cut the PVC pipe into 36 inches, making sure to mark it with a ruler to ensure that the length was accurate. Everything had to be precise in order for the power behind it to be detrimental. Using the same hacksaw, he cut small grooves on each end of the pipe just big enough to fit a small wood screw. Taking the pulleys into his hands, he attached them to either end of the PVC pipe using a wood screw in the grooves that he had created, and this is what the string will be fed through. He wrapped the wire ties around the pulley and the screw and tied it in a secure knot to make sure it wasn't going anywhere.

According to his written instructions, the attaching the nylon string was going to be the next challenge. It needed to be threaded through properly in order for the bow to shoot accurately, and he clapped his hands together before taking the nylon string into his hands. He tied one end of the string to the pulley on the left side of the PVC pipe, and then brought it through to the right side, threading it through and pulling it around the pulley. He then brought the string back to the left and wrapped it in and around that pulley, and then brought it back around to the right for a third time to finally wrap it around the wood screw. He tied it extra securely, using his teeth to pull tight on the string to make sure it was secure and taute. Now it was time for the big reveal to see if he had messed up on this and needed to start over again.

He pulled on the string to see if it would pull back and much to his satisfaction, the PVC pipe flexed as a bow should. Which meant he was going to be able to fire this crossbow soon. Excitement was about to burst through his chest as he ran over to Locke to show him.

"Dude, look!" He held it up and pulled on the string once again, showing Locke how the pipe flexed like a bow. Locke's eyes lit up. He held up the blade he had been working on, and the shape resembled a katana. It looked about as sharp as one too, and Lincoln's jaw dropped.

"That's incredible!"

"I know! We're so going to kick butt!" The two high fived and Lincoln ran back over to his table. Lincoln took the stock into his hands, reading his notes. Next he needed to create a groove for the pipe to rest in at the end of the stock. He did just so using a chisel, making sure there was enough space and that it was rounded enough for the pipe to rest in there snug. To ensure this, he cut a little bit out a time, checking to see if the pipe would fit. Once he could cram it in there without it going anywhere, he was satisfied.

Ripping off a piece of duct tape with his teeth, he wrapped it around the pipe and secured it to the end of the stock, using several layers of tape to make sure the pipe wasn't going anywhere. Scrutinizing his work, he saw how the firing string was on top of the wood while the other two were on the bottom, so they wouldn't interfere with the shots. This indicated he was on the right track, which was also why he had to make sure he wrapped the string around three times.

He drew back the firing string and notched it into the rectangular hole, and much to his excitement it stayed in place. He set that down and took the final piece of wood he was going to need to create the trigger system. This was the last and final step to creating the entire bow itself, and then he had to construct the bolts, which wouldn't take much time at all.

Lincoln wondered how Lily was coming along with the glow in the dark paint as he continued to work.

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