Fletching - Making Crossbows

Crossbows, unlike bows, are composed of both wood and metal, so to complete a crossbow you will need the metal limbs, which require various Smithing levels.

To make a crossbow, you must use your knife on a set of logs. You can make a crossbow stock from any kind of logs except for magic logs; the dwarves who developed crossbow technology don't trust magic at the best of times, though there are rumours that the humans of the Ranging Guild are working on their own design. When the Fletching menu appears, you can choose to make a crossbow stock. Clicking on the stock will make a stock, which will replace the set of logs that were used during the Fletching process.

Note: If you want to make several of the same object, simply right-click and select the number you wish to produce from the list shown.

For full information about crossbows and bolts, click here to see Ranged - Crossbows and Bolts.


Once you have your stock, you will need the appropriate limbs to attach. As each type of metal has a certain weight and flexibility, the type of metal is determined by the wood you have used for the stock. Other combinations will not work.

Stock	Limbs
Wood	Bronze
Oak	Blurite*
Willow	Iron
Teak	Steel
Maple	Mithril
Mahogany	Adamantite
Yew	Runite

^* You will not be able to make a blurite crossbow until you have completed The Knight's Sword quest.


Now it is time to string your crossbow. If you have achieved a Cooking level of 1 and a Crafting level of 10, then you will be able to create your own crossbow strings.

For information on how to make crossbow strings, please see the Cooking and Crafting sections of the manual.

If you do not have enough experience to craft your own crossbow strings, you will need to find someone skilled enough to make them for you.

Once you have a crossbow string, use it on your unstrung crossbow to complete the crossbow.

Below is a table of each crossbow type with the Fletching level required to make them:

Crossbow	Required Level	Experience Gained (Stock)	Experience Gained (Adding Limbs)	Experience Gained (For Stringing)	Experience Gained (Completed)
Bronze	9	6	12	6	24
Blurite	24	16	32	16	64
Iron	39	22	44	22	88
Steel	46	27	54	27	108
Mithril	54	32	64	32	128
Adamantite	61	41	82	41	164
Runite	69	50	100	50	200

Click here to view the Fletching FAQs

More articles in Fletching (Members Only) Fletching - Making Bows Fletching - Making Darts Fletching - Making Crossbows Fletching - Making Bolts Fletching - Extra Features

Further Help Need more help? Come chat with us! Discord