The Ferrari of Trebuchets

This is a great trebuchet that a web visitor built and he (Gabe C.) submitted the pictures to me. I had to put them on my website so you could see. There are a couple of really nice modifications that Gabe made and he also added a fantastic custom paint job complete with flames!! I love it. This trebuchet shows what a little bit of ingenuity can produce and it also shows that you can turn your wooden machine of war into a piece of art too!!

Gabe used the front hub from a bicycle wheel for his pivot and he says that it really works great. This is because it makes a really nice and friction free pivot. I describe how to do this in another of my tutorials on making a trebuchet here: The Bicycle Wheel Trebuchet

You can see the little orange wooden beads that he uses as projectiles and he mounted pegs on the treb to hold them.

He carefully weighed his counter weight so it would be 133 to1 in weight compared to the projectile. This is the formula for optimal performance of a trebuchet and he said that after doing testing he verified that the formula and ratio was right. If you want to learn more about the formula and science of the treb I have some good information about it here: John's Trebuchet Project

He made a really terrific modification to the construction of his trebuchet and you might consider doing this too! He put the three cross pieces under the trebuchet rather than on top. This gives the counterweight more room to swing.

He had a little trouble with the sling but finally created his own sling that works perfectly every time. You can see it pretty well in the pictures

He used a "Boules" ball for his counterweight and it weighs 870 grams and gives the treb quite a kick. and he still needs the ball to play boules so he made an easily removable pouch connected by a strong key ring to attach the ball to the trebuchet.

All In all this thing is just fantastic and I want to give Gabe a big thanks for submitting the pictures and the information to this website. Thanks Gabe!!

Here are more Pictures of his trebuchet:

This is a Storm The Castle Project

Table of Contents for the Trebuchet Making tutorial

1. Materials/Tools
2. Assemble the sides
3. Assemble the base
4. Make and attach the swing arm and counterweight
5. The stringpouch and the runway
6. Finish and fire it!
7. Trebuchet video (quicktime MOV)
8. Books/Buy
9. Free Trebuchet Plan

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