How To Build A Trebuchet

Here are plans and pictures on how to build this medieval trebuchet. It is a siege engine that wreaked havoc in the middle ages and you can make this small 12 inch table top version with materials from around the house. Building this catapult-like weapon is easy and you can do it in a couple of hours. Without any tweaking or modifications this trebuchet launches a clay ball thirty feet. It is adjustable in several ways and you can build it to launch projectiles even further. Here is a quicktime movie of this Trebuchet firing off  Trebuchet Movie

The Little Dragon Trebuchet - This Trebuchet Build Plan will take you about two hours to complete. Here is a parts list for easy printing

What You Need

The Recommended Tools for this project

Hammer Saw Screwdriver Pliers (needlenose) Wood Glue File Scissors Drill and Bits Sandpaper Cutters for metal

Most of these tools are just recommended and you can vary the tools depending on what types of materials you use for this project. Here are some tips: Needle nose pliers are best for manipulating small parts but if you don't have any then any other type of pliers will be fine. The metal file shown in the center of the picture is recommended any time you work with metal - you should always file down cut metal so there are no sharp edges. The sandpaper shown is attached to a block; this makes sanding small parts easy and you should always sand every piece of wood you cut so there are no splinters.

Miscellaneous items needed to Make the Trebuchet

Heavy object (three different ones are shown on the far left) only 1 needed Small screws Small Nails 2 eyehooks wire or bread ties Electrical tape (or masking) 3 feet of string piece of cloth - 6 inches. Paints (optional) 1 sheet of cardpaper -similar to cereal box (shown under the paints)

About the miscellaneous materials: The counterweight is very important and you should find something as heavy as possible. I used a chinese healing ball for my trebuchet but you can use items found around the house like batteries taped together, penny rolls taped together, a lump of heavy clay or even a rock. Special Note: You will also need a metal bar for the cross piece. I will talk more about this a bit later.

Wood Needed for the Project

1 16 inch piece 2 12 inch pieces 2 10 inch pieces 3 5 inch pieces 1 square piece of flat wood about 5-6 inches

About the wood: The wood I used is about one inch by one half inch thick. You can be very flexible with this and use almost anything similar. You can cut strips of wood if you need to. The sheet of wood shown is important for strength and it is about one quarter inch thick but thinner would be ok.

Okay! This is everything you need to make this table top Medieval Siege Weapon. Let's start with the building instructions.

I lot of people are building this Trebuchet and I get a lot of email about it. One of the common questions is about my counterweight. Seeing as I use a solid metal Chinese Healing Ball it makes quite a difference and not everybody has these. So to get an idea of how much one of these balls weighs I made up a little scale and weighed the ball with pennies. It comes out to 147 pennies. This gives you a good idea of what to shoot for with your counter weight. If you use three rolls of pennies your weight is about the same as mine.

It was a kooky contraption I built but a nice little project: see the scale I made to weigh my counterweight

Lets continue on and start building this Trebuchet

Trebuchets Built By Web Visitors

Here is a great little trebuchet made out of popsicle sticks. This project was built and submitted by Tom Wilson. My thanks to Tom for this project. How to make a popsicle stick trebuchet

Some Trebuchet Building Tips from a Cub Scout Den Leader - Six of these trebuchets were built by a Den Leader and the scouts had a blast flinging grapes out of the school yard. He has some great tips on making this trebuchet and he also made a larger one by multiplying the dimensions by three. And he recommends using a lag bolt instead of the axle from a toy car, which is perfect because its strong and easy to find at any hardware store. Learn more and read his tips on making this treb successful

Is it possible to build this trebuchet successfully? It sure is! A web visitor has built one, and taken pictures. He has also made a nice little design improvement to it. His treb has a neat little locking bar so you can lock it in the ready position then pull the pin to fire it off. You can see pictures of his Trebuchet and his design improvement here.

Another great trebuchet project submitted by a web visitor. This treb is a big success and the builder has done some great research that will help you build an even better trebuchet! He also carefully explains the optimal weight ratio between the counterweight and the projectile Check it out here for some great tips and information

Here is a neat little project that somebody made (Adil). He made his trebuchet at half the size of the project here. And he did a little modification. Instead of using the long string and pouch he used a spoon to hold the projectile -- this is similar to how an Onager works. Nice work on this little trebuchet project -- it shows some good improvisation. He also made a little castle to assault with his siege engine and he created two videos that you can watch here Mini Trebuchet Project If you are having trouble with your trebuchet string and pouch these videos show a nice alternative. If you want to make a smaller one you should check this one out.

Here is another trebuchet that a web visitor built. It is by Gabe C. I call this one the Ferrari of Trebuchets because of the excellent custom paint job including flames! Gabe also made a couple of very nice improvements on my design that you might want to check out. Gabe C's Trebuchet

BOOKS

Want to build a bigger, better, more powerful or fancier siege engine? There are some great books available to you. These books, available at Amazon.com, will help take your trebuchet or catapult building to new heights! Pun intended!

The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery - Nice book that shows you how to build ten different catapult projects, moderate wood working and pvc piping kind of stuff. Good book with complete instructions and materials lists.

Buy from Amazon.com: The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery

Backyard Ballistics: Build Potato Cannons, Paper Match Rockets, Cincinnati Fire Kites, Tennis Ball Mortars, and More Dynamite Devices Want to get a little more creative? This book is off the hook!

Buy From Amazon.com Backyard Ballistics: Build Potato Cannons, Paper Match Rockets, Cincinnati Fire Kites, Tennis Ball Mortars, and More Dynamite Devices

Whoosh Boom Splat: The Garage Warrior's Guide to Building Projectile Shooters

These are the homemade machines that you've dreamed of building, from the high-voltage Night Lighter 36 spud gun to the Jam Jar Jet, the Marshmallow Shooter, and the Yagua Blowgun. Including detailed diagrams and supply lists, Gurstelle's simple, step-by-step instructions help workshop warriors at any skill level achieve impressively powerful results.

Adventures from the Technology Underground: Catapults, Pulsejets, Rail Guns, Flamethrowers, Tesla Coils, Air Cannons, and the Garage Warriors Who Love Them

Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things: How to Turn a Penny into a Radio, Make a Flood Alarm with an Aspirin, Change Milk into Plastic, Extract Water and Electricity ... a TV with Your Ring, and Other Amazing Feats

Gonzo Gizmos: Projects & Devices to Channel Your Inner Geek - It's possible to use optics to roast a hot dog without electricity or a stove; to make a simple radio with just an iron, a few basic circuits and three shiny pennies; and to assemble a simple steam-powered boat with a plastic bottle, a candle, copper tubing and a nail. Of course, only die-hard science nerds would attempt these projects.

Siege Engine Kits and Projects

Catapults and Siege Engines

Working Wood Catapult DIY Kit, 6

Catapult

• Item is hand-painted
• It has a moving catapult arm and is fully functional
• Made of vinyl plastic
• Simulated wood construction
• The sizes have been matched to the Schleich knights' figures

LEGO® Castle King's Castle Siege - From this mighty Castle, the good King rules over all he surveys - Help him defend the kingdom against the skeleton warriors and their mighty dragon! Firing catapult flings boulders at evil attackers, and moveable walls within the castle help keep the knights safe Moveable walls for multiple build and play scenarios, working drawbridge, firing catapults and oulders and Knock-Down bridge --Includes heroic king and knights, skeleton warriors and constructible dragon --974 Pieces

The Desktop Onager: An Awesome all Wood and Twine War Machine

This awesome little machine is the perfect desktop item to enforce the peace in your cubicle or dorm room. It really works!
This all wood and twine machine has no metal parts! Find out how the ancients were able to use nothing but wood and ropes to build machines that could hurl heavy stones great distances.
Simple and easy to build. This kit includes everything you need except for glue and a few simple tools like scissors, sandpaper, a file (a utility knife would be helpful too) and about two or three hours of your time from start to finish.
Designed and made in the USA for better quality, better performance!

Catapult Game

Battleground: Crossbows and Catapults War Chest Starter Set

Build your fortress and position your weapons to protect your kingdom. Battleground is the game that puts you in the heart of the battle between knights and orcs. The War Chest unleashes the epic battle right into your home. Includes castles, crossbows, cannons, figures, building bricks and more -- 80 pieces in all ; Read the great reviews about this game.

What good is a catapult if you don't have a castle to attack!

I have another project you might like. It is the Paper Castle and it has everything you could want in a castle making project including all the art work you can download. You just follow the instructions and make it yourself with some glue and cereal boxes. Build a Paper and Cardboard Castle It also has a learning sheet that helps to learn about castles when you are building it.

If you are looking for something easier to make you might want to try my project on making a popsicle stick catapult. Fast, easy and fun project! Goes great with the paper medieval castle. Make a popsicle stick catapult

Storm The Castle Catapult Game - Build a Popsicle stick catapult and hurl paper balls at the castle. How to make the Game and the catapult are here

This is a Storm The Castle Project

Table of Contents for this 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
10. Weighing the counterweights
11. Johns Engineering info about Trebuchets
12. Koji's Locking mechanism
13. Adil's mini Trebuchet
14. Gabe's Ferrari of Trebuchets
15. Trebuchet Videos