How To Build A Trebuchet

Arrived at this webpage from a search engine? Go to the beginning of this tutorial here: How to Build a Trebuchet

Assemble the swinging arm
Take your sixteen inch piece of wood and insert a hoop hook in one end then make three marks. One three inches from the end, one four inches, and one five inches. Drill these as holes. Drill these holes just a little bit bigger than the metal bar you are using. You should be able to easily insert the metal bar and swing the wood around it smoothly.
In the other end of the sixteen inch piece insert another hook loop as shown and also insert a nail into the end of the piece. It should be at a slight angle. After inserting the nail cut the head off or file it down. You will make a loop that has to slide easily off this so if it ihas a head it might get stuck.
Run your metal bar through one upright of the trebuchet then run it through your swing arm and finally run it right into the other side of the trebuchet. Important: The hookloop at the far end of the arm (yu cant see it here) should be on the bottom of the arm. Insure the trebuchet arm swings easily with no wobble and very little friction. It should swing nice and free.
Make your counterweight Tape up your counterweight. You can use almost anything heavy but not too big, AA batteries, a stone or some other item.like rolls of pennies. If you are having trouble with this you can always just wrap a bunch of metal objects or coins in a plastic bag- it will work just fine. Keep the overall size of the counterweight to about the size of a tennis ball or smaller. Now just tape your twist ties or wire to your counterweight and then loop it through the loop in the swing arm and the counterweight is ready. I made a twist tie loop and attached it to the ball. Then using a second twist tie I ran it though that and then though the loop on the swing arm then twisted it firmly,
We are almost done Now finish it up

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.

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