schmanman's trebuchet

[Specialist]

ya the treubect(sp?) looks like it just fits. what size wood did you use?

[schmanman]

2x4's. about $25 worth of materials. the only things we payed for were the wood, and the eye-bolts. we had the rest.

[jimmy101]

Looks like fun.

The sling looks pretty short. Have you done any experimenting with longer slings?

[schmanman]

well, I have it tuned to perfection for this sling length. if I bend the release pin on the arm, and lengthened the sling, I could get more distance out of it, but It throws far enough for now. I will change it next time I have it out.

[paaiyan]

OMIGOSH!!! It's beautiful! I've always wanted to build one. How long did it take you, and how much did it cost?

[Specialist]

um paaiyan he said it cost him $25 for wood and the rest he had so probably $30 for nuts, bolts, a small pack of screws or nails and wood.

[paaiyan]

Gah, I didn't see where he said that, oops. I'm totally going to build one, especially now that I'll have the money. Got a new job that's going to double my paycheck, so I'll have more money for fun things like this.

Oh and schman, is there a ratio you can use to calculate rope length and everything? I know that for every arm length there is an optimum rope length and hook angle for the release, is there a way to calculate that?

[dauphinoise potato]

Haha thats cool, you should make a mini castle and annihilate it's ass! hahah lol

[schmanman]

OMIGOSH!!! It's beautiful! I've always wanted to build one. How long did it take you, and how much did it cost?

thanks. I tried to keep the workmanship quality.


the arm ratio should be about 4/1 (counterweight on the smaller side) and keep on adding weight until you achieve the desired results.


the sling, to start out, should end right below the swing arm pivot.

the top should be a bit longer

tile the knots so they can be slid, so you can easily adjust the sling length


the pin, well, put it in straight, then bend it slightly in the direction you want to throw things. you can fiddle with it until it works.

(bend it with vice grips or pliers)


if you need any help pm me. I will be gone from tomorrow morning to Monday afternoon.

[paaiyan]

I see, so just toy with it some. I was just trying to figure out if there was some mathematical ratio for everything. I'll just build it and screw with it I suppose.

[schmanman]

welll, the arm ratio needs to be 4/1. or close to 4/1.

[origin unknown]

What would look good with it is to stain it a dark brownish color. Maybe even put some dents in it to make it look older than it actually is, and carve "Black Plague" in an old english style font. I built a small trebuchet out of pvc pipe, using a large rock as a counter-weight. It only flung a small rock about 20 feet.

Haha thats cool, you should make a mini castle and annihilate it's ass! hahah lol

In medieval warfare, killing the enemy's donkey doesn't yeild much of a result.

[schmanman]

hmmm...

I may do that.

[666lucky693]

thats awesome i am building a catapult but they are allot essayer and probally more powerful

[thespeedycicada]

Cool someone else who likes catapaults but ive only done torison spring types one ballista and one onager. You should stain it staining it makes a big difference in how good it looks but anyway very nice i should try trebuchets sometime.