How to Build your own Trebuchet
(with a Whole lot of Twine)
Capital of Nasty Electronic Magazine
Monday, December 6, 2004 (715/697)
ISSN 1482-0471
By Rolo
With the end of summer drawing near there are a few traditions that we all partake in. For some it is simply a change of season, for others it is a return to school.
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For those of you who do not know what a Trebuchet is, it is simply a more advanced version of a catapult. A catapult is a large wooden mechanism that quite literally "catapults" a large object over a fairly large distance. Generally the large object is a projectile or missile of some type. I.e.: a rock, cantaloupe, or a Mini Cooper.
The basic catapult generally is comprised of a simple wooden frame with a long throwing arm. The arm uses the kinetic energy stored through tension (like a crossbow) or through torsion (using twisted ropes). In a trebuchet the arm is powered by gravity, using a heavy counterweight on the other end.
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Okay, history/science lesson is now over.
The idea to build a catapult was born after breakfast. We were simply not content to settle for a slingshot. We just had to build a siege engine. It helped us greatly that our friends cottage was situated on one hundred acres of tree farm land. Thus there were several tree trunks lying around after the spring cutting.
No power tools, nails or nuts and bolts were used in the construction of the Trebuchet. At our disposal we only had one Swiss Army knife, a pocket chainsaw (then later a hand saw) along with a broken survival knife. Instead of getting a quantity of bulk rope,
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After about six hours of gathering, sawing, building, lashing, and more lashing, we had a ten-foot tall siege engine to call our very own. Sadly we had to scrap the idea of using a sling because of a power line over the site. For the counterweight we used a handy tree stump wrapped in heavy gauge chain. The counterweight was then lashed to the arm using an even larger amount of twine! We then lashed a fruit basket to the other end and tied the arm to the ground with more twine and a stake. With all that done she was ready to fire.
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The results of the first test firing were no less than spectacular with the trebuchet working fantastically... then collapsed in a heap of wood and twine. There was sheer silence across the battlefield, almost shock at the fact that we actually created (briefly) a working trebuchet. The football was found about thirty yards away, and ironically, every single piece of twine held. Only the smaller members of the trebuchet snapped under the strain. All told, it was worth the experience.
Next summer we'll probably build a Twine Ballista...
Rolo thoroughly enjoys building Ancient Weapons of Mass Destruction and hopes to start an ancient arms race.
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Comments
52 comments found
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When building a twine trebuchet, don't forget to brace both sides, not just the left side...
your website realy sucks
realy realy.
Day 1 of 2005 and we have just proven (as we do time and time again) that there are still stupid people in this world.
we have to build a siege engine (smaller than the one yall made)and i was wondering if you could give me a blue prints or materials that i need anything is helpful!!!!!!!!!! you can e-mail me at thanks
la_chica_01@hotmail.com
this site is crap
I agree. This website sux.
Hey thanks for your constructive criticism. Idiot.
We had to build mini trebuchets for school and this website really helped. Just looking at the pictures helped. Thanks
Thank you!
I'm so glad there are still a few decent and intelligent people that can understand pictures! Hope it was fun.
Rolo
I'm just glad there are still people in this world intelligent enough to shove a stick verticly in the ground, and have it stay there. letalone build a ten foot working catapult. good job!
fuck this website
I'm just glad there are still people in this world intelligent enough to shove a stick verticly in the ground, and have it stay there. letalone build a ten foot working catapult. good job!
You'd be surprised when it comes to practical application of intelligence...
Considering that its far easier to post unintelligent, negative or sarcastic comments while vegetating in front of a computer.
Than to understand the basics of say...physics, construction, and gravity and apply them in one casual afternoon with a bit of twine, a pocket saw and abit of wood.
Damn straight. 995,000 years of evolution (give or take a week) 5000 years of a poor experiment called society and now it looks like the next evoloutionary step is a ball of lard w/ one finger to push a button... but this has nothing to do w/ old school weapons of war. Building a home trebuchet is quite a feat.
this is the worst website ive every been on yours faithfully gareth lundy
this has to be one of the worst websites i av been lv u lots dav xxxxxxxxxxx
my dad gets turned on by small boys in leather
and also boys in pink 2-2s and leather suspenders woohoo
DO YOU KNOW HOW TO BUILD A MINI CATAPULT????????????????????????????????????
this site is cool i made one the other day............. and it worked!
Awesome. Hopefully this year we really will try and make another war engine. Perhaps a ballista.
As for the other comment:
DO YOU KNOW HOW TO BUILD A MINI CATAPULT????????????????????????????????????
Same as above, only smaller. With less twine. Without Capslock or stuck "?" keys.
realy realy cheap and sad trebuchet
n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n
Rolo, this is seriously cool!
When it's time to storm the castle, I'm calling you.
HEY IM DOING THE SAME TYPE OF THING. eXCEPT LARGER. iM 14 and IN THE boy scouts so i had to come up with something to impress over 400 kids at a campout. So I thought, hey ive been building these trebuchets for a year now, why not move on and build a giant. So my plans are set, ive made over 30 drawings of all my plans, and types of lashings(with rope not twine). The stats of th treb are - height to tip 24 ft. Counter weight- steel drum with barbells(160lbs). Maxium throwing distance 450 feet. That should impress those dang kids. Hey if you want to see some of my other trebs. just email me at mattyschell@hotmail.com
fuck off fuck off fuck off fuck off fuck off fuck offfuck offfuck off fuck offfuck offfuck offvfuck offfuck offfuck offfuck offfuck off fuck offv
undefinedundefinedyea ur website sucks n it's a waste of time...i could beat u in a playto tossing tournament
this site really sux
this site really sux
Received: 19 May 2005
X-Session-Host: ce590.eu.dodea.edu X-Client-Host: ce590.eu.dodea.edu ce590.eu.dodea.edu has address 204.218.244.11
Nice try idiot. For any other fool who wants to post another "this website sux" I'll be doing the same.
This website sux. its useless i tried to build one and it suckec this site is useless
your Trebuchet sucks so much i made one in my wood shop class and its all ready better than your piss of crap thing you call a Trebuchet, you should make a bigger one and show that, not some kind of piss of shit, get 2 by 4's and fucking build a kick ass Trebuchet like fuck you guys suck
By: me myself and you suck Time: May 25, 2005 8:49 PM CDT/CEST 3933 your Trebuchet sucks so much i made one in my wood shop class and its all ready better than your piss of crap thing you call a Trebuchet, you should make a bigger one and show that, not some kind of piss of shit, get 2 by 4's and fucking build a kick ass Trebuchet like fuck you guys suck
Hey thanks for you unconstructive and unintelligent post!
X-Session-Host: ares.tdsb.on.ca X-Client-Host: ares.tdsb.on.ca
The Toronto District School Board has been informed of your misuse of educational equipment. :)
Rolo
This website sux. its useless i tried to build one and it suckec this site is
useless
Not as useless as you think. As for you trying to build one. It just shows what you're capable of. Looks like evolution has failed.
X-Session-Host: px10wh.vc.shawcable.net
X-Client-Host: px10wh.vc.shawcable.net
Rolo
This isn't that bad of a site. People talk big, but let's see them make a better site.
You must have put a lot of time into make the trebuchet. It looks good by the way. Your website also looks very good.( Better than i could do) Dont worry about all those people who dont like your site or machine they dont know what they are talking about. i know how hard it is to make a website and it is hard but thanks for the pictures to help me build my own trebuchet. thanks again,
buger
Your Trebuchet was utter bullshit. At school we had to make a trebuchet in as litlle as 2 lessons. Ours was 18 iches tall and fired a friggin 110 feet, constructed of bolster wood.
this website just excited me ive always liked building...
...and i love medieeval weapons and castles
Your Trebuchet was utter bullshit. At school we had to make a trebuchet in as
litlle as 2 lessons. Ours was 18 iches tall and fired a friggin 110 feet, constructed of bolster wood.
Thats nice Scooter, do you have issues with your penis size as well? Obviously you do from the above statement.
The difference here is the word "HAD". You HAD to be taught how to build a trebuchet otherwise you probably wouldn't have been able to spell the word correctly, much less the word "little".
Just like my name sugests . This website is totally crap.
Even in my college i build a trebuchet and its 100x better than this. And it doesnt break.
Change your website. Its crap.
(iplog -<>- (proxied))
"Just like my name sugests . This website is totally crap.
Even in my college i build a trebuchet and its 100x better than this. And it doesnt break.
Change your website. Its crap.
(iplog -<>- (proxied))"
Yay! You just proved how ridiculously pathetic you are. Congradulations! Not only was a quality college education wasted on the likes of you, (the fact that you had to learn in COLLEGE what a trebuchet is) but you went through all the trouble to proxy yourself to hide your identity.
Good job idiot.
ahhahha
your heaps funny. This is fucked up forum and your worrying about your spelling you retarted turkey.
Ciao.
Yay! You just proved how ridiculously pathetic you are. Congradulations! Not only was a quality college education wasted on the likes of you, (the fact that you had to learn in COLLEGE what a trebuchet is) but you went through all the trouble to proxy yourself to hide your identity.
"The person who cant even spell "Sucks" lol
Cant spell Congratulations. good work spell with a "D"
Yeah man i learned in college what a trebuchet is. Pathetic fuck. What identity do i hide. Only to prevent beeing banned from this forum so i can add more random lies which please people like you into enrage.
Ciao
...Sure. Now run along and play.
Only to prevent beeing banned from this forum so i can add more random lies which please people like you into enrage.
By the way that last was a bit of a run on sentence, and perhaps you mistook "enrage" (rage actually) for raging laughter at the silly drivel you wrote.
Really, who's more pathetic? The author who is responding to a comment, or the fool (Note: this is referring to you) who first posts a unless and unproductive comment then posted another in response?
your pathetic.
If you think your number one and best dont bother to reply to my useless comments which i just put to annoy fucktarts like you.
go home noob
If you think your number one and best dont bother to reply to my useless comments which i just put to annoy fucktarts like you
It's pretty sad that this kid--who from what he writes had to learn to build a trebuchet from school instead of coming up with the ability to build his own, out of the whim like you guys did, in a field--needs to sit here and insult others.
It's like those guys that soup up their Honda Civic, and run around making fun of other people's cars. It's still an Honda that now is painted bright green, has "funky" stuff hooked up to it and sounds like it has a broken muffler.
Both people--and especially the kid who posts behind a proxy--are those people that have pretty small dicks. Their only satisfaction is that to insult others in order to make themselves feel better. Kind of a sad existance that they lead.
By the way, I can see this trebuchet in the photos. It's pretty impressive. You guys seem to only be able to say "lol your trebuchet suxors!" (because every good idiot has to spell like one, I suppose) but you don't actually put a link to your piece of work.
Probably because it doesn't even exist.
Yes, yes, I know, you'll write back something really creative and insulting. Yawn.
Sandra
yo nigga dat shit is fly as fuck, i got some beef im makin a mini me type one in my garage, nayhem sayin, holla back playa one
undefinedundefinedfancy wasting the whole summer tieing wood with string learn how to build one properly
not bad, i liked how u made it out of twine and whatever you could find around the place
funny how it fell apart though
good luck next time
I am going to scout camp next week and we are building a catapult. Your page has been inspiring to me and i hope the one we build will at least stay together to get that first shot in. :-) Thanks for helping me with your site and pictures.
Yeah, good luck with your next project!
i reckon u guys were really cool building it and i hope that your 'other' experiments work out fine. good try but better luck next time
good joib but why the hell did you make itlike that dood it sucs
i am also making a trebuchet with a friend. whe are almost finished. Lets hope that it works.
Hi people