Table Top Trebuchet

[gandolph44]

if anyone wants to build a trebuchet you should know that if you put wheels on the bottom it throws objects farther

[ammrocha]

Congratulations! Thanks for posting this video. It´s very useful for science teaching. Very good!

[rabaduej]

that is really cool. i am making a big one for physics class. it is about 7 feet tall to the fulcrum. im going to have about 150 to 200 pounds in it. the throwing arm is 12 feet long with the long end being about 8 feet. i was wondering how big/long to make the sling. do i make it as big as the long part of the arm or is yours like that because it is small.

[jchang911]

awesome, approximately how far do you think it would throw a tennis ball? cuz that's what my science project has to do.

[FrekinGino]

hey i watched ur video and we did that same thing in school but in a different design ours used heavy washers instead of ur weight and we had 2 places to put the weights soo then the closer it was to the middle, the farther it went,and the farther it is, the higher it went we used basicly the same desgins as you did (not EXACTLY the same)

[anchovyx3]

HI

I watched your video!

How far does the table trebuchet go??

Would adding a pulley along with the counterweight make it go further?

I am doing a class project and the requirement is 12m. So I would like to go more than 12 m incase.

[cody56879]

When loaded how long and how high is it?

[awilhelm12]

does the arm that holds the sling need to be elastic? I have a trebuchet in the making and I'm contemplating how to make a proper sling without the projectile staying in the sling...

[AlanRGarber]

Its not that i cant build the trebuchet..its that i get so confuse on were to put the release point or wat i should use. Have any suggestions?

[potatofarmer8]

Multiplied your measurements by 4 to make a killer trebuchet, still in the making but thanks for the plans.

[SouljaRapper]

good trebuchet

thx

[crazygodsbarrage]

i built 1 but the counterweight is really heavy and i cant pull bak the arm does the winding thingy help?

[BlackSKull8]

Do you think it would be possible to build a trebuchet that would launch water balloons? That is what I am going to try and find out for my science fair. The only factor I am worried about and considering is that the water balloon might simply pop the moment too much force is applied to it.

[Gary4114]

Hi 'Skull --

Water balloons should work just fine because there is no slamming pressure or force with a trebby -- unlike a catapult that has an arm that comes to an instant stop while the projectal SP continues on.

The science is all in the size of the arm and the weight of the bucket of rocks, etc.

I would think you need to make one about 7 feet high to pitch water balloons.

El Capitán -- Segovia Spain

[WootMapler]

yup, its been done before. I'm sure there's something on YouTube 'bout it.

[cardioheart]

wait.... is it possible to shoot a tennis ball with this???

[WootMapler]

yes.

[drek253]

how do u figure out the counter weight and does it affect the accuracy and distance it flys

[daregularperson]

The counterweight doesn't matter as much for the accuracy so much as the power. The trebuchet, if built correctly, is accurate in itself.

What is crucial, though, in getting it to fire correctly is in the release pin at the tip of the arm, and getting the arm to release the ball at a 45 degree angle.

@snipakid19

I made one of these as a high school project out of steel, so I'm sure one made of wood wouldn't take but a few afternoons.

[WootMapler]

the counterweight should be atleast 80 times heavier than the object your slinging.

[GoRiLLaBisquits]

1:40

Sorry this is just a reference for my project. I'll need to remember those labels.

[TehCybernerd]

Ah yes, treh-byu-SHAY is how you pronounce it. At least that's assuming it's of french origin. Not "tree-bucket", "tray-bucket", "tre-but-chet", or "tre-bu-shet", all of which i've heard it pronounced as. Well, i've always pronounced it as they do in this video, like the narrator of Age of Empires.

[snipakid19]

i have 2 weeks to build one of these for my science class do you think i can get it done by then?

[Bluritey5000]

buildin a trebuchet is on my list of at-home projects

[lightsaberhappyfreak]

interesting... but how do you improve accucracy or just aim with it?

[roganisafag]

activate auto-aim in game settings

[freelancerT]

Several benefit of a wheeled trebuchet:

1) reduces stress on the frame when firing (otherwise frame must essentially absorb force ~=the inertia of the launched projectile after firing)

2)adds some force--yes, some is transferred to moving teh launcher backwards, but a signifcant amount goes to the projectile

3)facilitates transport and aiming

[SteveSkatesCrummy]

to finish my last post..

I havnt seen it in slow motion, but I would imagine that the trebuchet, upon release of the 'firing pin' would begin its energy transfer and throw, and as the prior-to-being-propelled object reached 90 degrees, the wheels would allow it to move back slightly, adding a little oomph to the throw.

[marsiozo]

amazing...at leaszt those medieval weapons had some dignity in handling them, didnt they? way more honourable to die, i Guess from a trebuchet or an arrow than from an automatic gun ? well...a lot slower and more painful also...;D

[LightWaveFayah]

omg i never knew trebuchet was pronounced like that. i always pronounced it like "tree-bucket"

[KC0TCH]

wheels make the machine move back and fourth similar to how a baseball pitcher wil step forward as he/she throws. in midevil times armies would throw rocks for destruction or even lepers,dead animals or dead people to act as biological warfare today some groups use these to throw pumpkins in contests.

[cowmaniac12]

WE made these in school last year as a prodgect mine got 2# in legth of shooting a golfball

[ChrisXCXCX]

amazing

[SHUNT311]

this guy knows his stuff...

[brian777999]

probably only illegal if you start using dead horses and human heads as ammunition ! if you put wheels on it,this increases the throwning distance by about 30 %

[b7i7l7l7y7]

30% you say? But what about Newton's Third law of motion. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So adding wheels will most likely send your trebuchet "backwards" or opposite of the direction that the object was thrown. If I am wrong please correct me.

[brian777999]

the wheels definitely increase the throwing force.There have been a few documentaries on television about it. it is better if you can watch it happen in slow motion and it becomes quite obvious how this is achieved.

[b7i7l7l7y7]

I guess but on paper I think that the extra energy created would be wasted on moving the trebuchet backwards.

[desiredusername]

You are right, but irrelevant. The mass of the projectile is tiny compared to the falling weight on the trebuchet. And that weight is moving *backwards* when the projectile is launched, which means the projectile gets an extra *forward* push.

[CapitolS41]

They're probably not going to be illegal if you build a small one. As soon as it got too big you might get complaints. Also would depend what you're shooting and what your target is...

[dz23151]

is trebuchets legal? in california?

[EliasGriffin]

Do yall build these alot? If so you could sell them to people in the SCA for a nice chunk of change. Thanks for the plans to make one I am going to make me one and see if it works.

[ShitakeMushrooms]

This video is great! It really helped me out with my trebuchet project I had to do for science! Thanks!

[loveyy]

haha thanks, this really helped me as well!