i built one of these and its so strong i have to have a boat trailer wench to cock it back. using sisal rope as well for springs. the key is in the setup for tightening the skeins. i found some awesome round steel plates in the electrical section of my local home depot. forget what they are really for... but i welded 1/2 pipe to 4 and screwed the other 4 on the holes in the head of the machine. makes it easy to get extremely high tension on the rope. good luck. and dont aim at your neighbors!
@RyuRiku I used sisal for these springs which is probably similar to what was used in ancient times. The drawback is that it isn't very strong and frays easily. Interestingly it contracts with moisture so if you need more power, you can just wet it.
Lots of balistae nowadays use modern rope like nylon or polypropylene which have more elasticity. Though I haven't tried it myself, I'd recommend nylon because it's strong, cheap and not TOO elastic.
@check86 Thank you. I tried just some cheap random rope before, and it snapped before there was any power. So I wanted to know what rope I could use best before I were spending all my mony on iuseless materials.
it wasn't that great; only about 10-15 meters. The main issue was the type of rope that i used + how many windings I got around the swinging arms. If I ever get around to fixing it, I'd replace the rope with something synthetic and increase the number of windings.
is not necesary the rope to shoot. if the system is good, the machine would work good. i make a ballista, but more litle, 40 cm, and the shooting system works good without a rope.
i built one of these and its so strong i have to have a boat trailer wench to cock it back. using sisal rope as well for springs. the key is in the setup for tightening the skeins. i found some awesome round steel plates in the electrical section of my local home depot. forget what they are really for... but i welded 1/2 pipe to 4 and screwed the other 4 on the holes in the head of the machine. makes it easy to get extremely high tension on the rope. good luck. and dont aim at your neighbors!
fakiir 1 year ago
Hey, I want to make a ballista to, but i were wondering what kind of rope is best for the 'springs'
Any sugestions?
RyuRiku 1 year ago
@RyuRiku I used sisal for these springs which is probably similar to what was used in ancient times. The drawback is that it isn't very strong and frays easily. Interestingly it contracts with moisture so if you need more power, you can just wet it.
Lots of balistae nowadays use modern rope like nylon or polypropylene which have more elasticity. Though I haven't tried it myself, I'd recommend nylon because it's strong, cheap and not TOO elastic.
check86 1 year ago
@check86 Thank you. I tried just some cheap random rope before, and it snapped before there was any power. So I wanted to know what rope I could use best before I were spending all my mony on iuseless materials.
I'll try nylon.
RyuRiku 1 year ago
the last cross bow i made snapped in half and whipped me in the face
boodle7878 3 years ago
my balista is about the same size, shoots a 4ft spear about 200ft. it broke from shooting.
vaxeh 4 years ago
hey wads the range of the bolt shot?
bangalaheng 4 years ago
it wasn't that great; only about 10-15 meters. The main issue was the type of rope that i used + how many windings I got around the swinging arms. If I ever get around to fixing it, I'd replace the rope with something synthetic and increase the number of windings.
check86 4 years ago
is not necesary the rope to shoot. if the system is good, the machine would work good. i make a ballista, but more litle, 40 cm, and the shooting system works good without a rope.
SergiFranqueza 4 years ago 2