"Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapultas habebunt."
("When catapults are outlawed, only outlaws will have catapults.")
"Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem
mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam"
(I have a catapult. Give me all your money, or I will fling an enormous
rock at your head.)
(With about 15 pounds of Counter Weight mass, the TBT hurls tennis balls about
40 yards and golf balls about 60 yards.)
First of all, this site is
intended primarily for 'newbies' to the Trebuchet scene, and secundus...
WARNING!
One of the first things a newbie
Trebuchet builder learns is that these machines can pack a lot of punch!
Never mind that you've just hurled a bowling ball through your neighbors
greenhouse, don't neglect to notice that the sling is still whipping around
pretty good and the Counter Weight (CW) is still fairly energetic and perfectly
capable of knocking you on your butt (possibly crushing your pelvis in
the process.) I am NOT going to give you tons of warnings about where
you shouldn't stick your fingers. If your willing to take on the project
of building a Trebuchet let us assume (for what that's worth!) that you
know enough to keep yourself and others from being injured and well as
keeping any property from being damaged. It is considered polite to replace
your divots also. Keep in mind that Trebuchets have the potential
to fire almost as far backwards as forwards and that a shot straight up
HAS to come down somewhere, possibly where your standing? It has
happened before, it will happen again, so try to avoid it by doing your
research, noting what has failed in the past, what does work, etc.
Trebuchets can be very powerful, but...
Knowledge rules!
Disclaimer
A Trebuchet can cause injury,
death and/or damage to property, either through construction, operation,
misuse, component failure, errant (or deliberate) aiming, impact of payload,
etc. I assume NO responsibility for any use of the material contained
herein, including but not limited to any software accessed from or through
this site. Anyone who uses any of the information herein is solely
responsible for its use and the consequences thereof. The host of
this site, nor any of its affiliates shall be held liable for the information
contained herein.
I strongly suggest that if you have questions concerning Trebuchets in general,
that you check out the "Catapult Message Board". There you will find many people who have a lot of experience with Trebuchets, as well as other types of catapults,
at many different scales, from tiny class room models to big brutes capable of hurling cars! You can get there by first going to
The Hurl and clicking
on the "Forums" link from there. Be sure to check out the full site, as there are a lot of resources available.
and FAT/F2K
Trebuchet Simulators
programs.