What is the best ratio for a trebuchet?
General advice is that the optimal ratio is 133:1. A golf ball projectile (1.62 oz) should fire best with 13.46 lbs of counterweight – and a 14 lb bowling ball should have 1862 lbs pulling on the other side of the arm to reach maximum distance.
Is it legal to build a trebuchet?
It is legal to build one and fire it, so long as the ammo lands on my own property, where I live.
How do you make an easy trebuchet?
Take five popsicle sticks and cut one of them in half. Use two long pieces and one half-piece to form an “A” but make sure you cross the long pieces slightly at the top to form a miniature “V” shape. This will leave a small notch for the pencil to rest in later. Glue them together and repeat with the other pieces.
What is the best trebuchet design?
The optimal trebuchet design is one that launches the payload the farthest horizontal distance. This makes sense intuitively since range is a key factor when staging an attack on an enemy.
How long should a sling be on a trebuchet?
The length of the long arm of the beam (on the payload side) is 3.75 times the length of the short arm of the beam (on the counterweight side). The length of the sling is equal to the length of the long arm of the beam (on the payload side).
Is a catapult or trebuchet more accurate?
Because “catapult” covers a fairly wide range of machines, it’s accurate to say that trebuchets have a longer range than a catapult when projecting stones at fortifications. When it comes to the maximum range of any catapult, ever, catapults definitely have trebuchets beat.
Are trebuchets legal in the US?
Constructing a small catapult for use in your kitchen or back yard appears to be pretty simple. And there are no laws prohibiting the construction of catapults. (Unless you’re violating particular zoning laws, local ordinances, or homeowners’ agreements.)
Could a trebuchet destroy a tank?
With a sufficiently large trebuchet, you could launch a projectile large enough (500+kg) to break a tank. You probably wouldn’t stop it or render it’s crew immobile, but you might break the main gun or turret, or some other hardware mounted on the outside.
Are trebuchets accurate?
Put simply, a trebuchet could never hit the exact same spot twice no matter how good its operating team was. Admittedly it still was quite accutate and quite an effective weapon during a siege. Some trebuchets teams were so good they could breach a wall or get in under an hour.
How many pieces do you need to make a trebuchet?
For an outdoor trebuchet, you can use 2 x 4-inch (5 x 10 cm) planking. You’ll need to cut 8 pieces: Two long base pieces. For a small trebuchet, you may want to make them 1 foot (30 cm) long; for a larger trebuchet, they can be longer. Two uprights.
Is there a trebuchet with a pivot point under 4 feet?
We are in a high school engineering program and we propose to build the best trebuchet with a pivot point under four feet the world has already seen. We will work on this project for about a month. We will build, test, evaluate, refine and continue to make it better.
How do you make a trebuchet out of wedges?
Take two 28” lengths of wedge moulding, and center the pieces on the trebuchet base so they slope together and create a track for the projectile. Pre-drill and secure in place with 1 1/4” screws. Measure 1 1/4” in from the end of the remaining 28” two-by-three, center your drill bit, and drill a 3/8” hole. The counterweights will mount here later.
What is the counterweight of a trebuchet?
(Medieval trebuchets launched not only rocks, but also chunks of burning pitch and dead horse carcasses, a Middle Ages form of chemical warfare.) Whatever you decide you want to launch with your trebuchet, your counterweight should be from 100 to 133 times the weight of your projectile.