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Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

Every dad wants to be the invincible dad in the eyes of his son, and as an invincible dad, he must have a few decent treasures so that his son can show off to his friends. Look at the simple trebuchet I made, it’s powerful enough! Do you want to make one too? I guarantee that your image in your son’s mind will soar.

This is a torque trebuchet. I was inspired by the video posted by a netizen. The trebuchet he made was relatively simple, so I broke down the production process step by step, slightly improved it, and presented it to you here. I never attended a carpentry training class at a technical school. I just tried to be an invincible father to my son. So this design may not be perfect, but if it is used as a toy, it can make little kids put it down. It took roughly three hours to complete (not counting shopping time), it didn't require any complicated cutting, and the tools used were very common. The finally improved trebuchet can easily throw tennis balls 2 meters away~

1 Tools and Materials

○ Two 2.4-meter-long pieces of wood○ 25 7-centimeter-long brass wood screws○ A 60-centimeter piece of SCH40 type PVC pipe○ A 2-meter-long rubber rope○ Two small wooden dowels○ One firing projectile Round cups used ○ 10 long nails

● Mechanical drill● Japanese pull saw (low noise, easy to operate at night)● 7/64 drill bit● 1 inch drill bit● Tape measure● Hammer

2 Making the base

Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

● Cut two sections of 36 cm and 76 cm from two 2.4-meter-long pieces of wood, and screw on both ends to secure the four sections of wood together. This completes the base of the trebuchet.

3 Install the feet

Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

● The feet are installed approximately 43 cm from the back of the base (as shown in the picture) and are approximately 33 cm high.

4 Installation bracket and gear lever

Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

● Most trebuchets use triangular brackets to reinforce their legs, but the requirements for the trebuchet I made are not that high, as long as it can be fired, so in order to save time, I used square wooden blocks instead of the triangular brackets.

● The gear lever is installed between the tops of the two legs, and its length is the same as the width of the base, which is 36 cm.

5 Drill side holes

Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

● Use a 25mm drill bit to drill a side hole on each side of the base to thread the trebuchets rubber rope. The hole is located diagonally below the leg. When punching the hole, be careful not to hit it in the middle of the wood. It is better to hit it higher, so as to avoid the rod arm from touching the ground when throwing.

6 Rod Arm Drilling

Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

● Use a 2.8mm drill bitWhen drilling the arm hole and determining the position of the arm hole, measure the distance from the base side hole to the ground to prevent the lever arm from rubbing against the ground when swinging.

● The advantage of using PVC pipe is that it is easy to expand holes in this material, so even if you don't have a big enough drill bit, a slightly smaller one can get the job done.

7 Wrap the rubber rope

Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

● This step is very important. I am afraid that the explanation is unclear, so I try to use as many pictures as possible to make it more intuitive.

● It takes about 3.7 meters of rubber rope to wind.

● When winding, first pass the wire through the two holes of the PVC pipe, and then wind it as shown in the picture.

● It will be easier to operate if you attach wooden dowels to the side holes.

8 Strength

Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

● Now it’s time to get up to speed. Twist the wooden dowels on either side of the base clockwise until the string becomes tight. At this time, the lever arm made of PVC pipe is under great force, twists upward, and is blocked by the gear rod in a vertical 90-degree position.

9 Cartridges

Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

● This was the first cartridge I made. I recommend not using a container with an uneven bottom such as a bowl, otherwise the "ammunition" may fall to the ground. I used an old plastic bucket with a straight inner wallIt was down, so it was very useful (however, after multiple launches, it failed to withstand the vibration of the lever arm hitting the gear lever, and died heroically).

● The choice of cartridge depends on what you want to shoot, I usually shoot waffle balls and tennis balls, so I ended up making a cartridge specifically for tennis balls.

10 Initial Test

● After this test I decided to improve and change the rope to double strands.

11 Related improvements & launch video

Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

● After a few field tests, I realized that this trebuchet could use some improvements.

● I installed a foot on the front of the base and on the gear lever to adjust the range.

Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

● The lever arm was lengthened by part of the length.

Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

A medical rubber tube was also tied to the gear lever to increase the tension of the lever arm.

Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

● After these improvements, the trebuchet is more powerful and has a significantly longer range

Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

● You can also try to mount the trebuchet on a skateboard, so you can easily push it to a nearby park to show off.

Invincible Dad’s Gizmo: How to Make a Simple Trebuchet

● The picture shows Invincible Dad using the new trebuchet~

Warning: This product is a weapon of small-scale destruction, please be sure to operate it under the close supervision of your father!

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