Like most other young boys I had an early interest in things medieval, especially knights and King Arthur. Unfortunately, I grew up and this interest faded. In 1997 I came across an article in the American Woodworker magazine that rekindled my interest. It was about the construction of a model trebuchet.
Time and conditions prevented me from pursuing the contruction of that trebuchet; however, my interest in medieval history was rekindled and I began to read what I could find. To make a long story short I much prefer the romanticised versions of the middle ages. The reaility is something that would cause most of us to wretch. A few months back I picked up a copy of Backyard Ballistics by William Gurstelle. This is a great book for tinkerers. It includes a chapter describing a simple catapult.
During a recent trip I discovered a site called Trubechet.com that provides tons of information about these historical weapons. As a result I built a model Mangonel (catapult) based upon plans from Backyard Ballistics and the previous web site. Several photos of this project are listed below.
The Mangonel or Onager was a relatively compact catapult that used twisted ropes as a power source to hurl projectiles. This device was in use during Roman times.
An isometric view of the model mangonel. This model is not a hostorical replica; however, it does use the simular techniques to historical designs. The tensioning mechanism and particularly the triggering mechanism were adopted to facilitate clumsy hands. The overall length of the model is 10".
A plan view of the mangonel. The device was assembled with mortise and tenon joinery.
A close-up of the torsion components. This is 150lb dacron kite string. About 14" were tied into a loop using a box knot.
This is a close-up of the triggering device. This is probably the least traditional component of this design.
My next project in this area is to build the model trebuchet from the American Woodworker article. I just received the reprint from them and will probably begin this coming weekend.
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by Walter Anderson
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