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Step 8Finishing It Up
Cut two little strips of craft stick to glue to the sides of the uprights. This will block out the main axel and keep it from sliding from side to side. Make them a little wide so you can trim them down just right.
Then glue down two more sticks to the ramp blocks to make a channel for your payload. If you didn't do the blocks, at least glue a couple of sticks down flat so your projectile doesn't get caught in the frame during launch.
You'll need a weight. It can be just about anything, coins, batteries, stones, etc. What I've found works well, though, is lead fishing sinkers. Specifically, I melted down a bunch of them and put a loop of picture wire in it to make a tidy little weight. Then I sprayed it with a spray-on rubber coating to protect it and make it look nice.
The size of your weight will determine how far your treb will throw. With an eight ounce weight, it'll throw a small binder clip about ten or twelve feet at a height of about four and a half feet. A twelve ounce weight gets a height of about six feet or so with a comparable increase in distance. At a pound or more, it gets to be more than you can practically use indoors unless you're throwing things that are potentionally painfully heavy or you have very large rooms. Of course, with a heavier payload, you'll need a heavier counterweight to get the same distance.
Once you get something together, hang your weight from the the axel between the lower arms of your trebuchet.
Finally, find something to shoot. I haven't found a design for a sling that works well at this size so I just tie a cord to whatever it is I want to chuck. A good length to start with is about four or so inches. Experiment to find what works best with what you're trying to throw.
Then glue down two more sticks to the ramp blocks to make a channel for your payload. If you didn't do the blocks, at least glue a couple of sticks down flat so your projectile doesn't get caught in the frame during launch.
You'll need a weight. It can be just about anything, coins, batteries, stones, etc. What I've found works well, though, is lead fishing sinkers. Specifically, I melted down a bunch of them and put a loop of picture wire in it to make a tidy little weight. Then I sprayed it with a spray-on rubber coating to protect it and make it look nice.
The size of your weight will determine how far your treb will throw. With an eight ounce weight, it'll throw a small binder clip about ten or twelve feet at a height of about four and a half feet. A twelve ounce weight gets a height of about six feet or so with a comparable increase in distance. At a pound or more, it gets to be more than you can practically use indoors unless you're throwing things that are potentionally painfully heavy or you have very large rooms. Of course, with a heavier payload, you'll need a heavier counterweight to get the same distance.
Once you get something together, hang your weight from the the axel between the lower arms of your trebuchet.
Finally, find something to shoot. I haven't found a design for a sling that works well at this size so I just tie a cord to whatever it is I want to chuck. A good length to start with is about four or so inches. Experiment to find what works best with what you're trying to throw.
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