Trebuchet in t Ructions

7/28/2019 Trebuchet in t Ructions

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Make History!

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yuk.com

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INSTRUCTIONS

NUM

BERONE

F

ORS

CIENCE &NA

TUR

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Manufactured in Taiwan

The wood used in this kit comes from

accredited renewable resources.

Manual, designs and written material

2008 Interplay UK Limited

Version No: TS201 v1.0 2008

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SL7 1LW United Kingdom

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Build the AWESOME

BallistaSIEGE MACHINE

1stCENTURY Build the AWESOME

TrebuchetSIEGE MACHINE

13thCENTURY

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OnagerSIEGE MACHINE

Build the AWESOME

1st CENTURY


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Introduction

Unit D, Meter House

Fieldhouse Lane, Marlow,

Buckinghamshire. SL7 1LW

United Kingdomwww.interplayuk.com

Important Safety

Information!

end. This principle is similar to a

playground see-saw with a really heavy

person at one end and a lighter person

on the other - the weight of the heavy

person is likely to throw the lighter

person in the air if they do not hang

on! A massive trebuchet nick-named

Warwolf was used by the armies of

Edward 1st when he invaded Scotland

in the late 13th century.

The machine was thought to have

stood nearly 20 metres high and made

short work of what were thought at

the time to have been impregnable

Scottish castles.

The machine was probably made

of oak, it needed 50 carpenters toconstruct it and is said to have taken

30 horse drawn carts to transport

it from one castle to the next. At

Stirling Castle the defenders were

so terrified when they saw Warwolf

they tried to surrender, but Edward

declined wishing to see the terrible

destructive power of his machine.

An eye witness account records that

the machine brought down the entire

castle wall.

This kit recreates a replica of

'Warwolf', once built it is great fun

to see just how far you can fire the

ammunition but please follow the

instructions and warnings carefully to

avoid disappointment and danger.

WARNING!For children over 8 years ofage only. For use under adultsupervision.Read the instructions before use.Follow them and keep them forreference.

Not suitable for children under36 months due small parts thatcould represent a choking hazard

Only to be used with theammunition provided.

The Trebuchet is a siege machine

designed to throw heavy balls

at castle walls to smash them

and allow the invaders in. They

were used in the times before

gunpowder and cannon and

were the most awesome and

technically advanced weapons of

their time.

The origins of the Trebuchet are

vague - no archaeological remains

survive, so all our knowledge is

gleamed from ancient texts and

drawings. It is thought that the

first Trebuchet was invented by the

Chinese; and the knowledge of these

machines spread to the Arab nations

in the Middle East and from there to

Europe.

Over time Trebuchets were improved

from small hand operated machines,

designed to throw stones and small

boulders, to giant contraptions as

high as five storey buildings and able

to throw balls weighing over 100kilos

over distances of 200 metres.

All trebuchets work on the same

principle; using a pivoted arm with

a heavy weight on one end used to

throw a smaller weight at the other

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Trebuchet Parts List 1

Base Plate x 1

CounterweightBasket front/rear x 2

Counterweight

Basket side x 2Winding Crank x 1

Solid Washer x 2

Winding Bracket x 1

Washer x 4

Rear Brace x 2

Chassis Side x 2

Cross Member x 3

Vertical Support x 2

Wheel x 4

Cotton x 1

Nylon String x 1Sling x 1

Front Brace x 2

Trigger Dowel x 1

Throwing Arm Head x 1

Throwing Arm Pivot x 1

Winding Barrel

4.5mm Diameter Dowels

225mm Throwing Arm 1

145mm Axles 2

112mm Pivot Support 182mm Basket Support 1

37mm Winding Axle Sup (R) 1

32mm Sling Tie 1

27mm Winding Axle Sup (L) 1

22mm Firing Pin 1

20mm Sling Release Pin 1

Length DescriptionQty.

Counterweight

Basket Base x 1

Trebuchet Parts List 2


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Constructing

the Sides

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Take Plan Sheets 1 and lay them on a flat

surface protected by newspaper. Lay the side

sections onto the plans as shown, ensuring

that all the holes line up with those on the

plans. Once you are sure that the parts are

correctly laid out, apply a little glue to eachof the joints and allow to dry completely

before lifting from the plans.

Once the two side assemblies are completely

dry, remove them from Plan Sheets 1. Place the

two side assemblies upright on Plan Sheet 2 as

indicated, locating the 3 cross members as shown

on the plan. Before applying glue to the joints,

please ensure that everything is correctly located

and that the whole assembly is square. Allow to

dry completely before lifting from the plan.

Take the two Axle dowels and slide them

through the axle holes at the front and rear of

the chassis. Apply a little glue into the centre

of each of the 4 wooden wheels and push the

wheels onto the protruding axle ends. Ensure

that the wheels and axles are free to rotate and

avoid getting glue between the wheels and the

chassis sides.

Take the Throwing Arm Pivot and slide the

Basket Support Dowel through the hole near

the rounded end until it is central. Apply a little

glue to secure. Take two of the plywood washers

and glue one to each of the ends of the dowel,

leaving about 4mm of dowel protruding at either

end. Once the glue is dry, fit the counterweight

basket to the dowel as shown, by springing the

sides of the basket outwards slightly.

Take the Pivot Support Dowel and slide through

the hole at the top of one of the Vertical

Supports, through the central hole in the

Throwing Arm Pivot, then into the other Vertical

Support. Position the Throwing Arm Pivot

centrally on the Pivot Support Dowel and apply

a little glue to fix it in position.

To prevent the Throwing Arm Pivot from moving

from side to side, glue one of the Solid Washers

to either side of the Vertical Support on its outer

edges, covering the upper hole in which the

Pivot is located. Note that the Pivot must be

able to rotate in the hole in the Vertical Support.

Joining the

Sides Together

Attaching

the Basket

Fit the Wheels

& Axels

1

2

Take the 5 plywood panels that make up

the counterweight basket and join them

together as shown using a little glue. You

can hold the parts together with a little tape

whilst the glue dries if you wish.. Avoid

using too much glue, but be sure that the

joints are well covered. Allow to dry.

Constructing

the Basket

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Tie a length of cotton to each of the 3

holes in the Sling. One of the strings tied

to the pair of holes closest together should

be tied to each side of the Sling Tie Dowel.

The third string should be tied to the

Metal Ring, which will hook over the SlingRelease Pin when ready for firing.

Attaching the Sling

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Building the

Trowing Arm

Place a small drop of glue in the hole at each

end of the Winding Barrel, then locate it

between the lower holes in the Rear Braces of

the Trebuchet, and insert the two Winding Axle

Support dowels, one from each side. Make sure

that the Winding Barrel is free to rotate. Glue

the Winding Crank onto the protruding end of

the longer Winding Axle Support Dowel, again

ensuring that the assembly is free to rotate.

Tie the long piece of string through the hole in

the Winding Barrel.Glue the firing pin into the hole in the end of the

Trigger Dowel. Attach a small length of string

to the Trigger Dowel, passing it through the

hole provided. This assembly fits into the upper

hole in the Rear Brace, on the same side as the

Winding Crank, and prevents the Crank from

unwinding once the machine is ready to fire.

The Winding

Mechanism

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Glue the plywood Winding Bracket in position,

about halfway along the Throwing Arm Dowel.

Glue the Throwing Arm Dowel into the hole in

the Throwing Arm Pivot with the small hole in

the Winding Bracket pointing downwards.

Push the Sling Tie Dowel through the hole in

the Throwing Arm Head until it is central, then

glue in place. Glue the Sling Release Pin Dowel

into the hole in the end of the Throwing Arm

Head, then glue the Throwing Arm Head to the

Throwing Arm Dowel with the Sling Tie Dowel

horizontal and the Sling Release Pin pointing

slightly upwards.

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Attaching the

Base Plate

The Base Plate should be glued into position

over the Cross Members in the base of the

Trebuchet. The Base Plate supports the

projectile in the Sling prior to firing, and allows

them to slide easily when the weapon is fired.

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Firing your Trebuchet

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Once you have built your

Trebuchet it is time to try it out.

Before firing please ensure it is in a safe

environment away from young children,

pets or anything that could break or be

damaged by the ammunition. Always use

the ammunition provided with the kit and

always stand away from the Trebuchet

when being fired.

Firstly check that all the mechanisms work

and the basket does not catch the base when

it drops.

Fill the basket to add weight, use pebbles,

gravel, coins or similar. It is best to only halffill the basket to begin with.

Use the winding mechanism to lower the

throwing arm into position. At first lower the

arm until the sling just touches the ground.

Put the firing pin in position to hold the arm

in place.

Next, take a piece of plasticene that comes

with the kit and roll it into a ball about the

size of a marble with an approximate weight

of 5gm. Place the ball in the in the V of the

sling material.

Stand well clear (the ball could go any where!)

and pull the firing pin to release the arm.

If you are lucky youll get a good shot first

time, if not you may need to make some

adjustments.

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Your trebuchet should fire the ammunition in a

semi-circular arc. If this does not happen then

it is likely that your sling needs to be adjusted.

But first make sure the basket swings freely

and the winding mechanism releases the arm

smoothly without slowing it down.

If your ball fires straight up in the air or behind

the trebuchet the sling is being released too

early. If the ball fires into the ground in front

of the Trebuchet, the reverse is happening; the

sling is being released too late.

Check the ring on the sling fits smoothly

over the dowel in the firing arm and does not

either catch or fall off too easily. Then check

the ammunition fits well in the V of the sling

and the string is not tangled or crossed over.

Adjustments

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Trebuchet in t Ructions