Build Small Floating Arm Trebuchet Plans

Small floating arm trebuchet plans
Here are some stats, note that these apply to the original #2 treb. The treb built for this
guide is slight different, partly due to design and partly due to the materials that I had to
work with, e.g. the wheels:-
height to top of arm when at rest 9 inches
height to top of counter weight

7 1/4 inches
guides
height to wheel tracks 4 1/8 inches
drop of counter weight 3 7/8 inches
counter weight about 9 1/2 ounces or 270 grams
4/5 inch or 20mm wooden bead, about 1/9 ounce or 3

projectile
grams
ratio of counter weight to projectile

about 90 to 1
weight
upper arm/lower arm length 4 9/16 inch (115mm) / 2 3/32 inch (53mm)
5/8 inch diameter, 9/32 inch wide plus flange 1/16

wheels
inch
6 inches long, 1 7/8 inches to outside of counter

base dimensions
weight guides
sling length 4 1/2 inches
Disclaimer
The measurements below are not going to be absolute, and are presented here as a guide.
In a lot of cases, the actual dimensions of the piece are best determined by measuring and
cutting to fit as and when the piece is needed. Lollipop sticks vary quite a bit in
dimension and quality, so it's best to buy a bag of them from one supplier and build your
treb according the size of stick that you get. My lollipop stick trebs have been based
around 1 stick length being the upper end of the arm, with the rest of the treb built to
accommodate it. So, the golden rule is measure twice, and cut once.
Much of this treb is made using a hobby knife. Knives are dangerous, and should be
treated with respect. If you are going to build a small treb, fingers and knives will be in
close proximity for quite a number of hours. Please, please, please look after your
fingers. Always observe sensible precautions when using a knife.
Parts
You'll need the following parts:-
a plentiful supply of lollipop sticks,

some 3mm or 1/8th inch diameter dowel,
and some 1.5mm or 1/16th inch thick plywood,
a pair of ball bearings (the inner race should fit the dowel snugly if possible),
some brass copper tube (matching the inner race on the bearings),
a pair of small eye-hooks,
some thin but strong cord or string, 35lb Shanti/Dyneema kite line is ideal,
some plastic sheet or fabric for the sling (a plastic carrier bag is good),
and something heavy for the counter weight ballast (lead sheet or fishing weights
are good)
Tools
You'll need the following tools:-
a hobby knife,
an assortment of small drill bits (from 1.5mm to 3mm, or 1/16th to 1/8th inch),
a pin vice,
a rotary tool e.g. Dremel and a selection of cutting/sanding discs,
some clamps (clothes pegs will do in most cases),
a square,
a sharp pencil,
a steel rule,
a cutting surface (so as not to ruin your best coffee table),
sandpaper,
wood glue
Plans
The plans that I've done so far are available, either as a Visio Version 5 drawing, or as a
set of graphic images (portable network graphics format, supported by most browsers in
these modern times). Either save the Visio file to your computer to print directly from
Visio on your PC, or if you don't have Visio then download a Visio viewer or use the
links below for graphics versions of the plans. You can search for downloads of Visio
viewers at Google
Here are the plans in PNG format, print them to fit an A4 page and they should print
close to actual size.
frame parts #1 frame parts #2 frame parts #3 frame parts #4

wheel parts arm parts counter weight carrier parts
The photos
Here are the step by step photos that I took of the treb's construction.
jump to:- frame | wheels | arm | counter weight
The frame
1. Square off 4 sticks (frame part

#1), and butt two pairs together to
make back-to-back L shapes. The
upright stick should sit on the
work surface, and the horizontal
stick should butt up against the
upright stick. Sandwich the
horizontal sticks, and the bottom
of the upright sticks, with 2 off
frame part #2, ensuring that you
leave about an eighth of an inch
between the upright sticks.
Repeat to produce a second frame
(treb02frame01.jpg 59kb)
side, pictured left. The upright
sticks are the inner legs.
2. Use 4 sticks (frame part #3),

gluing them to the inside edge of
the frame sides to make the outer
legs. The outside edge of each
outer leg should be 74mm (about
3 inches) from the centreline of
the gap between the inner legs.
It's not exact, so don't get too hung
up about being precise. When the
glue is dry, trim the excess stick
protruding past the outer legs.
3. Cut 4 cross members (frame
part #4), each 40mm in length
(just over an inch and a half), and
use them to glue the two frame
sides together. In the picture
you'll see some small dowels that
were used to hold the frame sides
in place while the glue dried,
they're not necessary but with care
they can be used to keep the frame
sides under tension to stop the
cross members from shifting.
4. Mark a line on the inside of

each outer leg, 100mm (about 4
inches) up. Marking the line will
be easier now, but we'll be using it
later.
Cut and glue the plywood base

(frame part #5) to the bottom of
the frame sides. When the glue is
dry cut and glue the end pieces
(frame part #6).
5. Cut 4 off frame part #7, 63mm

long pieces (about 2 and a half
inches), and glue them to the
inside face of the inner legs.
6. Square off 4 sticks (frame part
#8), and glue them to the inside
face of the inner legs (above the
pieces we added in the previous
step). Ensure that the 1/8th gap
between the inner legs remains
perpendicular and consistent.
7. The frame so far, with short

outer legs and long inner legs.
8. Next, cut the buttresses (4 off

frame part #9) and glue them in
place. You might find it aids
keeping them in place by pinning
the bottom of the buttress to the
end of the frame. Note that the
original treb didn't use these, but
used a support slung under the
wheel tracks. They were fiddly to
make and position, and didn't
make the frame much more
stable. You can see one in the
bottom left of this picture of the
frame. The buttresses seem to be
(treb02frame08.jpg 32kb) a much better way of making the
frame stable, so the remake of the
treb for these instructions went
with buttresses.
9. Using 4 sticks (frame part #10),
reinforce the frame's legs. Note
the difference between the front
and rear supports (the front uses a
whole stick, the rear uses a stick
cut to fit).
10. When the glue is dry, use a

rule and mark the inside face of
the inner legs with a line 100mm
up the leg. Use the marks you
made on the outer legs.
Square off 4 sticks (frame part

#11), and glue them to the inside
faces of the legs. Ensure that you
leave the 1/8th gap between the
inner legs clear, and align the
upper edge of the sticks with the
marks you've made. These sticks
are the wheel track supports.
When the glue is dry, trim the
excess stick protruding past the
outer legs.
11. Cut 1/16th inch plywood into

strips, the same length as the
wheel track supports. The strips
should be 7.5mm wide, or about
5/16th inch. These are the wheel
tracks, frame part #12. Glue them
on to the upper edge of the wheel
track supports, making sure that
they stay level while the glue
dries.
12. When the glue has dried, use
another 8 sticks cut to length
(frame part #13) and glue them to
the existing wheel track support,
underneath the wheel tracks.
After the glue has dried, trim any
of the excess wheel tracks
extending past the outer legs. You
might like to put a small dowel
pin through each end of the wheel
track supports.
13. Cut 3 track supports (frame

part #14), and glue them to the
frame. The first should be
mounted to the inside face of the
stick at the rear end of the frame,
the second should be mounted
about an inch from the inside face
of the front end of the frame and
the third should be between the
other 2. When the glue has dried,
cut the track (frame part #15)
from 1/16th plywood, score it
along it's length and glue it to the
track supports.
The pic to the left shows the front
end.
14. The pic to the left shows the

rear end of the frame, with the
track flush against the track
support.
15. Finally, screw two eye-hooks
to the rear end of the frame. This
is used as part of the trigger.
The wheels
Making the wheels isn't straight-forward. The original treb used a slim pair of wooden
wheels for testing, and some machined brass wheels for actual use. The brass wheels
really affected the performance, so I decided to make some better wooden wheels for this
treb than I did for the original. If you can get some of the right size, then do so. If not,
read on...
As with a lot of my tiny treb builds, I was making do with bits and pieces of stuff that I
had lying around, which includes a box of bearings. I used some of these bearings in the
original treb, and decided to use them on the treb being built for this guide too. I didn't
have any more of the flanged bearings that I had used originally, so the wheels would
have to be slightly different. The wheels needed a load bearing part to roll on the wheel
track, and a flanged part to keep the arm in place as it moved. The flange was easy
enough, it's just a disc of plywood larger than the discs used for the load bearing part of
the wheel. But the load bearing part of the wheel needed some preparation...
1. Here are the parts needed to make a ring of plywood. At

the bottom of the picture is a piece of plywood that has
had a hole drilled to fit the outside diameter of the bearing
that I'm using. The smaller disc is the same diameter as
the hole, so that it fits snugly inside it. The smaller disc
has been sanded down so that it is slightly thinner than the
rest of the plywood pieces. The larger discs are slightly
smaller than the outside diameter of the ring that I want to
create, and will sandwich the plywood with the hole in it.
The disc at the top of the picture has a screw mounted in it,
which is part of the tool set belong to my rotary tool
(normally a sanding disc or cut-off disc is fitted to a spigot
(treb02wheel01.jpg 21kb)
with the screw).
2. Screw the smaller disc over the screw until it tightens up
against the large disc already on the screw.
3. Fit the piece of plywood over the small disc.
4. Screw the other large disc over the whole, until it snugs
up against the plywood. Then screw the exposed screw set
in to the spigot on the rotary tool, and sand the plywood
away by spinning the whole thing around with the rotary
tool and sanding it with some coarse sand paper firmly
attached to something solid. Take care when doing this,
since the square plywood will resist your efforts in making
it round.
I went for 16mm diameter wheels, and used a vernier

caliper to measure the diameter.
5. After you've got the desired diameter, dismantle the
whole thing. You should end up with a ring of plywood,
as pictured. Make 4 of them (wheel part #1).
6. When you've made 4 of them, make 2 larger discs

(wheel part #2). These will be the flanges for your
wheels. I made mine 20mm in diameter. You should then
have two sets of the parts pictured, so we can start
assembly of the wheels.
7. I enlarged the hole in the large disc so that it was a snug

fit for the dowel I'm using for the axles. I used a small
piece of that dowel as a guide for assembling the wheel.
8. Press the bearing in to one of the rings (wheel part #1),
apply a little glue to the surface of the ring that meets the
flange disc (wheel part #2), and push the bearing down
over the axle dowel. Don't apply too much glue, otherwise
it might get past the shield on the bearing and glue the
inner and outer races together.
9. Apply a little glue to the second ring (wheel part #1),

and press it over the bearing.
10. When the glue is dry, remove the bearing.
11. Enlarge the hole in wheel part #2 so that it is larger
than the diameter of the inner race on the bearing. We'll be
using a spacer on the axle of the arm to ensure that the
wheel sits at the proper distance from the arm, and the
inner race will be snug against the spacer. We don't want
the flange of the wheel to be impeding the inner race or the
spacer. Replace the bearings, use a little glue or a paper
shim to retain the bearings if they have a tendency to work
out of the wheel.
The throwing arm
1. Cut 2 66mm sticks (arm part #1), leaving a

round end on each. Glue them on either side of
a whole stick (arm part #2), rounded ends
together.
(treb02arm01.jpg 38kb)
2. Square off 2 sticks (arm part #3), and glue

them to the sides of the whole stick (arm part
#2), with the squared ends butting up to each
other.
3. Sandwich the arm with 2 whole sticks (arm
part #4), overlapping the butt joints and aligning
the rounded ends.
4. Cut a 12mm (or half inch) length of stick for

the tip of the arm (arm part #5), and glue it
between the ends of the 2 sticks sandwiched
together (arm parts #3).
5. Drill holes in the arm for the axles, then glue

the dowel for the counter weight and wheel
axles. Ensure that the holes are perpendicular to
the arm, and parallel with each other. The
counter weight axle's hole is 5mm from the
thickest end of the arm, and the wheel axle's
hole is 58mm from the thickest end of the arm.
It's probably best to put in a piece of dowel
longer than you need, and cut it to fit when the
time comes. I used 1/8th inch dowel, about
90mm in length (3 1/2 inches).
6. Drill a small hole in the tip of the arm,
slightly angled up when the arm is on a flat
surface. Fit a piece of paper clip in to the hole,
with about 4 to 5mm showing (3/16 inch). This
is the pin over which the free end of the sling
will be placed. Just behind the tip of the arm,
drill a hole for a small piece of dowel. This will
be where the fixed end of the sling is secured.
Do not glue the dowel in place, it can be pulled
out to remove the sling for tuning purposes.
7. Cut some small spacers from brass or copper

tubing, and slip them over the wheel axle. The
spacers were about 7mm long (just over a
quarter inch), though this is definitely one of
those pieces were you will have to make them to
fit. With the spacers on the arm, put the wheels
(with their bearings) on the wheel axle. If the
bearings are a little loose on the axle, then you
can use a tiny piece of paper between the axle
and the bearing's inner race and shim the play
out of the wheel.
8. Here you can see the wheels on the wheel

tracks, and the brass tubing spacers on the wheel
axle.
9. Here is a side view of the wheels on the track
while the arm is in the cocked position.
The counter weight carrier
The counter weight carrier for this treb was designed to hold small pieces of lead sheet,
since I had some available. This makes the carriers fairly small and neat. If you intend to
use something less heavy than lead you'll need to increase the capacity of the carriers, so
remember to make the dowel in the arm longer if you increase the width of the carriers.
1. Glue the counter weight carrier's bottom (CW

part #2) to one of the sides (CW part #1).
(treb02cw01.jpg 34kb)
2. Another view of the bottom glued to the side.

3. Glue the counter weight carrier ends and

middle (CW part #3) to the side.
4. Glue the other side on (CW part #1). Make 2

in total.
5. The counter weight carriers are not

permanently fixed to the trebuchet. The lower
holes in the carriers are meant to be a snug fit on
a piece of dowel, while the upper holes are
meant to be a loose fit, and will slide over the
counter weight axle on the throwing arm. By
making the outer hole loose on one of the
carriers the carriers can be reliably press-fitted
on to a dowel, and pulled apart again. The
carrier on the left has both holes being a snug fit
on the dowel, the carrier on the right has only
one hole that is snug. It is the right carrier that
(treb02cw05.jpg 45kb) is pulled off the dowel which allows the counter
weight carriers to be removed from the treb.
6. Here, the carriers are fitted to the treb. The
upper holes are positioned over the counter
weight axle on the arm, as the lower holes are
pressed on to the lower dowel in the picture.
There's more to come. I'll be completing the treb with a sling and a trigger mechanism.

Build Small Floating Arm Trebuchet Plans

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Small floating arm trebuchet plans

height to top of arm when at rest 9 inches

height to top of counter weight

height to wheel tracks 4 1/8 inches

drop of counter weight 3 7/8 inches

counter weight about 9 1/2 ounces or 270 grams

4/5 inch or 20mm wooden bead, about 1/9 ounce or 3

ratio of counter weight to projectile

5/8 inch diameter, 9/32 inch wide plus flange 1/16

6 inches long, 1 7/8 inches to outside of counter

sling length 4 1/2 inches

You'll need the following parts:-

a plentiful supply of lollipop sticks,

You'll need the following tools:-

frame parts #1 frame parts #2 frame parts #3 frame parts #4

jump to:- frame | wheels | arm | counter weight

1. Square off 4 sticks (frame part

2. Use 4 sticks (frame part #3),

4. Mark a line on the inside of

Cut and glue the plywood base

5. Cut 4 off frame part #7, 63mm

7. The frame so far, with short

8. Next, cut the buttresses (4 off

10. When the glue is dry, use a

Square off 4 sticks (frame part

11. Cut 1/16th inch plywood into

13. Cut 3 track supports (frame

14. The pic to the left shows the

1. Here are the parts needed to make a ring of plywood. At

3. Fit the piece of plywood over the small disc.

I went for 16mm diameter wheels, and used a vernier

6. When you've made 4 of them, make 2 larger discs

7. I enlarged the hole in the large disc so that it was a snug

9. Apply a little glue to the second ring (wheel part #1),

10. When the glue is dry, remove the bearing.

The throwing arm

1. Cut 2 66mm sticks (arm part #1), leaving a

2. Square off 2 sticks (arm part #3), and glue

4. Cut a 12mm (or half inch) length of stick for

5. Drill holes in the arm for the axles, then glue

7. Cut some small spacers from brass or copper

8. Here you can see the wheels on the wheel

The counter weight carrier

1. Glue the counter weight carrier's bottom (CW

2. Another view of the bottom glued to the side.

3. Glue the counter weight carrier ends and

4. Glue the other side on (CW part #1). Make 2

5. The counter weight carriers are not

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