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This trebuchet is based on the floating carriage design that Wayne Neel rediscovered and used to good effect in a full-scale trebuchet built on the shores of Loch Ness, near Inverness, Scotland (this is discussed elsewhere on this site).
After seeing the NOVA production describing this effort, I knew I had to have one. One of the trebuchets mentioned in the show was Edward I's 'War Wolf' siege weapon; I figured a smaller one should have a more modest name, and settled on 'War Weasel'.
In order to get the basic dimensions, I recorded the show and stop-framed at certain points where the trebuchet was shown, laid a thin piece of paper on the TV screen, and traced out the trebuchet image. After that came the head-scratching, wandering the aisles of the local hardware store for inspiration, and plenty of experimentation.
Someone with minimal carpentry skills can construct a trebuchet out of 2x4 and 4x4 pieces of wood and an assortment of hardware from the local hardware store that is capable of throwing grapefruit-sized water balloons in excess of one hundred fifty feet, and can fit in the back of a small truck or van for transport. Standard power tools such as drills and saws make such a project move along a little more quickly, but the majority of the time it takes to build a trebuchet is working out the details to make the machine work the way it should.
The small trebuchet shown here has the following critical dimensions:
To reduce friction the main axle is supported with ball-bearings (3/4" inner diameter) where the axle pierces the carriage sides; these are held in place by 3/4" inner diameter collars.