Place an object in the basket to arm your catapult and apply torsion.
Let the arms restfully back in the launching position this way you can tell where is the best place to install your catch. As you twist your handles, the torsion of the rope will make the throwing arm ascend until its tension holds it near the cross brace. Knot the end of the cord to the side of the arm. Loop the rope around the second handle, and then take it back through the frame to the first handle. Lace about 20′ of rope around a broomstick handle, then take it this to the hole in the right side of the base, through the hole drilled in the arm of the catapult, to the other side of the base and back to the second broomstick handle. Assemble everything using long screws to ensure your frame is sturdy. Do this in the same way you constructed the right side.Ĭonnect the left and right sides with the base of the triangle and base of the 36″ 2×4 forming the bottom of the base. Next, construct the left side of the base and fasten the other triangular plywood piece. This creates one base leg of the catapult. The diagonal will be approximately spanning the distance in between the two ends of each 2×4 plank. The base will be parallel with the 36″ plank. The 18″ side of the plywood will be vertical to the 36″ plank. Screw these planks of wood in place.Ĭonstruct the plywood triangle. Place your 18″ 2×4 at a right angle to the 36″ piece at 15″ from the end of the 36″ piece.
Follow this guide to the T and soon you will have your own catapult to play with. To be able to construct a catapult successfully, you need to use only the best materials and use the best tools. This is quite easy to do and you and your family can make this just in time for a special occasion or family event. You can throw all kinds of things like balls, rocks, pumpkins or watermelons. You can use your own catapult to play with friends. A catapult is a fun device that can hurl anything to the air to land at a distance.
This guide will show you how to make a catapult out of wood.
The fence in the background is what I try to launch the squirrels over.This is a fun and unique project that you and your family and friends will surely enjoy. You can see the trigger (string) that goes towards the house. The best part about this is that one of my neighbors is one of those animal rights people, and the look on his face was priceless when he asked me what "that thing out in the yard was" So far this year I have launched a total of 16 squirrels, but only 2 or 3 have made it over the fence into the neighbor's yard.
( not the safety of the squirrels, the safety of my father when he's stumbling around the yard ) The launch pad is covered with cracked corn, which squirrels seem to love. The string goes into the house through a window, so whenever I walk through the kitchen and I see a squirrel on the launch pad (the bricks) I can just pull the string from inside the house and he gets to go for a little ride The supports that hold the front of the slingshot are just lengths of rebar with tennis balls on top for safety. The trigger is a gate latch which has a string tied to it. The slingshot bands are made from 3/8" surgical tubing (about ten feet in length). It's a really simple contraption, and it also works quite well. This contraption hasn't killed a squirrel yet, and most of the squirrels come back for more.Īlright, this is the squirrel launcher that I mentioned in the "I are a redneck" thread. I don't want to hear all of that nonsense about hurting squirrels, after all they are just rats with bushy tails. First off, If you don't like the idea of launching squirrels across the yard, you should just click the back button right now.