Daniel's Trebuchet Blog

10/2/18 I've decided to just go ahead and start documenting the project as it is now.  We are more than half-way through the workshop phase, but I can come back and talk more about things we have already done later once the project is finished for the year.  I won't have the time to blog the current backlog until after this season. Today we test fitted the new frame.  This involved fitting each joint separately and then putting them all together by raising each side and plugging in the side strut.  The frame joins together with mortise and tenon joints.  The pieces on the ground are put together first, and then the main rails are laid sideways on top of them and the a-frames and uprights plugged into the rails.  Then the axle blocks are fit on the top of the uprights and a-frames and the assembly, called in timber-framing a "bent," is raised barnyard-style by having a person walk-up each piece.  Once a bent is in the air we can plug in the cor...

Hello!  My name is Daniel Bertrand, and I am an undergraduate studying History at Utah State University.  In this blog I will document my trebuchet project this season in Fall of 2018.  I have built four trebuchets over the last four years, and last year I decided to go medieval.  I am in the middle of a research project to rebuild my medieval trebuchet from last year.  Many of the pieces need to be replaced and some design aspects need to be improved, so it's basically a total rebuild.  This blog will discuss how I am building the machine down to the technicalities of my construction choices.  It will probably reveal how much of a newbie I am at this kind of thing.  I hadn't really used a power drill until the first time four years ago.  This blog will also talk about the logistics of my project and how I am sourcing all my materials and getting things done.  Half of the work on this is doing paperwork and arranging things with various ...