Amit Jain' Blog: Mini Catapult for Kids

Mini Catapult for Kids

Catapults were invented by Greeks and used during wars. Weapons of mass destruction back then.

Gun powder was not yet invented and most of the weapons were mechanical in nature. These are good thing to teach and play with kids. The power of a mini version is good to play with and not break anything.

This blog will describe how is make it with things that should be available easily

What Do we Need ?

Material

Wood 6.5 Feet long
Very Thin Nails
Thick Cotton Thread
2 Wooden Dowels
Brown, Green Color
Empty beverage can

Tools

Hammer
Hex-saw
Scale
Marker/pencil
Drilling machine

Build the structure

Cut the wood as per below

Base

Two pieces of 8 Inch in length

3 pieces of 4 inch length

Side

Two pieces of 5 inch

One piece of 6.25 inch

Catapult bar

7.25 Inches

Top Bar

1 piece of 3.5 Inch

Front side top Bar

1 piece of 6.25 inch

Assembly

Fix only two 4 inch wooden bars to the base 8 inch wooden bars ( Only middle and back)
The front side base bar will be fixed at an angle and has to be fixed with
Fix it like the I shape ( 4 Inch, 6.25 and 3.5 inch)
Cut the side bars as shown and fix to the base
Fix the "I" shaped piece to build the structure
on the Catapult bar carve out a groove to hold thread
Use aluminum can button to make a payload holder

Prototype

Use thick cotton thread and wind it across the catapult bar through the side holes and around the wooden dowels. You need to twist the dowels at the same time in forward direction

If the thread is loose, you may have to twist it several times

I kept the thread just right and could do only 10 twists, before the thread snapped