Play Catapult

Catapults are an important part of military history, dating back to the ancient period. Making a catapult at home can be a fun craft project to enjoy with your children. This project will teach them about the history of warfare, and will promote engineering and creative thinking. The project is a simple one, which will take roughly two to three hours. After this, however, you can spend time in your yard testing the catapult with fruit or water balloons.

Instructions

1

Cut the end of one of the 6-inch pieces of wood in order to make a 45 degree angle; you will need to cut both ends. Cut the top right corner and the bottom left corner of the piece of wood.

2

Screw a 6-inch piece of wood that hasn't been cut to the 12-inch piece so that they form a 90-degree angle. The 6-inch piece of wood should stand vertical when the 12-inch piece is horizontal. The 12-inch piece will form the base, so it should be able to lie flat when the 6-inch piece is attached.

3

Glue the 6-inch piece of wood between the two pieces you have just attached. The piece should form a triangular join between the longer 12-inch piece and the 6-inch piece which is standing vertically. Repeat steps 1-3 so that you have two identical structures, of a long 12-inch piece lying horizontally and flat, with a 6-inch piece vertically attached. Between the two, a diagonal 6-inch piece gives support.

4

Attach the two sections of the frame together using the four 6-inch pieces of wood. Attach each end of the 12-inch pieces of wood together by screwing a 6 inch piece of wood between them. You will now have a rectangular frame. Screw a 6-inch piece of wood between the top of the 6-inch piece wood which stands tall of the frame. Finally, attach the 45-degree joins together by screwing a 6-inch piece of wood between both.

5

Drill a hole in the remaining 12-inch piece of wood, roughly 2 inches from one of the ends. The hole should be around 1/8 inch wide and pass horizontally through the wood. Attach the eyehook 3 inches from the end of the 12-inch piece of wood, at the opposite end to the hole you have just drilled. Use the tack to attach a styrofoam cup immediately above the eyehook. Drill a hole near the base in each of the vertical 6 inch pieces of wood.

6

Feed the metal bar through the holes you have drilled. The 12 inch piece of wood with the Styrofoam cup on it is the "launcher," and should be placed between the 6 inch vertical pieces. The metal bar will run through the vertical 6-inch pieces and the launcher to form a pivot point. Place putty on both ends of the metal bar to hold it in place.

7

Place an eye hook on the front of the frame, in the center. Place rubber bands between the two eye hooks. The more you attach, the stronger and more powerful the catapult will be. Place an object in the cup, pull the bar back and release to use your catapult.

• 
  

  How to create a Facebook business Page Facebook

  https://www.facebook.com/business/build

  Your Page is the central place to grow your business, build your brand and develop relationships with your customers.

• 
  

  MAKE Projects

  makezine.com/projects

  Make: Projects. Explore our growing cookbook of DIY projects for the workshop, kitchen, garage, and backyard. Learn new skills, find family fun, build a robot or a rocket

• 
  

  DIY Instructables - Share What You Make

  www.instructables.comCraft Technology Workshop Outside Food

  7/20/2013 Instructables is a place that lets you explore, document, and share your DIY creations.

• 
  

  Weight Gain Blueprint: How To Build Muscle For Hardgainers

  weightgainblueprint.com

  Are you a skinny guy? If you can't seem to gain weight no matter how much you eat and how much you lift weights - You need to see... "How I Packed On 38 Pounds

• 
  

  How to Build Your Own Acoustic Panels (DIY) AcousticsFREQ.com

  acousticsfreq.com/blog/?p=62

  How to Build Your Own Acoustic Panels (DIY) Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 April 2013 06:15 Written by AcousticsFREQ Thursday, 13 October 2011 08:41

• 
  

  Special Outdoor Projects - How To Information eHow

  www.ehow.com Home & Garden Landscaping & Outdoor Building

  Don't just sit there scratching your head, find useful info on Special Outdoor Projects on eHow. Get essential tips and learn more about everything from How to ...

• 
  

  How to Make An Inexpensive Light Tent DIY

  digital-photography-school.com/how-to-make-a-inexpensi

  The following tutorial on constructing an Inexpensive Light Tent was Submitted by Jeffrey Bail over at our Forums. I thought it was well worth highlighting here on ...

• 
  

  Indoor Iguana Cage - How to build an indoor iguana cage - Plans ...

  www.iguanacageplans.com

  Discover how to build an indoor iguana cage. These plans for building an iguana cage will take you step-by-step throught the building of outdoor and indoor Iguana ...

• 
  

  BuildAHotDogCart.com How to build a hot dog cart

  www.buildahotdogcart.com

  How to build a hot dog cart ... From: Steve Schaible, founder of King Weenie Chicago Style Hot Dogs, St. Louis

• 
  

  DIY Home Improvement Information DoItYourself.com

  www.doityourself.comBathrooms Gardening & Outdoor Plumbing Interior Home Improvement

  Do it yourself home improvement and diy repair at Doityourself.com. Includes home improvement projects, home repair, kitchen remodeling, plumbing, electrical ...