A ballista is a play item that resembles the traditional catapult that was used in war. The catapult is very easy to make and can be made from materials that are available locally. All that is required are some blocks of wood and nails as well as the necessary tools. Here is the procedure followed in making a ballista:
- Make a base for the catapult and connecting several pieces of wood together such as a 3 inches wood block and the 12 inches edge of the catapult base. Use nails to connect the two pieces.
- Place the block in such a way that it rests on the 3 inches block at the bottom and nail a piece of wood of about 2″x24″ to the center of the base on the upper side.
- Nail a 2″x12″ wood block to the 24 inches block for the two pieces to form a T shape. The nails used should be long enough to connect the two blocks of wood.
- Prepare 2 wood blocks and nail the first block onto the horizontal bar forming the T shape.
- Place the second block on top of the first small block using a single nail for each of the blocks. This is done at least 3 inches from the point where the T shape is formed.
- Place another 2″x12″ wooden block on the cubes using one nail that is long enough to pass through the two blocks and the wood forming the base.
Illustration of Ballista
- Place wooden cylinders on the two sides of the horizontal ends of the T block formed.
- At each end of the T, put a washer at least 3 inches away from the ends. Nail the washers in place.
- Put a hoop hook on the between the cylinder and the cube on the inner side of the horizontal bar that forms the T.
- Put a rope through all the hooks and twist the rope as you work your way up the length of the rope.
- Put the pencil-like end of the wood into the rope tightly while the other end of the rope is passed through the washer.
- Put a metal pole through of the holes in the washer to make a horizontal plane.
- Lash the ropes and tie them to the poles and cut the remaining ends of the rope.
- Tie all the ends of rubber or nylon to the wood that is pencil-like.
- Test the ready ballista in a cleared place to see how far an object flies once it is used.