How to Build a Travelling Frame:

All of our larger machines have been designed and built to facilitate travel to Punkin' Chunk events. This has led us to build machine frames unlike those from history. We have a few simple tricks for this.

How to Make Slings and Pouches:

Our Trebuchets and Onagers use throwing pouches. The advantage to a pouch on a sling is that it adds speed to the projectile beyond what is possible in the throwing beam.

How to Trigger a Siege Engine:

Different types of machines store their energy in different ways. While we have been successful in adapting different styles of triggers between machines, the type of trigger you construct will depend on the load and structure of the machine.

How to Build a Torsion Bundle:

Torsion bundles are basically large amounts of twisted rope. These provide the motive force behind Onagers, Ballistas. Most of our torsion machines are still quite small. The materials you use will dictate the size of machine you can build.

Storing Energy in a Machine:

Siege engines that store energy and use a throwing arm typically need some sort of winch. There are many forms of winch, and they are actually somewhat uninteresting. Of greater interest is how to use them most effectively. Tricks for tall trebuchets can greatly enhance cocking time. Often, an in line trigger is quite useful, though we haven't used one.

How to Build a Centripetal Machine:

Centripetal throwing machines don't fit the classic concept of "Catapult", but they sure are fun. Our machine, Pumpkin Putter, has been through several iterations over several years and we learned quite a bit about tuning these machines.

Advice for Prospective Siege Engineers:

Despite having a nifty engineering section on this web site, I still get lots of email asking for advice. This is a repository of all interesting bits of wisdom our team has gleaned over the years that doesn't fit anywhere else.