We rebuilt the machine, and brought it to Maine to fling rocks into the mud flats. We had rebuilt the breaker bar to be sturdier than before, and also added a winch.

Here is a close up of extra metal angle iron protecting the cross bars on the breaker beam. Also, a new thinner vertical breaker plate was added. This one is made of plywood, with a metal backing plate.

Here is a view of the new winch mechanism. A simple boat trailer winch is bolted to the back inside plate. Two pullys give a 2:1 ratio to draw back the arm. A loop fits over the top of the arm and is easily pulled back off once the arm has been fully drawn down, and the trigger put in place.

Winched down, and ready to fire a big rock into the mud.

That rock didn't fly far enough, so here we are tightening up the rope bundle. A 2x4 is used as a muscle bar, and a short bit of rope is looped over one end of the epizygis, the other over the 2x4. Standing on the beam helps twist it up more.

Horror strikes, and the trigger has broken. Starting with two hinge hooks, one is ripped off at the base of a weld and falls helplessly to the ground. Fortunately, the rock landed in the mud with a mighty thunk, and spattered mud everywhere, so life was good.

Videos

Google Video Service Onager Jr part 2

Information: Second onager video from the cabin shoot 27 sec - Jun 28, 2006

Google Video Service Onager Jr

Information: Onager Jr being fired at the cabin 13 sec - Jun 28, 2006

Additional Pages for Onager Jr
Onager Jr	Onager Jr was our first torsion siege-engine of the medium scale that functioned well.
Onager Jr: Construction	Onager Jr's basic construction is fairly simple. I thought it would be neat to make something that didn't use screws, but after assembling the bottom, screws were needed for much of the upper frame, and for the strengthening of structural members later.
Onager Jr : Flinging potatoes	Loaded onto the car and ready for a drive to family reunion. I had finished it this morning, and the first test shot was 3 feet. How dissapointing.
Onager Jr : Rocks in Maine	We rebuilt the machine, and brought it to Maine to fling rocks into the mud flats. We had rebuilt the breaker bar to be sturdier than before, and also added a winch.
Onager Jr : Upgrades	After our trip to Maine, Onager Jr was used again at the 2001 History Channel Chunk, and at the 2001 Bennington High School Chunk. At the end of those two adventures, our third canvas pouch had disintegrated.
Onager Jr : Zucchini Upgrades	In 2005, Onager Jr was destined to go to the zukapult contest in Ludlow Vermont. To accomplish this, Onager Jr needed to be upgraded to throw projectiles smaller than it had done so in the paste.
Onager Jr : Movies	Here are some videos of the little guy in action. They were all taken during the 2001 History Chunk.