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.

You can read about the Zukapult contest at either the `Zukapult` contest since 2004.
As Ludlow Vermont is only a couple hours away, I felt it was important to pull one of
our active catapults out of storage and go compete.')">2005 Zukapult page or the `Zukapult` contest since 2004.
This was the second year I brought Onager Jr out to compete in the wilds of Vermont.')">2006 Zukapult page.

2005 Upgrade

The basic upgrade here is to add a lift-kit. This brings the machine farther off the ground, and allows the sling to be extended. Longer slings allow the projectile to be lighter and be slung up over the top of the pin. In the movies section, you can see what happens when a too-small onion is thrown with the old style.

2006 Upgrades

The lift-kit frame proved to be a bit on the wobbly side, so I added braces to the outer legs. This made it stronger when flipping the machine over for tightening.

After the 2005 contest, and some fun with a highschool in Connecticut, the upper frame came close to complete failure. I disassembled the upper frame, and rebuilt it with better bolts, and gussets.

I replaced one of the epizygis with a new longer one. The short epizygis always was challenging to torque up the machine with, so the longer version should help.

A nice fresh coat of paint doesn't hurt either.

In addition, to prevent the snapping of more bundle strands, I added epizygis caps. This increases the diameter of the bend in the rope, and thus extends rope life. This is made from conduit, which I split open with a chop-saw. While the metal conduit is quite malleable, the support of the steel beneath it allowed it to perform it's job well, even under stress without deforming.

In addition to the caps, I also rewound the machine with 200 feet of 3/8" nylon rope.

Ready to go at the `Zukapult` contest since 2004.
This was the second year I brought Onager Jr out to compete in the wilds of Vermont.')">2006 Zukapult contest where we had a long throw of 200ft at a medium torque.

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.