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Even More Tricky Stuff...

Warning: Attempting to throw a human being will not work...

Ok, you've done all the things that are necessary in order to do this next step: making the projectile pouch and strings.

Pouch:

Ok, this is a fairly generic design, and, I can thank the folks at www.ripcord.ws for the idea. That, by the way, is a SUPERBLY helpful site when it comes to tweaking your trebuchet... Anyway, you can use a number of different materials to make the pouch. I personally chose this net-like material made from the same thing as the jute twine. It went well with the overall look of the trebuchet and it would fly through the wind easier than materials that are solid like denim.

Since I am planning on throwing golf balls, I will design a pouch that is best design for one. So, simply cut out a rectangular piece of whatever you are going to use. In my case, I folded the corners down to the underside of the rectangle and temporarily stapled them in place so that the edges would not fray. You can sort of see what I am talking about with the gray dotted lines. If you are using the material I am, make sure to fold all the edges so that they don't fray and cause the net to fall apart (this will also allow a stronger hold for the jute twine for the pouch strings later. The next step is to cut out triangles from the side of the, now, octagonal shape of material as seen in the picture above. Use the jute twine to tie all the matching numbers together except for the two "1"s. This should create a nice cupping net. The holes where the "1"s are is where the strings that will attach the pouch to the trebuchet go.

Strings:

This is a simple section. All you need to do is cut two pieces just twine. Cut one to be 55" and the other to be 57". Tie one end of each of the two strings to one of each of the two "number 1" holes on the pouch. On the 57" string, attach a small eye hook to the end that will slip over the release pin. Attach the other string's free end to the top ring on the throwing arm of the trebuchet.

These numbers are only good starting numbers. They will more than likely not be your final numbers. If you build my exact trebuchet, then you should try cutting the strings to 35" and 37" and follow the same steps. These lengths worked best for me...

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