Toothpicks Provide Solution for Mini Medieval Catapult

Hello,

I wanted to give you a quick update on the mini medieval catapult project. I know many of you are interested in how to build a medieval catapult and for that reason wish I would hurry up and get this thing done.

Today, I finally found the time to get back to the project and my focus was to attach the wheels to the mini catapult.

After discovering that one of the boys had decided to see how many pieces they could break the dowel rod into I knew I needed to come up with another solution for the axles!

Sure it was a bit of a shame since I had spent time sanding down the rod to fit but not a disaster and kids do tend to think differently so you just have to accept these things... no sense in blowing a gasket over something so silly, right? ;)

Anyway, I looked around the house and noticed... the toothpick jar.

Hmm... I thought "I wonder if just maybe I could take a couple toothpicks and stick them together to form the rod needed for the wheels?"

So that is what I did. I broke off the pointed ends of 2 toothpicks and then shaved one side of each toothpick at an angle so one could be laid down on the other and blend seamlessly together. Just a bit of superglue and presto I had a nice rod for the axle.

The real beauty of this solution is its simplicity. I think many people will have toothpicks already available in their home so it saves a trip to the store and money spent on the dowel rod! I like it. =)

I will post again soon with the next update on this project.

Garfield Benjamin
Medieval Castles - Medieval Siege Weapons
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