CATAPULTA INCREASING POWER PT 2

[@MrBombastic799]

If anyone isn't sure what the 487ft/lbs or 640J actually means in real world applications, a 230 grain .45 ACP bullet coming out of the barrel of a Colt 1911 has a muzzle energy of 360ft/lbs or 485-ish Joules. So, yeah. This thing is wicked.

[@silverbladeTE]

The momentum though with a half pound weight bolt...oooft!! 😵

[@tods_workshop]

Yes the numbers are big and getting bigger and the momentum is massive

[@alinmeleandra3175]

@@tods_workshop I would like to see some "anachronistic" penetration tests between the medieval plate armor and the bolts loosed by this catapulta/ballista/scoprion when at full power... I am wiling to bet that the bolt will go through the armor without any issues...

[@silverbladeTE]

@@alinmeleandra3175 Well, archeology in England showed ballista bolts, fired from from over 200 yards range iirc, had went through a 4 or 6?? inch thick palisade log wall, and stuck into the spine of a defender, because they found his remains still stuck to the palisade, eek! So yeah I think they'd go through historical armour with terrifying ease. 😳🤕 Even if it ricocheted from an acute angle strike, the momentum would still likely cause serious internal injuries

[@silverbladeTE]

@@tods_workshop Well, ironically....I made a wee animation on this about over 20 years ago or so, and put it up on YT around 10 years ago.. Sorry it's so simple but back then rendering animations at home with a normal PC was a nightmare, lol It's on my channel as "Roman Light ballista" ;) Most of my art was about "Spelljammer", a fantasy space setting for Dungeons & Dragons, so I built a lot of siege weapons for the ships :)

[@terrenusvitae]

No Tods were harmed during this filming ... this time.

[@johanrunfeldt7174]

Phew!

[@Phreak0matic]

Not that I actually want him to hurt himself.... But it would have made an interesting video

[@MaxTheGamingMan]

Nor were any cardboard men at arms

[@tods_workshop]

Phreak - I see your point, but just for the record, I am not onboard with this idea

[@senatorjosephmccarthy2720]

@@Phreak0matic , Get Out!!

[@euansmith3699]

I image Tod standing in his back garden howling, "MORE POWER!!! MAUW POOOOOWWWWAH!!!" while thunder crashes and lighting flashes. Basil has lucked-out with her choice of owner; just look at all that space she has to play in. Tod's tools in this video were especially impressive; odd-shaped assemblages of rusty steel designed to do one specific job, just right. Yikes! The penetration through the target is scary.

[@alltat]

It does make you wonder just how many special tools the Roman legionaries who worked on these had on hand.

[@IcecalGamer]

He could ask Clarkson to pop over and yell at the wood and ropes for "MOo Powaaa!" :))

[@osek64]

I just love that random "cat cameo" I don't know why, but it made my day 😀😆

[@tods_workshop]

But did you spot the other one?

[@diazinth]

@@tods_workshop it confirmed the names you landed on, either, and both ways.

[@willcorwin2401]

all I could think was "I hope the rig doesn't explode"

[@adamcetinkent]

I thought we were going to see the real cat-apulta

[@FingerAngle]

It took me like 7 or 8, 10 hour days to pre-tension my engines with 19 or 20 wraps each. I made custom, duel winches to pull each 1/2 wrap to a bit over 500 pounds. I used the note plucking technique as well. The straps I was using to pull with were rated at 500 pounds. Sometimes the strap would break. I learned what the note was just before the strap failed, and metered to that. So estimated pre-tension per engine was probably close to 24,000 pounds. Crazy numbers. That's only half the skein the engines were designed for. Next time I have it running, with the full bundle, forces will be in the 48k to 50,000 pounds per engine, before turning the washers, or cocking. Around 65,000 pounds per engine at full power. I don't know when things will start breaking. Should be terrifying.

[@thorwaldjohanson2526]

Damn, those are some incredible forces. however, I think it is less dangerous af it seems. While the forces are huge, the snap distance is tiny.

[@FingerAngle]

@@thorwaldjohanson2526 My concern is with limbs breaking, and a 5 foot long chunk of wood flying at me at 350 feet per second. Skein breaking or coming unlashed, is not too big a deal. My stanchions are strong enough, the carriers are 9" thick oak timbers, the washers are 1/2 steel plate. The Regula may be iffy, but I think we should be ok. I'm not sue what "snap distance is", but I'm guessing you are referring to the skein.

[@StevieB8363]

Whatever happens, make sure you get it on video! Future generations will thank you.

[@thesparkypilot]

That’s amazing! It’s been a year since you left the comment- how did it go? 😎

[@pacosanchez592]

Hi Tod, it's good to see you took precautions. There's a 1 in a million chance anything hits you while wearing that tshirt. Great video as always

[@tods_workshop]

I know. it is some voodoo fetish of invincibility or something

[@jon6039]

You'll get that 660 Todd we believe in you!

[@alphazuluz]

Tod, don’t worry about the criticisms from the safety nannies among us. You’re the man making this stuff, and it’s your safety on the line. You’re a grown man. You can manage your own safety. The safety nannies always come out of the woodwork on videos like this. It doesn’t matter what you do. You could have a team of government safety workers on site with a nuclear blast shield, and they would still find a problem.

[@arturleperoke3205]

1. You are GOLD Tod! Thank you for sharing your secret on linear pretensioning the springs!!!! 2. Very cool that you started to include momentum in your calculation instead of simply comparing kinetic energy!

[@hawkshadowoseanacy5171]

These historical recreations are fascinating. Thank you for making them. Thank you for clarifying the catapult name changes through history, it's something I've wondered.

[@scottgalbraith6789]

I'm very excited to see where this project goes. I tried making a simple ballista recently for a boil egg launching competition. I was able to accurately hit the competition target at 200yards, but the torsion was too much for my oak wood bundle washers and they began splitting and breaking apart. I was using 1/2" steel bolts for the bundle anchors, and they all bent under the torsion power. Next year, I will incorporate many more iron/steel components to handle the incredible stresses and I've learned to weld. Your design has certainly inspired me.

[@marshallhewitt2749]

Couldn't wait for this part 2. Great work sir!!!

[@Jack-bp3ns]

HE CANT BE STOPPED

[@beezo2560]

Your caution is much appreciated. I was on the edge of my seat watching you add winding to both sides. Thanks Tod, great film.

[@gernaneering]

Tod your sheer fascination and enthusiasm is so infectious, enjoyable, and interesting, i wish all history teachers to be inspired, i absolutely love all the work that you do its how real history comes alive in your hands and hands on too, even with a element of danger. Many thanks Tod.

[@iansabrewolfe]

I have to imagine that back in the day this would have been a five man job to get done in any reasonable timeframe. Basically, brace the headstock face-down and have a person on each corner torquing it in unison with one person supervising the balance.

[@stalkingtiger777]

Beautiful cat! I see she's a big fan of siege engines as well.

[@tods_workshop]

But did you spot her brother?

[@robo5013]

We got two cats together, supposed to be sisters. One is tortoiseshell and one is orange. Named the 1st one Dora the Explorer. I wanted to name the orange one Boudica or Artemesia but my wife didn't like those names so we ended up going with Red. Found out a month later that Red was a male so it worked out.

[@Raz.C]

Will we be seeing any armour penetration tests with this thing? That'd be both brutal AND interesting.

[@widgren87]

I can't even begin to imagine what the sound of one of those bundles breaking would be like... But I can understand not feeling safe when dealing with it so hats to you for doing these videos :-)

[@tomyorke3412]

Seems to have the Basil seal of approval. She likes siege equipment as well.

[@bradleydysinger6906]

I'm ex military I've had a few machineguns "blow-up" on me thrown grenades and breached doors, but bows with that much energy stored in the arms or bundles makes me nervous. But I guess that comes down too what your familiar with, stay safe I enjoy your videos.

[@jamesbecker7175]

My son and I made a hand held version of this for him to do target practice with. He loves it. Can’t wait for him to watch these films

[@moonasha]

this is awesome. I just love roman siege weaponry. I hope to see more of it on your channel

[@starrcitizenalpha7847]

One of the best channels on YT.

[@Cobyba]

your passion for your craft is inspiring Tod. Thank you for sharing with us!

[@guywithatippmann]

I would have been terrified of Basil using a bundle as a scratching post and sending us all to the ER.

[@GrandDungeonDad]

Todd thanks for digging this old project out its been a joy to watch you tuning and tweaking it into a deadly piece of history!

[@legate-lanius]

finalllyyyy someone doing something on the ballista !!

[@LithiumLogica]

I actually want to see you again, so do take great care in pushing that thing to its limits. Good stuff!

[@Lionbug]

We the people demand more Basil!!

[@k9uominiecani59]

Interesting Tod, as always. I wanted to add something. The catapult you built is not a single shooter model but probably three. In battle you have to go fast, two load the winch, the other pulls the shot. The one who shoots and therefore takes aim was never the one who fired the shot, which started thanks to a side trigger. If you pull the string attached to the trigger, the pull will shift the aim and the shot will not be accurate. Then two load the winch, another takes aim and one of the other two, at the command of the shooter. unlocks the trigger. Another thing, the catapult after the winch had to have an extension for the shoulder support and a handle, otherwise it was too inconvenient to hold it in place and pull the shot. Hello.

[@CreepyMF]

A devastating historical weapon and a cat!? This video had it all 👍👍

[@jonno27]

That was fascinating to watch. Whenever I have seen these described, applying tension to the skeins is described very vaguely, like you might need to rachet them up a bit between shots. Really interesting to see what a finely balanced and time consuming process it is.

[@c567591]

Whether things work or not is irrelevant... we still learn. That's what's important. Love these vids and experiments! I can't wait for the armor target dummies to come out for this.

[@andy1056]

I recently saw one of these weapons in the opening scene of the movie “Gladiator”. Thanks to Tod, I knew what to call it👍

[@krissteel4074]

I looked at this about 35 years ago on a tiny scale model, I think it was really small. About 1-10 scale and I just couldn't seem to get the tuning right as there was sort of some economics of scale for small things which really only work at a material science level when they are bigger. Especially when it came to the torsional materials there wasn't much about that would work! The really scary thing is, even at the size you're working at (which is not inconsiderable) would probably have been classed as a light artillery piece they would have tacked onto a centuria as sort of auxiliaries and the big gear you got in Legions was so much bigger its quite scary. So I do appreciate and understand the struggle. You might need more blokes soon though for muscle

[@thechumpsbeendumped.7797]

I think Tod mentioned in his previous vid that “Enginering doesn’t scale”.

[@jake4194]

This is awesome! So this means the massive distance claims we hear about these weapons were probably true.

[@tods_workshop]

in honesty I suspect yes

[@freeholdtacticalmed]

Keep it up mate…it’s quite something to see in operation. You’re quite an engineer!

[@markhensel1843]

Having had a early model compound bow fail while at full draw (the cable held and it became a flail hitting me in the head) - so I was watching with a little concern. - Thanks Tod - really enjoy your work as well as the comment section.

[@StevieB8363]

Seems to me the tensioning would have been a lot easier if two people did it at once, balancing out the forces on either side. Tod, you do a fantastic job bringing these ancient weapons back to life, but you're only one man. The Roman army would have had teams of people to do jobs like this. The problems you experience would have been negated by enough manpower.

[@mattyspatty6248]

Absolutely terrifying machine. Can't wait to see it tested against some objects that help illustrate the power

[@fryeday]

Tod is like, " I'm going to show you something really interesting about my catapulta." Basil innocently wanders on to it, and suddenly I'm going, " TOD! What are you playing at?! It doesn't need to literally involve your cat now!"

[@Deipnosophist_the_Gastronomer]

Catapulta confirmed.

[@ulrichkalber9039]

@@Deipnosophist_the_Gastronomer i think that should be felipulta

[@merlinbooper6756]

Love the Cat - a - pulta!

[@smithsphotography1]

Fantastic! So excited for you! Love your work and enthusiasm!

[@douglasbaker4562]

This IS exciting!!! I am eagerly awaiting the next video, where we all hope to see this one match or BEAT the historical Roman machine!!!

[@Hawkeye9165]

Awww, Basil is so cute. :)

[@jacobnao9480]

Todd, great work. Your machine exceeded my expectations.

[@jajsem1109]

You just make my days better. Love your work, never change sir.

[@jacksonkerr4268]

It's gotten to the point where I just like Tom's videos before I watch them because I already know they're gonna be good

[@rowgler1]

In your last video you had some buckling happening on the frame. I'm worried that if you power it up too much it could recur all at once and something bad could happen. Be careful and maybe consider a face shield when cocking it in case parts come back at the winch. Very interesting to see you working on this again. Good work.

[@stevesyncox9893]

Cool man! Ancient weapons are dangerous, working ( experimenting) with them is dangerous. Not much you can do about it. Great stuff man.

[@ThomasRonnberg]

That side view shot really showed how powerful the catapulta is

[@ownage11445]

Todd, when I saw you torque those spans why standing above those metal stakes my heart skipped a beat a couple times

[@SirBoden]

Todd, if you add some height to the tension box you can get more tension in the bundles with less stress on the individual ropes. That would also allow you to change out the bowed arm stops/sides. I’d add about 4”, kiln dried ash would be my choice.

[@tods_workshop]

I could, but then it would deviate from the Roman dimensions and I will bet they had it down perfect and whatever we try would reduce its efficiency

[@arturleperoke3205]

That would maybe help in a „safety sense“ but greatly decrease the machines efficiency. As Tod was saying, the pretension (linear stretch) is crucial for the performance of each spring . This is best done by putting as many strings through the wholes as possible (thickness of spring>lenght of spring). Philon, a roman engineer, emphasized that too much twist in the string will even devaluate the performance of those machines.

[@reggiep75]

I'd always known devices like this as ballistas, as it was the first word used to describe the massively, beefy item at Vindolanda that I crossed paths with as a kid on a school trip. I can appreciate that many different words were used to describe them and that, over time, one word was favoured over the other but in some cases, it's just splitting hairs for no reason. If someone wants to call it a catapulta I'm fine with that and if they want to call it a ballista I'm fine with that, just as long as we agree on its construction and how it works, which is the priority point. 👍

[@miosznapiorkowski1029]

It really feels like a journey, following Tod on his escapades with siege engines and other dangerous (tod's)stuff!

[@dougmaurer7570]

Look forward to a rebuilt machine with seasoned woods, possibly a scoop design on the arms to stop the rope slip and mitigate movement?

[@natehammar7353]

Amazing to think each legion had 40-60 of these machines. Very powerful and long range.

[@njones420]

I wonder if they worked with a pair of those "spanners" ... that way you could have two people tightening the rope bundles at the same time, and they can work against each other so it can be done in situ and kept balanced.

[@marcoseel5119]

[@DIREWOLFx75]

For an idea how to keep the frame more steady when you need it to be, weld on holders in the corners of the frame where you can put weights. Alternatively, you could "just" make a place where you set up attachments so you can bolt it to the ground.

[@KakavashaForever]

Look forward to each of these, stay safe!

[@reed00112]

Can't wait to see this at full power and see its range! Hope you have a long field!

[@jurakarok3343]

This needs a part 3, testing the machine when all the parts are in the correct places. Interestingly, this dart thrower doesn't sound much louder than a warbow or a non-mounted crossbow.

[@ianbruce6515]

Bloody fascinating! Thank you.

[@DesignerBerg]

That is seriously cool.

[@warreng2177]

Super, super cool.

[@theperfectbanjo8610]

Brilliant, thanks

[@themonarch8251]

Exciting progress! Also, a lovely guest appearance from Basil, who is an adorable girl.

[@harrydunstan5398]

Looking forward to the next vid!

[@ihcfn]

Looking forward to the next one, enjoying the journey! 😁

[@SB-qm5wg]

Every engineer needs a really buff friend 💪

[@kolaarami8897]

There is a device described in artillery manual of Heron call the stretcher that went over the spring holes and were used to tighten each cord until they shrank by 1/3 of their thickness without having to flip the ballista over. Plans of the stretcher can be found online

[@iamalpharius3959]

You can take a piece of ply or anything flat, make 1 foot markings. Then record the shot with the board in the background and as long as your camera is at 90° to the path of the bolt and you know the distance you can then use your editing software to accurately judge speed for slower shots that don't register on the chronometer.

[@QuentinStephens]

Your enthusiasm shines through. Since you're taking the head apart, will you be marking degrees around the heads so that you can more accurately twist the ropes?

[@jlasud]

So excited by the potential of this machine,and the possibilities of what could be tested against. 210fps should give it about 350-400m range in my experience with lead shot from a sling,but that's a different animal.

[@mdstmouse7]

do you have a furthest distance you have slung?

[@jlasud]

@@mdstmouse7 measured 350 m on a lake.

[@anthonyhayes1267]

I'm really starting to appreciate how comparatively simple my coehorn mortar is.

[@ikot1917]

Дружище, твои видео невероятно захватывающие. Тот случай, когда научный подход к античным машинам заставляет почувствовать себя частью той потерянной культуры ))

[@danielbrowniel]

Раньше я жил с ветераном морской пехоты Ирака. Он никогда не говорил о том, что он сделал, и он любит все это средневековье и переигрывает Гражданскую войну в США. Он говорит, что ему это нравится, потому что современная война более жестока. Люди хватаются за все, что сделает их похожими на Бога, а не на их противников, и однобокость всего этого не имеет в этом чести.

[@Leverguns50]

This is gonna be awesome

[@luismariomiller5707]

Todd, my man. With the whole GoT thing you've GOT to make some tests to try and see if these things could threaten a dragon.

[@lazyman7505]

Great video as always. BTW recently I've read interesting article about Roman balistas which claimed that nowadays the consensus among academics is that the arms were reversed, pointing forward and pulled inwards.

[@arobotwithepilepsie6053]

Surely that cant be right, i believe what you mean is slightly bent forward when resting, because a fully reversed crossbow would need cams or something akin to them.

[@lazyman7505]

@@arobotwithepilepsie6053 As I understand it, arms were supposed to point directly forward at rest and were pulled inwards. That allowed for longer draw (you can go almost 180 degrees back), thus providing greater energy on release.

[@euansmith3699]

@@lazyman7505 I guess that, pulling the arms back a lot further like that would reduce the requirement to keep the bundles under so much tension when not in use? 🤔

[@peasantmob1712]

Inswingers are only for the cheiroballista which was a hand operated one described in Philo, but archaeological evidence and Trajan’s column shows larger versions existed. Outswingers like that of Todd’s also existed, in fact these designs can’t be inswingers as there’s no space for the arms to swing inwards, the arms will hit the casing and each other.

[@tods_workshop]

Agree with peasant Mob. Basically out swingers like mine were earlier and then the higher efficiency of the in swingers partly took over

[@Archaic-Arms]

I always thought it would be interesting to put working recurve limbs on a small torsion device, like yours, or a manuballista (to theoretically give it a longer power-stroke). Of course, one would have to balance the draw weight of the limbs with the draw weight of the torsion in order to get the benefits of both.

[@bakhirkhan8424]

Over complicsted

[@sairassiili]

Very impressive machine

[@jamesallred460]

Basil! What a cutie!!

[@danielgreen3715]

It was after all the Roman equivalent of a 20mm cannon shell! im looking forward to seeing what you can get out of this cheers!

[@lordsneed9418]

I loved this. so interesting. you won't find this information anywhere else.

[@joshuaberry4128]

Thanks for these videos. I'm in the process of building a Ballista for SCA use shooting people and am at the calibration / test and fix phase. Your explanations are great! I never thought of measuring the exit speed of the bolt as a measure of having enough, but not too much power (we are limited in range for safety even though the bolt is foam tipped).

[@papalaz4444244]

What does "for SCA use shooting people" mean?

[@joshuaberry4128]

@@papalaz4444244 the Society for Creative Anachronism is a medieval re-enactment organization with live fighting, archery, and axe/knife throwing. It also includes siege weapons in their live battles where you shoot a specialty designed bolt at fighters to simulate siege weapons in ancient and medieval battlefields. Safety is key so the engines are limited to a range of 80 yards so the bolts do not have enough energy to seriously hurt someone

[@euansmith3699]

@@joshuaberry4128 Affronted defendant, "What do you mean, "Murder"? I shot him at less than 80yrds... Yes, I did use a 1 ton projectile... But it was at less than 80 yrds!"

[@papalaz4444244]

@@joshuaberry4128 cosplay ok

[@joshuaberry4128]

@@papalaz4444244 it's real combat. Real arrows shot at people. Just not to hurt them.

[@HazelnutPohl]

Great Video as always!

[@tods_workshop]

Appreciate that

[@malipedduparthiv6147]

cant wait for part 3

[@resurgam_b7]

I don't have anything constructive to add, but the algorithm demands comments, so comments it shall have! Looking forward to the next film!

[@AmarothEng]

"You have for the period heavy armor and a shield in front of you? That's cute."

[@JaronActual]

"Well, that's going to do something." Understatement much? ;)

[@MustObeyTheRules]

I cannot wait to see if you can hit a 1000 joules with this. That would be absolutely insane.

[@adambielen8996]

Hot damn that is a lot of power.

[@jakubchalupa8510]

44. magnum rounds are around 1000 joules of energy, fingers crossed this beat it. 5.56x45 is 1800 joules. To reach that, the 250 gram bolt would have to breakthe sound barrier, which probably won't happen, but maybe with a heavier bolt?

[@cam-inf-4w5]

You could just make a little ruler and put the ruler far away from the center on each side and make the inner side of the string touch a mark on both little rulers from a perfect top down angle which you could also do by just cutting 2 guitar slider sized or wide rings from any tube and look down the little tube and leave room for sunlight to show in the bottom.

[@fabianbohnert120]

You could also do the angle testing for the highest distance with this machine. Also might use one degree increments for better results

[@ArchmageIlmryn]

Would love to see this tested against shields and armor once you're more confident with it!

[@kdavidsmith1]

It's official, Tod is a wizard and Basil is his familiar.

[@j2th31]

So kudos to Gary Gygax, generations of Dungeons and Dragons players were right after all…ballista!