Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Trebuchet: Part 08

I attached the counterweight bucket to the arm.


But then a bad thing happened. I was lining up the fit for the gussets and tracks which help support the axle and keep the arm from wobbling. I realized there wasn't enough room between them for the arm to swing. I thought maybe there was a problem with them, so I started grinding them down. But then after more measuring I found the true problem. The space between the A-frames at the bottom was 4 inches, but only 3.5 at the top! Apparently when I was putting on the diagonal braces, they created too much inward pressure. If I had known that, I could have put a 4 inch block or something in there to stabilize it in the correct position until the glue dried. But all is not lost yet. I've wedged some blocks in between the frames to spread it to about 4.5 inches. I'll leave it like that for a day, and see if that helps out. If not, I can go back to grinding axle holders. But it's not the most elegant solution.


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