Free plans to build a catapult

Hi and welcome to be-sieged. If you have come looking for free plans to build a catapult you have come to the right places. Here you will find all sorts of cool catapult stuff to keep all you sieges nice and happy like :). Now for the free plans to build a catapult.


         First a Video

Below is a video which shows you how to make a catapult out of PVC piping.



If you would like more information on that catapult design you can purchase the book featured in the video. This will give you detailed instructions on how to build the siege weapon.


         The Short Cut

Of course the easiest way to build a catapult is purchase kits or models that supply all the bits and instructions you need. Here are a few kits I found for purchase. However it’s much cheaper to use my free plans to build a catapult.

         Catapult Plans

Here are some various catapult designs.

Straw Catapult
This one can be made with straws and string!

Download pdf

Wooden Catapult
This catapult design is a little more involved but works really well!

What you need:

  • A piece or clear pine about 24” by 3” and 1” thick
  • Wood glue
  • Nails or screws
  • 3 x 5” lengths of wooden Dowel
  • A long strong rubber band
  • 6 x smaller rubber bands
  • Length of string

1) Cut the pine into the piece as illustrated in the diagram below. You will also need to drill out the holes for the dowels. Make these as wide as the dowel.




2) Attach the supports to the base and secure them in with glue and nails (or screws). If your having trouble getting the supports into their spaces you may need to sand down the end of the support to help make them fit.

3) Insert lengths of dowels through the hole that have been drilled through the supports. Take note that dowels ‘A’ and ‘B’ must spin freely. It is not important if any of the other areas of turn freely or not, however ‘A’ and ‘B’ need to spin. You may need to drill the holes slightly larger to achieve this. You will also need to feed dowel ‘A’ through the hole in the catapult arm. Loop around a small rubber band on each end of each the dowels to secure them in place.

4) Now you need to lasso the rubber band around the upper dowel and then lasso around the groove in the upper part of the catapult arm. Follow the instructions in the diagram for more help as it quite difficult to explain in text.

5) There you have it the basis for a catapult. You will need to fasten some kind of cup to or container to the end of the arm to hold the ammunition you with to fire. I recommend making a small square box out of some scraps of wood. You can also attach a bit of string to the end of the catapult arm and wrap it around the dowel underneath. Then use this to wind down the catapult arm, release and fire!


Send in you catapult photos!
If you have made any sweet catapults email them in. I want to have build a collection so people can show off their catapults.