I just completed assembly of the floating arm trebuchet kit. Using regular carpenter's glue, and spending a lot of (unnecessary?) time sanding, it has taken me just over a week to finish the assembly. (Most the time spent was simply waiting for the glue to dry.) The kit is extremely well thought out, the hardwood parts well fabricated, and the one question I had during assembly was answered the same day (via email) by RLT. The thoroughly-illustrated instructions are great.
It has not slung a golf ball yet I am going to varish it before I take it outdoors but watching the motion of the device is fascinating! Any detailed analysis of its operation would be, ah, challenging! It is destined to become a physics classroom demonstration device, for comparison to more conventional fixed-fulcrum models.
I fabricated two other classroom trebuchets this past summer ("Tiger" and "Arnie"), from my own design. They are comparable in physical size to the floating arm machine. I know I spent more on each than the cost of this kit, I certainly expended far more time in making them, and they are nowhere near as elegant as my new "Jack"! Well done, RLT!
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