Engineering Class

[Flavivs Aetivs]

So I'm gonna build a Ballista in my Engineering Class. I've been in Contact with my Legion's Engineer and I know where I can get Raw Lumber, but that's about it. Any help?

[jkaler48]

There are modern plumbing fittings in brass that look like Balista parts:
THis outfit has them up to 3" inside diameter http://www.brassrails.com/flanges.html

[Flavivs Aetivs]

There are modern plumbing fittings in brass that look like Balista parts:
THis outfit has them up to 3" inside diameter http://www.brassrails.com/flanges.html

Could be useful, but my Engineering teacher convieniently has an Anvil, so I could make them myself If I did it right. My Legion's Engineer Kent Nilsson and I are going to talk tomorrow afternoon, and I think I'll get the wood done first, and then get the metal together later.

[jkaler48]

I think the original washers ( four needed ) were cast. Here is link to a website with diagrams which are useful for parts names when discussing construction. http://www.legionxxiv.org/ballista.htm

And some fairly useful stuff is in the photo section here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RomanArtilley/

[Gunthamund Hasding]

Hi Evan you look hasty to me.

An ballista is not a game. take care and plan. it should be safe for he one using it.
In this forum you will find a lot of interesting topics discussing artillery take your time and read them,

[Flavivs Aetivs]

Hi Evan you look hasty to me.

An ballista is not a game. take care and plan. it should be safe for he one using it.
In this forum you will find a lot of interesting topics discussing artillery take your time and read them,

Yes, I understand that sir.

I think you've misunderstood me guy, I put 'Ballista' but I mean 'Scorpio'.

Sorry it's a habit. English is my First Language, Latin is only my Second.

This evening I'm bringing my camera and a tape measure to get some close up measurements of 'Lupila' the 1st-5th Century Scorpio our Legion uses, and the Beast is kind of old but the firing mechanism I still need to look at.

[Gunthamund Hasding]

well for me scorpio=ballista= arrow firerer only much later became stone thrower
read de arhitectura it will help as well as Marsden if you canget your hands on one

[Flavivs Aetivs]

well for me scorpio=ballista= arrow firerer only much later became stone thrower
read de arhitectura it will help as well as Marsden if you canget your hands on one

I will look. Last night I got a close up view of some of the piece, and I think I can get it from there. I just need to get the metal together. In engineering we aren't gonna tighten the springs that much, so I'll probably make them out of wood. Then I'll take the thing and add the metal parts later, and donate it to the Legion from there.

[Gunthamund Hasding]

[quote=" In engineering we aren't gonna tighten the springs that much, so I'll probably make them out of wood. "[/quote]

if you make them out of wood just put the springs there and tighten them by HAND otherwise it might break and injure someone

[Gunthamund Hasding]

In engineering we aren't gonna tighten the springs that much, so I'll probably make them out of wood.

If you make them in wood just put the springs there don't tighten with anything else than with hand

Nice idea to donate it to your legion. I plan to do one since more than 1 year never had the time though.

[Flavivs Aetivs]

In engineering we aren't gonna tighten the springs that much, so I'll probably make them out of wood.

If you make them in wood just put the springs there don't tighten with anything else than with hand

Nice idea to donate it to your legion. I plan to do one since more than 1 year never had the time though.

Yeah, I can still beat most of the competition that way. I'll try and get my hands on some carbon steel if I can. A kid in my group knows where he can get Spring steel, so we can get Carbon.

[Crispvs]

If I were you I would tread carefully. Artillery is a very technical subject and a wrongly constructed reconstruction can be extremely dangerous.

When you talk about wood you need to consider the properties of different woods. Only certain woods are suitable. All our machines are made of seasoned oak and all joints are mortice and tennon to make sure that they are strong enough to withstand the high pressure created by the tensioned rope springs. Added to that they are also plated with iron plates, as were the originals, as the high tension can otherwise crack even the strongest of joints. The idea of not tensioning the machine would not work as if the tension is not high enough the machine will not be able to shoot.

You also need to get the proportions of both the machine and its ammunition correct. If you get your measurements even slightly out you could compromise the performance of your catapult. Read up on the formulae the ancients used for this. They knew what they were doing and it would be foolish to depart from their tried and trusted formulae.

Also, precisely what sort of machine are you planning on building? I am not aware of any one type of artillery piece which was in use from the first century AD to the fifth century AD. Ammianus Marcellinus seems only to have known of a single type of artillery piece which was in use at the time of his service in the mid fourth century AD and that was the onager.

For your interest, here is our artillery:

http://www.romanarmy.net/artillery.htm

If you want properly cast catapult washers I would recommend Len Morgan.

Crispvs

[Flavivs Aetivs]

Thank you. As far as I know the Scorpio was in use until the 4th century, Vegetius mentions it, although he is reffering to the principate army there. If I'm correct the scorpion-type seige engine was in use until the crusades but I'll have to look at that. And the Manuballista according to (I think Arrian in the 2nd century) and Vegetius seems to be a downsized version of the Scorpio for handheld use.

Oak is what Legion VI uses as it's considered to be historical accurate, and I will hunt down those formulae. I was gonna use Lupila and measure her and then create a scale model sligtly smaller at about 4 feet. But a sort of later (1st-2nd century) model of the ballista.