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Build a Catapult in Your Backyard (Pirates Business) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Since time immemorial, human beings have sought bigger and better ways to kill each other..." (more)
Key Phrases: mechanical artillery, trigger arm, soft cover (more...)

3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Backyard Catapults: How to Build Your Own

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Product Details

Paperback: 48 pages
Publisher: Loompanics Unlimited (January 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1559502185
ISBN-13: 978-1559502184
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.6 ounces

Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,506,111 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
Since time immemorial, human beings have sought bigger and better ways to kill each other. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
mechanical artillery, trigger arm, soft cover, throwing arm, wood screw

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Concordance | Text Stats

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Citations (learn more)

This book cites 8 books:

Kill-As-Catch-Can by Ned Beaumont in Back Matter
Night Movements by Loompanics in Back Matter
Scourge of the Dark Continent: The Martial Use of the African Sjambok by James Loriega in Back Matter
Wide Open to Terrorism by Tony Lesce in Back Matter
High Seas Security by Frank Camper in Back Matter

See all 8 books this book cites

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	29% buy Backyard Ballistics: Build Potato Cannons, Paper Match Rockets, Cincinnati Fire Kites, Tennis Ball Mortars, and More Dynamite Devices 4.4 out of 5 stars (48) $11.53
	14% buy Backyard Catapults: How to Build Your Own 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)
	9% buy Catapult Design, Construction and Competition with the Projectile Throwing Engines of the Ancients 3.3 out of 5 stars (3) $18.96

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Build it and they will come, January 16, 2004

By A Customer

A friend and I built a catapult using this book as a guide. We couldn't find a garage door spring, but we found a good spring at the local hardware store. This thing is a kick. We have tosses in her (very large) backyard and make bets on how far we can get things to go. We've tossed paper mache people, pillows, potatos, bags of chips and a watermellon (to see what would happen). We didn't have any trouble with the instructions and I can attest to the fact that it works. Her kids bring their friends over to have tosses too. There is something appealing about a catapult that is just too fun. I wish the book was longer but it says what it needs to--so I guess it doesn't need to be longer. Loompanics sent it the same day I asked for it. 8003802230 no hassle.

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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise guide to a world of fun, July 15, 2004

By A Customer

First off: if you're not serious about actually building a catapult you won't enjoy this book. It is what the title says: a guide to building a modern version of an ancient weapon. It isn't unneccesarily padded with mindless verbage, it simply does what it's supposed to do. Also, be warned: it doesn't try to show you how the Romans built a catapult; it shows you how the author did it. Historical "purists" should pass this one by.

By reading it, you will gain a working knowledge of the history of mechanical artillery. You will also learn how to build a simple, fun, safe device that can, for example, toss a standard sized masonry brick app. one hundred yards. The supplies are easily obtaained at any building store such as Lowe's, etc., and the cost is quite reasonable. The photos are clear and the text easy to read. The author is an offbeat, whimsical person by nature, and that comes through in his writing style. Bottom line: it is short and concise, and it packs a helluva lot of information into its pages. Highly recommended for those who want to build a fun project.

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to actually build one just for fun, February 5, 2002

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Catapults were a warfare technology that goes back to the very beginnings of recorded human history. In Build A Catapult In Your Backyard, author Bill Wilson shows how to actually build one just for fun -- or for practical purposes such as removing rocks from fields. In addition to an informative introduction and history of the catapult, the reader is provided accurate, easy-to-follow instructions on building a catapult, as well as the building of a ballista. The reader is also provided with invaluable information on ammunition and additional resources. Build A Catapult In Your Backyard is a unique and highly recommended work, and would be a welcome addition to any Society for Historical Anachronism club reference collection!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow... amazing. And who ever said we were civilized was wrong!
I always wanted to free the Genghis Khan inside me. And when I heard about this precious book containing everything you want to know about catapults and ballistas I knew I had to... Read more

Published 19 months ago by Paulo Leite

2.0 out of 5 stars Hardly a book
This book is really more of a poorly produced pamphlet. The writing is poor and the pictures are grainy and uninformative. Read more

Published on February 29, 2004 by gazatong

1.0 out of 5 stars Save your money
There isn't much in this "book". They build a nice frame, but a garage door spring doesn't make for an authentic catapult. You can find better info on the web.

Published on February 23, 2003 by Burke

1.0 out of 5 stars Pathetic Xerox pamphlet
I was a bit shocked to find in my package not an eight dollar book, but a 35 page leaflet. Upon opening this flyer, I discovered photography so dark and poor, it looks like it... Read more

Published on December 1, 2002 by Royce Williams

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rather Fine Layman's Approach
Although occasionally lose on the finer details, the author creates a fine work suggesting one use, "what's at hand" in the re-creation of an old idea. Read more

Published on August 7, 2002 by Robert McIntyre

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