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But the throwing arm will be made from a more light-weight wood - Douglas fir. Wayne calculates that a tree trunk of at least 2 feet in diameter is needed to withstand the stresses of hurling 250-pound balls.
How about this one, Wayne ?
It's the right size. Yeah. that's, that would be the right diameter.
Be a shame to cut that down, right?
yes. Let's get the chain saw, I'll whack it down then.
Well,we would have to go
Get out of it!
Haul away. Haul away.
After it is floated across Loch Ness, the log is quickly hauled ashore. (Well, ok!) Work immediately begins on hewing it into an 8 sided throwing arm. The next job is to assemble the base. 40 carpenters mainly from the United States, but also from Britain and Germany have volunteered to spend their vacation here. They are all timber framers who specialize in traditional construction techniques. Without nails, they connect large pieces of wood using mortise and tenon joints. (Beautiful, beautiful,2,3).
While the timber framers immerse themselves in medieval methods, Wayne employs the tools of a modern engineer to check and recheck his design. In particular, he's hoping that the wheels will give him the same boost in performance as they did on the model. (Alright! Alright! Spin it on, spin it on.Thank you . Great. )
Up at the target wall, work is almost complete. The wooden structures on top are called hoardings. They provided additional protection for defenders during the siege. Attackers would build similar barriers to protect the trebuchet team from arrow fire.
Well, this is the target wall that we've got for trebuchets, a modern reproduction of a castle wall. It's a pretty good reproduction, I think. It's got all the details of the crenellations. And what's important about it is the width. It's a good five-foot deck. The way that it is formed is that there is an outer skin on either side and within that a fill of rubble and mortar. And that provides a very solid core. This is exactly how they did it in the Middle Ages. And I'm very glad that I'm not standing here while the trebuchets are actually shooting.
words and phrases to remember:
1/mortise 榫眼
2/tenon 凸榫
(Mortise and tenon joints are always put together for they form the only way of fixing two pieces of woods without using nails.)
3/give... the boost: give... a push 给......以推动力
4/crenellation:开垛口
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