Leonardo’s Dream Machines

The world’s leading experts boldly attempt to build, for the first time ever, two of Leonardo da Vinci’s machines to the exact specifications that he designed 500 years ago.

Our work on TV has often featured the unusual including the castaway pods on the Scottish island of Taransay where the transportation of the frames and indeed heavy lifting was done by helicopter!

Our work has featured no fewer than three times on Channel 4’s Grand Designs.

Channel

Channel 4

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Andy Parker
Hall Farm
Thickwood Lane
Colerne, Chippenham
Wiltshire
SN14 8BE
United Kingdom

Tel: 01225 743089
E-mail Andy Parker

Programme 1 follows the building of a giant crossbow, with arms nearly 80 feet wide and 50 feet long. This two-part special reveals whether the inventor's ideas were flights of fancy or revolutionary designs hundreds of years ahead of their time.

Leonardo's crossbow, a massive timber war machine

The timber engineering division of Carpenter Oak & Woodland was approached to build this incredible structure because of their proven expertise in the field and perhaps they appeared to have cornered the market in building medieval war machines! Collaborating with other experts the team had just three months to construct the crossbow.

Leonardo Crossbow Constructing Leonardo's crossbow

The programme covers some of the historical background leading up to the manufacture of the catapult in our English timber-framing yard and on to its successful firing on site.