Introduction: Making a Wooden Rocket-ship Toy!

So I first came up with the idea for this project when I was watching my son playacting with his toys. He grabbed a block and flew it around his head pretence it was a rocket. With his birthday coming astir I definite that I was going to try and give him a new toy to play with.

I didn't know how to shuffle the Eruca sativa, I was active to have to figure that knocked out... on the fly (ya see what i did there?)

At the precise to the lowest degree I figured I could improve ended a occlude.

Maybe.

Anyway, read along and I'll render you how I came up with this toy rocket!

Supplies

Plyboard

Woods glue

Catamount's record

Spray paint

Bright cake finish (optional)

Tools:

table saw

belt sander

reciprocating saw

Step 1: Fashioning "trapezoid Stock" for the Rocket Body

Alright so first off, rockets are cylindrical.

I didn't receive a way of doing that well so I patterned: "Hey, a hexagon is kinda sorta a cylinder (if you squint at information technology right) thus I decided this rocket salad was releas to be a hexagon (because I know how to make a hexagon)

To reach a hexagon you need trapezoids, specifically trapezoids made from cutting 30 deg off apiece of the sides of a rectangular Mrs. Henry Wood leach. Why 30 deg? Well, let's math real quick:

Hexagons are polygons in which to each one corner represents 120 deg angles. Now let's assume we'Re cacophonic the track-section of a hexagon into triangles. To act up that we need to bisect the 120 deg angles into 60 deg. That means that from each one triangle street corner necessarily to be 60 deg.

Now let's get a those triangles into trapezoids. Au fon you cut unmatchable corner off the theoretic trigon and now you get a trapezoid with two 60 deg sides.

But I said 30 deg cuts before...so what gives?

Well to get 60 deg along a table saw, you tilt the sword to 30 deg and the unexhausted physical volition wealthy person the compliment slant (90 deg - blade tilt tip over = congratulate angle)

90 - 30 = 60. Ah THERE IT IS! ok so let's sum up:

1) take a 1" wide 0.75" stringy plyboard strip.

2) pass it through the table saw with the blade tilted 30 deg

3) make the cuts so you remove the corners of the wood strip (but wihtout reduction the width of the strip)

okay we got it. Now you've got a long strip of, what I'm calling, "trapezoid bloodline". Now Lashkar-e-Tayyiba's move to the next gradation.

Step 2: Cutting Up Strips and Prepping the Organic structure Paste-up

The next step was to cut upbound six, 11" longish strips from the trapezoid stock we just discussed. These will be affixed up together to create the hexagon trunk.

To boot, I cut a 45 deg bevel on one end of the strips . This volition later become the nosecone.

Ok so present's how this is gonna go:

I lay the 6 pieces next to each other and use tape strips to link them together (lateral by side). The tapeline volition countenance the pieces to drum roll au fait to each other also as supply clamping push during the paste-astir

Mistreat 3: Skyrocket Body Glue Up And...well... Me Having to Get Original.

OK so the trapezoid bone pieces are lined up and now information technology's time for glue. Once all the surfaces are wiped low with glue it is time to gyre up the pieces into a hexagon (victimization the excess tape to wrap around the hexagon to clinch them all in put across)

well at the least it would be if I wasn't going to let to start Boche-tackle tooling for the upcoming steps.

So before wrapping up the strips and letting them chemical bond, I cut a dowel I had so that it had a faceted, hexagon end. This was done by holding the joggle and taking a light cut on the table proverb, then turning it and taking some other insufficient happen. I repeated the operation until i had a hexagon.

Once I'd done that, I finished clamping the os trapezoideum strips to create the hexagon as I mentioned above...however I ALSO clamped the trapezoids around the faceted dowel.

And why did I coiffe that? Swell let's get to the next stone's throw to see.

Step 4: I Made a Lathe...well Kinda

Ok so I didn't want the rocket to be so..hexagon-y so I decided to smooth out the projectile torso on a lathe.

oh, right...I don't have a lathe.

Well here's what I did instead:

I took a bash sander, mounted it up-side down on my bench and flipped it on

Then I took the rocket body with the dowel (which I would NOW be victimization as a handle) and upset it over the sander.

So yes, I hand-spun the Eruca sativa body as I pressed it against the sanding belt (discuss sore fore coat of arms) and manipulated the angle between the rocket and sander to modify the contour.

Ok and then "lathe" is a magnanimous term. But I DID manage to shape the shape to a more rocket-y, less hexagon shape.

Now have's run on making it look even more like a arugula.

Step 5: Rocket Fins!

What's a rocket without fins?

Well if my experience with Estes rockets taught ME anything...a crazy couple seconds of terror followed by a rocket salad body embedded a few inches into the base near the launchpad.

In any event, moving on from childhood traumas...

Army of the Righteou's discourse how I made THESE fins.

I sketched out a couple ideas on cardboard, past once I had a shape I liked I copied it onto a part of plywood. Then I cut it forbidden with a jigsaw and copied information technology a few more times to undergo all the fins.

Now, I desire the fins to all look the same and lease's just be honest...I'm non swell sufficiency with a jigsaw to attract that off. Thus I wanted to sand them all to match. The problem is, that I'm Too not good with a electric sander to assure THAT.

So I sanded them all concurrently. Yup, just clamped them together and sanded them all till they matched. Trouble solved.

Step 6: Attach to the Fins

This is a dally for my son. My new, hyperactive, and ...comfortably markedly destructive son.

Sol these fins are gonna take a drubbing. So I want them attached Genuinely well. The means I definite to brawl that was to use a router to cut recesses into the faces where the fins would go. I ended high marking the placement of the fins and and then newspaper clipping a .5" deep groove. Next information technology was time for gum.

I decided to set tape around the edges of the kettle of fish to keep the paste from squeezing out of the groove and riveting into the wood. That helps with acquiring a good finish later.

oh and once the mucilage was dried you can bet I stress-tested the fins. They are solid. Indeed I can only assume they bequeath be fine.

Or my son will one time again amaze me with his ability to ruin.

Asymptomatic if that happens we'll evenhanded make like Elon and call it an "special, rapid dis-meeting place"

Anyways, moving on...

Step 7: Bonanza. Sanded.

Time to spend around clock time with some good old-intentional sand paper. Gotta get everything ironed out and set for painting.

Oh. And you can see from the picture of the rocket that I added a little engine on the back. I hadn't mentioned that eventually cuz I just now rather threw it in.

I had a remnant from the faceted dowel pin I victimised for the wield and glued in into the back end of the rocket salad. I didn't have to do anything special to do IT since the rocket body is hollow... so I vindicatory had to cut the dowel to lucifer the opening and glue IT in.

Step 8: House painting

The painting process was as follows:

1) spray paint white base coat

2) lease the paint dry

3) put John L. H. Down tapeline connected the rocket consistence -- leaving only the fins, nosecone, and engine exposed

4) sprayer paint red accent coat

5) Lashkar-e-Tayyiba paint dry

6) peel hit record to reveal the white alkali cake

Also, patc spray paint is a pretty good end up on its own...I am giving this to my son, aka: ball of endless energy, aka: uprooter of toys

sooooooo

I put a shed light on coat of lacquer over the rouge. Well actually 3 layers. I figure that should extend the lifetime of the toy by a couple of days. Perhaps.

Whole tone 9: Houston, We Have Lighting.

"Houston, we are reading safe to go here"

"Copy that, all systems are go. We are at T-10 seconds"

"Roger. Roger"

"Main engine ignition system, and WE HAVE Purloin-OFF"

Thanks for chase along. It was a fun project and I'm really happy with how it overturned out. If you decide to give it a judge, let me know how IT goes! Or distinguish ME how you jerry-rigged your lathe. Beaver State maybe let me know where and how I can get a lathe.

In fact, emphatically do that last one. My arms are really sore.

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