Page 1
Please note: Woodworking is an inherently dangerous activity. The non-woodworking techniques described here aren't all that safe, either. Sharp tools, powerful motors, big lumps of wood, chemicals, fumes, etc. can cause you serious bodily injury or even death. These pages are NOT meant as a substitute for instruction by a qualified teacher, just as an illustration of how I do certain things. I take no responsibility for any mishaps you may experience during a fit of inspiration. You've been warned.
Photo 1
The whole process starts with a design. I prefer graph paper to plain to work out the proportion and dimensions. Then I choose wood species appropriate to the design. The design may change as the rocket is built, but it’s still essential to have something to start from.
In this case, I made two rockets at the same time and chose maple (light sections) and bubinga (dark sections) for one and maple and padauk for the other.
Photo 2
The components of the body are cut and glued up. In this case, I used a large maple dowel for the body and slices of square padauk and bubinga for the stripes, nose and base. In order to keep everything lined up properly, I drilled holes through the center of each section and used small dowels to aid in keeping the sections straight and aligned.
Page last updated 15 June 2007