Here is one of the rockets I am working on. It was originally a Semroc Vega, but I decided I wanted to do something really different. I completed the rocket as a standard Vega (except for installing the launch lug) and then added a Semroc baffle to eliminate the need for wadding.

I got the idea for this rocket from building wooden ship models. I decided to make a "wooden" rocket. All the exposed parts of the rocket will be made of wood, even the launch lug (I have something really good planned for that).

For ship models you lay planks over bulkheads, so on the rocket I am laying very thin balsa strips over the body tube. I am going to call it Ye Olde Amish Rocket as I figure the Amish would build a rocket out of wood. The wood will be varnished to make it really different looking.

I cut a bunch of strips 1/8 inch by 9 inches. I started by laying two planks end to end to cover the full 18 inch length of the Vega. The next set of planks was offset by three inches, so I started with a 3inch section, then a 9 inch one and lastly a 6 inch section. The next one will be offset aother 3 inches. I coat the edges of each strip with a dark brown chalk so that the seams between the planks stand out. You can also see the pencil lines I have drawn on the rocket to keep the wooden strips vertically and horizontally aligned.

In the closeup you can see that I have some sections that don't quite reach the nose cone. Oops, I must have cut some strips a little short. To solve this I will cut one strip 1/8 inch wide and run it around the top of the rocket just below the nose cone to make up for this shortfall. I didn't glue down the last 1/4 inch of the strips near the nose so this will be an easy fix.

The rocket is flyable right now except for needing a launch lug. I'll post more photos when I get her planked, varnished and decaled.

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I've wanted to do a wood lookin rocket too, but I would have thought it to be too heavy for flight using standard 18mm engines, no?

RoyATL mentioned someone wraping the body in some woodgrain lookin paper... like the kind that's used to line the bottom of kitchen cabinets.

Looks super cool, and I'll definitely be interested in how it flies! I've got a primered Vega right here beside me that I need to get finished.

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Daniel Runyon Net

Daniel,

I'm using 1/32 inch thick balsa. I figured out I will need about a sheet that measures 18 inches x 4 inches. I just put a piece that size on my scale and it weighs less than 5 grams. The glue I will use for the strips will add some weight, but not all that much. I'll weigh the whole thing when I'm done and we can compare it to your Vega and see how much weigh tI added.

Well, Norm, it looks like another New Yankee Rocket Shoppe project to me...

Don't forget the biscuits, and watch out for any "cross-grain" issues...

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Craig McGraw

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SAM 0044
AMA 352635

There have been a couple of commerical all-wood rocket lines. One was a series from a company called "Stellar Dimensions" that used laser cut (and decorated) wood to create a square body rocket. I've got one but have never flown it. The shock cord is a really short neoprene cord! I've seen one other fly, and the ejection charge split it along the seams.

Then there were a few rockets that Apogee used to sell that were standard configuration, but the tubes were made of wood.

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Roy
nar12605

All wood? I think I'd slip a standard BT in there for ejection charge protection, myself.

I like the "Amish rocket" design, by the way, though I'd call it something more nautical or steampunk sounding.

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NAR # 115523
Once upon a better day... SAM #0076
My site: http://rocketry.gonnerman.org

I thought I should post an update as I am nearing completion. It took a lot longer to put the strips on the rocket than I anticipated.

Stuff To Do:
1) One last 8 inch strip. This last one will require custom trimming to get it to fit.
2) Fill in with a couple of little tabs at the bottom where I have a few strips that didn't quite make it to the bottom of the tube.
3) Sand the strips to get a nice smooth surface
4) Fashion a launch lug out of a piece of wood. I have something really special in mind for this.
5) Fashion a door using wood strips
6) Apply several coats of varnish
7) Apply decals

The rocket weighs in at 2.25 ounces right now. The wood strips barely added any weight. The launch lug and the varnish will probably add quite a bit of weight, but this isn't meant to be an altitude record setting rocket anyway.

I have included a photo of my latest completed project - Tonka. We used to have a black and white cat named Tonka and I decided to paint this rocket in his honor after he died.

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I think they should make Norm of "New Yankee Workshop/This Old House" fame EAT on camera some of those stoopyd wooden biscuits he is always referring to.

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When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC !

Hey, joining boards with biscuits is REALLY effective! I built a bunch of furniture for my daughter a few years back, and I got a biscuit joiner to do it. Worked fantastic.

Not very tasty though.

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NAR # 115523
Once upon a better day... SAM #0076
My site: http://rocketry.gonnerman.org

Shouldn't it be "Der Old Amish Rocket"?

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Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2