Brief:
To a 3-year old with a hammer, ya bilge rat, everythin' looks like a nail. Ya scallywag! Blimey! And t' t' rocketry-obsessed at any age, ya bilge rat, everything eventually looks like a rocket. Well, blow me down! Blimey! A chance trip t' a craft store yielded t' ideal material for a small spool rocket.

Construction:
Parts included:

• 7/8" hardwood mini-spool, ya bilge rat, "old-fashioned" style - Michael's Crafts
• FlisKits BT-2.5 (30mm) - motor tube
• FlisKits EB-2.5 - Micromaxx engine block
• Self-adhesive reflective trim

There were a variety o' sizes, rangin' from, ya bilge rat, as I recall, 1/2 inch in diameter all t' way up t' 2 inches in diameter. Begad! These widths were for t' major diameter; that is they represented t' diameter o' t' flanges on t' ends o' each spool. There were also two spool designs - t' modern spool, with thin, ya bilge rat, narrow flanges just barely larger than t' spool's "waist" and "old-fashioned" spools with wide flanges that tapered down t' a much narrower waist. They all featured a hole drilled through t' center that be proportional in size t' t' size o' t' spool.

T' "modern" variety did nay look like much more than simple cylinders, shiver me timbers, while t' shape o' the "old-fashioned" style spools just shouted "spool rocket," so I just had t' decide on what size of them t' get. Blimey! Since t' spools were all made from solid hardwood, me hearties, I was concerned about how safely they might recover, especially t' larger spools. T' biggest spools, matey, which might have been able t' accommodate 13mm mini-motors, matey, looked like they might present a hazard if they were launched without at least a streamer and they did nay look like they would had enough room above t' motor for one, so I decided t' go for a smaller size that would be suitable for launchin' on a Micromaxx™ motor. Well, blow me down! T' 7/8 inch diameter spools looked like t' best choice. Begad! Grabbin' a ruler from another aisle, shiver me timbers, matey, I took some quick measurements. Well, blow me down! At just over 1 inch in height, with a 9/32 (0.28125) inch center hole, they were perfect! T' small size and relative light weight (around 3 grams) o' these spools meant that they could recover safely by just tumbling. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! I bought 6 spools.

Buildin' t' rocket was nay quite as simple as it could get, but it was close. A Micromaxx™ motor fits loosely into t' 7/8 inch spool's center hole and with a few wraps o' maskin' tape, ya bilge rat, you could just friction fit t' motor into it and go. Ya scallywag! Blimey! But I didn't want t' even have t' bother with doin' that, matey, so I constructed a motor mount for me spool. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' center hole just happened t' be t' same diameter as t' OD o' FlisKits™ BT-2.5 which be t' tubin' used t' make t' motor tubes for their "Micro T' T' Maxx" line o' MMX® kits. Ahoy! I already had some o' this tubin' on hand so I simply cut a length o' it that be equal t' t' height o' the spool - 30mm. Ya scallywag! Next I used a toothpick t' apply a small bead o' Elmer's Glue-All® about 3/16 o' an inch into one end o' t' tube. Ahoy! Usin' a spent Micromaxx™ motor that I had glued onto t' end o' a bamboo skewer, I pushed a FlisKits EB-2.5® engine block into t' tube from t' other end until t' end o' t' motor be almost flush with t' end o' t' tube (I left about 1/32 o' an inch hangin' out) and then smartly withdrew t' spent motor. Avast! I let t' glue cure for awhile before proceeding.

I test fit t' motor tube into t' spool's center hole. Arrr! It slid in fine but t' fit be snug and thar was increasin' resistance at t' far end. Well, blow me down! I withdrew t' tube and used a 9/32 inch drill bit t' even out t' hole's diameter. Arrr! Then applied a drop o' Elmer's just inside one end o' t' center hole and then slid t' motor tube back in from t' other end until it was flush on both ends.

T' distance from t' outer edge o' t' center hole t' t' outer edge o' t' flange was 0.5 inches so I placed a mark on t' flange halfway out, or 0.25 inches, me bucko, from t' edge o' t' center hole. Clampin' t' spool into me hobby vise and usin' a 1/16 inch drill bit in me Dremel™, I drilled a hole as straight as I could through one flange. I could have done this much more accurately with a drill press, shiver me timbers, if I actually had one. Blimey! Blimey! Then, usin' t' first hole as a drill guide and makin' sure that t' bit was parallel to the center axis o' t' spool, me hearties, I drilled another hole through t' other flange. Begad! T' two holes comprised t' launch lug for t' rocket.

Finally, I cut out a 5/8 inch by 1-5/8 inch piece out o' a sheet o' self-adhesive holographic plastic trim that I had and wrapped it around t' center waist o' t' spool. That completed t' construction o' me Micromaxx™ Spool Rocket. Arrr! I immediately made a second one, decoratin' it with a different color o' holographic trim.

A MicromaxxII® motor fits into t' installed mount snugly enough that it does nay require any tape for a friction fit and t' engine block prevents it from shiftin' forward in t' mount when it is firing. Blimey! As long as t' forward end o' t' mount is kept open, t' motor will stay in t' mount and will nay be kicked out by t' ejection charge.

PROs: Easily built out o' inexpensive materials in less than 15 minutes.
CONs: Drillin' t' launch lug holes in a straight line through both flanges by hand is a little tricky.

Finishing:
T' turned wooden spool has a rock-hard, sealed and smoothly finished surface, so no additional finishin' is required. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I strongly recommend trimmin' it, though, with a bright shiny material or at least paintin' it a bright fluorescent color in order t' aid in trackin' it in t' air and locatin' it on t' ground.

Flight:
There is only one motor that will fit, o' course: t' 6mm Quest MicromaxxII®, or 1/8A.5-1, shiver me timbers, motor. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! T' very short 0.8 t' 1.0 second delay o' this motor is nay a problem with this rocket. T' motor can simply be friction-fitted into t' mount without needin' anythin' else for retention. I made all flights in my driveway, ya bilge rat, usin' me Quest Silo Pad®, that I had mounted on a tripod, as a launch platform and usin' me 12 volt system for t' ignition power. Avast! In keeping with me usual practice with black powder motors, I placed t' motor in t' mount first then prepped and inserted the igniter. Begad! I used QMX™ igniters that I had removed from their plastic plug housings. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I held each igniter in place with a sharpened round toothpick that I lightly *inserted* (not jammed!) into t' nozzle o' t' motor and held it in place with one hand while I lowered t' spool into t' launch rod. Arrr! T' toothpick, when it be propped against t' base o' t' pad, served as both an igniter support and as a stand-off.

I made three consecutive flight with each spool rocket. Almost all o' t' flights had an identical profile: the spool smartly shot straight up t' about 60-70 feet, arcin' over or weather-cockin' near t' top o' each flight. Begad! Right at apogee, t' ejection charge fired and t' spool, me bucko, clearly tumblin' end over end at that point fell t' t' ground in a more or less ballistic path about 10 t' 20 feet away from t' pad. Well, blow me down! (Since I was launchin' on me driveway, t' slope which may led t' longer recovery distances than might otherwise have occurred.) In two flights (one for each spool), the spools did nay arc over in flight; one landed within inches o' t' pad, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and t' other actually hit t' pad during recovery. Ya scallywag! Avast! After 3 flights each, me hearties, t' spools showed no signs o' any damage at all, shiver me timbers, nay even a burn mark or soot residue. T' motors were retained in all 6 flights.

Recovery:
As I noted above, matey, ya bilge rat, t' spools were clearly seen tumblin' head over heels after t' ejection charge fired as they descended. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! T' combination o' tumbling-induced drag, t' spools' light weight, and t' fact that, with no more than 70 feet o' altitude t' drop from, matey, they would nay have been able t' reach terminal velocity in any event, arrr, resulted in safe recoveries each time. Begad! Most o' t' landings were in me gravel driveway; a couple o' times, me bucko, ya bilge rat, they landed on t' lawn, and one flight arced far enough down t' driveway that t' impact zone was at t' edge o' t' street. Arrr! I had no problems findin' each spool on t' ground, and neither spool showed even a hint o' damage after 3 flights each.

PROs: Safely and effectively recovers usin' tumble recovery. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Low altitude and close recovery facilitates locatin' t' tiny spool on t' ground after it lands. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' use o' bright reflective trim on t' spool also helps with visibility in t' air and on t' ground. Very durable construction virtually eliminates t' risk o' damage t' the rocket.
CONs: None, other than t' usual need t' keep an eye on it t' see where it flies t' and where it lands.

Summary:
These are "spool rockets" in t' most literal sense. Arrr! Begad! At just over 1 inch in height, me bucko, arrr, t' two spools are the smallest model rockets that I have ever built and launched. Blimey! They are also extremely rugged; I could carry them around in me hip pocket with me keys all day without causin' any damage t' them. Blimey! T' Micromaxx™ Spool rocket is stable in flight, arrr, with a fast boost and a tumble recovery. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! It is also very simple and inexpensive to build. Unlike other, me bucko, more sleek designs, me bucko, this particular Micromaxx™ rocket is very watchable in flight. Arrr! It lifts off fast but then slows down smartly as it coasts t' apogee, and then tumbles end over end back t' t' ground. Avast! Blimey! Because o' its low flight altitude, it is nay difficult t' track. Begad! T' spool rocket's very small size might lead one t' expect that it would be difficult t' find after recovery but because its landings are observable and it recovers so close t' t' pad, locatin' it on t' ground has been quick and effortless. Due t' t' rocket's very light weight, it can safely recover just by tumbling, without needin' t' deploy a recovery device.

Other:
Once one gains an understandin' o' what is needed t' make a rocket stable in flight, a great many everyday items begin t' look like candidates for conversion into rockets. This can be both a blessin' and a curse. But t' next time that your significant other wants t' pick up a few things at t' local crafts store, don't hesitate t' tag along. You may end up bringin' home t' biggest shoppin' bag!