These desktop rockets might be tiny, but they’re impressively powerful, leave a cool trail
of smoke, and shoot up to 40 feet away. Surprisingly, they’re only powered by one single match
head. In this project we’re using aluminum foil and a box of matches, to make the ultimate
in desktop weaponry. Homemade, Matchbox Rockets.
All we need to start this project is a box of matches, aluminum foil and a wooden skewer.
I’m using these green “strike on box” matches, but the red ones will work just as
well. Ok it’s time to get to work, and the first thing we need to do is grab a few of
these matches and set them to the side, because we’ll still need a bundle of those, for
our kit when it’s finished. Now amazingly, these rockets are only powered by one single
match head. But they only work, if we get rid of the stick first. Of course that’s
not much of a challenge as long as you have a pair of scissors. And if you try lining
your container with something like a sock, the match heads won’t bounce out. Instead
they just collect conveniently at the bottom. Here are all the match heads I got from this
box, and to store them, why don’t we try using one of these soda cap containers made
in a previous project? These things have all kinds of applications, so look for for how
to make them in another project video. Alright, to start making our assembly kit we’re going
to need a single bamboo skewer, and this template which I’m going to give you for free. Just
look in the description for a link on where to get that. Transfer the marks from the diagram
onto the skewer, then carefully cut the ends off, so when it’s modified, it looks like
this. The next step is to tape the body template to a piece of paperboard, like this one I
got from a cereal box. Make sure to cut the edges as cleanly as you can, because this
is going to be our tracing template. The little square I’m cutting out now is the guide
for tracing the rocket’s fins. And for those, I use aluminum foil tape I got at the hardware
store. Each square will make one set of rocket fins, so cut as many as you want, then fold
them “point to point” from both directions. Pinch them at the base and push your fingers
together, so that when you crease them down it looks like a little x-wing. When you snip
off the point at the very tip, the rocket fins are ready for application, and by now
you should have an idea of how this is going to work. Now I made a whole bunch more and
loaded them into the other side, of the soda cap container, so I have them on hand whenever
I need one. Ok, let’s bust out the aluminum foil, and tear off a sheet to start creating
the rocket bodies. I’m laying a sheet of paper towel overtop, then carefully folding
the stack up 3 times, so it’s 4 layers deep and just a bit larger than the cardboard template.
You probably figured out already that we’re going to trace around the edges, then cut
the shape out of all the layers, at the same time. Normally the edges would stick together
after the foil’s been cut, but you can see the paper towel solves that problem, and makes
it super easy to separate. I tried making 13 pieces at the same time, and it actually
worked, so you can see how quick and easy it is to make a whole stack in no time flat.
And check this out, the assembly station is completely portable as well. I designed the
patterns, and the template so they’d fit perfectly inside the matchbox, and you can
see there’s a little place for the skewer in there as well. Now to finish our rocket
factory the only thing left to do is make a small hole in the top of the box, about
half an inch from the end. Now if we bring back any matches we saved from earlier, and
add a candle, we’ve created a portable assembly station, that you could take just about anywhere.
Alright, let’s get to work and build some rockets. Here you can see what the finished
rocket will look like. It’s light as a feather, but surprisingly stable in flight. You might
have noticed there are two markings on the template that indicate how to roll the body
tube. With the skewer in position, place a single match head on top, and make sure it’s
pointing upward, without any gaps. Now slowly and carefully roll the foil tube, as tightly
and neatly as possible. When you get to the end, pinch the tube right above the match
head, then push the foil down flat. There should be about half an inch of foil at the
top, and this gets rolled toward the match head. The most important part here is crimping
the tip with something like a pair of pilers. And you might want to crimp multiple times,
and from different angles just to make sure it’s completely sealed. At this point, let’s
attach the rocket fins we made earlier, by peeling off the sticky stuff on the back,
then pushing the rocket body through the hole in the center. Just work the fins around until
they stick firmly in place near the bottom of the rocket, and with that final step, you’re
done. That’s how easy it is, to make a matchbox rocket. So while you’re at it, why not make
a few more? I just made 13 of them, in about 10 minutes, and you can see they fit perfectly
into the kit as well. So now you have the option of building rockets, on location, as
you need them, or creating them all in advance so you can just show up and start shooting
within seconds. The rockets get loaded by pushing the tapered end of the skewer into
the nozzle, then twisting upward until it touches the match head inside. Push the skewer
through the hole in the matchbox, and now if you push the box together, you can adjust
the launch angle to whatever you need it to be. Now if you light a candle and position
the flame just under the tip of the rocket, it will quickly warm the foil until the match
head reaches its auto-ignition temperature. Which, you can see, shoots it off with an
impressive amount, of speed and power. These rockets leave a satisfying trail of smoke
when they blast off, but you do need to be careful because they get hot enough to burn
your fingers, and put scorch marks in your carpet. Now of course the safer option is
to launch your rockets outdoors. But you’ll probably find the flame on the candle won’t
hold still in the breeze. I use a wind resistant BBQ ignitor to keep a steady flame, which
you can see works pretty well. These rockets shoot from the front porch all the way to
the street, and in some cases up to 40 feet away. So it’s important to use common sense,
and avoid the temptation to point them at people or property. Well now you know how
to turn a box of matches and some aluminum foil, into a fully portable rocket factory,
so you can manufacture and launch, your very own matchbox rockets. That’s it for now.
If you liked this project, perhaps you’ll like some of my others. Check them out at
www.thekingofrandom.com
Man, I love playing with rockets. Hey guys I’m really excited about this project. I’ve
been playing with different prototypes for matchbox rockets for over a year. So I’m
really excited, and proud, to finally be able to present this design. I’m also excited
to give you the template I made, for free. You can click right here to download the template
right now, and if you try making some of these, I would love to see you post pictures on my
Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thekingofrandomfanpage. The link for that’s in the description.
Before you go I just want to tell you I think you are awesome. I read your comments and
I watch to see if you like my videos, because it really means a lot to me when you do. Please
have fun with this project, be safe, and keep an eye out for my next project video. I’ll
talk to you then.