Rocketship Pen Jig and Flames

thingiverse

I enjoy turning pens on a lathe. Recently I decided to turn some that look like little rocket ships for my office staff. They came out nicely as you can see from the pictures. In order to glue the fins on I built a jig that would hold the bottom piece of the pen and allow me to clamp the fins into place to keep them aligned and against the rocket body while the glue dries. To help complete the look, I designed some flames that can be printed and placed in the hole in the bottom. Standard wood turning pen kits use a 7mm hole drilled all the way through the pen to allow placement on a mandrel and to allow insertion of the 7mm brass tubes that fit the pen parts to the body. The jig is stepped and designed to use the hole through the pen body at the right height to glue the fins on and still leave room in the bottom for the flames. It has three tabs to clamp the fins. You can also use the jig as a pen stand for the desk if you desire. The flames can be printed from orange or red filament and then trimmed to suit. They are a friction fit into the 7mm hole at the bottom. I used the Euro Pen kit from CrookedMill to make my rocket pens. https://crookedmill.com/euro-pen-kit/ This kit has one tube that is slightly longer than the other. I use that for the bottom of the rocket and the smaller tube for the upper stage. I put both the upper and lower pieces on the lathe mandrel next to each other with no spacer, and turn them at the same time. You can make a variety of shapes according to taste. Once the rocket is turned, I use a contour gage to find the exact shape and then use that to draw the fin shape on a piece of paper. I cut out the shape and use it as a pattern for the fins. I glue the fins on with epoxy which I let partially set up before applying to the fin. I then use a small clip to clip the fin onto the jig tab and press gently against the pen. Once dry I assemble the upper stage by pressing in the pen tip and then twisty part that raises and lowers the pen cartridge.