Binder Design
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- Jan 17, 2009
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Looking good!
That does look really good! One small suggestion though. If it's not too late, you may want to turn that eye bolt on your centering ring a bit. Probably won't be able to turn it much, but with it in the position in the picture, you may have a hard time getting a quick link attached.
D'Oh! Yeah, you make a good point, and I fear turning that is a ship that has sailed. Ohh well, going to pick up some links on my way home from work tomorrow, so I'll post back how it goes.
Got the fins epoxied to the can so they will never come off until somewhere around the heat death of the universe . More pics in the next few days. I hope to have this done by the end of the week or next weekend. Should make it in time for LDRS. Need to get some motor hardware next!
Heading into the home stretch last night and I hit a snag and have a few (probably dumb) questions I hope people can answer.
1.) (I don't even know if this matters, but...) When building up the coupler between the lower part and the payload section, the instructions say to make a mark 3" from the end of the connector tube. The connector tube is 7"... so I am not sure which end to measure 3" (or honestly, if it even matters, as I said ). Should I measure 3" from the bulkhead side and have the bulk of the connector epoxied to the payload section, or vice versa?
2.) The connector is a TIGHT fit in the lower section tubing (I presume in the upper section too). When I dry fitted it, I had to hold the base of the rocket with my legs and use both hands to pull the coupler out. This seems... tight to me. Now, I would fully understand if I am under estimating the strength of a I-strength motor ejection charge, but I *think* that's a bit tight. I am thinking of just sanding down the coupler tube a bit until the fit is a bit smoother. Does this make sense to people?
Thanks for entertaining my stupid questions, I really appreciate all the help people have given here!
On the coupler fit, the fit changes with humidity and it is the one thing that can drive you nuts so here's how to fix it. Soak the exposed section of the coupler in thin CA and sand smooth. Do the same with the inside end of the airframe you need it to slide into. You only need to soak it about an inch or two inside. Now sand both parts until you are happy with the nice sliding fit.
And no more fuzzy paper edges to worry about.
Interesting it took that much sanding. I slip fit the couplers inside the airframe prior to shipping. They slide right through with no effort needed. If they were that tight when I shipped them, you'd never get them out.
But, my daughter and I finished it up last night and while naked, it looks AWESOME!!!! I will post pictures later tonight.
I tend to skim read pretty quickly in forums to avoid getting bogged down in minutia, but sometimes I have to stop and read it again just to make sure it said what I thought it said. This was one of those times. :eyepop:
No need for glassing fins on motors up to L class. It's our standard instruction template that has to cover all the bases. And we've upgraded to the highest quality aircraft plywood since the instructions were written.
You can use wood glue for all paper/wood bonds, but the milled fiber/epoxy does make for nice fillets. With the fin stiffeners the kit comes with, extra fillet material only adds additional weight.
Just build it stock, no need to build a flying boat.
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