Scratch build for a bro RIP Bam-Bam

[patelldp]

My 4" coupler got jammed in my FWFG cone...here's what I did:

Place the cone on the end of your bench, the lip flush with the edge and the coupler hanging off. Place one hand on the cone, the other on the coupler. Press down on the coupler, with the lip of the cone as your fulcrum. Rotate the cone 90 to 180 degrees, and repeat several, several times. It doesn't feel like much is happening, but if there's any slop then it should budge a little each time.

Try that for 20-30 minutes and see where it gets you.

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Today I mounted the u-bolt to the upper CR and added a couple wood strips to the fincan,its probably not needed but what the hay.
Tomorrow I'll start the internal fillets on the fins soon as the fiberglass arrives.....

Now onto spiral filling of the switchband,payload,and the upper 16" BT booster section

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

My 4" coupler got jammed in my FWFG cone...here's what I did:

Place the cone on the end of your bench, the lip flush with the edge and the coupler hanging off. Place one hand on the cone, the other on the coupler. Press down on the coupler, with the lip of the cone as your fulcrum. Rotate the cone 90 to 180 degrees, and repeat several, several times. It doesn't feel like much is happening, but if there's any slop then it should budge a little each time.

Try that for 20-30 minutes and see where it gets you.

I tried that and also the rubber mallet method of striking the coupler,rotating,etc. before I tried the BP method mentioned above.I think Tim beat it in there just to get back at me....(kidding of course)

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Hmmm Well I ordered this 2" fiberglass strip with the intention to reinforce the internal fin fillets.I wasn't paying close attention to the thickness evidently.I thought it was .005 but what I ordered/arrived was .063 so I'm wondering if this will still be ok to use for what I intend as long as it is "wet" in well with epoxy over a epoxy,chopped fiber fillet.

I've never done any fiber glassing yet so any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Maybe this is overkill for the fillets?
In the meantime I'll be outback sanding,sealing,sanding,sealing........

 

[neond7]

Hmmm Well I ordered this 2" fiberglass strip with the intention to reinforce the internal fin fillets.I wasn't paying close attention to the thickness evidently.I thought it was .005 but what I ordered/arrived was .063 so I'm wondering if this will still be ok to use for what I intend as long as it is "wet" in well with epoxy over a epoxy,chopped fiber fillet.

I've never done any fiber glassing yet so any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Maybe this is overkill for the fillets?
In the meantime I'll be outback sanding,sealing,sanding,sealing........

I fiberglass my fillets all the time. Heck, I'm hooked on the stuff. Thicker fiberglass will be stronger, as its the fiberglass weave, not the epoxy, that adds strength. As long as it is sufficiently wet out it should be good. I tack my fins in with 30 minute epoxy, remove the fin can, add Aeropoxy structural fillets, and then apply the fiberglass with 2 layers of 6oz. I added a few pictures of some of the ones I've done. For smaller rockets I will fiberglass the entire fin root, for bigger ones (to save weight) I just use it to reinforce the centering ring/fin root/MMT joints at either end to prevent the fins from popping loose. Your rocket has big fins and they may end up taking a good impact on landing. The extended tailcone will help, but the fiberglass will help keep those bad boys in place!

I'm hoping I can make it to the TTRA launch in February to see this fly if you get it completed in time. I'll be at NEFAR the week before that burning my current supply of motors.....I have a big box of motors that may or may not make it in time for Tampa. Fingers crossed.

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Ohh it'll be launched in Feb if I have to work 20 hrs a day on it but that will just be the test flight before I launch his ashes in March.I hope to make it over to NEFAR to launch a couple things but we'll see.

Thx for posting the pix that makes more sense than what I'm planning with the strips just down the root edge but its getting crunch time an not sure I can put it off another 4-5 days to get some 6oz cloth instead.I'll just do my epoxy/chopped carbon fillets for now and see if I can run down some cloth around here form a body shop or marine supplier.

 

[kandsrockets]

Ohh it'll be launched in Feb if I have to work 20 hrs a day on it but that will just be the test flight before I launch his ashes in March.I hope to make it over to NEFAR to launch a couple things but we'll see.

Thx for posting the pix that makes more sense than what I'm planning with the strips just down the root edge but its getting crunch time an not sure I can put it off another 4-5 days to get some 6oz cloth instead.I'll just do my epoxy/chopped carbon fillets for now and see if I can run down some cloth around here form a body shop or marine supplier.

Just get some glass at walmart in the automotive department. I have used the Bondo fiberglass cloth for doing fin to motor mount reenformant more than once.

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

OK thx I'll check it out.I was in Pep-Boys earlier grabbing some more bondo filler/spot putty and the cloth they had seemed pretty heavy/thick so I didn't grab it.

 

[neond7]

OK thx I'll check it out.I was in Pep-Boys earlier grabbing some more bondo filler/spot putty and the cloth they had seemed pretty heavy/thick so I didn't grab it.

The thick/rough fiberglass from the automotive stores is fine for fin roots. Very strong and nobody is going to see it. I only used the 6oz because it was what I had on hand. If I had 10oz, I would have used that. From what I understand, several layers of thinner fiberglass is better than one layer of heavy glass. I've been happy with 2x layers of 6oz. But find what works for you.....

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

I guess you don't realize how big a project is until you have to make 12" legs on your cradle so you can do fillets....

I decided to go ahead and use the FG strip that I had so I taped off the fins and cut the FG to length for the fillets.

On each fillet I mixed up a batch of epoxy/chopped carbon,smoothed it out and pressed the FG strip into it. Then another batch of epoxy was poured over that and wet the FG strips in.

I might add another layer of 6oz FG over the top but these are looking quite hefty don't ya think.

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Well I've been sick with that flu crap but still managed to keep progress going just haven't been taken many pics.

All the BT spirals were filled and sanded with the bondo prior to joining to the fincan.Then external chopped fiber fillets were done and cured.Two coats of sanding sealer were applied,sanding between coats.Last night I applied spot putty/filler over the epoxy fillets to get a nice smooth finish surface before starting the primer process.
This is what I found this morn:

I've never had this happen on other builds but this is also the first time I have done a sanding sealer coat over the Blue Tube before doing the spot putty on the fillets.So I learned a lesson and pass it on...if your going to do coats of sanding sealer get all your filler bondo done first or end up banging your head like I am now.....

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

On good note...
I sent a pic of Bam's sig on a CD to Mark at Stirkershock and hoped he could transfer it to vinyl somehow.

Well the guy is awesome and sent me an email this morn....the sigs are going to be 8" long and applied on the fins.Rocket name is being done in his purple chrome.

:headbang:Mark you rock!! :headbang: Don't worry I won't tell anyone about your purple socks....

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Well with rain most of the day doing any primer was outta the question.So I started working on my NC with removable bay for my GPS.I plan to use this design in all my future 4" dia and larger builds so all I have to do is pull the bay out and slide into another NC.

First I had to get that stubborn FG coupler outta the NC.So the dremel with a sanding drum was put to work and the coupler wasn't stuck anymore.

Here's the parts list:
1/4" x 20 all-thread 36" and 12" joined with 7/8" coupling nut and thread lock.For what I'm doing the single 36" was about 5" short for this NC.
12" coupler Blue Tube with three 7/8" bands cut off ending up with 9".One to be used for this and other 2 for the ebay.
3 half inch BT rings,2 cut to fit inside coupler for BP stops the other for outside to act as a stop when slid down on the all-thread and secured with a wing nut.
One 3" BT @ 6" long
One 3" coupler 8" long
Two 3" x 1/4" BPs
One 6" x 1/2" CR for 3" BT
1/8" G10 for the sled
U-bolt 1.5"

Started off getting the rings epoxied in place.The ring in the 6" was flush mounted and the CR will butt up against it and be epoxied in later.When the shear pin holes are drilled they will be in the center of this ring.The rings on the coupler were inset for the BPs and wood glue was used since no stress will be on the GPS bay itself.The bay will slide into a body tube that will be epoxied to the CR and secured with a wing-nut.
After I notched both rings inside the coupler for the sled to slide in and be sandwiched between the BPs the BP towards the NC tip was glued in.The ring on the outside of the coupler,that will butt up to the BT epoxied to the CR,was also glued on flush to the aft end of the coupler.
Drilled holes and installed the U-bolt then with some 5 min epoxy the CR was tacked into place.

Here just test fitting the assembly into the NC to get a mark to cut off the all-thread.

 

[qquake2k]

What an awesome build and an awesome tribute!

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

THX quake! He was a damn good guy that left this place to early!

Last night I finished up the GPS bay,well except for mounting GPS to the sled and running a wiring harness but all that will be done when I start on the ebay one of these eve's.Not pictured the coupler was turned over and another batch of epoxy/chopped fiber was poured inside to reinforce the CR and BT.

Then it was onto getting the coupler epoxied in this morning.Using a sanding drum,thread on it here,the inside of the NC was roughed up and the coupler for good bonding.Using west epoxy and silica a thick batch was spread inside the NC and slowly spun the coupler into it.

The weather has warmed up so I hope to get a couple of primer coats on the booster section this afternoon while this is curing.

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Boy if I build more large rockets I'm going to have to invest in a sprayer and larger compressor,not to mention convert one of the sheds into a paint booth.Anyone that sprays larger rockets...what kind of sprayer,paint,etc, would you recommend? I'm thinking after I get it ready for paint I might just have it done at a body shop.

The booster has its first coat of filler primer,it took 2 cans.

 

[stickershock23]

YOu mention the sox again and I tell the WHOLE story... I saved the e-mail brotha...

Rockets looking good!

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

LMAO and then it got weird.....awkward silence now....THX brah!

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Bam-Bam's better half stopped by today with an ebay bp that I gave her to write a personal note on,so I put the rocket all together for the first time to show her and we snapped a pic...

I'll be doing a test flight this weekend down with the TTRA club,I hope to have the dark gray primer on by then to make it a little easier to spot.

 

[neond7]

Great job!! I didn't realize how big that rocket was until you stacked it and had people in the picture for reference.

Have you checked the weather for Plant City on Saturday? Unfortunately, not looking too good. At 10:00am, winds are predicted to be 12mph with gusts to 21mph and it ramps up from there as the day goes on. We needed the rain, but this cold front is messing up launch day.

Hope to see it fly in March......

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

THX Jeff!
Yea I was just checking on TWC site and their forecast is winds NW @ 9mph so I hope the front moves on through & winds calm down by then.If not I'll either do the test launch at NEFAR or a road trip to a club up north somewhere.Long as the weather cooperates I'll be on the south end of flight line at TTRA....silver Durango/trailer.
Cheers

 

[neond7]

Two more good weather sites if you don't already have them:

https://www.windfinder.com/forecast/plant_city_municipal_airport

www.accuweather.com

Both of these sites break it down by hour of the day so you get a more accurate picture of developing weather.

Best of luck!! I won't be there this Saturday, but plan on NEFAR and TTRA in March when my big box of motors arrives.

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Great links thx....looking at the forecast for tomorrow winds are gonna be pretty strong 15-20 with gusts 22-29 so I'm just gonna shoot for a nefar test flight. I didn't get time to test BP charges this week either so holding off would be the smart thing to do.

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

NEED IDEAS!!
In the pic is the seam of the 2 BTs joined with a coupler,I had pressed spot putty/filler into the seam before sanding and painting.When I went to do more finishing work on the BTs I noticed the cracks.I sure don't want this to happen after the finish paint job is done.
Anyone have any idea how to keep this from happening?Would chipping all the filler out and maybe filling with an epoxy/fiber mix keep it from happening?

 

[neond7]

NEED IDEAS!!
In the pic is the seam of the 2 BTs joined with a coupler,I had pressed spot putty/filler into the seam before sanding and painting.When I went to do more finishing work on the BTs I noticed the cracks.I sure don't want this to happen after the finish paint job is done.
Anyone have any idea how to keep this from happening?Would chipping all the filler out and maybe filling with an epoxy/fiber mix keep it from happening?

I have the same problem with my LOC Bruiser, the seam between the body tubes flexes just enough to crack the Bondo spot putty I used as filler. Next time I'll apply a 4 inch wide 2x wrap of 3 oz or lighter fiberglass. After I apply it I'll wrap some Teflon peel ply around it real tight and then it will flatten out any seams. Once the Teflon is pulled after a few hours, you can't really see the transition. A little sanding and you will never know its there......

Looks like March will be a BIG month in NEFAR, weather permitting I'll be there launching my LOC Big Nuke on its maiden flight on a K550W. I just installed the third brass shim plate in the nose cone shoulder and I plan on doing some ground testing of the shear pins on Monday. LOVE those Federal holidays. :smile:

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

I posted another thread for this problem over in techniques ,hornet driver & Marc_G pointed me in the direction for a solution.THX fellas!
I took a hammer and tapped on the seam and most of the spot putty/filler popped right out then I took a very small screw driver to remove the rest out of the seam.

Using the palm sander with 100grit I sanded away about 4" either side of the seam then cleaned area with acetone.

Mixed up a batch of bondo short strand filler (picked mine up at auto store)for the first layer and spread it around the seam making sure it was getting pressed into the groove.

After that cured about an hour it was sanded and a another layer was spread on.
The end result here but I'm still going to sand a lil more with 200.

After it cures for 24 hrs I'll do a couple hammer taps before I start priming but this sure seems like the ticket to the problem.

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Nothing to see here move along....

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Sometimes I wish I could delete posts an not appear to be such a tard.

 

[DAllen]

Sometimes I wish I could delete posts an not appear to be such a tard.

HAHAHA BEEN THERE DONE THAT!!!

What a great tribute! Can't believe I haven't subscribed sooner.

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Welcome aboard the crazy train Dave.....now I wonder, who will come up at a launch and ask "Dude, do you have a screw loose?!?!"