lcorinth
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I've gotten pretty good at working with balsa and basswood fins. But I'm about to step up to plywood. I'd like to find some plywood material to practice a few techniques on and see what the material is like to work with.
Specifically, I want to see what it's like to bevel the fins, fill them, and maybe even see if I can do any airfoiling stuff on them - I've got a beveling/airfoiling technique I think is pretty good for balsa, but I don't know how it will translate to larger plywood. I've been reading some of the older TRF threads on these topics, but I don't have some of the tools people like to use for them (I really like the jig/table saw method I've seen people use, but I have no experience with those!). I want to see what I can figure out on my own, and then maybe ask for help if I'm just not getting it.
So, I've seen sheets of craft plywood at craft stores (Michael's, Hobby Lobby, even Menard's). Is this the same material? I want to try a few things out before I commit to my next rocket, but I need to know if the materials behave the same way, i.e. do or to not chip when you do certain things to them, whether the plies hold together the same way, is it the same hardness (for sanding and such), etc. I don't know if rocket fins are made differently from basic craft balsa - or if it's, like, aircraft plywood or something (I'm not sure if that's a thing). So, does this stuff behave the same way? If not, what kind of plywood do I need to look for, and is it something I can get [edit]in a hardware store [end edit], or do I need to order it specially from an online rocketry vendor?
Specifically, I want to see what it's like to bevel the fins, fill them, and maybe even see if I can do any airfoiling stuff on them - I've got a beveling/airfoiling technique I think is pretty good for balsa, but I don't know how it will translate to larger plywood. I've been reading some of the older TRF threads on these topics, but I don't have some of the tools people like to use for them (I really like the jig/table saw method I've seen people use, but I have no experience with those!). I want to see what I can figure out on my own, and then maybe ask for help if I'm just not getting it.
So, I've seen sheets of craft plywood at craft stores (Michael's, Hobby Lobby, even Menard's). Is this the same material? I want to try a few things out before I commit to my next rocket, but I need to know if the materials behave the same way, i.e. do or to not chip when you do certain things to them, whether the plies hold together the same way, is it the same hardness (for sanding and such), etc. I don't know if rocket fins are made differently from basic craft balsa - or if it's, like, aircraft plywood or something (I'm not sure if that's a thing). So, does this stuff behave the same way? If not, what kind of plywood do I need to look for, and is it something I can get [edit]in a hardware store [end edit], or do I need to order it specially from an online rocketry vendor?
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