Building rocket tubes from scratch

Hey guys, I'm new to this forum, so be nice
I'm just wondering, when I would build rockets of my own someday, I am dreaming of something like building multistage models of historic rockets such as Redstone, Gemini-Titan, and the Saturn 5, and the motors would also be scratch-built (sugar and potassium nitrate). So how do we build body tubes for such rockets? Cardboard tubes or something, with the designs painted over them? And how about the engine mount? It's better if you tell me your answers in procedures, maybe with an example. For an example, if any, I would like an example of an actual rocket, not a fictional one. Thanks.

If you have never built and flown a model rocket before, what you want to do is like not knowing how to drive a car and desiring to win the Indy 500. As the old saying goes, you have to crawl before you learn to walk. Build a few model rocket kits and fly them with Estes or Quest motors first. You need to learn modeling techniques, finishing techniques and aerodynamics first. Trying to make your own motors can be very dangerous and non-productive if you'd never done it before, and if you haven't even flown a rocket you don't know exactly what they are supposed to do. Try some different kits that are out there - there are scale model kits of many rockets available that will not only tell you how to build them, but also what motor to fly it with. Also, scale models can be notoriously unstable because they have small or no fins - the real thing uses gimballed motors that are computer controlled. We don't have those technologies to us and must use passive methods (clear fins, etc). Check out Flis Kits and ASP rockets for many nice scale model kits that can get you started. Once you've built and flown one or two of these, building a larger version of the same rocket would be a good step - that would teach you how to scale up tubes, roll your own tubes and making larger nose cones. Stay with commercial motors for this step. Once you have the skills for building and flying, then you can begin experimenting with homemade motors - that is a step NOT to be taken lightly. Very few of us go that route because commercial motors are so much safer and more reliable than sugar motors. Consider this: do you want to spend dozens of hours building and detailing a scale Saturn V only to have it explode on the pad because you didn't make the motor just right?

AstroBeatle said:

So how do we build body tubes for such rockets? Cardboard tubes or something.....

Click to expand...

If you don't mind my asking, where are you located? Reason I ask: if you are just about anywhere in the free world, there are gobs of existing tube sizes already available for low power rocketry use. I would strongly recommend purchasing some of those products versus rolling-your-own. Making one of these tubes is a bit more tricky than you might think, at least to get useful structural strength while remaining LIGHT weight.

Same thing goes for motors. Yes, you can make your own with gunpowder, but it is much harder than you would think to produce high thrust/weight, reliable, safe motors with consistent performance....and do it anywhere near as inexpensively as the commercially available blackpowder motors. And then there's all the legal mess that can get you in trouble if you try to fabricate your own motors.....

Long story short: strive to master the basics before you dive into the advanced stuff.

As the other poster have said:
You really need to learn to crawl before you can run. If you've never built or flown a model Rocket before. It will be in YOUR best interest to build and fly a Stock KIT model rocket from one of the many available on the market today.
Building Scale models of Real space vehicles is another step up the ladder. Scratch building even further. Rolling your own tubes is very doable but like Scratch building required a specalized set of skills not taught in general model building. It like scratch building takes some time and effort to master.
Making motors is a very advanced project. I've been building and flying for 50 some years, I know how to make motor but it's just not worth the time or money when both BP and APCP motors are so quickly and easily available pre-manufactured, Tested and Certified to work.

I'd strongly suggest visiting the NAR website www.nar.org. If your in an area where there is NOT an NAR Section (Club) then look at the NARTREK levels system. This will take you through the various stages of beginning building, intermediate and gold level (scratch building your own design).
Hope this helps.

Easy to do. I've been rolling tubes from 30 pack Beer cartons for several years. Get a simple CAD program. Draw some concentric circles. Print them, Use spray adhesive to attach them to your material of choice. Cut out the circles. Make some drums for rolling the cardboard. Roll it to about half the intended diameter. Let the material sit like that for a day or so. Roll it around the drum of the intended diameter and glue the seam. Press and hold. Repeat. You can make any diameter you want and it is both lightweight and sturdy. My 4" rockets, 4 feet tall, have literally just drifted sideways to the ground during occasional parachute failures. My dream is to make a scale Saturn V, including staging and the correct number of motors for each stage. Print the wraps and use spray adhesive to create the finish. Roll your own is one cool way to go.

So how do we build body tubes for such rockets? Cardboard tubes or something, with the designs painted over them? And how about the engine mount?

I make my own tubes by rolling paper tape (plasterers jointing tape) around a mandrel. See my post on Falcon 9 v1.1.
The cheapest mandrels are PVC tube. Just select the PVC tube for the size tube you want. Motor mounts are made the same way but the inside diameter must match the motor size. If you buy motors there are standard sizes; 18mm, 24mm, 29mm etc.

Motor mounts, mandrels, thrust rings, centering rings...

Ultra, Quad Beast, Miller Lite, Bud Light Wheat...

jeff_j_black said:

Ultra, Quad Beast, Miller Lite, Bud Light Wheat...
View attachment 264006View attachment 264007View attachment 264005

Click to expand...

I prefer Milwaukee's Best Ice, but that/those is/are the coolest thing I've seen all day!!!!
Good show ol' chap!!!:clap::clap::clap: