centering ring material?

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Rex R

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where would one start looking for the type of paper board as used by Estes(and others) for centering rings? thanks,
Rex
 
It reminds me of the of the material that is often used as inner packing for electronics. It is also reminiscent of mat board used in picture frames, maybe Michael's or Hobby Lobby would have something that would work.
 
Michaels, Hobby Lobby, et al. Look at the board that's used to mount photos and the art board stuff.
 
I would go with all the above, that mat board is a good substitute, however beer boxes and cereal boxes are easily available. Poster board when doubled will also work, as will papered 1/16" balsa (just like fins).
 
I did wonder if I should be looking at scrapbooking supplies...guess a trip into town is warranted. was thinking uncut sheets for when I run into odd size tubes, such is the case with the Estes Mercury redstone (which doesn't match anything else that I can find). it troubles me that they have a rocket w/ a pad weight of over 4 oz, lifting on a C6-3. a C11 or a D12 sounds like a better choice. thanks for the info.
Rex
 
I bought two sheets of mat board from Hobby Lobby several years ago, and they are still going!!! I have built many projects, like my scratch 1/100 Saturn 1B, Mercury Atlas, Soyuz, and several paper nose cones (mat board: it's not just for centering rings anymore :) ). I have an Olfa circle cutter and found a clone X-acto cutter in the crafter section of WalMart...I set one for the OD and other for the ID then cut 1/2 through from one side of the board, then flip, use the pin-hole to pick up the center and cut from the other side.
 
I usually print my centering rings on 110# card (Georgia Pacific - available at Wallyworld) and then glue them to light cardboard or mat board. I have yet to get a circle cutter to work with the accuracy of a printed ring cut with an XActo.

On the other hand, two layers of poster board glued together should work as well. Just remember to rotate one layer by 90 degrees to minimize warping/curling (poster board, like other papers, has a "grain" to it - if both layers are the same direction, the paper will want to warp in along the grain lines).
 
I usually print my centering rings on 110# card (Georgia Pacific - available at Wallyworld) and then glue them to light cardboard or mat board. I have yet to get a circle cutter to work with the accuracy of a printed ring cut with an XActo.

On the other hand, two layers of poster board glued together should work as well. Just remember to rotate one layer by 90 degrees to minimize warping/curling (poster board, like other papers, has a "grain" to it - if both layers are the same direction, the paper will want to warp in along the grain lines).

Good Idea, Open Rocket will even print the CR's for you and give a center mark for them if someone is using a circle cutter.
 
cut a couple of rings from what I had on hand, so now I have a brace of rings sized for loc 24mm engine tube to fit the MRedstone bt (FYI replacement tubes can be purchased from erockets look for 'st-20', yup it is a centauri size tube :)). the old Estes Mr was bt60. so Estes is using; 2" tube (ps2), 2.04" (MR), and 2.217"(bt70), makes it a bit of a challenge to keep track of them all.
Rex
 
I did wonder if I should be looking at scrapbooking supplies...guess a trip into town is warranted. was thinking uncut sheets for when I run into odd size tubes, such is the case with the Estes Mercury redstone (which doesn't match anything else that I can find). it troubles me that they have a rocket w/ a pad weight of over 4 oz, lifting on a C6-3. a C11 or a D12 sounds like a better choice. thanks for the info.
Rex

C6-3 is a great motor for the Redstone, I haven't flown it in a lot of wind but it flies very comfortably when set up stock. My next one might get a 24mm mount for fun though.
 
all the info that I see says that the C6-3 has a max liftoff weight of 4 oz.(including motor). I rarely have winds light enough to fly an overweight bird on an under powered motor.
Rex
 
That's cool, we all have personal comfort requirements, so I'll let my flight videos speak for themselves.
 
I usually print my centering rings on 110# card (Georgia Pacific - available at Wallyworld) and then glue them to light cardboard or mat board...

I have been printing up centering ring and transition templates from payloadbay.com on regular printer paper, then I glue stick that to my cardstock for transitions and boat tails, for centering rings I will add a few more layers rotating the paper. It only takes about 4 or 5 ply to get up to a typical fin fiberboard thickness. If I can find some other suitable cardboard in the recycle bin I will glue stick the printer paper to that then cut it out with scissors, then sand edges to fine tune the fit.
 
Want some material for free? Find a framing store and ask them for their scraps of matte board. Tell them what you're wanting the scraps for, maybe bring in a couple of centering rings, claim you're using them for scout launches (truthfully works, lie about it if you're willing) and they may be more willing to give you larger pieces.

The framing desk at Hobby Lobby sometimes has scraps to give. I didn't have success there but had been told others have. The stuff I got once came from a framing store in a strip mall.
 
Stuck an APCP D24 in an old Big Bertha and got a single last flight out of it with an 808 camera duct taped to the side. Shock cord snapped but the motor tube tore partially through the fiberboard CR. That really killed it. Good for BP C's but keep in
mind the motor one intends to fly. Kurt
 
basically if you have TTW fins, your rings don't need to be super strong. I have used foam board to make rings :). that said I did pick up some 'art board' at hlob the other day (16 x 20 x 1/8) and will try that out.
Rex
 
C6-3 is a great motor for the Redstone, I haven't flown it in a lot of wind but it flies very comfortably when set up stock. My next one might get a 24mm mount for fun though.

C6 is good. Composite D10 is even better.
 
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