Nose cones !!!!

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Lunarxray1968

Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Messages
21
Reaction score
0
Help !
I'm trying to find materials other then balsa wood and Easter eggs as a nose cone for my rockets. I don't want to buy ones made already. Besides making a cone from paper, does anyone have any good ideas for objects I can find around that make a great nose cone.
 
best advise I could give is to walk around craft stores like michaels and hobby lobby9 and stop and check out their rocket section!), home improvement stores like HD,lowes,menards, and toy stores.
quite some time ago,when my son was about 4, he had a little skateboard toy that had orange cones for slalom. I used one of them on a rocket.
 
Wow that I really like. Not sure if I'll find Valentine glasses now, but I'll look for anything similar
 
Okay, back about a year and a half ago, I made three rockets using PomWonderful bottles to hold rocket body tubes. The two smaller ones used BT20; one had swept back fins, the other had fins that were more straight out; the bottles both featured two spheres stacked vertically. The third featured three spheres stacked vertically and it had find that were straight out, and it used a BT50. They all fly well though slowly. I have yet to master my recovery system packing procedures as more than a few flights have been marred by less than complete successes. Occasionally at launches I have overheard others refer to them as "bottle rockets." At all our launches, there is a vendor in attendance, he approached me the other day with a challenge to make another "bottle rocket" to add to my collection. He handed me a used "Bud Light" aluminum bottle, adding I could add a top from a fingernail polish bottle for a nose cone. Since a BT20 fits perfectly within I deliberate now which Estes BT20 nose cone looks best. I gravitate toward longer ogives.
 
There is "Foam Turning on a Lathe", followed by a composite fabric application, then final machining for concentric alignment.

You can hog out the foam with hot wire template cutters to accommodate avionics and related radio transmission components.
I'm in the process of designing a sort of "Hot-Wire Milling Machine", and when I have the mechanations properly adjusted and metered, I'll go ahead and put it together.
Accessing this technology will give me my first foam forms for my Foundry that I am going to build. I will become the Name on the Machine that you have to paint with the paper towel technique.
My first items will be very basic like reproduction knobs, but when I sink my teeth into a new hobby, I don't let go, and the tiny bit of sheet metal work I've been tinkering with has wetted my lips to an entirely new class of Tools and desires. Eventually, I must have enough machines to make more machines is what it boils down to.
I cannot understand why this is not what is taught in elementary "Schools" nowadays.
The world is punished for lack of Craftsmanship. Perhaps it is time to form "Guilds", and subscribe to standards? Gee, Ya' Think???

Back in the day, a Craftsman/Master would have been through the stages of Apprentice and Journeyman, and achieved his Mastership by earning it through the steps prescribed. He was allowed to have only one other Apprentice if that Apprentice was not a blood relative like a Son or Nephew. Poor Craftsmanship was often meted out at a Gallo's Poll.

I'm new to the Woodworking and the old Arn, but I plan to pay my dues, and share anything I learn with folks who are where I am or was once.
I'm off to a good start, ans it will be a noble Quest to rebuild my Everything.
 
Last edited:
I've made a 3" 3:1 ogive nose cone from wooden coffee stir sticks, some foam board, wood skewer, and wood glue. All available at the dollar store.
It was really fun to make this one.




Check out this post
 
I've made a 3" 3:1 ogive nose cone from wooden coffee stir sticks, some foam board, wood skewer, and wood glue. All available at the dollar store.
It was really fun to make this one.

Somehow I snoozed my way through that part of your build thread... that is awesome!
 
WM has large (~3in) and medium (~bt50) plastic Christmas bulbs.

attachment.php

I SO want to get one of those to make a :hohoho: JO.

Another idea that just came to mind is a candle/Mercury Redstone based rocket... Let's Light This Candle!


Merry Christmas!
 
Last edited:
I've got a project that is rattling around upstairs that would take a bottle (like a water or soda bottle), and use fiberglass suspended in resin to slush mold the inside of it.
 
I SO want to get one of those to make a :hohoho: JO.

Another idea that just came to mind is a candle/Mercury Redstone based rocket... Let's Light This Candle!

hohomojojojo

The smaller bulb, BMS 52H body / tubefin, min length for 29/40-120 plus streamer recovery. I'll use some of the light glass Top sent me a while back for overkill.

The theme, of course, will be ( Holidays ) * ( Powerpuff Girls vs. Mojo Jojo ) * ( Honest John )

I'll try to have it done and flown before NY.
 
Thanks for reviving this thread... It's a nice reminder of techniques and suggestions I haven't thought of for a while.
 
Da, I built a semi scale model of the Honest Ivan during the cold war. The body was mostly BT-60, the capsule was a Kune, and powered by seven B3m motors. Unfortunately I had neglected to seal the gaps between the motor mount tubes, so the laundry did not deploy. However all seven motors ignited and performed nominally, so as only the Russians could say: The flight was great success!
 
Wood lathe..... you can buy one, for not much money, if you keep your eyes on the local paper, craigslift, Facebook Marketplace, etc. then you can make transitions and all sorts of other pieces parts too. It's a hobby, wood turning, that feeds your other hobby, model rocketry.
 

Attachments

  • 008.JPG
    008.JPG
    205.4 KB · Views: 25
  • Transition 003.JPG
    Transition 003.JPG
    218.9 KB · Views: 26
Wood lathe..... you can buy one, for not much money, if you keep your eyes on the local paper, craigslift, Facebook Marketplace, etc. then you can make transitions and all sorts of other pieces parts too. It's a hobby, wood turning, that feeds your other hobby, model rocketry.

I'm seriously considering jigging up my handheld drill to make a temporary lathe. I just need to look up some proven ways to do it (attaching blades, fixing the nose cone to the chuck, etc.)
 
Yup, I started making a playlist of these and should be binge-watching my way through them later this week. I'll add this one to the pile!
 
Back
Top