• If you have bought, sold or gained information from our Classifieds, please donate to Rocketry Forum and give back.

    You can become a Supporting Member which comes with a decal or just click here to donate.

54mm and 38mm filament wound carbon tubes

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

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

REK

Well-Known Member
TRF Sponsor
Joined
Feb 21, 2012
Messages
3,090
Reaction score
109
Location
El Paso, Texas
Alright guys, this is the first few good tubes that turned out great. Going from left to right, I have two standard wall 54mm tubes, 1 thin wall (note might be thinner than actual size) and 1 38mm. They all measure 52” except for the thin wall measures 50”.

The weights (from left to right) are 516, 528, 318 and 406 grams.

They all have the same 180F Tg. Many didnt believed temperature wasn’t an issue so please no pm’s about my tube melted in flight.

I am asking $100 for the standard wall 54mm. $90 for the thin wall 54mm. $80 for the 38mm. Shipping will range from $8-$12 depending how far you are from Texas. If interested please provide shipping info and paypal is prefered.

Picture
IMG_5231.JPG

This is the first step and with your support. I know it will turn out great.


Composite Addict
 
Can you give a measurement (OD, ID, thickness) on the thinwall one?
 
Can you give a measurement (OD, ID, thickness) on the thinwall one?

Sorry for the late response, I dont know why somtimes I get notifications and sometimes I dont. Calipers read 2.145” inner and 2.23” outer.


Composite Addict
 
Alright guys, this is the first few good tubes that turned out great. Going from left to right, I have two standard wall 54mm tubes, 1 thin wall (note might be thinner than actual size) and 1 38mm. They all measure 52” except for the thin wall measures 50”.

The weights (from left to right) are 516, 528, 318 and 406 grams.

I just went out and measured my 54mm pipe from Wildman.
OD/ID = 56.95 / 54.80 mm.
33" weighting in at 353 grams, or ~10.7 grams/inch.

Your 54mm tubes weight in @~10.0 grams/inch for regular, and 6.36 grams/inch for thin wall. That's the good news.
The bad news is that your OD/ID = 2.23"/2.145" = 56.642/54.483 mm, so the WM nose cones will not fit (too tight) into your tubes. I don't have any MC nose tubes or nose cones handy to see if those might.

And now for the coup de grace:
  • WM sells his 54mm fiberglass tubes for $14.40 / foot.
  • MC sells their 54mm fiberglass tubes for *drum rolll* exactly the same $14.40 / foot, and in 5 colors.
  • Your asking price is ~$25 / foot. Unfinished. Same weight as WM's fiberglass.

You see where it's going...

a
 
Your tubes really look great. I would what them finished and they need to work with at least one nose cone manufactures product. Do you have couplers?
 
I'm thinking if there's a 3/10mm of a difference, I'd just sand one of the pieces down to fit.
 
And now for the coup de grace:
  • WM sells his 54mm fiberglass tubes for $14.40 / foot.
  • MC sells their 54mm fiberglass tubes for *drum rolll* exactly the same $14.40 / foot, and in 5 colors.
  • Your asking price is ~$25 / foot. Unfinished. Same weight as WM's fiberglass.

You see where it's going...

a

Umm these are CARBON, not fiberglass. Apples to Oranges.
Madcow 54mm carbon is 196.00 for 5ft or 39.20 per ft.

Alexander is very reasonable with his pricing.
 
Nice looking tubes!

Personally I like the I/D to match the couplers, but if the O/D is slightly oversized then you could just grind the tubes down to size. Some might argue that it may compromise the integrity of the top layer/s but it would remove the groves from the compression tape and at the end of the day it would be on par with what Madcow offers, as a comparison.

I have Madcow's CF tubing on my 54mm Tomach and the tubing looks like yours, FW/CF but the top layer looks like it has been ground down to spec.

 
Last edited:
Umm these are CARBON, not fiberglass. Apples to Oranges.

Why does one go shopping carbon fiber tubes over fiberglass - for weight savings!
If one can't get your CF tube to weight appreciably less than FG - the value proposition is wiped out.
Apples to Apples.

The only point of differentiation that remains is then - the looks.
That does have its place, but then lets face it - you will be paying ~2x for the bling factor.

To each his own.

a
 
Why does one go shopping carbon fiber tubes over fiberglass - for weight savings!
If one can't get your CF tube to weight appreciably less than FG - the value proposition is wiped out.
Apples to Apples.

The only point of differentiation that remains is then - the looks.
That does have its place, but then lets face it - you will be paying ~2x for the bling factor.

To each his own.

a

Thickwall CF may have similar mass to thin wall FG, however generally the CF tube is going to be much stronger. So really for mass it would be better to compare thinwall CF to thick FG as they are more likely to have a similar stiffness and strength.

Unless you have destructive test results for each tube as well as the prices and weights it is very hard to do apples to apples comparison. However if you look up FWCF tube on a popular supplier you will find the dimensions and weight very close to the results listed here, with a cheaper price per foot.


Good luck with the product, it looks very well made. Maybe one day I'll have enough uses for it for a bulk order to make shipping around the world worthwhile!
 
Why does one go shopping carbon fiber tubes over fiberglass - for weight savings!
If one can't get your CF tube to weight appreciably less than FG - the value proposition is wiped out.
Apples to Apples.

Sir, I don't want to start a pi$$ing war or mean any offense. However I for one use carbon for one reason only...sheer strength on high stress flights. I don't care what it looks like, & I paint it. Don't want my electronics cooking in the hot sun with a black rocket & a bit of weight savings is the least of my concern.
Having a tube, stronger than steel is.
There are many others like me that feel the same.

Most of the time I use fiberglass, it is certainly strong enough for 95% of what we do.
On this we can agree.
BUT there are times where carbon will raise the bar & can help getting safe flight.

Yes there are those that buy Ferrari's , yet never drive them over 90. They love the look & have the moola. So be it with carbon too.
Value has many definitions:
1.the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something
For me, regarding carbon..... it's the usefulness of it for safe flight.

That aside, guys like Alexander are the future of our sport/hobby & I'm thrilled he is attempting this venture. Rather than belittling his product ,you should encourage his gumption for doing this.

The rules for posting on yard sale are clear:
.............................................................................................................................
"Regarding comments about sellers, If you are not involved in a transaction with the seller or do not have current experience (last 6 months) with that seller, stay out of the conversation. Violation of this will result in infractions being issued."

"Yet another reminder that posting replies along the lines of "You can buy it from XYZ for less" is tacky, as is discouraging people from buying the item. If you don't have an interest in what's being sold, then please, stay out of the thread."

-Kevin
..............................................................................................................................

Please give the guy a break & play nice...that's only fair.

Continue Alex, & wishing you the best of luck. I've been watching you make tubes for years now, & think you're on the right track.

Cj.
 
Nice looking tubes!

Personally I like the I/D to match the couplers, but if the O/D is slightly oversized then you could just grind the tubes down to size. Some might argue that it may compromise the integrity of the top layer/s but it would remove the groves from the compression tape and at the end of the day it would be on par with what Madcow offers, as a comparison.

I have Madcow's CF tubing on my 54mm Tomach and the tubing looks like yours, FW/CF but the top layer looks like it has been ground down to spec.


Now I went back and re-measured the ID of my tubes. I am getting 2.15”. According to Madcow a fiberglass coupler has an OD of 2.15”. Most likely its going to be an exact fit.

I want to offer sanded smooth, but as I mentioned I ask for everyones patience. In the end, I want the machine to take care of the difficult tasks, that is sanding the tube smooth and to the exact OD of other products. The other is slotting, which I obviously can not do by hand.

I will eventually have all this done, but as of right now, its a task that requires my labor. If anyone doesn’t mind a $20 fee for my time to sand it smooth ( OD may or may not match OD of other products), then I am willing to do it.


Composite Addict
 
Pay no attention to the haters. I sent you a PM. Would love to get a 38mm carbon tube for my GLR T-Bolt build. Take my $$.

lowga please send me another PM, I dont know why, but I did not recieve it. I dont know whats going on with the notifications, but I dont get any.

I want to thank you for your business.


Composite Addict
 
T-bolt, carbon, Loki I540. Now we are talkin!
I have several of Alexanders tubes. Well worth the money.
 
Sir, I don't want to start a pi$$ing war or mean any offense. However I for one use carbon for one reason only...sheer strength on high stress flights.
[...]BUT there are times where carbon will raise the bar & can help getting safe flight.

Sir, no disclaimers required, we are all just exchanging ideas here.
With regards to the need for high stress tolerant CF tubes, can you share the use-cases where fiber glass is falling short for your needs?

I would certainly not want to build a rocket and crumple it on anything less than CF tubes, alas, I can't think of a motor that would crush fiberglass tubes.

Do share.

Thanks in advance


That aside, guys like Alexander are the future of our sport/hobby & I'm thrilled he is attempting this venture. Rather than belittling his product, you should encourage his gumption for doing this.

I fully agree with you on this.
My apologies to the OP if my vendor comparison posts came through as belittling in any way. That was not the intent, nor is it how I read them now.

I did respond to Alexander's earlier thread, expressing interest in his product, and am entirely open to supporting his venture as a customer. But I do need to understand the benefits of his product vs. competition: either on the price point, or in terms of some other tangible benefits.

Perhaps you can help by illustrating when CF becomes a necessity over FG?

a
 
With regards to the need for high stress tolerant CF tubes, can you share the use-cases where fiber glass is falling short for your needs?

Perhaps you can help by illustrating when CF becomes a necessity over FG?

a
In minimum diameter projects:
N-5800
O-3400
M-2245

Sustainer on various high stress 2-stagers.
Minimum 4 to 3...4 to 4.....3 to 54 to name a few.

All have been rocket breakers. I have seen the aftermath.You really need double wall couplers also when flying these.
I'm sure there are some more, these immediately come to mind after witnessing the carnage those 3 dish out.

Several ex motors.. N's in 3in diameter rockets. High performance M in same & 4 in rockets.

Here's one example we were discussing in my 2-stage thread:

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...2-stage-sounding-rocket&p=1609342#post1609342

Needed even thicker carbon wall than standard.
There are many folks out there doing very extreme projects requiring carbon just to survive.

My tubes discussed there are 17 wraps of carbon uni-prepreg heat cured.
 
Last edited:
Alright guys, the two 54mm’s in standard wall and the thin wall are still there for the taking. I say a $10 drop is not bad at this point. Need to have these gone in order to restock on supplies.


Composite Addict
 
The 54mm Thin wall tube is SOLD! Only the two standard walls remain.


Composite Addict
 
Sir, no disclaimers required, we are all just exchanging ideas here.
With regards to the need for high stress tolerant CF tubes, can you share the use-cases where fiber glass is falling short for your needs?

I would certainly not want to build a rocket and crumple it on anything less than CF tubes, alas, I can't think of a motor that would crush fiberglass tubes.

Do share.

Thanks in advance

Afadeev I think you're going down a rabbit hole with this line of thinking. Carbon is significantly stronger and lighter than FG, making it a superior product. That's pretty much the beginning and the end of it as far as I'm concerned. Whether a flyer chooses to push to the point where carbon is the difference between flight success and failure is immaterial. And yes, pun intended.
 
Alright guys just the two standard walls remain and they are going for $90.


Composite Addict
 
Fiberglass has never exceeded my needs. Heck, I'm not even sure if cardboard has exceeded my needs. However, I can't wait to build my first carbon fiber rocket--cause it's just cooler! :)
 
Back
Top