Length of Estes rods?

[stratos283]

Making a homemade launch pad, and purchased 1/8 and 3/16 x 36" rods from Lowe's. I was wondering what length the Estes rods are in these sizes. The product descriptions don't say anything about the length of the rods. Thanks in advance.

stratos283

[Zeus-cat]

I user 36" rods and they work fine. I think the Estes ones are 36" or maybe a little shorter on the two piece 1/8" rod.

[MarkII]

The standard Estes 1/8" rod is 32" long. (Just measured mine.) The 3/16" Maxi-Rod is probably a full 36" long. The solid rods that you bought should be fine. You could also get a 48" long version of the 3/16" rod for a little more versatility, but I wouldn't go any longer with the thinner rod.

[[POW]Eagle159]

Estes also have the 1/4 x 48'' for the E-launch pad.

[plano-doug]

The standard Estes 1/8" rod is 32" long. (Just measured mine.) The 3/16" Maxi-Rod is probably a full 36" long. The solid rods that you bought should be fine. You could also get a 48" long version of the 3/16" rod for a little more versatility, but I wouldn't go any longer with the thinner rod.

I agree with Mark. 48" is about max for a 3/16" rod. Any longer, and it tends to be too whippy, generally speaking.

For that matter, 36" is about max for an 1/8" rod. I also have a 48" long ¼" rod. You can go to about 6' on that, but transporting it (without bending it) can be problematic. My club has some 6-footers that were cut in two and had threads machined on them to allow them to be screwed together, but even that's not perfect. You get a tiny step at the joint. Apparently, this is a difficult machining challenge.

For 6', maybe the best solution is a rail (But it's not any easier to transport )

Doug

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[Grendel]

The Estes rods are all hollow. Why do people tend to purchase solids?

[MarkII]

The Estes rods are all hollow. Why do people tend to purchase solids?

They are? I have the 1/8" Porta Pad II rod and a Maxi-Rod. Back in the day I also had the 1960s Electro Launch rod. All of them sure feel solid.

Why purchase solid rod? Because it's cheap, it's available everywhere, it's durable, it's cheap, it has excellent stiffness, it's cheap, it comes in standard sizes that fit into most launch pads, launch lugs are sized for it and finally because it's cheap.

[shreadvector]

The Estes rods are all hollow. Why do people tend to purchase solids?

Estes rods 20+ years ago were hollow aluminum and very weak.

Estes rods have been a solid steel (with a thick plating to prevent rust) for a long, long, long time now. Even the coupling in the center is improved and designed to not really come apart easily once assembled. it is only 2 piece to fit in the retail packaging.

Our club uses solid steel:

1/8" dia x 4 feet long
3/16" dia x 5 feet long
1/4" dia x 6 feet long and these are CRES (Stainless) with a precision machined screw coupling in the middle. Good thing a club member has a machine shop in his garage...

A large amount of rod whip is created by an inadequate anchor of the rod. If the rod is held very securely and the pad cannot flex or "dance" (like a Mantis which does the "Mantis Dance"), then there will be little rod whip. Long rods are excellent for ensuring a stable flight since the rocekt can build up more airspeed.

[tightwad]

I found a good source for rods was my local marine supply store. I bought stainless steel rods and cut them to various lengths. My Estes rods now just sit in the corner...un-used now for several years. I currently have four pads with 1/8", 3/16", 1/4" rods and a rail.

[RodRocket]

Are these measurements the usable part of the rod?

Getting around to building a launch pad with a metal saw horse. I have had this saw horse around for r/c engine testing and never got around to using it, so guess I could build a simple bolt or clamp on set of 1/8 and 3/16 pads.

[[POW]Eagle159]

Are these measurements the usable part of the rod?

Getting around to building a launch pad with a metal saw horse. I have had this saw horse around for r/c engine testing and never got around to using it, so guess I could build a simple bolt or clamp on set of 1/8 and 3/16 pads.

No, total length... useable length to guide a rocket is like 4'' less.

[MarkII]

I found a good source for rods was my local marine supply store. I bought stainless steel rods and cut them to various lengths. My Estes rods now just sit in the corner...un-used now for several years. I currently have four pads with 1/8", 3/16", 1/4" rods and a rail.

Stainless steel (type 314, to be specific) is the gold standard for launch rods. You can't do better than that, you lucky dog.

[MarkII]

It's long gone, of course, so I can't check it, but I seem to recall that the two-piece rod for my Electro-Launch in 1967 was solid steel, too. In order to make it separate easier for transport on my bike, I squeezed the roll pin coupler a little bit with a pair of pliers. It still took some effort to get it apart, just not quite as much as it otherwise did. I am not so sure that the early Estes launch rods were actually meant to be separated into two pieces. Until I pinched the roll pin, it was quite an ordeal to get mine separated. When I assembled my brand-new Porta Pad II some thirty-seven years later, the rod was exactly what I expected it to be and was identical to the one that I remembered. BTW, I know that the joint between the two sections can be a source of trouble as the rocket travels up the rod (that's why a one-piece rod is better), but I have never personally experienced any problems from it either now or back then. I did sand the joints on both of my current Estes launch rods, both of which are permanently joined.