Big Photon Disruptor build

[sodmeister]

Here`s another upscale project ,just in time for Christmas ....

Santa approved !

Upscale Estes Classic Photon Disruptor.Hey ,if you have a big `ole Photon Probe ,you really need a big `ole Photon Disruptor

I bought the estes kit for scaling purposes and things work out great for stock BTs.

The aft end will be 3" BT and the forward section will be 4" BT and a whole bunch of Baltic birch lumber for the fins.

I`ll get to the shop tomorrow and make my own centering rings for the project.

The MMT will be for 38mm ,made from PML phenolic .I`ll be using motor eject ,so big 6 grain 38s will be plenty.

The nosecone is an LOC cone with the blunt rounded tip ,a good match to the original ,and the same used for my Photon Probe.

Stay tuned.

Merry Christmas everybody !

Paul T

[SteelyEyed]

It will be another beautiful bird. I'm looking forward to the build.

Merry Christmas!

Bret

[sodmeister]

It will be another beautiful bird. I'm looking forward to the build.

Merry Christmas!

Bret

Same to you Bret .

Tomorrow I build ,well for awhile anyway.


Take care

Paul T

[sodmeister]

The motor mount has it`s CR on the forward end and a U-bolt in place and epoxied in place.

To get a nice even epoxy fillet around the CRs ,I place a bead all around the MMT tube then slip the CR over the bead.It makes a perfect fillet/bead all around the CR.

Since I make my own CRs ,I make them a nice snug fit and fine tune them on my drill press chucked up with a 38 mm drum sander (or very close) and run the CR up and down until the propper fit is achieved.

Paul T

[sodmeister]

While things are curing ,I marked out the fin locations.All fins will be TTW ,so with 9 fins there will be some serious tube slotting.

I also marked where the 4" to 3" centering rings will be located at the aft and forward tube locations.

Paul T

[sodmeister]

Using an aluminum angle as a straight edge and a brand new Exacto blabe in the handle ,all the slots have been cut out.

The process is actually pretty quick ,probably less than 15 minutes and clean up of the edges is pretty much not needed.

Paul T

[sodmeister]

While I have other things curing ,I got the middle CR on and epoxied in place.The aft CR will be made removeable so that epoxy can be added inside between the MMT and BT.

I did a dry run ,to make sure the ring would not interfere with the main fin tabs.

Paul T

[sodmeister]

I cut the centering rings yesterday ,that fit the outside of the 3" aft body tube and the inside of the 4" main forward BT.

The CRs were test fit and epoxied in place over the 3" BT.

It did take me a few times to get these adapter rings made just right ,but I did manage after several "time outs".Next time I think I`ll just buy the damn things !!


Paul T

[stickershock23]

Paul.

Another Project looking really good so far..

Got one question... why not 54mm? with those huge fins that thing is going to be pretty beefy and heavy.

Just my observation.

[sodmeister]

Paul.

Another Project looking really good so far..

Got one question... why not 54mm? with those huge fins that thing is going to be pretty beefy and heavy.

Just my observation.

Two reasons ,was not going to have much room between the MMT and 3" BT.

But mostly because I had a 38mm Aeropack retainer.

It should still sail pretty high on a 6 grain CTI

But yah ,54 would have been a better choice

Not to worry old chum ,many projects in the works for 54 and 75mm.


Take care

Paul t

[stickershock23]

Two reasons ,was not going to have much room between the MMT and 3" BT.

But mostly because I had a 38mm Aeropack retainer.

It should still sail pretty high on a 6 grain CTI

But yah ,54 would have been a better choice

Not to worry old chum ,many projects in the works for 54 and 75mm.


Take care

Paul t

always good to put something you have to use for ya..

who knows maybe CTI will have a 38mm K in the works one day LOL

Beside the J530 I max should make that thing ROCK anyways!!

[sodmeister]

always good to put something you have to use for ya..

who knows maybe CTI will have a 38mm K in the works one day LOL

Beside the J530 I max should make that thing ROCK anyways!!

Oh for sure Mark.My MadCow PAC-3 flew on a CTI 5 grn 648 J 285 Classic to over 3000`.

Paul T

[sodmeister]

Well some final work for tonight and now some rest.

After the 4-3" adapter CRs have cured ,I got the 4" upper BT slid over the 3" Aft BT and all epoxied in place.

I left a shallow 1/16" deep recess between the aft CR and the lip of the 4" body tube and filled it with 30 min. epoxy to smoothen things up and add structural strength.

I suppose next I`ll cut a bunch of fins and get the MMT slid in the 3" BT.

Fins should be easy to cut ,as they are all rectangular ,so to the tablesaw I`ll go.

1/4" Baltic Birch will be used here.I think I`ll go with a mortice & tennon joint for the main fins ,but I`ll do a mock up and test it for strength ,although I trust this type of joinery is very strong from previous woodworking and furniture projects.

Regards

Paul T

[T-Rex]

Very Nice so far, Paul! I am not quite as enamored by the Disrupter as I am the Probe, in the original at least. We'll see how it looks in upscale.

Your lack of fingerprints and smudges amazes me. I usually end up with adhesive all over me and other places it wasn't intended.

Keep up the good work!

[sodmeister]

Very Nice so far, Paul! I am not quite as enamored by the Disrupter as I am the Probe, in the original at least. We'll see how it looks in upscale.

Your lack of fingerprints and smudges amazes me. I usually end up with adhesive all over me and other places it wasn't intended.

Keep up the good work!

Thankyou !

The Probe turned out nice ,great looking rocket, esspecially when it`s 4 x bigger

The Disruptor will not dissapoint, I promise !

I`m getting better at keeping adhesives where they belong ,but i always keep a towel soaked in alcohol just in case, cause it does happen !

Cheers

Paul T

[sodmeister]

Luckily I found a full length of PML phenolic tube coupler ,didn`t know I had it ,so I don`t need to use my precious BlueTube supply !

I cut an 8" length and epoxied one end into the 4" main BT.This will be a joint,as I needed two pieces of LOC BT to give me the correct overall length.

LOC 4" BT only comes in 34" lengths ,but no big deal.

Paul T

[sodmeister]

This is the NC bulkhead ,much like I did for the Probe.I cut a short 5" piece of tube ,epoxied a homemade bulkhead into it and a forged eyebolt.The NC will then be attached using button head screws ,so i may add weight as is needed by removing the screws.

I placed marks at 5" on the tube ,wrapped a length of heavy cardstock around the tube matching the pencil tics and taped it in place.I then use a nice sharp blade and follow the ridge of the cardstock guide and make repeated passes till I cut through.This makes a nice straight square cut that only requires a bit of sanding.I then give it a brush of thin CA and done.

Paul T

[sodmeister]

Instead of going the power tool route ,I`m using the old handsaw method to cut the coupler.

I marked the needed length ,wraped a guide around it and drew a pencil line.I then broke out the Zona saw and cut it following the line.

The bulkhead plate will be epoxied into one end and the forged eyebolt fastened and glued.Then the bulkhead will get a coat of 30 min. epoxy to finish it off.

Fast and easy.

Paul T

[sodmeister]

Bulkhead and forged eyebolt epoxied ,and 30 min. epoxy was painted on ,basically for a finished look.

This will be the separation point for deployment.

Next up ,I`ll be in the workshop cutting fins from some 1/4" Baltic Birch stock...a lot of stock ! But the fins will be easy to cut ,since they are all rectangular.The big main fins will be much more work and will require some machining on the router table.

Cheers

Paul T

[bradycros]

I placed marks at 5" on the tube ,wrapped a length of heavy cardstock around the tube matching the pencil tics and taped it in place.I then use a nice sharp blade and follow the ridge of the cardstock guide and make repeated passes till I cut through.This makes a nice straight square cut that only requires a bit of sanding.I then give it a brush of thin CA and done.

Paul T

I like your training technique, well done. When are you going solo and do it freehand?

Just kid'n!

[sodmeister]

I like your training technique, well done. When are you going solo and do it freehand?

Just kid'n!

Never.....getting too old

Although I have been known to freestyle once in awhile ,but this stuff is a little too thick for my buggywhip arms !

Balsa wood I can handle ,Basswood is on the border and plywood makes me cry !


Paul T

[sodmeister]

Well the fins are cut to size ,and I must say ,these were some of the easiest I`ve done in awhile.......at least so far.

The main fins are 5 1/4" x 10 3/4" and the outboard fins are 4 1/2" x 10 3/4"

Oh, and a partial picture of my little workshop

Cheers

Paul T

[sodmeister]

I used my Zona handsaw to cut the notches in the aft fins tabs so as to clear the aft centering ring.

Well, time to go work on a couple of other builds I`m starting.

Take care

Paul T

[o1d_dude]

Oh, and a partial picture of my little workshop

Photographic evidence that you simply cannot have enough clamps.

[sodmeister]

Photographic evidence that you simply cannot have enough clamps.

And you know what, I`m still buying clamps ,mostly Bessey when I can afford !

You know ,you can never have too many clamps !

Paul T

[sodmeister]

I made a matte board template to mark the radii or radius of each outboard fin.I`ll then use my disc sander to rough shape the edge, then final sand with my random orbit sander.

Paul T

[sodmeister]

As mentioned ,I`ll be using a mortice and tenon joint for the aft main fins.

Something like this.The glue area of all the surfaces will make this a very strong joint as well as an epoxy/silica fillet added later.

Paul T

[sodmeister]

I chucked up a 1/4" diam. solid carbide down spiral bit in the router table.Since the Baltic Birch is 1/4" thick ,the tenon needs to be 1/4" long ,and the bit used makes this easy and very little need to measure.

I`ll start the tenons 1" in from each end ,and so I put pencil marks to show me when to stop.

Paul T

[sodmeister]

The tenons are rough cut ,I just need to square off the edges with a small chisel.

Paul T

[sodmeister]

I found a chisel blade for my big Xacto handle ,so I use it instead of my bigger woodworking chisels , worked great to square off the tenons.

Now back to the shop to make the mortices in the outer finlets ,but I`ll make a mockup first before I actually do any routing in the finished finlets.I`ll have to make sure the slot is perfectly centered in the wood blank ,so now I guess some measuring will be needed.Oh well ,the first part was easy.

Paul T