kjmccarx
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- Jul 1, 2013
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A while ago I posted in this thread asking what to use to glue fiberglass together. Since then my girlfriend and I started working on our new fiberglass rocket. This is a first for both of us, and we are going to launch it with an F engine at first but I thought it would be more relelant in the HPR discussion since it's a fiberglass rocket and many of the building materials we used are more relavant to high power rockets, but I'm happy to move it if people would like. Since it is around the 4th of july (we actually started working on it on the 4th), we are going to make it an America themed rocket... specifically Captain America
Anyway, the first thing I did was get the engine retainer on the engine tube... I ordered the size too small from Apogee. Since the rocket kit wasn't branded I wasn't sure wich size retainer to get. Because of that I bought the medium retainer which was a bit too small. I tried to sand the retainer and the engine tube a bit, but I don't have a dremmel of my own which made it rather difficult. I ended up essentially press fitting the engine mount onto the tube, using a vice, without JB weld since the fit was so tight.
We JB welded the bulk head to the engine mount and primed it and the end of the rocket tube with high temperature spray paint.
The only shock chord we had laying around was a bit too small, but we drilled a hole in the upper bulk head to attach it. We are just using the shock chord to connect the nose cone, but not the parachute because I don't think it can handle the weight of the whole rocket.
Here's some more of my girlfriend getting ready to put the fins on. For this we used some Loctite marine epoxy which as a two hour setting time and a 24hr curing time. After securing the fins and waiting about three hours I noticed that one of them was crooked. :y: This was my first time using epoxy and fiberglass... so I was freaking out. I was able to cut some of the epoxy off using a utility knife and then, luckily, I was able to break the rest of it without damaging the fin. It was very lucky.
By the end of the first day of working on this my girlfriend and I had gotten it assembled and three coats of primer (which was all the primer we planned on using).
Anyway, the first thing I did was get the engine retainer on the engine tube... I ordered the size too small from Apogee. Since the rocket kit wasn't branded I wasn't sure wich size retainer to get. Because of that I bought the medium retainer which was a bit too small. I tried to sand the retainer and the engine tube a bit, but I don't have a dremmel of my own which made it rather difficult. I ended up essentially press fitting the engine mount onto the tube, using a vice, without JB weld since the fit was so tight.
We JB welded the bulk head to the engine mount and primed it and the end of the rocket tube with high temperature spray paint.
The only shock chord we had laying around was a bit too small, but we drilled a hole in the upper bulk head to attach it. We are just using the shock chord to connect the nose cone, but not the parachute because I don't think it can handle the weight of the whole rocket.
Here's some more of my girlfriend getting ready to put the fins on. For this we used some Loctite marine epoxy which as a two hour setting time and a 24hr curing time. After securing the fins and waiting about three hours I noticed that one of them was crooked. :y: This was my first time using epoxy and fiberglass... so I was freaking out. I was able to cut some of the epoxy off using a utility knife and then, luckily, I was able to break the rest of it without damaging the fin. It was very lucky.
By the end of the first day of working on this my girlfriend and I had gotten it assembled and three coats of primer (which was all the primer we planned on using).