Micro Maxx Dowel Rod nosecones

I turned my first dowel rod nosecone today for an MMX bird I'm building.

I used a 5/8" dowel to go into a BT-5 tube. I couldn't find any 9/16".

I tried using a 1/8" dowel as a mandrill, but had nothing but breakage with that. I then moved to a 5/16" and that seemed to work pretty well.

My question is this: How do you get a nice clean shoulder out of these things and keep them round?

I sanded the cone to shape and then ended up using an x-acto to score a line for the shoulder and then more or less whittled the shoulders in.

I'm curious to see if there's an easier way.

I also built my first Bic pen rocket. Pics to come soon.

I have done the same thing myself. I usually score a line with a razor saw, then carefully trim off slivers. Then I hand sand a skosh. This seems to work fine and isn't too hard. I have also tried turning the shoulder with a strip of coarse, stiff sandpaper. I pull it from either side holding pressure on the cone/dowel.

I have never used a dowel for a cone that large. I often turn the cone 'backward', forming the tip close to the chuck. I can put more pressure on it without cracking the dowel. Of course, the last tibit of work on the tip has to be done manually after the cone is removed.

Try a small flat file, or a big one on edge.

Jase:
I have a couple suggestions, I assume you are using an electric hand drill. if so you will find it very helpful to clamp the drill down to a solid surface. Try to support the front end of the drill in such a way the it can not move even a little while you gently press on the turning wood. Like Dick if i'm turning a cone or transition in a drill I work it with the nose point closest to the drill chuck. if you have a bow compass replace the pencil lead with a needle or another compass point to create a pair of dividers, use this to mark your transition points starting from the point closest to the chuck. I cut a block of 2x4 about the height of the drill chuck and cut a V in the end of the block to support the loose end of the dowel. this will do wonders to help keep your work round. they do ware and will need to be replaced ever so often until you can afford one of the mini lathes on the market I usually round the "blank" down to the O.D. of the body tube 1st, then with a file or needle file cut in the shoulder, shape the cone last.

Another suggestion is to use Basswood squares or nearly square blocks. You can create a 1/2" chuckable end square with a razor saw and those divider/scribers I mentioned above. Set the divider points at 1/2" the draw them across the wood with one point on the edge and the other scribing into the face of the wood. do the same on the end in both directions to form a 1/2" center box. cut along the lines with the razor saw and then down to these end cuts alone the face, you should end up with a 1/2" x 1/2" x 1/2" long "stud". Chuck it up and start turning. I knock off the square edges with a coarse file then move to sandpaper blocks and other turning tools.
Hope this helps a little.

Jase,

There have been some good tips here for building nosecones and I recommend you try them all until you find one that works best for your style of building. Also, like Dick, I too was surprised that you are building such a large diameter nosecone...jeez man, 5/8" ???!!!

On BIG diameters like the one you mentioned, I would use Balsa for nosecone material as it is easier to work with and not heavy like dowel. I use wood dowel on 1/2" diameter nosecones or smaller so it will fit either my drill press or hand drill chuck. Also, I do it backwards compared to the others, I grind the tip at the end of the dowel rather than the inward side...I just like doing it that way.

The only disadvantage is when cutting the base, you have to eyeball or guess the fit for inside the BT, however, I have gotten pretty good at guessing and at a buck a dowel, I can mess up really bad and still come in on a small budget. I just find it easier this way. Big advantages are you can fine shape easier or if you grind too much, go a bit deeper on the dowel if you screw up without having to get another piece. Also, you get to perfectly "finish" the part that shows...the tip. Finally, you can really bear down and cut into the dowel base for creating a shoulder without worrying about breakage.

Good luck and tell us what you are doing...better yet...pics!

Carl

Jase:
I was also a bit suprised at the BT-5 (13mm) cone you turned but I do have a couple Micro-Maxx models with BT-5 and even BT-20 bodies (Micor Laser-X and Mars Snooper), Most are smaller however in the .4475 (10.5mm) or smaller T-3 (.375") to .281"(T-2+ 7.1mm) body sizes. They just perform better on the tiny motors. All these sizes are turned using the same basic tools and Lathes, in you case Drill motor. Carl does bring up a good point about the material choice for larger size turnings. Balsa or (Basswood is my preference) is an easier wood to work with in these larger diameters.

I would also recommend the purchase of at least one OD caliper in addition to your Divider/Compass. The calipers can be set to the ID dimension and used to measure your shoulder depth BEFORE removing it from the drill. As we discussed earlier start with a file or needle file the switch to sandpaper on sanding blocks to finish the shoulder and nose. I use 3 - 6inch OD calipers while turning Nosecones and transitions. One for the OD of the cone, One for the ID (shoulder) of the cone and the last for the overall length. I bought the set of three for about 6.00 from a place called Harbor freight liquidators, in California. I think they have a web site. Great place for finding inexpensive tools and machines but do your research before buying some items are still overpriced I'll attach a pic of the calipers and dividers I'm using for reference.
Hope this helps a little.

If you turn the nose tip outward, slip a small piece of BT over the end of the chuck to help gauge the shoulder. Check often. Too small doesn't hurt as long as you have masking tape.

Thanks for the replies guys. (hey, I rhymed )

I was using a drill press for clarification. Set at the highest speed and it worked great.

I used 5/8" dowel to start, but it is sanded down to fit ASP's T-5 (.518 ID, .545 OD) Next time I get some bigger tubes than the 1/4" ones, I'll get the T-10.5 (I didn't notice them the first time)

So for larger diameter NC's, Basswood or balsa sounds like the way to go.

I guess I'll just have to practice more.

The digicam is at work. I'll take some pics when I can get it home and post them.