Duct Tape the Body Tube?

[techrat]

I am making a 4" diameter HPR with a 38mm motor mount. I am using a shipping tube that's probably in the range of 20 years old, and I consider it a little soft. So I attempted to fiberglass it, but my attempt at that came out only half-way decent. Some of the fiberglass did not stick to the tube while other sections did, so it's uneven, but stronger. I am now considering wrapping it in Duct Tape (or Duck Tape), to try and finalize this, plus then I don't need to paint it!

Other than the tape causing a weight issue (but not that much of an issue); is there any reason I CANNOT wrap the tube with duct tape? Would the RSO not allow that for some reason? Or have other people done this successfully?

 

[Rob Campbell]

Fiberglassimg it is lighter and stronger. For a "squishy" tube, a layer of 4oc cloth followed vuly a layer of 2 Oz cloth, followed by a layer of 0.75 Oz cloth will really stiffen it up and give a nice surface to prime and paint.

 

[K'Tesh]

My nosecone on my L1 bird was badly damaged in the first attempt for cert... British Duct Tape came to the rescue!

 

[A-ron]

I've previously contemplated using heat shrink battery wrap to cover a body tube instead of paint. This "wrap" is actually rolled up tubing that comes in many colors and sizes. I reckon it would hold up better than duct tape.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=battery+heat+shrink

https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-battery-heat-shrink.html

 

[gldknght]

Considering the fact that you can tear duck tape with your fingers, and 'usually' can not tear a cardboard shipping tube, you will only add weight to your rocket with the duck tape. The tube is stronger than the tape.

No reason you can't do this, but probably you shouldn't.

Also, even just the heat from the sun will eventually cause the duck tape to delaminate and peel off, leaving a gooey sticky mess on your body tube.

 

[cls]

Sounds like a really crummy cardboard tube. Are you sure you want to bother with it?

Duct tape probably won't add any compressive strength or dent strength. So if you are ok with just adding weight, go for it! Duct tape comes in so many colors and patterns these days. Have fun.

 

[techrat]

I've previously contemplated using heat shrink battery wrap to cover a body tube instead of paint. This "wrap" is actually rolled up tubing that comes in many colors and sizes. I reckon it would hold up better than duct tape.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=battery+heat+shrink
https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-battery-heat-shrink.html

Hrmmm... Maybe not for this project, but I'm going to look into this as an option for a future project. Nice idea!

In the meantime, my new plan is to slit the fiberglass where it's not sticking and re-apply some epoxy, then give the whole thing another layer of light laminating epoxy and then sand sand sand and sand some more. And then after that just say "screw it, it is what it is", build it, prime it, and then fly it. If it survives the maiden flight, I'll come up with a paint job and a name.

 

[lakeroadster]

My Grandpa told me once that Grandma had their entire house held together with duct tape...

Your rocket sounds unsafe... For a LPR... no worries. For a HPR...what are you thinking? Are you punking us?

 

[Back_at_it]

Duct Tape has rescued a lot of my rocket over the years. When I was a kid and had to make things last I would use it to fix everything. I had a Optima that crashed due to using a D12-5 (delay too long). I cut away the part of the tube that ripped and wrapped the upper half of the rocket in dollar store duct tape and flew that a dozen more times. I did need to move the launch lug as the tape was so thick it got in the way of the rod.

I've also just recently started using epoxy to strengthen body tubes. For year I have used super glue around the inside of my body tubes up near the top to strengthen them to help prevent zippering. A suggestion from LOC was to try thin epoxy. I've been using warmed epoxy on the inside of tubes and out of couplers for strength now for a few months and can say that I'm really happy with the results. It does add a little weight but adds a ton of strength.

At some point I got my hands on some BT80 tubes that were really soft. I don't know where they came but I didn't feel good about using them without a full length coupler. Of course that makes them strong but also heavy for LPR builds. I recently decided that I wanted an upscale BT80 Baby Bertha and cut one of these tubes to length then sanded the outside with 100 grit paper to open up the fibers. I then mixed up some T88 epoxy and warmed it slightly to make it thin and flow better. I painted on the epoxy then hit it with a heat gun and let it soak in.

After letting this dry for a day I was left with a body tube that was very rigid and had a hard almost plastic shell. Looking down the inside of the tube you can see where the epoxy soaked almost all the way through the tube as there are dark spots visible inside. Only minor sanding was required to knock down some bumps where fibers stood up or junk got in the epoxy. Since you have already tried fiber glassing the outside, you might want to try this on the inside of your tube.

 

[Hobie1dog]

blasphemy, the rocket god in the sky will punish you for such an unthinkable act let us know how it turns out.

 

[jimzcatz]

Had a cato burn up my fins. Gorilla tape to the rescue. Flies fine. Most RSO's will just ignore duct tape unless there a blatant structural concern.