Estes Laser Upscale build

[Back_at_it]

Wasting no time in getting started on the next build. I've said many times that I'm a big fan of some of Estes early rocket designs but I've always though they were simply too small. Designs like the Hawkeye, Yankee, Ninja, Wizard etc. are all great, simply, clean designs that deserve to be upscaled. For this build I'm going to put together another of my favorite simple Estes designs, the Laser # 1938 but this time it's going to be a 2.5" version.

Parts List.
- Estes 2.5" Pro Series nose cone.
- Estes 2.5" Pro Series tube. These is a full length tube at 15.5"
- Estes 2.5" Pro Series tube cut to 13.8"
- BMS 29mm motor tube cut to 11.5"
- Estes 2.5" Pro Series coupler 4.0" long.
- 1/4" Launch Lug.
- 29mm motor block.
- Baffle plates cut form .125" ply.
- Screw eye.
- Bad Boy Rocketry 2.5"x29mm centering rings.
- .125" plywood fins custom cut by Dragon Rocketry.
- Estes 29mm motor retainer.



Starting off this build with marking and slotting the lower body tube. The tube was marked and .125" slots were cut to allow the TTW fin tabs.



Next I began working on the motor mount. The motor tube has had the outer layer removed from the areas here the fins and rings will attach. The surface was then sanded with 100 grit to open up the fibers.


The upper centering ring was attached using T-88 epoxy and set aside to dry.



With the motor mount drying, I began work on the baffle. The baffle is a four plate design made from .125" plywood. The upper plate has a small reinforcement piece on the underside where the screw eye will attach. Each plate will be spaced 1 inch apart and attached using epoxy.



Going to let that cure for a few hours.

 

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With the motor mount cured, I inserted it into the lower body tube and marked the location of the upper ring inside the tube. The inside of the tube was sanded where the upper ring sits and the motor mount was epoxied into place. The rear ring was left off to allow for internal fillets.



With the motor mount set aside to dry, I began work on the fins. I decided to paper the fins for a little extra strength as they are long and there is the option of flying this on G motors at some point.

Using normal file folders, I cut eight pieces to match the fins. I then used T-88 Epoxy to attach them to the fins.



These were placed under a heavy flat weight and allowed to cure. I did some rough sanding this morning to knock down the high spots but I need to go back with some finer grits and smooth them out a little more before continuing. Overall they look good and the epoxy soaked completely through the materials so the fins are very stiff.

 

[DigBaddy]

Nice! This is gonna be cool. I did a Ninja with the 2.5" parts and it's a heck of a good flyer and looks great too.

 

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With the fins finish sanded I began to install them. The fins were attached using more T-88 epoxy. Each fin was sanded at the root edge and right where the fin will meet the body tube to allow for the epoxy to penetrate into the wood. The body tube was also sanded where the fins attach. This is shown in the second photo. I was able to get the first two fins attached yesterday and should be able to get the remaining fins attached today.



With the fins drying I moved onto the baffle. The baffle was coated in thinned epoxy for a little flame resistance. Next I attached 8ft of 1/4" shock cord to the eye bolt.



I then added a little heat shrink tubing to the first few inches of the cord to protect it from the ejection. The baffle was then inserted into the upper body tube and set aside to allow it to cure.

 

[loopy]

Make sure you put good strong fillets on the fin attachments since the rearward swept fins will be hitting the ground first. It's light enough that you should be fine, but bigger rockets tend to break the fillets of strong fins that are swept back behind the aft end of the body tube.

 

[Back_at_it]

Make sure you put good strong fillets on the fin attachments since the rearward swept fins will be hitting the ground first. It's light enough that you should be fine, but bigger rockets tend to break the fillets of strong fins that are swept back behind the aft end of the body tube.

Absolutely. The fins will be getting internal and external fillets with epoxy.

 

[loopy]

You'll be fine. I just get touchy with this because my first HPR scratch build was a 3x upscale of the Estes Sizzler. After a few flights, the fillets started to crack, so I had to dremel them out, put new ones in, and reinforced the bottom half of the fillets with fiberglass. No issues since then! lol

 

[Back_at_it]

Little more progress. Fins three and four have been attached. Need to get started on internal fillets today and hopefully button up the back end of this one tonight.

Was hoping for a test flight at the club launch tomorrow but it looks like this one might need to wait. Winds are also predicted to me a little high so maybe it's for the best.

 

[Back_at_it]

Managed to get the internal fillet applied between calls and lunch today.

 

[JeffBigg]

I can’t wait to see this finished. The first rocket I ever built was the Estes Laser. I just recently built another with help from stickershock for the decals. I may need to upscale one as well. Good luck with it.

 

[Back_at_it]

It has been a busy few days with work but I finally made some more progress with this build.

Buttoned up the rear of this with a centering ring made of a file folder. Since the fins are through the wall, the rear ring doesn't do anything structurally.



Next was installing the Estes 29mm motor retainer. The inside of the motor retainer was sanded with a drum roll to give it some surface before being attached using T-88 epoxy.



1/4" lugs were attached and aligned using an old launch rod.




External fillets were added using T-88 epoxy.




Everything was left out in the sun for a day to cure before priming and filler. I decided to prime first as to reduce the amount of paper fuzz you get from sanding the body tube. Two coats of SEM high build was applied and allowed to cure for a couple of hours before adding SEM brand wood filler.

Due to the length of this rocket i felt it was easier to do the filler work and sanding with the sections separated. Both halves have been sanded down to 400 grit. Only thing left is to join the tubes and fill in that gap.


Will get the tubes joined today and hopefully be in a position to do a final prime tonight and paint on Weds.

 

[Back_at_it]

Tubes have ben joined. Going to let the epoxy cure in the sun for a few hours then it's filler, sanding and a final prime before paint.

Looking forward to the simply one color paint job on this one.

 

[Back_at_it]

Final coat of SEM primer applied yesterday. Going to let this one sit in the sun today and cure before final sanding with 800 grit.

Plan to paint it this evening.

 

[Back_at_it]

Paint is on...!!

Did the final sanding with 600 grit. Wiped with alcohol and let it sit and dry in the sun for an hour before spraying on three coats of ACE Brand Safety Red.

 

[Back_at_it]

Wrapping this one up. With the exception of clear coat and a flight report, this one is done.

 

[JeffBigg]

Quick question, where did you get the 2.5” coupler? Estes has been out of stock for a while.

 

[Back_at_it]

Quick question, where did you get the 2.5” coupler? Estes has been out of stock for a while.

Estes had them in stock a month ago so I bought a bunch to go with the body tubes I already had