Lost Your Blast Plate? Put A Lid On It...

[K'Tesh]

Go to Goodwill, or a garage sale, peruse the cookware. Find a cheap pot with a lid the right size, and use that as a blast plate (drill a hole if necessary).

Cleaned up, you still might even be able to "cook" with it (for non-edible projects)

 

[SolarYellow]

I bet stainless holds up better than aluminum.

 

[Exactimator]

Metallic blast plates short out clips.

 

[Titan II]

I bet stainless holds up better than aluminum.

And titanium will hold up better than stainless. That does not negate the utility of his proposal.

Metallic blast plates short out clips.

What are your clips doing on the blast plate? In over 60 years, I never had a metallic blast plate short out anything.

 

[SolarYellow]

And titanium will hold up better than stainless. That does not negate the utility of his proposal.

That was hardly my intent. It was just a suggestion that, if someone is at the thrift shop looking at an aluminum lid and a stainless lid, they are likely to be better served over time by the ferrous material.

But yeah, a diamond bit putting a hole through a 1x1 ft ceramic tile, maybe with some kind of bracketing to hold it at an angle, is probably about as good as you can do.

 

[Exactimator]

And titanium will hold up better than stainless. That does not negate the utility of his proposal.

What are your clips doing on the blast plate? In over 60 years, I never had a metallic blast plate short out anything.

Blast plate goes under the rocket.
Also under the rocket: ignitor.
Attached to the ignitor under the rocket: clips.

We use ceramic tiles with holes center-drilled. Flower pots also work and are conveniently pre-holed.

This is for LPR.

 

[Titan II]

Blast plate goes under the rocket.
Also under the rocket: ignitor.
Attached to the ignitor under the rocket: clips.

OMG....I would have never known that. Over 60 years of rocketry and I had it backward all this time (LP, MP and HP).

My statement stands.

 

[K'Tesh]

Ok guys... Let's all relax, and take a breather... I wasn't trying to get anyone upset.

 

[Titan II]

Ok guys... Let's all relax, and take a breather... I wasn't trying to get anyone upset.

Telling someone else to relax and take a breather is a sure way to get them upset.

I was supportive of your post and found post #3 ridiculous. Thus my comment. Have a nice day

 

[augendoc]

4-6” cutoff discs also work for LPR. Of course if anyone has a bunch of 1/4” titanium plate lying around…

 

[flyingeagle]

I am working on a homemade launch pad from a utility tripod work light stand with adjustable tilt. I’m thinking of using a pot lid for a blast deflector plate also

 

[K'Tesh]

Telling someone else to relax and take a breather is a sure way to get them upset.

I was supportive of your post and found post #3 ridiculous. Thus my comment. Have a nice day

Thanks for the support. I could tell that you were in favor of my suggestion. However, there was (at least to me) a growing feeling that some of the posts verging on negativeity, and I wanted to cut that off.

Blue skies, fair winds!

 

[Exactimator]

Thanks for the support. I could tell that you were in favor of my suggestion. However, there was (at least to me) a growing feeling that some of the posts verging on negativeity, and I wanted to cut that off.

Blue skies, fair winds!

Nah, we were having a good time. Anyone who's launched for 60 years is smart enough to figure out how clips might touch a blast plate. Titan has a great sense of humor.

 

[Hobie1dog]

exactly what we did, works great.

 

[Daddyisabar]

Just build rockets that don't need no stinking blast defectors! In fact, any sort of catchy blast defector is unsafe. Haven't used many nasty blast defectors in years.

 

[Daddyisabar]

COSROCS has a pile of old 1990's AOL install CDs they use for the low power racks. When they get nasty or burned through from a rod hung Mean Machine, just toss them in the trash. The newbies and kiddos can short the leads on them at the club.

 

[Daddyisabar]

And to think of how the old dudes did it back in the black and white movie days. Just stuck a rod in the dirt or used a coffee can. How did they even survive?

But who needs big, angled, heavy metal blast defector or silly water deluge suppression? Just blast a big hole in the ground! Such a Space X fanboy! YIPPEE!

 

[techrat]

Just blast a big hole in the ground!

Well, Musk is halfway to his flame trench. Now he jjust has to dig out the rest...

 

[Grog6]

I found some really neat looking copper-plated stainless steel plates, left over from a work project, and sent to the trash. they are darn near indestructible, lol. They are part of the pad, with a provision for a water- filled area if necessary.

 

[Daddyisabar]

Well, Musk is halfway to his flame trench. Now he jjust has to dig out the rest...

If it only was that easy. Going to have to dredge up material, stack it, let it settle for a few months and then build it 1960's NASA style. Hello Sierra Club...

 

[tsmith1315]

And to think of how the old dudes did it back in the black and white movie days. Just stuck a rod in the dirt

Coat hanger in the ground and a firecracker fuse was all I knew as a kid. I still have coat hanger straightening skills.

 

[K'Tesh]

Coat hanger in the ground and a firecracker fuse was all I knew as a kid. I still have coat hanger straightening skills.

I never used the firecracker fuse... But I did successfully use a coat hanger for a launch.

 

[teepot]

I have a thinish steel one. The G dented it like a hammer. I burned thru one too. Now I used an AR500 rifle gong. 8" in diameter. It laughs at flame. I use one to keep the exhaust off my pad. It might catch fire.

I like the idea of a pot lid. I would go with stainless steel.

 

[Voyager1]

Metallic blast plates short out clips.

Most people I know use a stopper on the rod or rail to hold the rocket above the blast plate. No shorted clips there!

 

[Hobie1dog]

what about using a carbon fiber disc if worried about clips shorting out?

 

[SolarYellow]

That makes a resistor rather than a dead short.

 

[spiker/rockerts]

Go to Goodwill, or a garage sale, peruseG the cookware. Find a cheap pot with a lid the right size, and use that as a blast plate (drill a hole if necessary).

Cleaned up, you still might even be able to "cook" with it (for non-edible projects)


View attachment 577947

 

[spiker/rockerts]

Guys,
How about drilling a small hole ina standard electrical box cover for a blast deflector?
...inexpensive & readily available/
replaceable...low current conductivity.

 

[flyingeagle]

Looking at the pic of the tripod without a blast deflector plate might be helpful to have one. It won’t make the tripod look like it was pulled out and salvaged from a dwelling fire. Some guys or gals use them and some don’t but it’s all preference. I would use one on a tilt to help prevent the ground grass from igniting and catching fire. But hay, that’s me.

 

[spiker/rockerts]

Coat hanger in the ground and a firecracker fuse was all I knew as a kid. I still have coat hanger straightening skills.

Lol...like "October Sky"... light a short fuse & RUN !!...you know...a cheap cover for a standard electrical box , with a hole drilled in the center makes a great blast plate !