Thick cardboard shipping containers?

[Nick@JET]

I have two very thick cardboard tubing shipping contanrrs 5 foot 7 foot tall. ID is same as a 3 inch rocket and four-inch rocket respectively. Nose cones and centering rings fit perfectly but they are heavy. Has anybody scratch build rockets out of these type of shipping containers successfully?

Any tips or suggestions? They seem to be such a waste just to throw them away and not make a rocket out of them.

Thanks for your help

 

[codysmith]

I know a lot of people do. I have made some myself... Biggest suggestion is to coat the inside with epoxy or paint to protect from the ejection charge as they aren't as strong as normal rocket tubes. Good Luck!

 

[taiwanluthiers]

those tubes are too heavy. They are better suited for shooting projectiles out of. I have seen ones with 1cm thick walls. IF you find something with only 1/16" or 3/32" thick walls, then they should work.

 

[AlfaBrewer]

I have two very thick cardboard tubing shipping contanrrs 5 foot 7 foot tall. ID is same as a 3 inch rocket and four-inch rocket respectively. Nose cones and centering rings fit perfectly but they are heavy. Has anybody scratch build rockets out of these type of shipping containers successfully?

Any tips or suggestions? They seem to be such a waste just to throw them away and not make a rocket out of them.

Thanks for your help

Define "very thick". As TaiwanLuthiers says, they can be too thick to be practical. However, I picked up a 3" ID, 7' long shipping tube at work that will make a great rocket (HPR), once I make a nose cone. Since it's thicker than normal body tube (about 2x normal), I can't just use an off-the-shelf nose cone.

 

[taiwanluthiers]

They might be good for L3 certs, because they'll make a rocket so heavy that it will fly maybe 2000ft on a M

 

[Nick@JET]

Thickness is .300" and yes I'll have to make a nose cone for it as well.
I do like low and slow flights but will have to do some weighing to see what it weighs and motor configuration and make sure of the 5:1 ratio.
I think I still want to try it - I have 3 of various sizes
3" - 6' x .180" but feels too soft
3" - 6' x .300"
4" - 8' x .300"

 

[taiwanluthiers]

.300 seems really thick. I think most rocketry tubes are around 1/8" at most.

 

[cavecentral]

If really into scratch building, I used one as a mandrel for a fiberglass tube. Wrap with Mylar and mold release. Make tube / side Mylar off. Then you need to make the cone, etc. Seemed too heavy with a lower strength to weight ratio.

All in what you are looking for though. The price is right at least.

 

[Nick@JET]

Ok thank you for the help

 

[PhlAsh]

My UFO Invader was built from 5.25"OD shipping tubes. My (late) Ram Jet and Twice as Mean Machine were built using 3.25"OD plotter cores. There's no such thing as 'too heavy' if you plan your motor usage accordingly.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

Instead of airframe, you could use them as motor mounts. :grin:

 

[taiwanluthiers]

Or use them as mortar tubes...

 

[chadrog]

.300 seems really thick. I think most rocketry tubes are around 1/8" at most.

3" craft tube from LOC/Precision has a wall thickness of .05".

 

[tmacklin]

3" craft tube from LOC/Precision has a wall thickness of .05".

Hey, that's only 1/20th of an inch! Who knew?

 

[chadrog]

Hey, that's only 1/20th of an inch! Who knew?

Nice catch, good on you! Point is, most tubes are nowhere near 1/8" wall thickness.

 

[tmacklin]

I've accumulated a lifetime supply of various spiral wound paper tubes; mailing tubes, plotter core tubes even carpet roll cores from Lowe's. Some are suitable for rockets, most are not. A 1 2/2" I.D. tube will make a nice motor mount for 38 mm motors. Two of my all time favorite rockets were made from mailing tubes, one is 1 1/2" I.D. and the other from a 2" I.D. plan core tube from Thomas Reprographics of Dallas, Texas. They used to include these as protectors for original tracings for their print customers.

I've been cleaning my man cave for the past two months trying to figure out what to do with all this crap. Maybe they could be put in my casket to follow me into the afterlife? :eyepop:

 

[taiwanluthiers]

It would be a big casket...

Those thick carpet core tubes aren't suitable for rockets, they will work as mortars because they are really thick and heavy. Might work for rocket if you want to put a M on a 4" rocket...as you'll need to put like 5 pounds of weight in the nose to maintain stability.

 

[dave carver]

Thickness is .300" and yes I'll have to make a nose cone for it as well.
I do like low and slow flights but will have to do some weighing to see what it weighs and motor configuration and make sure of the 5:1 ratio.
I think I still want to try it - I have 3 of various sizes
3" - 6' x .180" but feels too soft
3" - 6' x .300"
4" - 8' x .300"

What you can do with the first tube if you want is to reinforce and stiffen the tube is by using epoxy. This is an outdoor job, don't even think of doing it inside. What you do is have a way of sealing the ends. Plastic bags stretched and duct taped will do, you just need a bit of a seal as you will be doing the same treatment to the outside of the tube. This will take a good quantity of epoxy, a quart (2 pint bottles) should do it. You also need acetone or lacquer thinner. Mix enough epoxy to 2/3rds fill a pint container. Add enough acetone or thinner to make it nearly water consistency, you want it to run easily and not flow. The thinner stops the epoxy from working until it evaporates. Thinning also makes the epoxy penetrate deep into the soft cardboard of that first tube. The other two tubes sound like the kind this would hardly benefit being much less porous. After you slosh it around on the inside, coating it all until it won't take anymore pour it out and brush it on the outside of the tube. Wear protective gear, long sleeves, rubber gloves , eye protection and a good breather( or stand upwind in a stiff breeze ) The tube will be vastly stronger.

 

[taiwanluthiers]

Use the right kind of epoxy for this, no need to thin them. Thinned epoxy does weird things. There are epoxies that are nearly water thin when mixed, for example Aeropoxy.

 

[Nick@JET]

Nice advice, i am going to build this - even if I only fly a few times. I want the experience of a scratch build.
Thanks for your help

 

[larrykoskie]

I used a shipping tube for my L3 flight. When I brought it home it was 12"8" long with a 6 inch ID and 6.375 in OD and weighed 8 lbs. It got shorted quite a bit and the finished length of the rocket was 10'2" and weighed 38 lbs. and flew to 6700 feet. I believe that I had less than $100 in the rocket not counting the electronics and motor.

 

[Kirk G]

Or use them as mortar tubes...

There MUST be a federal agency looking for people who think like you do... LOL!:wink: