Upgrading my old launch pad: easy rail fold-over solution

[tab28682]

I have an old very heavy duty tripod launch pad with folding solid steel legs that is about 42” high. I never liked the original interface between the tripod and the 1010 rail and rods I used. I really want a fold-over rail system due to aging back and knees...

Saw the folks using the Rockwell jaw stand and that is a pretty good solution that enables easy fold-over of the rail. Those stands gave me an idea. I started looking around for heavy duty folding hinges and found an assortment of heavy duty folding shelf brackets available on Amazon and elsewhere.

Ordered a couple and they showed up over the weekend. I picked a pair described as 10”. They are about 9.5” long on the long side and 3.5” on the short side. These are rated to hold up a shelf weighing 132 lbs. Cost was a very reasonable 13.99 for the pair. You can also get units that are 8, 12, 16 and 20 inches on the long side. This one has three well spaced 3/16” holes on the long side that will work for bolting up the rail.

https://www.amazon.com/Sumnacon-Stu...=sumnacon+1o&qid=1621965168&sr=8-2&th=1&psc=1
They have a nice lever action arm for very positive locking and unlocking when at the vertical position (vertical as a launch pad, but horizontal as a shelf bracket, of course.)

Seems to be a near perfect solution for a good fold-over 6–8 foot 1010 rail launcher for rockets up to about 10-15 lbs. Mine will be mostly used for RC RGs and mid power rockets. My tripod weighs about 25 lbs.

Going to modify the launcher over the next two days and will post some pics when done.

I did search the forum to see if anyone had tried this before, but got no hits.

 

[Curtis Enlow]

I have an old very heavy duty tripod launch pad with folding solid steel legs that is about 42” high. I never liked the original interface between the tripod and the 1010 rail and rods I used. I really want a fold-over rail system due to aging back and knees...

Saw the folks using the Rockwell jaw stand and that is a pretty good solution that enables easy fold-over of the rail. Those stands gave me an idea. I started looking around for heavy duty folding hinges and found an assortment of heavy duty folding shelf brackets available on Amazon and elsewhere.

Ordered a couple and they showed up over the weekend. I picked a pair described as 10”. They are about 9.5” long on the long side and 3.5” on the short side. These are rated to hold up a shelf weighing 132 lbs. Cost was a very reasonable 13.99 for the pair. You can also get units that are 8, 12, 16 and 20 inches on the long side. This one has three well spaced 3/16” holes on the long side that will work for bolting up the rail.

https://www.amazon.com/Sumnacon-Stu...=sumnacon+1o&qid=1621965168&sr=8-2&th=1&psc=1
They have a nice lever action arm for very positive locking and unlocking when at the vertical position (vertical as a launch pad, but horizontal as a shelf bracket, of course.)

Seems to be a near perfect solution for a good fold-over 6–8 foot 1010 rail launcher for rockets up to about 10-15 lbs. Mine will be mostly used for RC RGs and mid power rockets. My tripod weighs about 25 lbs.

Going to modify the launcher over the next two days and will post some pics when done.

I did search the forum to see if anyone had tried this before, but got no hits.

Tom, did you ever find a way to make this work? If so do you have pics of the application?