Rocket Cradle Designs?

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JCRL

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I see a lot of pictures on the forum of larger rockets in what I would call a "cradle" built from PVC pipes and foam to hold the rocket flat during construction. I could study the pictures and recreate it, but before I do that, does anyone have plans readily available?
 
I will look at what is out there and either modify or make something new.
 
I just updated mine today. I added the foam stuff. The pretty green foam stuff is kiddie-costume nunchucks from the dollar store. $1 total for all that foam padding.
4x 90-degree bends, 2x cross pieces, and about 4' of 1/2" pvc ... just a note I remember i had to go to the plumbing supply store to get the 4-way cross pieces. Lowes did not carry those.
All in all it will cost about $5.
Here's the obligatory picture so you can build it yourself. Mineis 3" pieces on the bottom, 4" pieces on the top and 12" pieces lengthwise. IMG_20191018_183012174.jpg
 
I’ll add that I don’t recommend using pipe insulation, the kind that has the adhesive that sticks the sides together. The adhesive gets gummy and will get all over your rockets. Find something like the pic above or pool noodles.
 
If I wrote it down, my plan would look like:

Find:
- 2 feet of 3/4" PVC piping
- 8 inches of foam pipe insulator (sold in 3 ft length in my local stores).
- 12 caps for 3/4" pipes.

Procedure:
Step 1: Cut piping into 12 pieces, each 2-inch long. ("I's") and sand.
Step 2: Fit or glue 8 "I's" to the 8 ending of 2 "X's".
Step 3: Fit or glue 4 "T's" to neighbouring ends of the 2 "X's".
Step 4: Fit or glue the 4 remaining "I's" to the "T's".
Step 5: Fit a cap wherever you can.
Step 6: Wrap the 4 cradle arms in foam (insulator foam is found in same store aisle as piping).
Step 7: Done!
 
For small-to-medium LPR models, I've cut V-notches in the sides of a Tim Horton TimBits box and it works fine.

That reminds me, I better go buy a box of TimBits!
 
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I've made a bunch of PVC stands over the years. I don't have any plans but here are a few pictures . . .
31605140338_5ba311e858_o.jpg

20905338914_3b4450cc67_b.jpg

30375948982_9ca9e1b1a6_b.jpg
 
I couldn't find any crosses locally but I had tubing and tees. Nothing is glued. Stick a longer or shorter piece in for different length rockets. Stick on foam tape to protect paint. Cheap, easy, adjustable, comes apart for storage. Do like that double rocket stand, will have to build one. IMG_1582.JPG
 
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I've made a few myself. Beauty of the system is the relative cost of PVC/ABS tubing and fittings,foam pipe insulation if you're concerned about protecting your finish , they're stupidly cheap, and they tend to fit snugly so glue could be considered optional if your the experimenting with differing configurations type. A PVC cutter is handy and will save a lot of clean up time, but not really necessary. Consider it a big Tinker Toy set, combinations are literally endless..
 
Do you have a Lo wes/Home Depot/Menards nearby? They've always been on the shelf by me...
 
When i built mine, i went to Home Depot and Lowes both. Neither one carried the crosses. But I have a great plumbing supply store close to my house and picked them up there.
 
When i built mine, i went to Home Depot and Lowes both. Neither one carried the crosses. But I have a great plumbing supply store close to my house and picked them up there.
I had no issue finding crosses at Menards. I built mine all with 1/2" fittings.
 
Everything you may need to know in one place. Terminology is key. Unless you're speaking with your average 16 year old at your local home.center
 
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