Yep, that's what I use for LPR (1/8 × 36 and 3/16 × 48).
For blast deflectors, I drill a hole in the middle of a 39¢ 6×6" ceramic tile:
https://www.menards.com/main/floori...l-tile/vt1066hc1p4/p-1444428461603-c-6547.htm
They don't short out the launch controller leads when they fall, and they don't rust. The carbon wipes off fairly easily so they don't make a mess in storage.
For securing rods, I make aluminum "Adapters" with a 1/4-20 threaded hole in the bottom, and a "rod size" hole in the top, with a 1/4-20 threaded hole in the side for the thumbscrew that secures the rod. IIRC, a 1 foot chunk of 1" diameter aluminum hex bar stock was about $9 (that's enough for 6-8 adpaters). Here's the 3/16 version:
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1/4-20 is the thread used by camera and lighting tripods, so you can use it with any number of tripods off Amazon starting at about $15. It works great on the tripod that came with my Craftsman laser level. Or you can mount 2 or 3 of them on a board atop a sawhorse. Here's one end of a sawhorse dual launcher I built last week (the blast deflector has been used for a a number of A/B/C engine launches and is about a year old).
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