Nose cone conundrum (not what you think)

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Andrew_ASC said:
Maybe he could heat it then chill it real quick? I'd worry about lighting that wooden cone on fire. Personally I'd cut that U bolt off at base and mount it differently and not worry about any of the other stuff. It'd be a shame to ruin such a good cone over a bad U bolt mount idea and the pain of removing it.
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The nose cone won't eject in this design, so it doesn't need an anchor. Like I said, I'm trying to remove the 12+ oz of weight from the cone.
 
Andrew_ASC said:
Maybe he could heat it then chill it real quick? I'd worry about lighting that wooden cone on fire. Personally I'd cut that U bolt off at base and mount it differently and not worry about any of the other stuff. It'd be a shame to ruin such a good cone over a bad U bolt mount idea and the pain of removing it.
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The epoxy will char and lose all integrity first. Then the wood nearest the metal may char, but the nosecone won’t burst into flames unless he directs the torch at it. If it does, he can always put it out with a wet rag. There must be enough heat flux directly into the metal that it’s transferred to the epoxy fast enough to heat it to a high temperature without losing its heat to the thermal mass the nosecone represents.
 
Steve Shannon said:
The epoxy will char and lose all integrity first. Then the wood nearest the metal may char, but the nosecone won’t burst into flames unless he directs the torch at it. If it does, he can always put it out with a wet rag. There must be enough heat flux directly into the metal that it’s transferred to the epoxy fast enough to heat it to a high temperature without losing its heat to the thermal mass the nosecone represents.
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I'm afraid the BB's will act like a heat sink, not letting the u-bolt get hot enough.
 
qquake2k said:
I'm afraid the BB's will act like a heat sink, not letting the u-bolt get hot enough.
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They will, but because they’re embedded in the epoxy they transfer heat to the epoxy. Wood is a worse conductor of heat than metal. With more heat flowing into the metal (including bbs) than can flow out the temperature must rise. Because of all that mass he has to find a way to heat it overwhelmingly. A larger torch or even two torches. A gas welding torch would be just right.
 
Well, I managed to set the resin on fire, along with the nose cone. It still didn't budge. I can't heat the u-bolt to red hot with the propane torch.
And unfortunately, I don't have an oxy-acetylene torch.

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I think the die grinder is going to be the ticket. It cuts into the basswood relatively easily. I just need a longer bit.

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I found a longer bit, but because the ball end is bigger than 1/4", it digs in and stops. I was able to break some of the resin and BB's out, though.

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qquake2k said:
I think the die grinder is going to be the ticket. It cuts into the basswood relatively easily. I just need a longer bit.
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Wow. That's all I can say, just Wow! Obviously my suggestions haven't worked; I'm sorry for that. I'll just shut the heck up and get out of the way, but I will be interested to see how this plays out. When I have had to destroy epoxy with heat I always watch for a puff of smoke that indicates that the epoxy has been charred. There's a terrible smell that accompanies that, which I cannot imagine is good to breathe.
Have you tried drilling into the epoxy and metal structure itself?
I applaud you for the quality of your build!!!
 
Steve Shannon said:
Wow. That's all I can say, just Wow! Obviously my suggestions haven't worked; I'm sorry for that. I'll just shut the heck up and get out of the way, but I will be interested to see how this plays out. When I have had to destroy epoxy with heat I always watch for a puff of smoke that indicates that the epoxy has been charred. There's a terrible smell that accompanies that, which I cannot imagine is good to breathe.
Have you tried drilling into the epoxy and metal structure itself?
I applaud you for the quality of your build!!!
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My goal certainly wasn't this much strength. I've used Easy Cast casting epoxy in all my nose cones. I chose it for its "pourability". It's relatively thin when mixed. I had no idea it was this tough.

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I was able to chip some more of the epoxy and BBs out. I can see the washer on the u-bolt now. Between the BBs, epoxy, and wood I've removed, the nose cone is now 2.5 oz lighter. I'm getting there.

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qquake2k said:
I was able to chip some more of the epoxy and BBs out. I can see the washer on the u-bolt now. Between the BBs, epoxy, and wood I've removed, the nose cone is now 2.5 oz lighter. I'm getting there.
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w00t!
 
Ha! Ha! HA HA!!!

I found a different bit. Years ago, my b-in-law used to buy lots of surplus tools, and he gave me a bunch of die grinder bits. Good thing, this one did it. Once I got past the washer, I gave it a couple of good whacks with a hammer, and it broke right out. The nose cone is now 5.4 oz lighter. HA!

Now I have to work on the other side, which might be a little tougher.

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The other side should go a little faster, since I'm not bothering with the torch this time.

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Success! The second side went a lot faster, since I got it all figured out on the first side. The nose cone is now 10.35 oz lighter. Not as big a difference as I had anticipated, but still a significant reduction. I suppose I could remove 2 oz of basswood with the die grinder, if I was so inclined. But the reduction I got was well worth the effort. The sim on a J350 went from 1832ft to 1950ft.

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Surprisingly, there was very little damage during this violent, at times, process. I can live with a few small gouges. I haven't been able to stand it up for a long time!

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Funny and ironic. I never thought about it from a dental perspective. I didn't use any novocaine.
 
qquake2k said:
Funny and ironic. I never thought about it from a dental perspective. I didn't use any novcaine.
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Nicknames are given for events like this in my circles, but usually for epic failures - if you’d set the cone and shed on fire or made the NC explode , “The Dentist” would certainly become your moniker moving forward...
 
snrkl said:
Nicknames are given for events like this in my circles, but usually for epic failures - if you’d set the cone and shed on fire or made the NC explode , “The Dentist” would certainly become your moniker moving forward...
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That's a relief. I would have had to buy a new hat.

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qquake2k said:
Well, I managed to set the resin on fire, along with the nose cone. It still didn't budge. I can't heat the u-bolt to red hot with the propane torch.
And unfortunately, I don't have an oxy-acetylene torch.
Click to expand...

What is going on?Grilling in the garage is not a good idea......:facepalm:
 

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