Mach1 3" Daedalus Build Thread

Hey! I have decided now is the time to build my 3" Daedalus from Mach1 Rocketry. It's only an average of 105 degrees in my garage every day - so it seems like the perfect time to work passionately on a project out there - proven out by the sweat and tears.

The rocket is 93' tall, is all FG, and should weigh in between 9-10lbs depending. It's has a 54mm motor mount tucked in boat tail. Needles to say, this will be the largest kit I have built to date. With that, I will be asking some questions...

• First: epoxy. I have used a combination of JB Weld, 5min epoxy, and Rocketpoxy in the past. For this, I want to use Rocketpoxy for the fillets, JB for the retainer, and something else for the motor mount. What should I use for that? Generic 15 or 30min epoxy, or something different?

• Second: shock cord. The Kit was supposed to come with a 1/2" Kevlar attachment cord - but it wasn't included. The rocket was purchased 9 months ago through a direct sale (through Facebook) with Steve at Mach1 so there is no order form to reference and I doubt he remembers me. I feel awkward asking for it to be shipped. At any rate, what would be the best shock cord attachment solution? In the past I have used 1500# kevlar for my other 8lbs FG rocket. Will that suffice here? What about a Y-harness? When are those even needed anyway?

That's it for now. I'll post some pictures once the actual build gets going.

That is a beautiful rocket kit. Looking forward to watching it come together.

For epoxy, Rocketpoxy and JB are perfect for your stated uses. For assembly, any 30 minute epoxy would work fine. But slower cure epoxy like West systems or Aeropoxy are better, with good surface prep. Started using more System 3 T-88. It has great performance numbers, easy 1:1 mixing, and about $40 Amazon for a quart kit.

As for the kevlar. Steve would deffinently send you a replacement piece. He has always taken care of me. But the included "1/2 attachment kevlar" (closer to 3/8") is just a short 6' piece ment to make a Y harness. The 1500lb you have been using would probably work just fine. But I like to use a heavier kevlar Y harness, because it will never be replaced. You might have to add another notch to the top centering ring for a Y harness, I believe they were all cut with just one.

Looks like it's a very nice kit. Did the fin guide come with the kit?

Nice workbench too.

crossfire said:

Looks like it's a very nice kit. Did the fin guide come with the kit?

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No, I 3D printed this one. I do this for every kit I build.

hobie1dog said:

Nice workbench too.

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Thanks! I posted this on FB too and people were more interested in the bench than the actual rocket. Go figure... It is an awesome bench by the way.

The bench is like a transformer! You can use rocketpoxy for the entire build. Also use a thinner epoxy for injecting fillets, if you do that. I use aeromarine 300/21 or 400/21 epoxy for injecting and some filler material. Also consider asking OneBadHawk to make you a custom booster harness with a welded eye sewn into it and sewn loop on other side. I've had him make those for me in the past. Just measure from top CR to booster opening and add a few inches.
This heat sucks as it's a cool 110+ in the garage.

I saw the discussion about your workbench on FB. It's awesome, but so is the rocket! I really want one of these (though the 4" version is also tempting whenever it is released).

1/2" kevlar seems like overkill to me.

You can actually order the kit now. Steve told me the NC would arrive in August. I am waiting on a 4" Black Hole myself. And yes, as Eric said, call Steve and I am sure he will send you what was missing. He has for me. We will require lots of pics !

So things are on hold for a little while until a replacement boat tail comes in. Mine is quite thin, flimsy, and soft in some areas. Steve said it was one of the first he made and since then he has gotten into compressed FG cones. I'm getting a new set of rear fins to go along with it as well. So I wait...

I have seen his new NC, they are worth the wait!

The wait is over - time to build. I'm going to use Rocketpoxy for everything but the retainer. I looked at the System 3 T-88 as suggested by Eric but it is the same price Rocketpoxy. I am a fan of simplicity and two seems simpler than three. Besides Rocketpoxy can also do fillets.

You can see the new boat tail in the first picture below. The end of the boat tail fits snugly around the 54mm MMT. The end of the tail is a smaller diameter than the Aeropack retainer. This made the retainer stick out and it looked funny. RockSim says I'd lose about 300' of altitude that way - not that I care, really. Out with ugly! I cut it short as you can see in the second picture. Also, I didn't like how the new boat tail is so dang long. It looks like Captain Hook's peg leg. You can see the mark where I was planing to cut it down. It looks a bit better now.

The last picture is the MMT. I'm going to do fin pockets instead of fillets on this one. I think I may have made them too wide. Do I care? Other than weight - do wider pockets do any harm?

Everything is tacked with CA. Tomorrow is epoxy.

a word of caution on the wide pockets - they require A LOT of epoxy to fill (added wight at the tail end - not great) and can be prone to air bubbles (weak bond). as you have the ability to now, i would suggest making them smaller as to ensure a strong and efficient bond.

kudos on the tail cone mod. i am 100% with your decision on that one.

Yeee-Haw! Can't wait to see it done. What are you doing for paint?

Rob - Not sure on paint yet. I have a graphic artist friend who I’m going to hit up and see what he can come up with. I’m open to any brilliant ideas you have.

Tonight I finished the MMT and epoxied it to the business end. You can see my sloppy epoxy job on all the rings. I didn't have a small popsickle stick - just a wide tongue depressor. It got the job done even if it does look like epoxy threw up everywhere.

I tried to get the pitting on the boat tail with the second picture. Before starting I gave the FG a bath. This exposed some of the pits that were once filled with something water soluble. So tomorrow I'll be filling pits, filling the gap left by the boat tail, and sanding everything smooth. Maybe, if time permits, I'll do fins as well.

That MMT looks great. What are you going to use for filler? If the graphics guy has a design or scheme maybe he could cut those out as stencils or mask it off etc... lots of colors and effects available out there. I have a ton of colors and additives already. What's your favorite color?

Filler - as in base color of the rocket? No clue. Oktoberfest is three months away so I have time to think of something. Favorite color is red - you know, I’ve never painted a rocket red...

Red is nice! I meant filler for the body tube and tail cone, to make it smooth.

Ha - Filler! Ok - I used medium thick CA. I slathered it on then smoothed it out with a piece of cardboard that had a smooth straight edge like a squeegee. This pushed the CA in the all the dimples and gaps and made for less sanding on my end. I'll post a picture of the results later. It looks real nice like.

Today was a good rocket day. The boat tail is on and smoothed out. The transition is seamless due to the power of CA. I proceeded to fill the pockets with 7 ounces of epoxy. Damn... Then I set the fins. It was 105 today and the Rocketpoxy was curing fast - thus making things move along. Tomorrow is fillets and motor retainer.

Where are you getting those fin alignment jigs?

This alignment jig was 3D printed from an openscad file I got on Thingiverse. I print one out for every build these days. Other than the printer, it costs less then $1 to print them out.

Are you open to making some? Thanks, Dave.

David - maybe. I travel for work a lot so I would not be able to commit to much. What were you thinking? Start a thread under the 3D printing forum. I’m sure others will pipe in too.

Hi Ian, me too, I am in GA right now. Very hot. Thanks

hobie1dog said:

Nice workbench too.

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Yeah... where did the work bench come from...?? Envy.

The workbench... I should go into business selling plans for this thing. It's my own creation. I'll detail it out for everyone somewhere on this forum in the next couple of days.

Build Update. Fillets and Retainer. Like I said when I started this, it is 105 degrees out. This posed as somewhat troublesome for fillets. The Rocketpoxy started to cure way faster than I was used to so I had half the working time and twice as many fillets due to the split fins. Normally I would let the 'poxy' (as my 3 year old calls it) set for 30min before shaping them. I had to wait 15 and even that was waiting too long. Things set in 60 minutes. Normally it takes 2-3 hours.

The retainer is on too. I have JB Weld on both sides of the retainer - this thing is never coming off. You can see the full tail cone mod below. I think it tuned out well!

Tomorrow is the AV bay.

the tail cone came you looking great and very nice job on the fins.

funny how the temp works. most of my building is done in the winter months (more time to devote to such things) and i struggle with garage temps that barely reach over 50 leading to lllooooooooong cure times. especially with T88 and other similar epoxies

once again, great job so far.

what motor are you thinking for the first flight? nice and easy or are you going to punish it right from the git-go?

Theory said:

what motor are you thinking for the first flight? nice and easy or are you going to punish it right from the git-go?

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I’m not sure what motor will be used on the maiden flight. I’m making this with the most punishing motor in mind. I want the first flight to be spectacular with lots of smoke and fire. Most of my friends and co-workers know nothing of this hobby so I want to take the time to show them how awesome it is with an awesome flight. I’m kinda of settling on a CTI L265-MY. I think. We’ll see... I might just do a shakedown flight with something moderate before the “big one” at Oktoberfest.