Homemade polished aluminum deployment charge canisters

If you like those aluminum deployment charge canisters but don't want to spend $20 for a pair of canisters or would just rather make them yourself, then here's how I make polished aluminum charge canisters for cheap.

First get some aluminum tubing. I got this three foot piece of 3/4" aluminum tube from Home Depot for about $10 and it will make a lot of charge canisters. They only have two sizes of aluminum tubing at Home Depot but you can get any size you want from McMaster-Carr.



Cut the tubing to the desired length. I used the band saw but a hack saw would work.






Sand with progressively fine sandpaper. First I smooth out the rough cut ends with 120 grit, then I sanded with 600, 1000, and 2000 grit. If you want them to have a satin finish like the $20 charge canisters then stop there. If you want a mirror finish like this then polish with aluminum polish. I used Mother's Aluminum Polish.



I make the bases out of 1/8" plywood and epoxy. I used Aeropoxy. They are plenty strong; I've made them like this for years and have never had one fail. First I rough cut squares on the band saw and then shape them into round disks on the belt sander until they just fit into the canister tubes.





Rough up the bottom of the inside of the canister to give the epoxy a good grip.



Insert the plywood bases and cover the inside of the bases with a big drip of epoxy and spread it to the edges.





After the epoxy cures, all that's left is to drill holes and and attach with bolts. I use #4-40 machine bolts.



Finished! This is the av-bay of my Upscale Onyx which I am in the process of upgrading from single deploy to head end dual deploy.

Good job. There are limitless options for canisters.

Nathan- I can envision your casket. Mirror polished Stainless Steel, polished gold plated handles, French polished Brazilian Mahogany interior, hand engraved sterling silver accents.

But I would have bet one of the family jewels that you only used CO2 cartridges to eliminate that nasty black powder residue.

Very impressive.
Does the polishing make these more functional than unpolished canisters?

Of course, the functionality is directly related to the effort to polish.

BABAR said:

Very impressive.
Does the polishing make these more functional than unpolished canisters?

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No more than painting rockets makes them more functional than unpainted rockets.

Nathan said:

No more than painting rockets makes them more functional than unpainted rockets.

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Well, a nice paint jobs like yours will get your rocket more altitude! But you aren't getting any more charge out of your BP with a polished well.

You should really consider selling those. Custom made, for people who want something other than the Doghouse or Rocket Junkies sizes.

Well, since longer wells provide more complete powder burn at high altitude, it follows that more polished metal causes improved performance, QED.

I mean, while it doesn't impact performance in the slightest, a couple hours spent polishing at the start will certainly make the cleanup go a lot faster than if they were rough.

Assuming they work as well as a "regular" charge well, I simply like them because they look great, even if it is just before use. I appreciate the efforts that some go to in seeking visual perfection.

Wow the polish look great! I think maybe you should save the polished one as a show model like for display, because it'll become pointless after the black powder fires.

Yukon@K-9 Rocket Tech said:

Wow the polish look great! I think maybe you should save the polished one as a show model like for display, because it'll become pointless after the black powder fires.

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Black powder residue wipes right off polished aluminum, but they will get scuffed up.

Nathan said:

Black powder residue wipes right off polished aluminum, but they will get scuffed up.

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I didn't think about that. come to think of it, the unpolished one will have residue sticking problems

Very cool. I will be adopting your approach.

Thx for sharing.

Thinking about doing those myself now - just ordered some Dog House charge wells and am always surprised at the cost....

Are you doing this with a buffing wheel and several grits of jeweler's rouge/polish ?
I'v done brass and copper items made from pipe and rod,in a matter of minutes.

Certainly not by hand and paper?

blackjack2564 said:

Are you doing this with a buffing wheel and several grits of jeweler's rouge/polish ?
I'v done brass and copper items made from pipe and rod,in a matter of minutes.

Certainly not by hand and paper?

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Sure! Just like he said; 600, 1000 then 2000 grit sandpaper, then some kind of metal polish (I think he said he used Mother's Metal polish). I used to polish up motorcycle parts all the time. I like to do the sanding wet (seemed less messy to me) then I use Simichrome Polish (in the tube) to finish. I always though it was kind of fun (and somewhat theraputic!).

Of course if you have a rag wheel and rouge it'll take about a tenth of the time!

Maybe I'm missing the point, but why polish a charge well? It's utilitarian, inside the rocket, and not a show piece.
Or do you polish all your hardware, including eye bolts and nuts and washers and such?

As far as removing black powder residue, I generally don't bother with the hardware (charge well, eye bolt, wing nuts and such), but run a baby-wipe through the interior of air frame.

I think they are cool . . . Polished or other finish is up to the rocketeer.

Dave F.

Bat-mite said:

You should really consider selling those. Custom made, for people who want something other than the Doghouse or Rocket Junkies sizes.

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Dog House Rocketry will soon have an option to upgrade all of our charge wells to aluminum, possibly with a choice of anodizing colors, I haven't decided on if I feel like anodizing and dying them. Pretty simple to do on our same machining equipment.

I basically did the same thing except I turned a small piece of aluminum that hold the e-match in place. The two parts are then epoxied together. I also did some groves on the bottom to help the epoxy bond.