Adding Weight To Balsa Nose Cones

[Mike]

How should I go about adding weight to a balsa nose cone?

I thought about drilling a hole into it and having the eyelet set of centre slightly, I could then fill the hole with plastecine (sp?), but is there a better way?

 

[jetra2]

You can use that method, but you'd be in danger of messing something up. I would take said screw eye and a couple of round washers, and screw them onto the bottom of the nose cone.


Jason

 

[astronboy]

If the nosecone is BT-55 or larger, I usually drill a 3/8" hole as deep into the base of the cone as I dare, then I drop few lead fishing slit shot sinkers into the hole until I have the weight I want. Then I make a plug for the hole out of a dowel, drill a pilot hole for the screw eye and screw the screw eye into the dowel. I mix up some epoxy and drip it into the hole in the nosecone so it coats the lead sinkers, and then epoxy in the screw eye/plug.

Positives:

This is permanent, and gives a secure mount for the screw eye, an allows the weight to be as far up in the nosecone as possible. (You do not need to add as much weight this way).

Negatives:

This is permanent. If you add the wrong amount of weight, you are stuck. I try to avoid this by gluing in only a it of lead weights at a time, then rebalancing the model.

 

[flying_silverad]

Only don't actually shoot the pellets at the nose cone.
I take a drill slightly smaller than an air gun pellet, and drill a hole(s) just off center from the screw eye. Then I slide a few in at a time and keep swing testing until the rocket feels and looks right. Then I just backfill the hole with some pro-bond, peanut butter, mud...whatever glue is handy!

 

[powderburner]

I have done it that way several times and it seems to work well.
You can also drill a 1/4 inch hole and then use a dremel ball-bit (the side-cutting kind) to reach inside and enlarge the cavity for more ballast, and still seal it up with a plug made from 1/4 dowel.

 

[Matt]

Apogee have balsa nosecones with a hole already in them about 8mm in diamter what i did was hot glued a piece of steel in side it i don't know if it worked cause i never saw the rocket again lost in a maze field

 

[Micromeister]

Mike:
I take a little different approach then Astronboy, but use nearly the same method. Since we rarely know exactly how much weight to add to the nose cone I drill out as must cone as I feel comfortable removing. then CA a 50 to 100 lb kevlar loop to the bottom of the hole. now I can fill the nose with as much or as little clay, lead, what have you as required until a get a good flight or swing test. once I'm satisfied with the stability of the model I remove the clay and replace it with the same or Slightly less lead. epoxy or CA in place and your good to go. The Kevlar loop takes the place of the Eye screw. This method will work on Any model rocket Micro-Maxx to 5 inch dia clusters. the overhand knot in the Kevlar loop is placed in the bottom of the nose cone hole. This method really does well for those ultra light wight paper tiger P/D and S/D models where you drill out a BT-5 or 20 cone until its paper thin. you know the 3.5 to 5 gram models
Hope this Helps