Jaw stand! New Launch PAD!!!

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This (from Art Applewhite) is out here on TRF somewhere, I copied so I didn't have to search for it again. I haven't added this yet to my Jawstand, but when I do I'll also attach large screw eyes to the ends of the 2x4's to allow 10" tent stakes to be cross staked (2 per side). It won't go anywhere...

Jawstand stabilizer for larger rockets.

The 8' rail is attached to a piece of 2"x2" with 1/4" carriage bolts and clamped using the jaw stands side clamp. We've been using this for the last 6 months on level ground with good results, i.e. no tip-overs. A galvanized steel blast deflector (not shown) with a 1" square hole slides over and down the rail.

Art Applewhite
 

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OK! Can barley contain my excitement! :w: But first the story. OK Im out in my shop cutting out rocket parts on my bandsaw, and the blade breaks and WACKS me on the thumb, OUCH! Bruised but otherwise intact, I'v had worse. Anyway I go inside to the wife and proclaim. "That I'll be totally useless, and will never be able to cut out another thing again... Unless I go get new bandsaw blade." She gives me the usual "Drama Queen!" look and asks where can you get one? "Lowes." I say! So we go, she wants to go, so I think hey I get a new blade out of it, what the heck.

K i'm not in the store for more than five minuets, and I pass by a display of a new Rockwell saw horse type stand looking thingies. Now remember I have rockets on my brain at this point, so naturally every thing I see is scrutinized by its usefulness to rockets. And it hit me like freight train LAUNCH PAD! :headbang: I have recently purchased a 1010 rail from Amazon and have no pad heavy enough to hold it , I was contemplating building one. I even bought a floor stand light to use the stand for a pad, but it was too wimpy. So right there in the store I tear the box open and set it up, OOOHHH YA this is it! This will work ! I wont go into the details of the pleading and lies I had to spin "I will never ask for another thing again." :rolleyes: Anyway after much sobbing and tears I put it in the cart, and It now resides next to my rockets.😁

And with out any hesitation this it the best Launch Pad find EVER! A few mods to my rail and it will lock into place and will sit forward of the clamp I wont have to modify the Jaw Stand at all. I will use the same kind of setup for my launch rods too. I will have to come up with new blast deflector but the stand will be compleatly unmodified and can be used for it's original intent... "sigh" work.

Here are some action shots :)

TA

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Man that is so professional, same “LAUNCH PAD” thing happened To me while I was teaching A summer camp in a learning center, I saw this table- like thing with a tripod...however the response I got was “ I’m not sure if they would like you blowing up their stuff lol”

EDIT: Wait a sec this thing’s from 2012?!
 
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I got mine at Amazon a few weeks ago. now they show "currently unavailable" . Amazon shows stock on the 9034 model that adds a crank for height adjustments. The $120 price tag may be why they are in stock.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007VMKI6G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_taa_RCOmFb34D05E2
Just ordered one yesterday off Amazon from this link. Checked again today, they are still in stock. RK9033's are not in stock right now, but they were yesterday. These things seem to go like hotcakes.
 
Just ordered one yesterday off Amazon from this link. Checked again today, they are still in stock. RK9033's are not in stock right now, but they were yesterday. These things seem to go like hotcakes.
I saw the Amazon advert and afterwards checked Menard’s.

Menard’s had the RK9033 in stock. Somewhere around $70 plus or minus. Don’t remember if S/H was free/included/extra.
 
Just ordered one yesterday off Amazon from this link. Checked again today, they are still in stock. RK9033's are not in stock right now, but they were yesterday. These things seem to go like hotcakes.
Btw could thins thing take an H maybe?
 
This setup on the Jaw Stand can handle H and I's and the occasional J. It has an 8 ft. 1010 rail. The angle clamp may not hold with a hard hitting J. We have videos of it shifting position just a little when the J lit up. We drive 12" spikes into the ground to give it extra stability.

IMG_0341.JPGIMG_0346.JPGIMG_0347.JPGIMG_0348.JPGIMG_0353.JPG
 
This setup on the Jaw Stand can handle H and I's and the occasional J. It has an 8 ft. 1010 rail. The angle clamp may not hold with a hard hitting J. We have videos of it shifting position just a little when the J lit up. We drive 12" spikes into the ground to give it extra stability.

View attachment 428558View attachment 428559View attachment 428560View attachment 428561View attachment 428562

Awesome setup, looking forward to getting mine soon.

As for the shifting, would it be possible to just rest the end of the rail on the ground? or put something under it like a block of wood?
 
Awesome setup, looking forward to getting mine soon.

As for the shifting, would it be possible to just rest the end of the rail on the ground? or put something under it like a block of wood?
InkedIMG_0348-cropped_LI.jpg

I put a green box around the area where the shifting occurs on the J motors. Let's say you tilt the rail a couple of degrees to correct for wind. The clamp on this pivot doesn't want to hold with a hard-hitting motor. I cobbled together a "proto-type device" (lol) using some small turnbuckles that would hold the angle, but I never completed a design for nice clean setup.
 
Awesome setup, looking forward to getting mine soon.

As for the shifting, would it be possible to just rest the end of the rail on the ground? or put something under it like a block of wood?
IMG_5509.JPGIMG_5510.JPG

These pictures show how I cut my mounting block. And I used toilet bowl bolts to mount the rail on the block.
 
Thanks for the pics, super helpful
Slick idea to use toilet bowl bolts to mount the rail.

Cheaper than buying Woodpecker work table bolts which are really probably just repackaged toilet bowl bolts.

Gotta remember that trick as I have some rails to mount in the very near future.
 
Ok have 3 got the last one on close out rack from Lowes for $18.00. Used 1515 rail and ratchet strap rail to stand plus straps to eliminate rail whip. Three 18 inch Cement stakes for straps and lawn spikes for pad extension. Have a leg when pad is down for loading rocket not shown. To much free time.
 

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I put a green box around the area where the shifting occurs on the J motors. Let's say you tilt the rail a couple of degrees to correct for wind. The clamp on this pivot doesn't want to hold with a hard-hitting motor. I cobbled together a "proto-type device" (lol) using some small turnbuckles that would hold the angle, but I never completed a design for nice clean setup.


Did you completed the "proto-type device" (lol) using some small turnbuckles that would hold the angle?

I'll use your idea to secure the rail to the wood.

Thanks.
 
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Doug:

How did you secured the rail to the 2 X 6?
I can tell you how I secured mine (same design). I used carriage bolts that fit perfectly inside the rail; I think they are 1/4x20. They go through the wood base and are secured with threaded knobs from the hardware store. You slide the rail over the carriage bolts and tighten the knobs. You can literally set up this pad in under 2 minutes. Pic attached.

Jawstand.jpg
 
I can tell you how I secured mine (same design). I used carriage bolts that fit perfectly inside the rail; I think they are 1/4x20. They go through the wood base and are secured with threaded knobs from the hardware store. You slide the rail over the carriage bolts and tighten the knobs. You can literally set up this pad in under 2 minutes. Pic attached.

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Thanks for your response.
 
This setup on the Jaw Stand can handle H and I's and the occasional J. It has an 8 ft. 1010 rail. The angle clamp may not hold with a hard hitting J. We have videos of it shifting position just a little when the J lit up. We drive 12" spikes into the ground to give it extra stability.

View attachment 428558View attachment 428559View attachment 428560View attachment 428561View attachment 428562


I completed my pad.Thanks to you for sharing the information. I used #10 3" caster screws to attach the wood to the rail.
 

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Did you completed the "proto-type device" (lol) using some small turnbuckles that would hold the angle?

I'll use your idea to secure the rail to the wood.

Thanks.
Sorry about this late reply. I have been out of the country since before Thanksgiving. Limited access to the internet and sometimes sites are blocked. I did not complete/improve my design yet. But I will pull together & post some pictures later today of the prototype. Maybe someone can improve on it. I will also point out the drawback to the prototype.
 
I completed my pad.Thanks to you for sharing the information. I used #10 3" caster screws to attach the wood to the rail.
Looks good ! If you look back at the pictures I posted you will see a single pin that goes thru the top of the Jaw. You can see the pull ring on it. That was one more bit of safety I added to make sure the wood would not fall out of the Jaw. Just a little bit of over-design, but peace of mind when you launch a rocket with a J motor.
 
Ok have 3 got the last one on close out rack from Lowes for $18.00. Used 1515 rail and ratchet strap rail to stand plus straps to eliminate rail whip. Three 18 inch Cement stakes for straps and lawn spikes for pad extension. Have a leg when pad is down for loading rocket not shown. To much free time.

I really like how you strengthened the design. Did you add the center pole to the bottom of the stand? Also how did you attach it to the aluminum plates? Thanks!
 
My club (MARS -- Geneseo NY, site of annual NYPOWER, NARAM-62, NSL-2018, LDRS-23) has a pair of these that we use for F-G-H rockets. Yes, we usually stake down the legs. Adding a blast deflector (thobin-- nice design!) is a god idea so you don't toast the plastic jaw parts. Overall, this a good launch solution.
 
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