materials for blast plates?

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rocketsonly

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Hey all. Almost all of the threads I've read about launch pads include a stainless steel blast plate. Has anyone ever tried ceramic blast plates? I was thinking maybe people don't use it because it's easy to crack or chip.
Thanks.
 
We use phenolic sheets. It wont catch fire, it takes a lot to burn through it, and it keeps our clips from shorting on our stainless steel pad.
 
It is VERY expensive. The only way we use it is because my dad gets it from a his work.;) It is good to have a few connections like that.
 
I got a cheap tile from home depot and epoxied it onto a piece of plywood. I drilled a hole for the rod with a masonry bit and glueda chunk of scrap tube on the bottom of the opposite end as a standoff (my pad is basically at ground level). It has held up well but is showing wear after a ton of flights. Almost time so spend another $0.69.
 
The cases on old CD-ROMs work great! Just gut the components and voila - instant blast deflector from the remainding steel!
 
Originally posted by rocketsonly
Hey all. Almost all of the threads I've read about launch pads include a stainless steel blast plate. Has anyone ever tried ceramic blast plates? I was thinking maybe people don't use it because it's easy to crack or chip.
Thanks.


Our club uses the following durable and relatively cheap blast deflectors:

model rocket pads: steel electrical junction box covers
LMR pads: bench grinder wheels
high power pads: agricultural implement (plow) discs


Bill
 
My club uses clay (terracotta) flower pots for the LPR pads.

I built a small launch pad for myself & used galvanized steel plates found in the electrical department of Home Depot.

So many different solutions...:rolleyes:
 
Tile would be my first choice. I once lined the innards of my parent's oven with tile after it went wacko and melted some if its own wiring. But, I happen to have a box of used firebrick in the basement that just screams "burn me!" ;-) There's two types, and the "fluffy" type is fairly light, and it's designed for that kind of turture.
 
Originally posted by lalligood
My club uses clay (terracotta) flower pots for the LPR pads.

I've seen this done elsewhere, too, on low and mid-power pads. Rather handy with that hole in the bottom for the rod...
 
Currently I'm using some blank hard drive disks that I picked up at a surplus electronics store. Not very big but holds up better than the stainless steel sheets I'd been using before.
 
used an old 14" chop saw blade for a blast deflector - free and it work like a charm!
 
Originally posted by rocketsonly
Hey all. Almost all of the threads I've read about launch pads include a stainless steel blast plate. Has anyone ever tried ceramic blast plates? I was thinking maybe people don't use it because it's easy to crack or chip.
Thanks.

Flower pots are used by some. The plain, cheap orangey-tan ones. They're ceramic, no? They're cheap and easily replaceable, and they can stand quite a blast. Got a hole in the middle already for sliding over the rod. Non-conductive, so no shorts with the electrical system. I bet you could pick them up for next to nothing if you want to a nursery and asked for cracked and chipped ones.
 
You can make your own ceramic blast deflectors cast from the bottom of a 3L soda bottle with floor leveler or Portland cement. The rised areas from the bottom of the bottle makes a great way to keep ignitor clips separate and the cement is nonconducting. See my article on page 8 of NIRA's newsletter Jan/Feb 1999 issue of the Leading Edge On Line at:

https://www.nira.chicago.il.us/LeadingEdge/JanFeb99.pdf

These are also a great way to weight a launch pad down. I have used the ones I originally built for about five years now, literally hundreds of launches, I occaisionally clean them up with soap and water.

Bruce S. Levison, NAR #69055
 
Rain down spout elbows from sLOWES or Rocket (Home) Depot are cheap and they work...they deflect the blast away from the ground, igniter leads. and the base of the rocket...
 
My Quad-pod pad has a ceramic coating on it, LPR does nothing to it, and I have not had a chance to launch any high power off it yet. The instructions say that I should use a stand off and a tile for HPR because of the temperatures. This pad is as solid as a rock by the way!
 
What material is that , it looks like cardboard or very thin PVC?
 
karl,

What post are you referencing? Mine? The material is sheet metal if you are talking about my post.
 
Yep your post , sorry I didn't make it clear , thats sweet! Did you buy it in that shape or was it cut to a custom size?
Karl
 
karl,

These are purchased this way as "elbows" for routing rain, in a rain gutter system. These are purchased in this shape.
 
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