melted nose cone

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vikfan

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First time posting...

so i just used "testors liquid cement" on a nose cone piece (the piece that holds the rubber band to the nose cone), set it down for an hour or so. When i came back, there was a hole in the nose cone and the whole thing was "melted". Estes Black Diamond rocket.....what gives? Did i use the wrong "plastic cement?" Or too much (this is a possibility, it was spilling a little so i put a lot in) but didnt know if this would melt the plastic?

Thoughts?

Thanks
 
plastic cement, is really not much more than a plastic solvent. the cement dissolves the surface of the two plastics being joined together, the solvent evaporates and the tow plastics are welded together. i use a brand called plastic weld, which is really good and is nearly all solvent. other model brands have other fillers added to improve viscosity etc.
It sounds as if you added too much cement to the nose cone
 
OK, thanks. Makes sense that i jsut used too much. Thought maybe my cement was bad (or wrong).

I also just noticed that some people (all?) put a piece of tape about 8" up from the deflector metal plate thing at the bottom of the launch pad. I guess this would keep the rocket off the metal plate during launch. Is this recommended? Required? Not necessary?

Thanks!
 
Its not required but its a good idea. In low power launches I dont think it makes a difference but in mid and high power I have kept the rocket up off the deflector plate. When you put a rocket directly on the plate, the plate tends to tilt one way or another (or at least it does in my experiences) which may or may not lead to a tilted flight.

Happy flying


Matt
 
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OK, thanks. Makes sense that i jsut used too much. Thought maybe my cement was bad (or wrong).

I also just noticed that some people (all?) put a piece of tape about 8" up from the deflector metal plate thing at the bottom of the launch pad. I guess this would keep the rocket off the metal plate during launch. Is this recommended? Required? Not necessary?

Thanks!

they are using the tape as a stand off. its to lift the base of the rocker off the pad for a couple of reasons, mainly to prevent the hot gas reflecting back and torching the base of the rocket, which is more likely to happen with heavy slow take off rockets, also its to prevent the clips from shorting across the metal plate, and also to allow abit of room to attach the clips to the igniters.
some poeple use cloths pegs instead of tape- less messy.

however, i would heavily recommend buying a raise from odd'l rockets, via jonrockets.com - they are here on this forum. it cost a massive amount of money - a whole dollar!
 
so i just used "testors liquid cement" on a nose cone piece (the piece that holds the rubber band to the nose cone), set it down for an hour or so. When i came back, there was a hole in the nose cone and the whole thing was "melted".

It happens. I have ruined a few plastic model kits with over-application of glue. Hey, live and learn. (You did learn, I hope)

You can drill a pair of small holes in opposite sides of the base, and put a cord through and tie a good knot. Use that as your new NC anchor.

Or, you can install a small metal eye-screw through the NC base using washers on both sides of the plastic. Double-nut the inside (can you reach through the hole you already have, with a needle nose pliers?) or cover the inside nut with epoxy.

And welcome to TRF, come back often! I think you get the idea that we won't be too mean to you when you ask questions (unless we just can't resist making a joke) and there is a lot of expertise here for you to tap into.
 
thanks, that makes sense. unfortunately, i think i ~really~ over glued it-the whole connection is pretty weak/spongy, and even part of the nose cone looks a bit melted. Looks like i may need to look into a replacement part.
 
Sounds like you really did it!

Before you trash the rest of the rocket, was it an Estes kit? If you do a search here on TRF for Estes customer service, you will probably come up with a phone number. If the original attachment broke off, tell 'em. If you messed up trying to create a replacement, fess up and tell 'em. Chances are very good that Estes will send you a free replacement part. (They have done this many times for other folks, give it a try)

Was it a Quest kit? Call them up and see if they will send you a replacement part. Quest has a really great record of listening to us rocket nuts and trying hard to keep us happy, I'll bet they would also send you a replacement free!

Was your rocket made by anyone else? Call 'em. (Never hurts to ask)
 
Well don't feel bad iv melted a 7.51 inch loc nose cone before and concidering the plastic is really really thick I think I might have put to much paint on it's ether that or I left it in the oven....
 
Well don't feel bad iv melted a 7.51 inch loc nose cone before and concidering the plastic is really really thick I think I might have put to much paint on it's ether that or I left it in the oven....

At the total opposite end of the spectrum were the little Estes Super Shot plastic rockets that my kids put together using non-toxic plastic cement. Those pieces didn't melt together at all--just held together temporarily.

The one that didn't fall apart upon landing broke when a kid tripped.:rolleyes:
 
none of the hobby lobbys i went to had nose cone replacements, so i guess its order from estes and pay teh $5 shipping...ugh...
 
....drying the paint? But I think he's kidding about it;)

Oh, about the tape stand-off. Some rockets designs if they are too close to the blast plate there a thing that can happen called Bernolli Lock. What happens is the exaust causes a vacuum at the bottom of the rocket that holds it to the blast plate and the rocket goes nowhere. Usually charring the end of the rocket.
 
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none of the hobby lobbys i went to had nose cone replacements, so i guess its order from estes and pay teh $5 shipping...ugh...

Go to

www.semroc.com

no shipping and quite an assortment of balsa nosecones. Just add a screw eye in with some glue on the end and your good to go.
 
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