New user Intro; Grog6

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Grog6

Well-Known Member
TRF Supporter
Joined
Jul 18, 2021
Messages
971
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Location
Oak Ridge TN
New user, but I've been making rockets for decades at this point, but it took differental equations class to find why so may of my flights turned to confetti, lol.
In the last few years, I've learned urethane chemistry, and am moderately successful making httb based engines.
The professers book is awesome, but I was amazed to find the patents online for several of the government's designs.

My first casting didn't cure, but I realized pretty quickly I added too little curative. :)

I realize how much of the info is restricted, There are a lot of idiots these days.
 
Here's a couple of pix, a Falcon heavy model, and a 29mm model to learn dual deployment with a perfectlite board. And a pic of the 2nd most dangerous book in existance, with Anarchist cookbook being #1

Falcon_heavy_model[1].JPG

Falcon_heavy_model[1].JPG

2nd_most_dangerous_book[1].jpg
 
Protip:
Avoid any manual that would have you hitting black powder with a hammer.
While I don't know that specific book, there are literally thousands of individuals who are hand ramming BP motors on any given day, with very little risk at all. Unless you're using sparking metal tooling (broke the golden rule in tooling design/manufacture), or include (some) metals in your fuel comp below the coring spindle that can get caught between your rammer and sleeve and generate a spark, the likelihood of a BP motor igniting during loading is miniscule. That goes for BP and BP alone. You can beat on it all day long with a hammer; Goex or homemade (typically hotter charcoals, hence hotter BP, than commercial brands). It's really not friction sensitive unless you somehow achieve enough friction to attain ignition temps, which although is rather low for BP than some other fuels, difficult to achieve. The early history of fireworking rockets, our Estes BP motor predecessors, were pretty much all hand-rammed until cheap arbor presses came about late in the game to provide more uniform compression forces. I pound BP rockets up to 1" in ID; beyond that and I'd use a press, simply because it's difficult to achieve the desired compression forces. I've personally rammed probably around 8-900 motors without incident, and, after a learning curve with a different BP batch, they've all flown predictably, including many 3/4" ID x 7.5" semi-end burners with delays and ejection charges that powered finned rockets that were recovered time and again, and of course a few that got eaten by trees just like can happen with commercially-purchased BP motors. Motor making is cathartic, precise, and yields functional, reliable, and reproducible devices. Does the idea sound hazardous? Sure, to the uninformed. Is it hazardous? Not so much.
 
Protip:
Avoid any manual that would have you hitting black powder with a hammer.

I've rammed and have taught people how to make BP motors by hand ramming. Steel hammer and drift? No, that isn't a good idea. Rawhide mallet and tooling made from a hard non-sparking material is fine.

Pressing has many advantages, but also has its own safety concerns. Both methods can be used to make safe and consistent motors.
 
I can see a press working well, but it seems to me homogeneous packing would be hard to achieve.
But hey, if it works for you, it's all good. :)
 
If you measure your increments of powder and use the same number of blows with consistent force, it isn't too hard to ram a motor. I still find pressing each increment with a hydraulic press and a set pressure relief valve easier. I save ramming motors for building and firing a few motors on site.
 
The recommended 'fixture made of 3/4" steel detailed in that book Put me off bp motors .
I find the ap motors much safer, as my current mix barely burns at stp/
 
Well, it gets boring sometimes shooting your 6 shooter all day. It's REALLY fun to hit the whole roll of caps w a hammer!! A little defining, but fun!
Cap-gun caps contain a spark-, friction-, and impact-sensitive mixture. It's one of the most hazardous pyrotechnic mixtures to make.

Try hitting a five-roll box with dad's heavy sledge. Maybe that's why I need hearing aids these days. :)

Best -- Terry
 
When I was younger I was taught that you didn't need hearing protection for anything smaller than a .38, I'd add that's SO not true.

I've never made caps; I lost my capguns several moves ago.
I try my best Not to mix anything too dangerous. :)
I think the worst was resilvering an antique mirror and not keeping close tabs on the overflow. Letting the cleaning solution and the silvering solution c mix is bad. you want to keep them ompletely separate. :)
Silver azide explodes on light exposure, lol.
 
Cap-gun caps contain a spark-, friction-, and impact-sensitive mixture. It's one of the most hazardous pyrotechnic mixtures to make.

Try hitting a five-roll box with dad's heavy sledge. Maybe that's why I need hearing aids these days. :)

Best -- Terry
I've been reading up on the certifications scheme; I need to get certified, and that means attending flights. @prfesser
, I notice You're the proctor of the tripoli prefect area I'm in. :)
When and where do you fly, or what would you recommend?
I'm in Harriman TN
 
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You know, I realize after reading the site a bunch, I probably will not be doing HPR anytime soon; most of the stuff I do is so much smaller.
Even the engines I'm making, I'm keeping to an E-F equivalent.
I do enjoy watching the large ones; I'll try to attend some launches in the future.
 
I received my membership packet from TRA today; it has a nice printed study guide.
I think you should buy a simple single deployment level one rocket kit and get your level one certification. I wish I had a dollar for every time I read that study guide.
 
I think you should buy a simple single deployment level one rocket kit and get your level one certification. I wish I had a dollar for every time I read that study guide.
Well, I did buy a nice rocket. :) I got a really nice Sentinel Upscale in heavy cardboard from Dragon Rocketry that I'm building. I'm setting it up for dual deploy; I've been using it for my model rockets, as it saves a lot of walking. I figured to use it for L2 and 3.
I need to buy something simpler for my L1, I guess. :)
 
Well, I did buy a nice rocket. :) I got a really nice Sentinel Upscale in heavy cardboard from Dragon Rocketry that I'm building. I'm setting it up for dual deploy; I've been using it for my model rockets, as it saves a lot of walking. I figured to use it for L2 and 3.
I need to buy something simpler for my L1, I guess. :)
Put a bigger chute on it for the cert flight, that way you hopefully dont break a fin on landing ruining the cert attempt.
 
That's the nice thing about dual deploy; you can use a huge chute, and not worry about never seeing it again. :)
I see the attraction of g10 fins, lol. You'd have to drive over a carbon fiber fincan and its fins. :)
 
That's the nice thing about dual deploy; you can use a huge chute, and not worry about never seeing it again. :)
I see the attraction of g10 fins, lol. You'd have to drive over a carbon fiber fincan and its fins. :)
My L3 was a Cherokee-D 5.38" built with LOC parts, the airframe had two wraps of 6oz glass iirc, and the fins were skeletonized 1/4" baltic birch and the opening were filled with endgrain balsa sheet and each fin received two layers of 5.8oz carbon twill on each side, the whole fin was vacuum bagged with a Food Saver. The rocket ready to fly weighed almost exactly 35lbs. I need to fly it more often.

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threa...d-for-rharshberger.131649/page-8#post-2041519
 
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