Nose cone weight question

[ghostfather]

I've gone with half permanent/half adjustable nose weights on some rockets.
Sand and epoxy work when there's plenty of room, and I've picked up some lead "drippings" from a lead recycler (like lead sand, irregular sizes), which is a lot cheaper than shot, when mixed with epoxy makes a good dense nose weight, and helps anchor a threaded rod. Have also used small steel nuts and bolts left over from building computers, which I can get by the bagful.
Around the threaded rod, I go with steel washers and a wing nut, to add additional adjustable nose weight according to the motor used.

 

[David Schwantz]

Or glue a tube around the allthread and fill with lead shot or split sinkers. Secure with a steel washer or wooden bulkhead sized to fit the tube and a wing nut.
Depleted uranium is even denser but I wouldn't want to breathe in that dust if I'm drilling it.

Hi kuririn, check out my Avitar. I've got a lot of that depleted stuff laying around
Pics of Locs RNWS and of mine.

 

[Lee]

I've gone with half permanent/half adjustable nose weights on some rockets.
Sand and epoxy work when there's plenty of room, and I've picked up some lead "drippings" from a lead recycler (like lead sand, irregular sizes), which is a lot cheaper than shot, when mixed with epoxy makes a good dense nose weight, and helps anchor a threaded rod. Have also used small steel nuts and bolts left over from building computers, which I can get by the bagful.
Around the threaded rod, I go with steel washers and a wing nut, to add additional adjustable nose weight according to the motor used.

What's your sand/epoxy mix? 50 - 50?

 

[ghostfather]

What's your sand/epoxy mix? 50 - 50?

That would work with most epoxies, especially the thicker ones. Never measured it precisely, but it's probably between 30% and 50% epoxy by volume.

The trick is to use as little epoxy as possible, and it helps to use the thin lay-up epoxy and wet the sand enough that it clumps together. Doesn't matter if there are voids or air pockets, it'll harden up just fine, and it's not structural. Just has to stay in place, and you should be using something for it to grab on to besides the wall of the nose cone. I like to put a nut and a washer down the threaded rod, and let the sand-epoxy flow around it.

Sand is cheap, epoxy isn't. Sharp sand, like used to lay brick, is ideal, but any sand will do.

 

[davemb]

I have found that usually a “light” nose cone and a “heavy” nose cone cover from lowest power to highest power pretty well. I just buy an extra for the first rocket of each diameter and swap them around as necessary. For the weight itself I have found tungsten powder kneaded into a bit a silly putty effective