Nose weight
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Get a pack of BBs from Walmart and some epoxy. For plastic nose cones this is easy. Weigh out the BBs to get the amount you need. Pour them into the nose cone and add some epoxy. Stir it around a bit with a long scrap piece of balsa and let the nose cone sit upright until the epoxy cures.
For balsa nose cones it is slightly more complicated. You can drill a long hole in the base of the NC and basically repeat the above procedure. Just be sure and not make that hole too long!!! The other option is to attach washers with a small hole to the NC using the eye screw.
n5wd
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BB's from Wal Mart and a little modeling clay from Hobby Lobby works well in plastic nose cones that are open. I've also cut a pour hole into a nose cone that didn't have an opening, poured in some BB's (measure how many you need, first, of course) then pour some epoxy in to the nose cone to lock 'em down.
With a solid balsa nosecone, I've never tried it, but you might drill a sink hole to drop in some ballast - either modellng clay or epoxy might work to keep 'em inside.
powderburner
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To install ballast in a balsa NC, you have a few options.
If you have not started finishing the NC yet, you can cut off the tip (use a razor saw to leave a minimum kerf), hollow out the nose, install the ballast, glue the tip back on, and continue with sealing and finishing the balsa. This may seem like a kinda goofy way to install ballast but it gives you good control on locating and creating a pocket and it gets the ballast to just about the furthest forward possible location where it does the most good.
If you are good with an electric drill, you can drill from the base of the NC forward toward the tip. I always get a little queazy when doing this because I don't want to drill too far or get crooked, and have the drill bit come through the surface. But you can still make a pretty easy 1/4 inch or 3/8 hole, install ballast, and add a cap of epoxy or glue to retain the ballast. One big advantage of drilling from the base is that you have the option of plugging the hole with a piece of dowel, and that gives you a good "hard" spot to screw in an eye screw.
Plastic NCs are pretty easy. Most have a hole in the base left over from the molding process, or else you can often drill a 1/4 inch or 3/8 hole pretty easily without messing with how the NC works. Roll some clay into skinny "worms" and slip them through the hole, or pour in some shotgun shot, or sand, or whatever. Pack the ballast in the nose and cover with some epoxy, or glue, or even a squirt of foam. One thing that works great for ballast retention is Gorilla Glue; put a few drops of water through the hole into your NC and squirt in a bit of GG, and it will foam up (and it will definitely stick to everything inside there) and lock your ballast in place.
If you have not started finishing the NC yet, you can cut off the tip (use a razor saw to leave a minimum kerf), hollow out the nose, install the ballast, glue the tip back on, and continue with sealing and finishing the balsa. This may seem like a kinda goofy way to install ballast but it gives you good control on locating and creating a pocket and it gets the ballast to just about the furthest forward possible location where it does the most good.
If you are good with an electric drill, you can drill from the base of the NC forward toward the tip. I always get a little queazy when doing this because I don't want to drill too far or get crooked, and have the drill bit come through the surface. But you can still make a pretty easy 1/4 inch or 3/8 hole, install ballast, and add a cap of epoxy or glue to retain the ballast. One big advantage of drilling from the base is that you have the option of plugging the hole with a piece of dowel, and that gives you a good "hard" spot to screw in an eye screw.
Plastic NCs are pretty easy. Most have a hole in the base left over from the molding process, or else you can often drill a 1/4 inch or 3/8 hole pretty easily without messing with how the NC works. Roll some clay into skinny "worms" and slip them through the hole, or pour in some shotgun shot, or sand, or whatever. Pack the ballast in the nose and cover with some epoxy, or glue, or even a squirt of foam. One thing that works great for ballast retention is Gorilla Glue; put a few drops of water through the hole into your NC and squirt in a bit of GG, and it will foam up (and it will definitely stick to everything inside there) and lock your ballast in place.
