Paper Cone--Help

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KHamel

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Any tips for making a paper cone?

I am building a TLP Bull Pup, the plastic nose cone gets extended with a paper cone glued to the tip. I have traced out the shroud a few times onto light card stock in case I mess one up. I just want ti to look as good as possible.

Thanks in adavance for the help.
 
I'm by no means an expert at paper cones and have had my share of failures, but what I have done is after it is cut out, carefully pre-roll it so starts to take the final shape before gluing. Then after gluing I have smeared a layer or two of white glue on the inside surface to strengthen it. After it is assembled to the rocket I use a thin layer of Elmer's Fill-n-Finish thinned slightly with water along the joint to help hide it. Some people have even cut off the glue tab completely and glued it to both halves of the joint on the inside. This eliminates the overlap at the joint. I haven't tried that yet but it seems like a good idea.
 
I think you are on the right track by having some extras to fall back on.
I always make three (trace the original on some similar weight stock) and pick the best one after trying them all. Small changes in the shroud's form can make all the difference in the joints matching up.
I am building the FliKits Cutaway Engine kit right now. Mr. Flis was right on the money when he gave you two extras of each nozzle part. There is four nozzle shrouds in all.
If your cardstock is too thick you might run into problems if you were to "pull it over a countertop edge" to pre-curl the shroud. That seems to work best on 100 lb. stock or lighter. Test the curling with some scrap. On heavy stock you will have a easier time forming the conical shape over a large dowel.
On small shrouds (Bt-20 and smaller) it's easier to leave the glue tab on. On larger shrouds you might get better results by using a separate tab. Cut the tab off and glue it (1/2 the tab width) along the inside of one side of the shroud edge. This allows both sides to "butt-together" for a cleaner seam and no raised (inside) tab edge.
Be sure to glue the shroud with any printing on the inside! And always have clean, dry hands when forming shrouds.

Hope this helps!
Hans "Chris" Michielssen
 
I use a dowel or knitting needle and a mouse pad, roll the dowel over the paper following the arc of the shroud.it helps to over-roll it

after the edges are glued I saturate it with thin cya followed by filler
 
You've gotten a lot of good advise here.

Here are some figures from our Midnight Express free download rocket as well as our Thunderbird kit which also uses paper cones. These may help.

Another tip is that after forming and gluing the cone, I seal the tip and edges with CA and/or wood filler then sand it to a fine point and have had very good luck with that technique.

hope this helps!
jim

figure04.jpg

figure05.gif

figure11.jpg

P1010316crop.jpg
 
Jim , thanks for posting that.
I followed your instructions on my thunderbird build and it worked out great.
made the job easy considering it has 4 booster cones,4 exhaust cones and a boat tail with an internal cone !:)

final.jpg


Fliskits Thunderbird build pics
https://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Thunderbird%20missile%20Fliskits/
 
Last edited:
Thanks all. I will post pics when I get the cone done.

Stymye sweeet Thunderbird!
 
Jim , thanks for posting that.
I followed your instructions on my thunderbird build and it worked out great.
made the job easy considering it has 4 booster cones,4 exhaust cones and a boat tail with an internal cone !:)

final.jpg


Fliskits Thunderbird build pics
https://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Thunderbird missile Fliskits/

Oh, man! You DID have to post that picture, didn't you! Now I'm going to have to buy that kit!!! ;)

(Actually, I was planning to get it anyway. Nice build, and GREAT pic!!! :) That's a calendar pic, without a doubt! ...)

Mark \\.
 
sorry,yes , I couldn't help it.

If you like a little challenge it's a good one
 
I am currently finishing an AGM78 by TLP. After many tries making a cone I found that the paper water cups are almost exactly the right size. Just cut the lip off and trim to fit. I then coated the cup with "super glue". Next a thin layer of resin with penolic ballons and some sanding. Came out ok.....No more TLP models for me though.....

JimmyL
 
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