Yesterday I led a three-hour rocket building session for a local 50+ community group. One couple showed up and team-built their Skill Level 1 rocket (Quest Payloader One). The other team was a grandmother/grandson team who built a Quest Full Moon, also a Skill Level 1 rocket.
We had some trouble getting a good "tack" between the fins and the body tube of the Quest Full Moon. We were using Titebond III, which I know has a longer working time and a slower tack than other glues. The TBIII is good for motor mounts, which we also had to glue together. I didn't want to bring a bottle of Titebond II and a bottle of Titebond III and overwhelm these first time builders. I used Tim Van Milligan's two-step, fin glue-on method, where you run a bead of glue on the fin root edge, wipe it off, wait two minutes, run another bead on, wipe it off, and stick the fin on. No matter what we did, the long, swept fins on the Full Moon just wanted to slip and slide and fall off. None of the fins would tack onto the body tube and stay in place.
I think I should have sanded the body tube where the fins attach more aggressively, to remove the white, glossy finish. Eventually I resorted to using a couple of drops of CA glue on each fin to tack them on. The model rocket first time builder said she would apply a regular Elmer's Glue-All fillet on each fin at home.
But, I digress. This is not a glue thread. ;-)
What I wanted to say was, since we love the hobby, we should always look for ways to "pay it forward". At first, I did not think that this over-50, senior citizen oriented community group would be a fertile place to introduce new people to the hobby. I was wrong. One team was enjoying gluing together the rocket as a married couple activity. The other team was a grandmother finding a great way to spend three hours bonding with her grandson.
We will go out to the local club launch near Fort Lupton, Colorado, on March 18, 2023. Each build team said they would leave the model rocket unpainted and make the rocket "earn its paint" on March 18, 2023.
We had some trouble getting a good "tack" between the fins and the body tube of the Quest Full Moon. We were using Titebond III, which I know has a longer working time and a slower tack than other glues. The TBIII is good for motor mounts, which we also had to glue together. I didn't want to bring a bottle of Titebond II and a bottle of Titebond III and overwhelm these first time builders. I used Tim Van Milligan's two-step, fin glue-on method, where you run a bead of glue on the fin root edge, wipe it off, wait two minutes, run another bead on, wipe it off, and stick the fin on. No matter what we did, the long, swept fins on the Full Moon just wanted to slip and slide and fall off. None of the fins would tack onto the body tube and stay in place.
I think I should have sanded the body tube where the fins attach more aggressively, to remove the white, glossy finish. Eventually I resorted to using a couple of drops of CA glue on each fin to tack them on. The model rocket first time builder said she would apply a regular Elmer's Glue-All fillet on each fin at home.
But, I digress. This is not a glue thread. ;-)
What I wanted to say was, since we love the hobby, we should always look for ways to "pay it forward". At first, I did not think that this over-50, senior citizen oriented community group would be a fertile place to introduce new people to the hobby. I was wrong. One team was enjoying gluing together the rocket as a married couple activity. The other team was a grandmother finding a great way to spend three hours bonding with her grandson.
We will go out to the local club launch near Fort Lupton, Colorado, on March 18, 2023. Each build team said they would leave the model rocket unpainted and make the rocket "earn its paint" on March 18, 2023.
