Off Grid Gecko
Well-Known Member
Hey there, looking for some ideas here.
I finished airfoiling some fins for another 1.64" rocket from my Mean Machine kit-bash. I'm filling the tube spirals and sanding at my leasure as I finish off another rocket made from the kit.
If it matters, the ply is Lauon leftover from making a bookshelf. It's 3 plys of really thin birch sandwiched with two layers of Philippine wood that is softer and thicker. The wood itself seems fine and I've done my first round of filling and sanding. I'm using a conventional fin design where the fins extend beyond the rocket body and come to a point, which is the tip in question.
I don't want to do a tip-to-tip fiberglass as I'm not sure of my skills, though I have the materials to do so. I just had so much trouble trying to build a jig and then figure out how to make the edges come out straight and uniform (destroyed 3 sets of fins before running the jig through my table saw for good results) that I'd rather not ruin the fins on a bad fiberglass job. I haven't glassed anything in years, just bought some fiberglass kit on a whim in case I need it.
I thought about papering, as this likely won't be a Mach I rocket and even if it is, it won't go far past that. Without doing the calculation though, I can look at the fins and they are quite tall from the rocket body...I'm rambling.
The main concern is descent. I'm trying to avoid chipped and broken fin tips if at all possible. Would papering help with that?
I'm also considering an epoxy soak, where I smear it on fast and thin over everything in the hope that it will penetrate a bit and harden the wood like CA. The stuff I have sets a little fast, like 15-20min working time, so I might need to do them all one side at a time (ie two batches of four sides). And all for naught if it fails.
Wood glue is my go-to filler for tiny rockets, but I haven't tested for any strengthening power. I have some leftover balsa I could do a test with (glue coating vs naked) to see if it makes the fin any stronger or more impact resistant.
Any ideas? The fins came out really pretty, but this guy wants to be flown and I won't have a layabout sculpture rocket in my home. Rockets are made to fly.
I finished airfoiling some fins for another 1.64" rocket from my Mean Machine kit-bash. I'm filling the tube spirals and sanding at my leasure as I finish off another rocket made from the kit.
If it matters, the ply is Lauon leftover from making a bookshelf. It's 3 plys of really thin birch sandwiched with two layers of Philippine wood that is softer and thicker. The wood itself seems fine and I've done my first round of filling and sanding. I'm using a conventional fin design where the fins extend beyond the rocket body and come to a point, which is the tip in question.
I don't want to do a tip-to-tip fiberglass as I'm not sure of my skills, though I have the materials to do so. I just had so much trouble trying to build a jig and then figure out how to make the edges come out straight and uniform (destroyed 3 sets of fins before running the jig through my table saw for good results) that I'd rather not ruin the fins on a bad fiberglass job. I haven't glassed anything in years, just bought some fiberglass kit on a whim in case I need it.
I thought about papering, as this likely won't be a Mach I rocket and even if it is, it won't go far past that. Without doing the calculation though, I can look at the fins and they are quite tall from the rocket body...I'm rambling.
The main concern is descent. I'm trying to avoid chipped and broken fin tips if at all possible. Would papering help with that?
I'm also considering an epoxy soak, where I smear it on fast and thin over everything in the hope that it will penetrate a bit and harden the wood like CA. The stuff I have sets a little fast, like 15-20min working time, so I might need to do them all one side at a time (ie two batches of four sides). And all for naught if it fails.
Wood glue is my go-to filler for tiny rockets, but I haven't tested for any strengthening power. I have some leftover balsa I could do a test with (glue coating vs naked) to see if it makes the fin any stronger or more impact resistant.
Any ideas? The fins came out really pretty, but this guy wants to be flown and I won't have a layabout sculpture rocket in my home. Rockets are made to fly.