We don’t need no steeken pin vise…
Starting Build on Unnamed Spare Parts Monstrosity
- Thread starter brockrwood
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Hmm. This is a kind of “low rent Dutch Wonderland” look.
Maybe I do need to measure to within a hair’s breadth after all.
These are just vent holes to allow me to use regular engines with ejection charges in the booster tubes. Maybe I should have tried to cut square or rectangular vents?
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I think it would be easier to clean up the holes from the inside of the body tube BEFORE the engine blocks are glued in and before the booster tubes are glued onto the sustainer tube.
It is not completely dry until totally clear and golden amber. I have waited over a week in the dry Colorado air for big fillets to dry on my TLP Krypton, only to reapply and fill, waiting another week. Patience of a Jedi!
Most important skill in model rocketry: Patience.
Amd knowing when to wear old, “work on rockets” clothes.
Amd knowing when to wear old, “work on rockets” clothes.
Dang. There is a crease in the main body tube. Did not notice this until final wet sanding was complete.
What to do? I guess I have to carefully cut the tube right above the crease and then insert a tube coupler and glue it back together, eh what?
It’s not TOO bad. I could just live with it.
If I live with it, then a) it looks ugly; and, b) the crease will just keep getting bigger as it follows the body tube spiral. This would be hastened along by a couple of hard landings. Then I am forced to cut it and fix it when the rocket is fully painted. Better to just fix it now while it is still in the primer paint stage. Sigh.
I must have manhandled the tube at some point.
What to do? I guess I have to carefully cut the tube right above the crease and then insert a tube coupler and glue it back together, eh what?
It’s not TOO bad. I could just live with it.
If I live with it, then a) it looks ugly; and, b) the crease will just keep getting bigger as it follows the body tube spiral. This would be hastened along by a couple of hard landings. Then I am forced to cut it and fix it when the rocket is fully painted. Better to just fix it now while it is still in the primer paint stage. Sigh.
I must have manhandled the tube at some point.
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Just sand a little, apply some filler like wood filler, model filler or bondo, sand again, primer, sand, primer, light sand, paint.
If there is structural damage first soak the crease with thin CA.
It is not a terrible crease but it is on the spiral. I was thinking about sanding the tube at the crease down to bare paper. Then putting on CA while holding the tube uncreased. Then re-wood filer and re-prime and re-sand.
Watcha think?
I guess the worst that can happen is the fix does not work and I have to cut the tube. Might as well try the “no cut” solution before I cut the tube.
If you are not entering it into a scale competition then use the easiest way. It is a lpr Kraft tube so CA will be more than enough to strengthen.
The Monstrosity is done. Except for parachute(s).
What can I put in the tiny payload bay?
Sorry about the messy spare bedroom/workshop.
What can I put in the tiny payload bay?
Sorry about the messy spare bedroom/workshop.
Monstrosity launched and recovered! Used cluster of three B4-4’s because I have several packs of B4-4’s in inventory.
The vent holes on the booster pods worked fine.
The first parachute deployed. The second one got tangled and was a “parawad”.
The engines were all friction fitted with masking tape. The engines in the pods stayed in. The sustainer engine self-ejected. (I am lucky the laundry came out.)
Friction fitting is an art, not a science. Sigh.
For the next launch I think I will just secure the engines to the outside of the body tubes with some blue masking tape. It should keep the engines from self-ejecting but should come off without removing the paint. I hope.
Pics:
The vent holes on the booster pods worked fine.
The first parachute deployed. The second one got tangled and was a “parawad”.
The engines were all friction fitted with masking tape. The engines in the pods stayed in. The sustainer engine self-ejected. (I am lucky the laundry came out.)
Friction fitting is an art, not a science. Sigh.
For the next launch I think I will just secure the engines to the outside of the body tubes with some blue masking tape. It should keep the engines from self-ejecting but should come off without removing the paint. I hope.
Pics:
lakeroadster
When in doubt... build hell-for-stout!
Congrat's on the flight. I'm surprised at the amount of charring on the fins and the motor casings from the motor exhaust.?
I always extend the motor tubes out past the body, just for aesthetics. But I guess there's a logical, practical reason for that too.
Live and Learn, right?
I always extend the motor tubes out past the body, just for aesthetics. But I guess there's a logical, practical reason for that too.
Live and Learn, right?
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Charred fins give it character!! Who wants a rocket that looks pristine? I want mine with battle scars. I want a rocket that looks like it's seen 1000 flights and has re-entered the atmosphere every time. I love when the SpaceX booster lands and it's all charred from re-entry and the exhaust while coming down.
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i Friction fit motors a good bit, but I also like your idea of an OUTER tape wrap. I too worried about peeling off paint or even outer layer of body tube when I removed the tape after a flight to extract the casing.
my solution?
if the colors of the rocket are really important to me (like a scale rocket or a themed rocket) I put a piece of cellophane tape around the extruded end of the body tube, ideally a full circle wrap if there is space around the fins, otherwise a piece fitted between the fins. Cellophane tape works fin an preserves the original color scheme.
For bird where an extra splash of color doesn’t hurt my preference is brightly colored Mylar tape.
here is the trick. before you do the cellophane or Mylar tape wrap, grab the rocket shove a motor in, and start to wrap a piece of masking tape around the rocket, but don’t actually touch the tape to the rocket (bear with me, there IS a point.). Now stop and put the tape down. This is presumably your “natural” winding direction.
NOW take the motor out, get your cellophane tape or Mylar tape, cut a piece to appropriate size, and do the actual wrap around the body tube end in the OPPOSITE direction. Wrap it very tightly and burnish it down hard, trimming off any the extends below the tube.
why the opposite direction? In most cases it works either way. However, sometimes if they are wrapped in the same direction as you unwrap your outer tape wrap with the motor in it will grab the end of the INSIDE tape wrap and because they are in the same direction it will pull off the INNER tape wrap as well. If you do it wrong, leave it that way just be careful as you pull off your external wrap to look for separation, it’s easy to spot when you look for it and usually you can separate the inner and outer tape layers And just push the inside wrap back into place.
this also works for long multi- segmeted rockets (Estes Mean Machine?) where for transport purposes you have segments connected by couplers, taped for flight. A wrap of permanent tape around the tube ends makes pulling off the outer coupler tape layer a breeze without worrying about the underlying paint.
finally, some rockets use rear eject, and instructions say to glue in the nose cone, example Estes Tazz. There may be reasons you might at some point like to be able to remove that nose cone later, for example to put in an Altimeter (make sure you protect it from ejection blast) or to inspect the shock cord Attachment from time to time. Here you can use wraps of cellophane tape around the forward edge of the rocket, and another wrap of Cellophane tape to attach the nose cone to the rocket, so you don’t mess up your color scheme.
my solution?
if the colors of the rocket are really important to me (like a scale rocket or a themed rocket) I put a piece of cellophane tape around the extruded end of the body tube, ideally a full circle wrap if there is space around the fins, otherwise a piece fitted between the fins. Cellophane tape works fin an preserves the original color scheme.
For bird where an extra splash of color doesn’t hurt my preference is brightly colored Mylar tape.
here is the trick. before you do the cellophane or Mylar tape wrap, grab the rocket shove a motor in, and start to wrap a piece of masking tape around the rocket, but don’t actually touch the tape to the rocket (bear with me, there IS a point.). Now stop and put the tape down. This is presumably your “natural” winding direction.
NOW take the motor out, get your cellophane tape or Mylar tape, cut a piece to appropriate size, and do the actual wrap around the body tube end in the OPPOSITE direction. Wrap it very tightly and burnish it down hard, trimming off any the extends below the tube.
why the opposite direction? In most cases it works either way. However, sometimes if they are wrapped in the same direction as you unwrap your outer tape wrap with the motor in it will grab the end of the INSIDE tape wrap and because they are in the same direction it will pull off the INNER tape wrap as well. If you do it wrong, leave it that way just be careful as you pull off your external wrap to look for separation, it’s easy to spot when you look for it and usually you can separate the inner and outer tape layers And just push the inside wrap back into place.
this also works for long multi- segmeted rockets (Estes Mean Machine?) where for transport purposes you have segments connected by couplers, taped for flight. A wrap of permanent tape around the tube ends makes pulling off the outer coupler tape layer a breeze without worrying about the underlying paint.
finally, some rockets use rear eject, and instructions say to glue in the nose cone, example Estes Tazz. There may be reasons you might at some point like to be able to remove that nose cone later, for example to put in an Altimeter (make sure you protect it from ejection blast) or to inspect the shock cord Attachment from time to time. Here you can use wraps of cellophane tape around the forward edge of the rocket, and another wrap of Cellophane tape to attach the nose cone to the rocket, so you don’t mess up your color scheme.
lakeroadster
When in doubt... build hell-for-stout!
Sure, yeah, I get that. But within reason. Too much heat can be a bad thing.
Good advice. Clear shipping tape is what I use. It's thicker than most cellophane. I put it on the motor tube after painting the rocket. And burnish it so it's good and tight.
The three motor tubes are the body tubes. Minimum diameter rocket. I didn’t think about the scorching when I built it. This rocket is a “salvage” build. I started with the left over booster from a previous scratch build whose sustainer never returned.
BT-20 based rockets, I have discovered, are a pain unless they are short and small. No room in the tube for laundry!
lakeroadster
When in doubt... build hell-for-stout!
The three motor tubes are the body tubes. Minimum diameter rocket. I didn’t think about the scorching when I built it. This rocket is a “salvage” build. I started with the left over booster from a previous scratch build whose sustainer never returned.
BT-20 based rockets, I have discovered, are a pain unless they are short and small. No room in the tube for laundry!
Agreed. I've found that a BT-55 is a pretty great size to start with.
My P-40 I'm building now uses a BT-300 (3" o.d.), but the BT is only 6 inches long. It's the easiest scratch build rocket I've ever made from a builder ergonomics standpoint.
Your model rockets are always so well finished and detailed (at least the ones you post pics of here on TRF). I wish I had your modeling skills. I am happy if I can get rid of the tube spirals and balsa grain and the spray paint has no runs in it!
lakeroadster
When in doubt... build hell-for-stout!
Thanks... But I give all the credit to Rustoleum Filler-Sandable Primer....
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I've given up on that hope. At this point, I'm happy with runs in the paint and visible tube spirals. I paper coat fin any rocket I want to have look nice. Freezer Paper gives a nice finish.
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Au Contraire! I love BT-20 minimum diameter rockets, but I go long, usually use the full 18 inches length the tubes are sold in. Leaves plenty of room for laundry and wadding. Plus length means less need for nose weight, most of mine use the nose cone by itself. Vast majority of my asymmetric fin rockets are BT-20 minimum diameter.
mh9162013
Well-Known Member
I've found that using Walmart shopping bags to be a great material for parachutes that take up very little space inside a body tube (in relation to the size of the parachute used).
