What I did today -instead- of Rocketry.

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Began sorting through my long-stored model trains and began upgrading them with better couplers, checking weights, etc. In the process, decided that acquiring a drill press for my Dremel tool will make the process much more accurate and repeatable.

But, that got me thinking (and thinking usually gets me in trouble), what sorts of uses does a Dremel drill press have for rocketry?
Drilling small holes is all I can think of.

One caution...The dremel tool itself connects the motor to the spindle by means of a short length of synthetic tubing that over time will harden and fail. The replacement part is somewhat hard to find but a lifetime supply (three) of them costs less than $5.

I own the drill press “thing” and have found it to be well made and fairly accurate. Aslo have a larger 12” drill press which came from Harbor Fright (misspelling intentional) that was surprisingly accurate and functional.
 
Nice view of the lake. Where do you live?

I live in Seattle, but this is Lake Whatcom, about an hour and a half north near Bellingham.

Is that 2 acres of square footage or some other version like board feet?

Literally two acres of square footage. Both the 1/2" and 3/4" plate were around 75,000 square feet when I last looked. The boat is over 400 feet long and 80 feet wide, so it's a big boy.
 
Helped dig a trench for some rando Rocket dude... 😜😜 Apparently he wants a bigger rocket shop.
On a serious note: For anyone considering building a rocket shop...figure the square footage you'd like, then increase it by 50%. Better yet, double it.

Can't tell you how many times I've heard "I wish I'd gone bigger." My mentor's shop is 24x36 and he's expressed that sentiment more than a few times. Mine is 20x20 and I'm considering having it torn down and replaced with a 2-car 24x40 garage. It'd give room for a foundry setup for sand casting, milling machine, rolling storage cabinet(s), and a few other odds and ends.

Best -- Terry
 
Bracing for Isaias coming through. Wind (70-80 mph) and rain expected to kick up later this morning and sustain through the evening. Gonna be a fun day. 😬
 
You're not that guy in the YouTube series who's been building a giant steel boat in his driveway, are you?

No, I just design boats. A co-worker once said that naval architects like us either have a sailboat in some state of disrepair or have no boat at all because they know how much work it is. I compromise and have a canoe that's stored on the living room ceiling.
 
On a serious note: For anyone considering building a rocket shop...figure the square footage you'd like, then increase it by 50%. Better yet, double it.

Can't tell you how many times I've heard "I wish I'd gone bigger." My mentor's shop is 24x36 and he's expressed that sentiment more than a few times. Mine is 20x20 and I'm considering having it torn down and replaced with a 2-car 24x40 garage. It'd give room for a foundry setup for sand casting, milling machine, rolling storage cabinet(s), and a few other odds and ends.

Best -- Terry

Well, it's for a certain wild rocket mfg company... ;)
 
Finished staining the last 10 of 25 sheets of T1-11 siding needed for my shop. There's four extra sheets but The contractor said they normally just get extra. The color and definition of the wood grain turned out much better than I expected and I'm really happy about that.
I'm finally gonna have a real workspace soon and I'm very happy. Can't wait to get back to building with all of you! Especially with a machine shop!!! Lathes? Yeah, I got three, one wood and two metal. Super excited to get back to work. Right now though, it's time for beer and brats cooked in the backyard fire ring. Got a fancy new hot dog stick. They marketed it as a Smores stick, but that would suck to try to pull off Smores on a metal skewer with two laterally aligned tongs. I bent my tongs to my optimal hotdog stick geometry and will have a go.
 

Attachments

  • 20200806_181711.jpg
    20200806_181711.jpg
    188.5 KB · Views: 8
  • 20200806_181723.jpg
    20200806_181723.jpg
    154 KB · Views: 10
  • 20200806_185027_HDR.jpg
    20200806_185027_HDR.jpg
    237.4 KB · Views: 12
Literally two acres of square footage. Both the 1/2" and 3/4" plate were around 75,000 square feet when I last looked. The boat is over 400 feet long and 80 feet wide, so it's a big boy.

Finished out the weight estimate for the boat. The 3D model had a little over 7 acres of plate and a little over 18 miles of stiffeners in teh hull and superstructure. There was another chunk that I estimated by hand since it wasn't worth running up the model on them. Maybe this weekend or next I'll get time to clear coat my rockets...
 
Finally had enough of my Spectrum provided router, so I bought a cable modem/router of my own. Easy to install (because I bought a Spectrum apprpved model), and worth every penny. I tested my speed before and after and it went up 5x. The big problem with the old one is that it couldn't support enough devices and the boys start online school on Monday.

Also, made some smoked chicken thighs for dinner, and a pot of lentil soup for tomorrow's lunch.
 
Finally had enough of my Spectrum provided router, so I bought a cable modem/router of my own. Easy to install (because I bought a Spectrum apprpved model), and worth every penny. I tested my speed before and after and it went up 5x. The big problem with the old one is that it couldn't support enough devices and the boys start online school on Monday.

Also, made some smoked chicken thighs for dinner, and a pot of lentil soup for tomorrow's lunch.
What brand/model? I've got Spectrum and even with a brand new install, the modem won't support 1G speeds, which I'm paying for. Therefore, I'm in the market for a reliable modem. (I can pick a router easy.)
 
What brand/model? I've got Spectrum and even with a brand new install, the modem won't support 1G speeds, which I'm paying for. Therefore, I'm in the market for a reliable modem. (I can pick a router easy.)

Netgear Nighthawk CAX80. It was one of the few modem/router combos that Spectrum allows that anyone in DFW had in stock. Going to take awhile to recoup the cost with the rental fees I’m saving, but at least it works correctly now.
 
But, that got me thinking (and thinking usually gets me in trouble), what sorts of uses does a Dremel drill press have for rocketry?
Drill press for a Dremel would be fantastic for drilling PCBs if you were into etching your own. That is happening less and less these days with the availability of cheap professional suppliers.

As for regular rocketry, I actually can't think of what it might be useful for.
 
24' x 24'.
Should be plenty.
Yes, I definitely will be building some rockets in there.
 

Attachments

  • 20200810_191249_HDR.jpg
    20200810_191249_HDR.jpg
    199.7 KB · Views: 3
  • 20200810_191338_HDR.jpg
    20200810_191338_HDR.jpg
    152.2 KB · Views: 4
  • 20200810_191307_HDR.jpg
    20200810_191307_HDR.jpg
    171.9 KB · Views: 4
Last edited:
Yesterday I bought a few more hole saws because wood working and drilling holes is a lot of fun. And I also ordered a brass soldering sponge, because I'm itching to get into electronics.

Anyone knows a hobby that combines woodworking and electronics? Oh right. I suppose that's why I'm all over this forum in the first place.
 
Back
Top