Woody Rocket Tool Help

[joeyz]

Dag, i bought the woody 1lb unversal rocket tool and got it in today.

My question now is how to use it correctly without screwing it up?

 

 

Anyone else can also chime in, thanks.

 

My concern...

The tall ram rod looks as if its suppose to press clay nozzle the only partial then the second rammer takes over. But what length tube should i use? What no pass line should i be using. Im worried about the 2nd rammer getting jammed on spindle. I also notice a lot of core play. Is that normal? Also, Im not sure if this 6" tube is the correct length and if the 1/4" thickness is too thick and heavy for a rocket. I got a case of these tubes in

36" lengths and you can cut what you need. Maybe i should have bought 1/8" thickness.

 

While learning this hobby i already dented/bent my end core burn spindle and need to fix it straight again. It still works but because of the bentness, i see chips of clay break off. Not severe enough to cause malfunctions. So i dont want to screw up this expensive woody core burner lol

Bent end burner spindle..

 

[OldMarine]

First, make sure your tube allows room above the tip of the spindle for delay and a bulkhead if you plan on doing anything other than just leaving the tube and flying.

Once you've got your tubes cut to your desired length place one on the spindle. Place your nozzle rammer into (first) into the tube until it bottoms out then pull it up about ¼". Use a Sharpie to make a mark on the rammer at the top of the tube. This will be your no pass mark for THAT TUBE. Repeat the process with your other rammers including and especially the final flat rammer.

I've standardized my tube lengths to enable me to use the same marks over and again.

If after changing rammers you think you might get into the no pass zone before reaching the desired compression, stop and add some more comp before resuming ramming or pressing.

I'm no expert but I've been taught by them AND I launched a passel of nice rockets last night!

[joeyz]

Sweet! Excellent tip. Thank you. I guess standardization is key first before me starting to get fancy on different sizes. Makes sense, practice, master and graduate a functional rockets first of one size.

 

I would ask what length do you use on your 1lb but it may be irrelevent becuase your core spindle may differ. I need to go back and google some 1lb core diagrams and compare measurements and make sure i have the top of spindle to top of delay calculated correctly and tested as bare rocket, no header payload, until figured out.

[OldMarine]

I have two different 1lb supports 6¾" and 7½" so I cut tubes for both of them. I have my no pass marks for both on my rammers. I still verify they are correct before each rocket because my tube cutting is sometimes less than precise.

[Maserface]

That tooling should have no pass/change lines based on 7.5" long tubes, but Oldmarines advice is solid, make darn sure that you know where the real "no pass" is, with each tube.

 

The first drift is to form the nozzle, and is used to load the propellant for the first half of the spindle, the second drift for the second half, and the flat rammer for the delay and bulkhead.

 

By core play, do you mean that the tube wobbles around some on the spindle? Thats pretty normal, different brands of tubes vary quite a bit, just depends on what ya get. I like to press down with body pressure on the first increment, while holding the tube centered on the spindle, when I feel good about the alignment, I press it up to full pressure; you want everything to be as centered as possible.

Edited August 7, 2016 by Maserface

[OldMarine]

Mase, my shorter support and tooling is for SLD U/H tooling. He made a stop on my first rammer to keep me from messing up my tooling back when I was having all the troubles so it takes a shorter tube. It's great tooling so I'll keep the different length tubes so I can use Steve's and Caleb's. Edited August 7, 2016 by OldMarine