New Tooling

[50caliber]

I have finished my rocket tooling and a star plate I have been working on for some time.

 

http://s122.photobucket.com/albums/o280/50...mgAnch=imgAnch3

http://s122.photobucket.com/albums/o280/50...mgAnch=imgAnch2

 

but the rocket tooling isn't working that well. it was fine for 10 rockets then i didn't make any for 2 days and the spindle and rammer(couldn't use aluminium because it would snap on lathe) stared to rust. So i decided i should treat myself to some rocket tooling. i was thinking of stepping up my game to 2 ounce rockets, maybe the first one on the list of this site http://www.wolterpyrotools.com/pyrotools/rockettools.html or this http://pyrotooling.com/prod_Rocket.htm but I don't know the sizing, and then i need tubes so i went to skylighter(http://skylighter.com/mall/parallel.asp) and found 2 once rocket tubes(TU1008) but then found some other tubes(TU1022) almost the same size but were 9$ cheaper,whats up with that?

 

and where is a safe place to keep chemicals, as of now I have a small amount in my cupboard

 

http://s122.photobucket.com/albums/o280/50...mgAnch=imgAnch1

 

Is this safe?

 

Thanks

[Mumbles]

TU1022 is cheaper because it's .4" in ID instead of .375. I don't know how that will react to using the .375" tooling on them, I'd say try them out. Worst case scenario you can use them as spolettes.

 

As far as what is safe for storage, It depends on what you have, and where it is being stored.

[50caliber]

oh yea i might get them ill save $9, what are spolettes and what do they do?

 

I have KNO3, Sulfur, Charcoal, Dextrin, Sugar and KMnO4. And they are stored in a cupboard 4 meters away from my bed

[itwasntme]

oh yea i might get them ill save $9, what are spolettes and what do they do?

 

I have KNO3, Sulfur, Charcoal, Dextrin, Sugar and KMnO4. And they are stored in a cupboard 4 meters away from my bed

Spolletes AFAIK are things(VERY scientific names ) that help to delay when a shell will burst in the air. Sort of like time fuse.

 

You should keep the KMnO4 away from all fuels, even KNO3 as it may have a trace of something combustable in it depending on if you use the same spoon for fuels, and were you got it from.

[50caliber]

I have the KMnO4 on a different shelf so that might help.

 

It seems that its a waste to use these tubes for spolettes

[ewest]

I have Wolter's 2oz rocket tooling you're talking about and I use Skylighters tubes TU1019. That tube is cheaper than both of the others you said. TU1019 is a 3" long tube whereas the others are 3 1/2" long, but Wolter's 2oz tooling will work perfectly for a 3" long tube.

 

As for the chemicals, if you put them in plastic or ziploc bags and then in tupperware containers like when you mail order chems, you're fine. I would still separate oxidizers from fuels though. As for me I have shelves in my shed with 3 igloo ice chests, one for oxidizers, one for fuels, and a third for general storage. Keep you workspace clean and you'll be just fine.

[50caliber]

oh cool, so those tubes fit perfect in the tooling? could you post a pic of the tooling? cheers

 

yea i've zip locked most things except dextrin

[ewest]

I was one step ahead of you, I just ran out to the shed and got it. Hope this helps, the tube is 3" long and the length of the spindle from the top of the base to the tip of the spindle is 2 3/8"

[50caliber]

oh awesome thanks alot man, the tools look great. what fuel do you use, how high do they go and what sort of payload can they take?

[ewest]

For fuel I use 60:20:10 KNO3:C:S mix of BP ball milled at least 4 hours. I use Tidy Cat Scoopable kitty litter for the nozzle. They don't go up too high, I don't know, 200 ft maybe? I'm a pretty poor judge of height.

 

To tell you the truth I've only made about 4 rockets this size and never put a payload on them. Once I got my 1lb rocket tooling I stopped making the 2 oz rockets because believe it or not, a 2oz rocket takes almost as long to load as a 1lb, so I figured why mess with the smaller ones?

 

It's still nice to have the small tooling to test different batches of fuels without having to make a lot if it though.

[50caliber]

oh ok, thanks for the information, i was thinking i might get the 1/2" Black Powder Rocket Tooling as its almost half the price but im not sure of the size.

[ewest]

I can't help you with the 1/2" (4oz) tooling, but I do have the 3/4" (1lb) tooling for Black Powder rockets.

 

If you're making smaller than 3/8" (2oz) rockets right now, I'm assuming you're making 1/4" bottle rockets, so jumping up to a 1lb might be quite a nice shock for you, they're fuuuuuuuun On a 1lb Black Powder rocket you can easily put a 3" ball shell as a header. I think the heaviest header I've had on one was about 150gr and it took off no problem.

[50caliber]

oh cool, yea 1 pound might be to much, but theres only a $10 difference between the 1/2 and 3/4 but i might just get the 1/2(4 ounces?). ive only made the tiny rockets you get off pyrotube and those are wicked. I put up a place in the supplier reviews and they sell 3/4 tube quite cheap

[Mumbles]

Just so you know, for rockets, they really need to be parallel wound. The pyrotube ones you can get away with because they are so small. I don't think a 1/2" rocket could be able to handle spiral. You can always roll your own as well, which is what I do generally. Using manilla folders as the majority really makes for some hard tubes and only takes a day or so to dry.

[50caliber]

oh ok sorry about that. ive tryed rolling tubes but i can't find any craft paper where i live and i cant seem to get the glue/water mixture right for manilla folders

[Mumbles]

Don't you have paper grocery bags? For tubes I suggest paper lunch sacks actually. Hell, computer paper would even work. You want a majority of manilla with about 2 turns of kraft on the outside to hold it together. For a 4oz rocket you'll need 5" wide by 15" long manilla folder. The paper should be a 5" square.

 

For the glue, use a 50 50 mixture by volume. With this mixture they should be dry within a day.

[Mephistos Minion]

In Australia and NZ we dont generally have massive paper bags like you do in America. We have plastic or re-usable cloth ones. I got some very lightweight kraft from a newsagent, and some 55# stuff from a packaging place. The 55# is virgin too, so it make awsome tubes.

[moonshot]

oh cool, yea 1 pound might be to much, but theres only a $10 difference between the 1/2 and 3/4 but i might just get the 1/2(4 ounces?). ive only made the tiny rockets you get off pyrotube and those are wicked. I put up a place in the supplier reviews and they sell 3/4 tube quite cheap

I would suggest the 1/2" rocket tooling as a step up from the 1/4" rockets you have been making. This is like a quantum leap from small to medium. The 1/2" rockets will easily reach 200 to 300 ft and lift 35 to 45 gram headers. I've found that the mannila folder works well for tubes using elmers wood glue dilluted with just a small amount of water. I use paper grocery bag for my tubes because it's free here in the US. You will be surprised how much more comp it takes to ram the 1/2" motors. So far a 1/2" ID 4" long motor is the largest i have succesfully produced. Anyway take it a step at a time and try the 4 OZ rockets, they are a lot of fun with not a whole lot more work.

[50caliber]

yea it anoying that theres no kraft paper in NZ. I might just get the 1/2 rocket tooling from pyrotooling. i have a press and a fare amount of black powder. but i want to know the deminsions of the tooling and maybe see a picture, can anyone help?

[psymon]

With my rocket tools I use tubes I make out of breakfast cereal boxes. I buy Bran Flakes for breakfast as they come in 750g or 1Kg boxes. My glue is PVA school glue from Hobbycraft. They work fine in all rockets. Only problem I have is that when I launch a rocket they can end up in someones garden. When they do I am sure they are a little surprised to find a breakfast cereal tube attached to a stick there.

I am not sure how I should disguse them so they look a little more 'commercial'.

[rocket]

How about you just get a commercial rocket and ether scan the label on it or make something up on paint that looks similar, then once you done that just past them around your rocket motor.

[Cosmikdebris]

50 cal

 

What grade of AL did you use for your failed tooling?

[50caliber]

I'm not sure to tell you the truth, i just used what was at school. I did recieve my 1/2" rocket tooling from pyrotooling and I going to test the rocket tonight

[Cosmikdebris]

Great

 

Please let me know how it works, I'd like to machine some tooling. Maybe you could give me the Measurements of your new tooling.

[50caliber]

What size tooling do you want?

 

The picture below is of a 4 ounce rocket