JFeve81 Posted February 23, 2013 Posted February 23, 2013 I'm going to be purchasing some tooling from Firesmith within the next couple of days as a birthday present to myself. I need ya'lls help with picking which set to get. They will strictly be BP rockets as I don't have a press yet. Biggest rockets I've made are 2oz (3/8" ID) rockets. Going to be buying 1lb tooling. Should I get the Super BP, Universal, or Nozzleless tooling. I like the idea of nozzleless not needing clay and weighing slightly less on the way down but not sure if one of the others would be better because of my lack of experience in this size. Looking to lift 3 or 4 inch shells. What do ya'll guys/gals think? Is one better then the other?
AlexPyro66 Posted February 23, 2013 Posted February 23, 2013 I would choose the Universal tooling so if in the future you buy a press you can make many different rockets now that you dont have a press you can use normal bp and not 60/30/10 with nozzle
nater Posted February 23, 2013 Posted February 23, 2013 (edited) Any of those will lift 4" shells with good BP. Do you have plans to get a press? I really like the universal sets, but the reality is that any of those can use different fuels once you dial them in. Your concern about the weight of the spent motor is valid. Nozzleless motors with no bulkhead are not likely to turn into a lawn dart. You might want to ask Ben about BP only in his nozzleless design before you get it. I know BP works great on his universal spindle with a nozzle. Edited February 23, 2013 by nater
AlexPyro66 Posted February 23, 2013 Posted February 23, 2013 Any of those will lift 4" shells with good BP. Do you have plans to get a press? I really like the universal sets, but the reality is that any of those can use different fuels once you dial them in. Your concern about the weight of the spent motor is valid. Nozzleless motors with no bulkhead are not likely to turn into a lawn dart. You might want to ask Ben about BP only in his nozzleless design before you get it. I know BP works great on his universal spindle with a nozzle.Yes Universal spindle with hot bp and nozzle will work better than nozzless
WonderBoy Posted February 23, 2013 Posted February 23, 2013 I would get the Super BP set; I think it is the most versatile.The spindle is skinnier than the Universal spindle, so your BP doesn't have to be as hot. It will also make a nice nozzleless motor without needing whistle augmentation. And once you get a press, it will make some very powerful whistle motors. Nate, I believe his nozzleless set was originally designed to be used with straight BP. WB
psyco_1322 Posted February 23, 2013 Posted February 23, 2013 I'm going to say to get the Super BP set also. Really the nozzleless tooling is the same thing, just with out tapers for the nozzle. In most situations, you can just just a BP core burning set to make nozzleless motors by leaving out the nozzle, simple as that. So by getting a spindle that has tapers to form the nozzle, you can really make either/or. I too like nozzleless motors, they are more forgiving usually, but you will always have the option to try some nozzled motors with the BP tooling. Also as far as experience goes, the nozzleless motors are about as simple as it gets. You should really look into getting a press in the future. It will really increase the stabilty and reliability of your rockets. It also opens up the possibility to make whistle motors and other complex hybrids, like strobes and long winded screamers. Which I'm sure could all be made to work on the BP spindle, in one way or another.
Bensmith Posted March 5, 2013 Posted March 5, 2013 Well heck... I think I can answer a few of these questions.... The Super BP Core Burn set is easily the most popular and versatile rocket set I make. Hand ramming traditional (i.e. slow) BP fuel with a clay nozzle works A-OK with this set. You will have no problem at all lifting a 4" ball shell even with basic BP fuel. If you want to use hot BP you will be unable to use a clay nozzle. Should you wish to move into whistles and strobes, this set will work as well. In fact, I have tutorials posted on my site the detail building whistle and strobe rockets with this tool set. I developed the Nozzleless set because I wanted a tool set that produces really hot benzoate whistles and strobes a bit more easily than the Super BP set (they also have a bit more power on this spindle). The spindle is a bit taller and skinnier than the Super BP set... plus it also doesn't have the convergent/divergent nozzle geometry in the spindle and #1 rammer. This gives you a larger flame front and holds a bit more fuel. In practice, both tool sets can be used almost interchangably. Since I don't really make rockets with nozzles much any more, I just wanted something that would work a bit better and quicker. Shoot me an email (or respond to this thread) if you have any questions.-Ben
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