Thursday, June 18, 2015
Friday, February 20, 2015
L3 build - Fillets
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Saturday, January 17, 2015
L3 build - Fin attachment
Sunday, January 11, 2015
L3 build - Fin Lamination
Lets reinforce some fins! I got to thinking about what was really necessary for an M3 flight and I decided that 2 layers would work fine, just to save on weight and carbon. After all, I'm doing 3 layers of T2T anyway. It'll be fine. I used a foodsaver for the vacuum bagging. This is my first time with a foodsaver, and I've got to admit I'm pretty happy with it. It's about as simple as it gets.
Here's the process:
Fin was prepped with a pass of 120 grit and acetone. |
Here are the fins, the +-45 layers, the Peel Ply and the 90 layers |
Here we go! |
Foodsavers make really easy work of vacuum bagging small stuff. They don't pull the strongest vacuum, but for 2 layers it shouldn't really matter all that much. |
Fin Removed from Bagging |
Here are 3/4 fins I did. I wonder where that 4th one went... |
They turned out alright. Onto attachment!
Monday, January 5, 2015
L3 build - Fin Beveling.
Beveling fins is quite possibly my least favorite part in rocket construction. I brand new belt sander helped easy my pain a bit. I clamped a small basswood support onto the edge of the sander. The fins rest on this and the sanding belt. I could change the angle of the bevel based on how far the fin was offset from this support.
I picked up this belt sander from harbor freight for about $60. Gone are the days of hand beveling! |
I marked lines about 2in from fin edges where the fins would rest on the support. |
Here's how the whole setup works. Very simple. |
Not too bad for a first shot! |
I did all 4 of these in about an hour. That's maybe 1/5 the time it would have taken by hand. |
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