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You're no Robert Goddard.

Go to the arts & crafts store and buy Estes stuff.

Either that, or start writing your will. Don't put yourself in line for a Darwin award.

Better than losing an eye.

I know, I know-- you're safe. You put a big distance between yourself and the rocket. Your neighbors won't even see the explosion. Still--

The best I can say is keep an eye out for sales or find a way to get wholesale prices.

Egress wrote:

Better than losing an eye.

I know, I know-- you're safe. You put a big distance between yourself and the rocket. Your neighbors won't even see the explosion. Still--

The best I can say is keep an eye out for sales or find a way to get wholesale prices.

Actually, I've tried.  Estes motors are like trading cards or something, you don't find wholesale prices on them.  Anyway, I'm using cardboard tubes, which are basically designed to explode.  PVC is dangerous, it shrapnalizes (sp?).  The cardboard tubes are safe, and I have yet to have a rocket CATO.  (explode!!!)

Fired Ceramic?

the only idea i've got is to watch "October Sky" and get idears. Other than that, I can't wait to hear how this turns out.

Yeah, I'll probably have to use some sort of grout or something.  I think regular cement will work, but like I said, it only comes in huge bags.  And as for drilling a hole through rocks, it might work, but I need something that will hold it in the tube, but will also not melt with the heat.

interesting article by an interesting company.
Rocket Basics

Aqua Man wrote:

Graphite?

Gladly, now tell me how I can get the graphite, and get it into a cardboard tube...

BTW, for anyone interested, I get my cardboard tubes and fuse from http://www.cannonfuse.com

And I get my potassium nitrate from http://www.ebay.com

macnuke wrote:

I used to get my saltpeter and sulphur from the local drug store.
price was comparable.
higher quality, powdered form.

I really wish I could go to the local drug store and get those chemicals...

Last edited by Fried Chicken (2006-01-22 10:37 pm)

If you use fired ceramic, it may not get hot enough on the other side to melt the glue. Ceramic is a horrible conductor of heat, which is why they use it as a heat shield for the Shuttle.

Well, I don't want it to be that elaborate.  What would be ideal is if I could make a nozzle, let it harden for a few minutes, then load the rocket, but that only works with hot glue as far as I can tell.

Another alternative is something like grout/cement.  Grout would work, but I'm not sure what kind of grout... anyone here know something or another aboug grout?

Cement would hardly harden "in a few minutes." I really think that molding then firing several ceramic nozzles would be the quickest, easiest, and overall best solution.