The coupler section at the right will be used to join the two 7.5"
tube in the center of the nose cone.
It will also serve as the main attachment point for the 27' parachute.
A three point harness was attached directly to the U-bolt. This
decision came from the fact that once assembled the U-bolts would be
unreachable.
A a precaution against the ejection charge heat duct-tape was applied
to the lower legs of the harness.
I may seriously regret this decision once the rocket hits apogee.
Epoxing
All parts to be joined were first coated with a liberal amount of
straight (un-thickened) epoxy.
An additional batch of epoxy was made up and thickened with
West-Systems 404.
The insides of each tube were coated with thickened epoxy.
Joining
Once the tube were joined together, they were placed in my fin cutting
box.
This box was used because it was the only place in the entire house
where two flat surfaces meet at right angles.
Supports
An old piece of 4" ABS tube was cut in half and used for support.
Normally I'd run a tube through the whole length, but with the
bulkhead/coupler in the middle this wasn't possible.
Some quick & dirty centering rings were cut to support the ends of the
tube while glassing. This made a great improvement of previous
glassing where the tube rested directly on the support tube. It
prevented the glass from sticking to the support tube.
Centering rings were attached to the support tube using some dry-wall
screws.
Glassing
Two chairs support the tube while glass. Space is at a premium so I
choose a spot in the backyard under a tree for this tube. I figured
the shade would give me a little extra working time.
Prior to glassing the tube was sanded with 60 grit paper, this gives a
rough surface for epoxy.
Two pieces of 10 oz glass are wrapped around the tube. Each piece
wraps around 1 1/2 times, so two piece will give me three wraps
total.
The nose cone tube itself doesn't need this much glass, but the tube
will also serve as an ejection cannon for the chute, and I didn't want to
have to worry about over-pressurization.
For problems or questions regarding this web contact
WebMaster@BlackBrant2.com
This page looks best when viewed on my computer and was last updated
on
01/24/09
THE BLACK BRANT PROJECTon the verge of insanity
