Looking for inexpensive nose cones (~BT-70)

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Andy "The Cheese" Berger - 25 May 2007 14:30 GMT

Greetings!

I'm running a project for a pair of local elementary and middle schools.

A quilt shop has donated 20 textile roll tubes (60" long with ~58mm width).
These are pretty beefy tubes. The inside diameter is just shy of 50mm.

I'm doing my best to find inexpensive nose cones. The only option I've found
so far on the net is the TARC BT-70 nose cone from Apogee ($12/each).

I'm looking for any other options and am always open to other creative
ideas.

Definitely appreciate any guidance you may have!

Cheers, Cheesey

Reply to this Message

Fred Shecter - 25 May 2007 15:17 GMT

Good luck. From my personal experience, when trying to use one free component, I found
myself spending hundreds of dollars of my personal time as well as paying huge amounts for
nose cones and more powerful motors to lift the heavy odd sized tubes. And if there is a
failure of the parachute, a heavy tube does not usually float down, it turns into a
potentially lethal lawn dart.

Now for some help: Jumbo plastic Easter eggs fit BT-70 perfectly. Not the "large", you
want the "Jumbo".

Looks like "they took our jobs"
http://www.daley-hodkin.com/auction/11070_PEORIAPLASTICSADIVOFBLEYERINDI.asp

-Fred Shecter

Signature

"""Remove "zorch" from address (2 places) to reply.
http://www.sirius.com/

> Greetings!
>
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Cheers, Cheesey

Reply to this Message

Steve Humphrey - 25 May 2007 15:47 GMT

> A quilt shop has donated 20 textile roll tubes (60" long with ~58mm width).
> These are pretty beefy tubes. The inside diameter is just shy of 50mm.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> I'm looking for any other options and am always open to other creative
> ideas.

Balsa Machining Service, http://www.balsamachining.com/CONES.htm,
has various BT-70 cones ranging from $5 to $10 each.

They also can make custom nose cones, which you should consider since
your 50mm ID tubes are about 5mm too small for a BT-70 cone. Custom
cones cost more, though, around $13 each (with volume discount).

Or make your own from foam insulation (the stuff that comes in
"boards"), turning them on a lathe or drill mounted in a vice.

Or make a master and have the kids make paper mache nose cones over the
master (use BT-70 coupler to mate the nose cone to the airframe).

Or roll a true "cone" (straight taper).

Signature

Steve Humphrey
(replace "spambait" with "merlinus" to respond directly to me)

Reply to this Message

Steve Humphrey - 25 May 2007 15:50 GMT

I wrote:

>> A quilt shop has donated 20 textile roll tubes (60" long with ~58mm
>> width). These are pretty beefy tubes. The inside diameter is just shy
>> of 50mm.

> Or make a master and have the kids make paper mache nose cones over the
> master (use BT-70 coupler to mate the nose cone to the airframe).

I forgot to add "you'll have to slice the BT-70 coupler and reglue
slightly smaller to fit the 50mm ID". This is easily done.

Signature

Steve Humphrey
(replace "spambait" with "merlinus" to respond directly to me)

Reply to this Message

The Rocket Scientist - 25 May 2007 17:28 GMT

On May 25, 9:30 am, "Andy \"The Cheese\" Berger"
<acber...@houston.rr.com> wrote:

> Greetings!
>
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> Cheers, Cheesey

How about rolling a paper cone and attaching it to a coupler made from
a small length of the tubing? Slit the tubing and glue it so that
it's outer diameter will fit inside the tube. A teacher friend of
mine did this for his fifth-grade class.

Here's another cheap trick. Use a cutting compass to cut centering
rings from card stock.

Bill Sullivan

"There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who count in binary,
and those who don't." - Engr Bohn

Reply to this Message

Model Forum / General / Rockets / May 2007

Looking for inexpensive nose cones (~BT-70)