The Rocket Formerly Known as Black
Step Four
Fuselage Fabrication
The construction technique is similar to thise used in making the Happy Birthday Party Napkin Rocket of the Apocalypse. It uses the same Hot Wire Cutter and the same Foam Cutting Fixture with different templates.
Construction is actually quite simple. Make a big stack of foam and cut off everything that doesn't look like a rocket.
For those of you hoping for a few more details -- well, tough. Hopefully the pictures are self explanatory.
To contradict those who insist I am unable to learn from my mistakes, this time I remembered to add the launch lugs before I started on the foam. (I forgot to do this when I made the Napkin rocket, and adding them later was a real pain.) It's a lot easier to do it this way.
Shown are pictures from the hot wire process. The side template guides are made for 1/8 inch Masonite. Once the foam block is mounted on the Foam Cutting Fixture, the Hot Wire Cutter is dragged down the sides of the templates. The whole process is pretty tedious, turning the foam block dozens of times to shave off all the ridges. Luckily I was visted by my buddy Brett McFarland (shown at right> while I (shown at left) was working on this stage of the construction, and he did no less than half of the work. It was a Tom Sawyer kind of moment.
Light sanding follows the hot wire procedure prior to fiberglassing. This is best done by hand, as it is easy to create flat spots. I've had good luck using sponge-foam sanding blocks because they conform to the contours of the airframe very well.
TRFKAB Index
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