Rocket Motor

Motor Classification (Rocket Motor)

When working with rocket motors, you need a way of ranking them according to their performance. This topic uses the system developed by the model rocket industry in the 1960s. It was originally intended for motors up through D. but the makers of high power rocket motors now use it too. It arranges motors according […]

TOOLS YOU BUY (Rocket Motor)

3. Weighing Equipment When weighing the chemicals for a rocket propellant. you must always use an accurate scale because any deviation from the intended formula will make the rocket motor perform poorly. When I started this work I experimented with common spring scales, but the results were inconsistent and disappointing. Experience has taught me that, […]

Powder Mills (Rocket Motor)

The Manufacture of Commercial Black Powder Anyone interested in rockets is usually curious to know how commercial black powder is made, so I’m starting this discussion with a brief description of the process that I’ve condensed from a topic in The Chemistry of Powder’and Explosives by T.L. Davis. It goes approximately as follows. Figure 3-7. […]

Disposable Syringes (Rocket Motor)

Before the propellants are loaded, all but the KS propellant must be dampened with a small but exact amount of solvent. The best tool for measuring and dispensing the solvent is a disposable veterinary syringe. (Figure 3-16 ). To find these syringes, look in The Yellow Pages under VETERINARY SUPPLIES. Vet-supply dealers sell everything from […]

Mixing Cups (Rocket Motor)

Mixing cups are used for blending the solvent into the rocket propellant prior to loading. The ones I use are made of polyethylene plastic. I like polyethylene because it is flexible and unaffected by alcohol or acetone. Figure 3-21 is a photo of two polyethylene cups. I bought the one on the left from an […]

Other Handy Things (Rocket Motor)

Other handy things (Figure 3-22) are oven or refrigerator racks, spoons, forks, stainless steel pots, measuring cups, sieves, a kitchen colander, plastic buckets, and those little bamboo Bar-B-Que skewers that you buy at the supermarket. A common table fork (the kind you eat with) is used to mix the solvent into the rocket propellant. During […]

TOOLS YOU MAKE (Rocket Motor)

4. Figure 4-1. A nozzle mold centers the core spindle, and forms the nozzle’s divergent exit taper. The one in this photo was made on a metal lathe. If you don’t have a lathe, you can improvise with things like steel washers, or pieces of round aluminum barstock.

General Comments (Rocket Motor)

The rocket motors in this topic are built with hand tools, and this topic explains how– to make them. The best tools are made of steel or nylon on a metal lathe. To make a top quality casing retainer, you’ll need a milling machine and a welder. Properly made tools last the longest, and a […]

Nozzle Molds (Rocket Motor)

A clay nozzle is made by ramming dry nozzle clay against a nozzle mold (Figure 4-1). When the rocket motor is finished, the nozzle mold and another tool, called a core spindle, are removed. The result is a hard, ceramic bulkhead at the rear of the motor, with a central hole for the rocket exhaust. […]

Improvised Centering Rings (Rocket Motor)

To make a nozzle mold without a metal lathe, you can improvise. It is not practical to make an divergent taper cone, but you can make a set of centering rings for the core spindle. You’ll need two round pieces of brass, aluminum, or steel of suitable diameter, a drill press, and a bandsaw or […]

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