Making rocket headings from solo cone cups

[moonshot]

This is an easy, cheap, fast way to make rocket headings using Solo paper cone cups. You can get these cups at any Office Depot store. The box number is 42R. You get 200 cups for $2.99

The tools you need are a ruler, pencil, scissors, scotch tape and Elmers glue. I use an adjustable combination square instead of a ruler to mark my line on the cup. It makes it easier and more accurate.

The following description is for a rocket motor tube with a 3/4 inch OD, but the cool thing is that you can scale this up to larger tubes just by moving your line up the cup.

1) First take a cup and using your ruler and pencil mark a line around it 2 1/8 inches from the tip.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010784.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010786.jpg

2) Next take the scissors and cut up to the line from the open end of the cup. Then cut

around the cup following the line.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010787.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010788.jpg

You will end up with two pieces that look like this.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010789.jpg

The flat piece will be used to make the garniture (Now theres’s a rocket word for you!) and the cone will be used to make, you guessed it, the cone.

3) The flat piece will have a rolled outer edge that needs to be flattened. Just crease it between your thumb and index finger. This makes it easier to roll up. Roll the piece up so it forms a cup without a bottom. I roll the cup as tight as I can and then let it expand, this makes it easier to fit it to the rocket tube.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010800.jpg

 

 

4) Now take your rocket tube and insert it into the bottom of the loosely rolled cup. Then tighten the cup by lightly twisting the tube so the cup constricts snuggly against the tube. The trick to this step is to make sure the upper edge of the cup stays parallel and you don’t have space between the layers of rolled paper.

5) Once you have the cup rolled snuggly take a piece of scotch tape and tape the inner seam so the cup won’t unroll all the way when you take it off the tube. Trim the tape to the edge of the cup.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010797.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010799.jpg

6) Unroll the cup to the taped seam and wet out the paper with glue. I use Elmers carpenters glue full strength. Then roll the cup back up making sure there are no gaps between the layers of paper and the top edge is parallel. Set the finished garniture aside and let it dry. When it’s dry you should be able to slide it back onto the tube so it looks like this.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010801.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010803.jpg

 

 

7) Now take the cone and set it on the cup. Make a mark on the cone just below the edge of the cup and mark a line around the cone. You want the cup to fit into the cone with just a slight overlap above the line.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010791.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010792.jpg

 

8) Take your scissors, I use a small pair for this step, and snip from the lower edge of the cone up to the line. Go all the way around the edge snipping every 1/8 inch or so, making a set of tabs along the bottom edge of the cone. Bend the tabs out like this.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010793.jpg

I bend the tabs in and back out to make them flexible and easier to glue the cone to the cup

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010794.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010795.jpg

 

9) This is what you should have by now. A cone and a cup.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010790.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010805.jpg

10) The final step is to glue the cone to the cup. Apply a bead of glue on the tabs of the cone and smear it around. Do the same to the edge of the cup. I let the glue set for a while and tack up so the pieces don’t slip around when I put them together. Work the tabs down until they stick well to the cup.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010807.jpg

Here is a shot of the finished heading.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010808.jpg

And one mounted on a 4 inch long ¾ inch OD rocket tube.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/dickwad_07/S3010809.jpg

[pyrochris]

hi, i was wondering, you can use those for lift cups too, right? Anyway great tutorial!

[teknix]

Wow, that makes a really nice looking heading for rockets! Nice tutorial!

[moonshot]

hi, i was wondering, you can use those for lift cups too, right? Anyway great tutorial!

 

Thanks for the positive reply. Yes I am sure you could use these for lift cups just trim them to fit your shells. I have some 2 inch cannisters I am going to try this out on.

Thanks for the positive reply. Yes I'm sure you could use the cone cups for lift charges. I have some 2" cannister shells I'm going to try that out on. Just need to trim the cup to the right size.

[moonshot]

Wow, that makes a really nice looking heading for rockets! Nice tutorial!

Thanks for the encouragment. I'm really new to forums so forgive my posting errors. Yeah I like look of the heading, looks like an RPG. I came up with a good way to spike them too, I'll post it when I have time.

[Von Bass`]

thats an absoloutely great idea! Looks cool too

[moonshot]

Thanks Von Bass. I make small scale rockets 4 to 5 ouncers so this heading works good for those. you can scale the design up by moving the line up on the cup making the cone larger and the cup a bit shorter. the cool thing is that when you fit the cup to a larger diameter tube the volume of the heading increases proportionately. The largest OD tube I have been able to fit using a single cup is 7/8". Using two cups you could go much larger. Anyway I'm sure you guys can come up with all kinds of ways to use this. Enjoy.

[moonshot]

Ok. In the first part of the tutorial I showed you how to make the heading. now here is how I spike it to make it stiffer.

1) first take your small cone and cut straight up from the edge to the tip so you can flatten it out. Sorry no pic for this but its pretty obvious.

2) Here are the two flat pieces that you will use as teplates to make the spiking pieces.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/di...07/S3010780.jpg

3) Take the templates and lay them on a piece of paper bag

and trace around them so you can cut them out. Add about 3/16" extra on one edge of the cone piece so it will overlap when you wrap it around the top of the header.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/di...07/S3010815.jpg

4) Take the cone piece and wrap it around the top of the header and put some glue on the lapping edge. this will make a cap for the header.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/di...07/S3010820.jpg

5) Remove the cap,smear glue all over the top of the header and put the cap back on. Roll the edge of the cap over seam on the header.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/di...07/S3010824.jpg

6) Take the cup piece and wet it out with glue. Wrap it around the bottom part of the header being carefull to keep the upper edge even.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/di...07/S3010826.jpg

[moonshot]

Don't try to wrap the lower piece tightly around the cup, just snug enough to get it as close as you can to the header without causing depressions or wrinkles.

7) Now while the cup spiking is still damp take your scissors and insert the tip between the header cup and the spike piece. Lift the scissors gently to pull all the slack to one side of the cup and snip a cut up to the middle seam of the header. Now overlap the spiking at this cut to remove the slack and make the spike lay flat against the header. IE a pleat.

Sorry no pic for this step but I will edit one in to make it clearer. Here's a pic of the final spiked header.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/di...07/S3010828.jpg

And one on a finished rocket.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/di...07/S3011377.jpg

[FrankRizzo]

Nice tutorial, but dude...Natty Ice...you need help ;-)

[Mumbles]

Natty ::cringe::