50 replies to this topic

[PyroMan LTU]

Hi, guys!
My tools are finaly made they cost me around 24 euros. Sadly I dont have my good camera now, but I will get it later and take some pictures of the new tools, I am actualy quite satisfied with them! tomorrow I might try them out...

Greetings

PyroMan

[Rip Rap]

I finally bought myself a hobby lathe - primarily to make pyro tooling

Here are the first couple of tools I have made. Both B.P. rocket tools. Both brass spindles, screwed to an aluminium base.

The first one is for 10mm ID tubes, a mixture of brass & alumimium rammers



The second is for 11mm ID tubes, with brass rammers.



Tested a couple of rockets today - flew great!

[Vic]

I love to see home made tooling, one day I hope to get a lathe myself.
I guess the cut grooves are the no pass line, and is that hole halfway down the 11mm for the tommy bar ?

[Rip Rap]

I love to see home made tooling, one day I hope to get a lathe myself.
I guess the cut grooves are the no pass line, and is that hole halfway down the 11mm for the tommy bar ?

Yes - the grooves are no pass lines.

The holes in the rammers (they are in the 10mm too but not shown) are a bit of a safety thing - they are drilled through to the top of the central core reamed in the rammers. It ensures that powder does not get compacted at the top of the core & enables them to be cleaned out easily by blowing out with an air line gun.

[Vic]

Yep fuel and nozzle mix I find does stick around the core of the rammer and forms a hard crust,
I use kebab stick to help removal but tedious never the less.

[jayden]

I am almost finished making a spindle/base for bottle rocket tooling (for tubes 12.5mm ID x 76mm long).
All I need to do is part it and face it off. Can't wait to test it out.
I hope to upload some pictures later and show off
Jayden.

[jayden]

<P>A question - how do you post pictures from a file. I just tried uploading rocket tooling pictures but it didn't work.<BR>Thanks, Jayden.</P>

Edited by jayden, 08 September 2009 - 01:51 PM.

[Sambo]

Upload them to pyrobin or photobucket, then copy and paste the link in your post.

[jayden]

Thanks Sambo.
These are some pictures of the bottle rocket tooling that I have made.

http://www.pyrobin.c...es/p1010058.jpg
http://www.pyrobin.c...es/p1010060.jpg

Yes, it is made of steel. However, I am going to use a nylon tamp so there is no risk of sparks.
I still need to give it a finish.
Jayden.

Edited by jayden, 09 September 2009 - 08:51 AM.

[dr thrust]

phew! i bet that took you a while to machine, but why make it hard for yourself and use steel?, and please dont use any titanium in your propellant with that spindle sparky sparky

[jayden]

phew! i bet that took you a while to machine, but why make it hard for yourself and use steel?, and please dont use any titanium in your propellant with that spindle sparky sparky

It took about 3 or 4 hours.
The reason why I made it out of steel was because the aluminium one that I made was weak, easily bent and it snapped while I was machining it.
I might give it a go again out of aluminium.
I won't use any titanium - and I wasn't planning to. I can't use any other metal in propellant with a steel spindle can I?

Jayden.

[Sambo]

Did you turn it on a lathe? or in a drill with a sander etc?
If a lathe was used did you turn between centres?
Also if you do a big cut on ally it likes to "bite" onto the tooling, it will then flex the spindle and possibly snap it. What grade did you use?

[dr thrust]

yep it looks like quite a small diameter spindle i personally don't machine that thinly, i cheat and machine up a nice base then drill it out and epoxy in a length of brass rod, and utilise my lathe to bore out the rammer, ive bored out to 200 mm deep on a 3lb rammer try that with a drill lol

Edited by chris m, 11 September 2009 - 07:23 PM.

[Sambo]

I do the same Chris, seems a waste to turn so much metal off and brass is expensive stuff. I use an interchangeable base and machine spindles to suit.
I got around having to bore the length by machining the end of a rammer up and pressing a smaller diameter tube onto it. Easier to see on this pic, the tube is stainless.

Edit - sorry for the HUGE pic...

Edited by Sambo, 12 September 2009 - 02:47 PM.

[dr thrust]

beautiful finish on the tooling sam, here's a bit of homemade lathe tooling that might be of interest for lathe fans, not my video just one i found whist surfing quick indexing