All Rocketry Blogs

• Attachment
• Bevelling
• Fillets
• Marking Guides and Jigs
• Papering
• Wood

Model Rocket Building: Papering Fins - Old MRN (2010-08-19)

I'll be using paper on the fins of the Big Girtha model. I remember seeing the tip years ago. Here's one of the first references I found about papering fins. This goes back to 1969, from Volume 9, ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Jeff Smith's Root Edge Squaring Tip (2012-02-24)

Jeff (Jeffyjeep) Smith is a true craftsman. Many of his finished rockets have been sold to collectors on Ebay. Here's a tip from a Estes Scamp build he did on TRF. "While holding the basswood fin ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Dr. Zooch Flame Fins Part A (2012-03-24)

I don't try to cut all the sharp edges of the flame fin pattern. I use a straightedge and cut straight lines just at the points of the outside edges. I don't usually use a pen to trace around a fin ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Dr. Zooch Flame Fins Part 2 (2012-03-26)

The sharp angle bend over the edge of the block was used to sand the tight inside corners. These don't have to be as sharp as the fin pattern shows. All six fins don't have to have the same profile. ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Dr. Zooch Flame Fins Part 3 (2012-03-26)

The fins got a coat of thinned CWF and were sanded with 400 grit on a block. The angled and round side of the block were used to sand the concave lines of the leading and trailing edges. A second ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Dr. Zooch Flame Fins Part 4 (2012-03-26)

Here's an image of a Shuttle launch. Notice the color changes in the flame. It goes from a very bright white, to yellow (maybe a slight orange also) to grey smoke. I've made a few sets of Zooch ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Dr. Zooch Flame Fins Part 5 (2012-03-26)

Three flame fins glue on each SRB fin tube assembly. They are spaced at 90 degrees to each other. It's almost like a four finned rocket with one fin missing. The open area of the tube faces the ... [Read More]

High Power Rocketry: Carbon fiber fins for an N5800 project (2012-08-22)

      This last image shows the fin sanded down significantly.  These are extremely thick fins, nearly half and inch at the base.  I have little doubt that ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Cutting Fins TIP (2012-10-03)

I'm back from the long Japan cruise. There was no internet while we were in the Japanese ports. Back to rocket stuff - I know, most experienced builders know this - but for the novices: Most kits ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Weight Of Filled Fins? (2014-09-26)

Here we go with another highly scientific test. I read a comment about how much weight CWF filler adds to fins. I was curious. The first picture shows a Estes Patriot fin. The leading edge is ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: First Through-The-Wall Fins? (2016-09-12)

The old Estes Semi Scale Saturn V (K-39) was brought up on YORF. I hadn't looked at the instructions for years. To see them, CLICK HERE Steps 6 and 11 might show the first ever use of through the ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Cracked Root Edge Joints? TIP (2016-11-28)

I've made a resolution not to buy any more rockets where wood fins are glued to plastic. Everybody has had fins break off on a hard landing. Fins glued to plastic seem to be more prone to this. Wood ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Clear Plastic - TIP (2017-01-01)

Sometimes I cut out and save pieces of clear plastic off vacu-formed packaging. On a rare occasion you might need a piece of clear plastic for a window like on the Mercury Redstone Capsule. The ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Fixing A Corner Chip - TIP (2017-01-04)

Did you ever get a small break at the corner of a fin?  You could use wood filler but this method will stick better. In preparation, have a small amount of balsa sawdust gathered in a pile. ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Better Root Edge Glue Lines TIP (2017-02-18)

This method was explained in an article the Estes guys wrote on rocket building for Sport Rocketry. Here's how a glue line looks after applying right out of the bottle. If this were to be pressed ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Knife Blade Thickness? TIP (2017-02-23)

Kit instructions sometimes tell you to simply use a straight edge when cutting out fins or card stock. Simply setting a the strait edge along the cut line doesn't account for the thickness of ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Corner Chip Fill - TIP (2017-05-26)

Well, we've all been there - the balsa grain runs in such a way that the trailing edge tip can break off. If the tip break is small you can fill it. Sand off some balsa dust from some scrap ... [Read More]

Rocket N00b: Warp Factor - Fixing Warped Balsa Fins (2017-11-15)

Sometimes, you'll open a new rocket kit, examine the parts, and realize that the balsa fin stock is warped. This may be really bad - the whole thing is visibly curved - or it may be subtle. ... [Read More]

Improbable Ventures: High power rocket: Beginning construction (2019-11-22)

I finally got my head out of my ass and started putting together this high power rocket. (My head is often firmly lodged in my ass, so extracting it is time-consuming and unusual.) The basic parts ... [Read More]

Thrifty Rocketeer: Papering fins (2019-12-23)

The Thrifty Rocketeer continues... A short entry today. Some rocketeers swear by filling spirals.  Others insist that you seal your fins and wood. Still others  speak highly of papering ... [Read More]

Thrifty Rocketeer: Balsa fin excess (2020-01-14)

The Thrifty Rocketeer continues... OK, here's where this blog earns its name... "The Thrifty Rocketeer"! For several years, I have been puzzling over an aspect of model rocket kits that confounded ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Fin Tracings TIP (2020-01-20)

From Stanton Ewert on the Estes Model Rocket Facebook page:  "*Tip of the day: Our Good buddy, James Helman in TX. taught us to keep all the face-cards from our Estes kits. It just dawned on ... [Read More]

Improbable Ventures: How to build a fiberglass rocket, part 9: attaching fins (2020-06-11)

Exciting times! I’m ready to attach the fins. If you’ve never put together a rocket before, well, I’m baffled that you are reading this blog. But typically, a rocket will have ... [Read More]

Improbable Ventures: How to build a fiberglass rocket, part 10: epoxy injection for fins (2020-06-22)

Fair warning here: I’m actually splitting the “attaching the fins” information into three separate posts. This is not out of a sense of malice or sadism, but simply because ... [Read More]