The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues….
Normally, this blog tries to offer you some helpful, positive tips.But today, we are going to have a look at a few things To not attempt.
Just tonight, I was chatting with some rocketry mates by Zoom, and one of the more senior guys holds up a few pieces destined for his excessive energy rocket. He’s asking for assist and advice on learn how to proceed.
He’s obtained a medium sized carabiner in his proper hand, and in his left is a strip of what he is looking an elastic band. (It looks extra like the headband that Spock wears in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, however no matter.)
It’s a protracted size or skein of two inch extensive elastic band that appears like it’d either go in a truss, a bra, or some form of again brace.
And he’s asking, “How do I attach this to that?”
The discussion starts and rules out sewing (trigger the stitches won’t stretch), rivets (trigger they’re going to pop every time it stretches), grommets (for the same purpose) and glue, (as it will not “give” without cracking).
One rocketeer stated, “Dump it, just get a nylon rope or related woven tube, and tie it on”, simply as you’ll in mountain climbing.
All of us just about agreed that the 2 inch width of the elastic band will not allow for a tight knot to be tied across the carabiner, so we settle on the nylon tube/rope thought.
Now this began me considering in regards to the time that I considered making my own shock cord out of elastic. I was doing a scratch construct for a recycling show on how you may flip abnormal trash right into a very simple rocket and nosecone with plastic Wal-Mart bag parachute. For a shock cord, jacquard elastic band I had settled upon an previous pair of men’s tighty-whitey briefs.
I convinced my wife to lend me her pinking sheers, and i used a seam ripper to free the elastic band from the pair of shorts. Very quickly, I tired of the seam ripper, and went for a straight sharp pair of fabric sheers, and just lower as close to the waist band as I could.
Now that I had the loop of elastic free, knitted elastic band I don’t recall if I cut across the seem or ripped it free, but I wound up with a single length of one inch large elastic that nonetheless had a lot of stretch in it.
Deciding that the band was too large, I took the fabric sheers and reduce down the middle of the band leaving an equal width of elastic band on either side of the lower. In case you loved this short article and you want to receive much more information concerning elastic webbing; telegra.ph, kindly visit our own webpage. What I hadn’t counted upon was the fraying, which started instantly. The two elastic strips, whereas about forty two inches long, curled and buckled, refusing to lay flat.
This was symptomatic of how the elastic band would behave no matter how I lower it , stretched it, or steam pressed it. I discovered that you simply Can’t minimize an elastic band lengthwise had have it work. (Now, for the needs of my poster board show of the components of a rocket, it labored well sufficient, but for actually use in a rocket, my idea wouldn’t have labored.)
What WOULD work is the acquisition of about three toes of narrow 1/8-1/four inch elastic from Joann Fabrics or comparable store. Aside from the run on this materials to make masks in the course of the pandemic, this could work for smaller, low-power rockets in case you wanted to change a shock cord.