The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues….
Normally, this weblog tries to provide you with some useful, positive suggestions.But at the moment, we’ll take a look at a few things Not to try.
Just tonight, I was chatting with some rocketry friends by Zoom, and one of the extra senior guys holds up a few items destined for his excessive energy rocket. He’s asking for help and advice on tips on how to proceed.
He’s obtained a medium sized carabiner in his right hand, and in his left is a strip of what he is looking an elastic band. (It seems more just like the headband that Spock wears in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, however irrespective of.)
It’s an extended size or skein of two inch broad elastic band that appears like it might both go in a truss, a bra, or some type of back brace.
And he’s asking, “How do I attach this to that?”
The dialogue starts and rules out sewing (cause the stitches won’t stretch), rivets (trigger they will pop at any time when it stretches), grommets (for the same motive) and glue, (as it won’t “give” without cracking).
One rocketeer said, “Dump it, just get a nylon rope or similar woven tube, and tie it on”, simply as you would in mountain climbing.
We all pretty much agreed that the two inch width of the elastic band will not allow for a tight knot to be tied across the carabiner, elastic webbing so we settle on the nylon tube/rope thought.
Now this started me pondering about the time that I thought of making my own shock cord out of elastic. I used to be doing a scratch construct for a recycling show on how you could flip atypical trash into a quite simple rocket and nosecone with plastic Wal-Mart bag parachute. For a shock cord, knitted elastic webbing I had settled upon an old 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. In a short time, I bored with the seam ripper, and went for a straight sharp pair of fabric sheers, and simply minimize as close to the waist band as I might.
Now that I had the loop of elastic free, I don’t recall if I reduce across the appear or ripped it free, however I wound up with a single size of one inch large elastic that nonetheless had loads of stretch in it.
Deciding that the band was too large, I took the fabric sheers and cut down the middle of the band leaving an equal width of elastic band on either side of the minimize. What I hadn’t counted upon was the fraying, which began immediately. If you liked this write-up and you would such as to get additional details concerning knitted elastic band, https://list.ly/mcgregorbarrett119, kindly check out the web page. The two elastic strips, whereas about forty two inches lengthy, 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 learned that you Can’t reduce an elastic band lengthwise had have it work. (Now, for the needs of my poster board show of the elements of a rocket, it worked well sufficient, however for really use in a rocket, my concept would not have worked.)
What WOULD work is the acquisition of about 3 ft of slim 1/8-1/4 inch elastic from Joann Fabrics or comparable store. Aside from the run on this material to make masks throughout the pandemic, this might work for smaller, low-power rockets if you needed to exchange a shock cord.