The Thrifty Rocketeer

 The Thrifty Rocketeer Blog continues... It's been a couple of years that I've been sealing my balsa fins with a slurry of wood glue. But recently, I tried a Sanding Sealer from an area supplier, just to experiment. It turns out that it is Min-Wax that has been repackaged in much smaller quantities. I don't need a quart, but 3  liquid ounces in a small jar is fine for my purposes. However, I had never expected the difficulty in selecting a small brush to apply the stuff...glue or sealant. Initially, I decided a small child's paintbrush would be good, but I haven't had any kids in the house for years now.  So I drove to a Dollar General and picked up a kid's combination coloring book, paint set and brush combo.  As I walked out, I pulled out the brush from the packaging, pocketed it, and then turned to a family who were leaving. "You want a coloring book for water colors," I asked?   They looked at me suspiciously at first, but I admitted that I only w...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues.... Well, the AirShow has come and gone, and we're left with the memories now.  Our club set up an information table, but had chosen NOT to sell rocket kits this year.  Then the president showed up with a box of assorted rocket kits, and mentioned that he was just going to give them away to interested parties.   I felt he should at least be compensated for the money he put out in advance. And so, when one of the booth attendants asked what to do with them, I made an executive decision that we'd sell them.  And then the question was, why not make a sign advertising them. I didn't object.  And so we sold them.  All. For $5 each.  And I made sure the cash went into the president's pocket at the end of the day. But that's not the point of this blog entry. No, there was something else that caught my eye as we were setting up. Almost opposite us under their own tent, was a pair of guys who had many kits laid out fo...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... Recently we were talking about what sort of tackle box Rocketeers chose to carry their field gear and parts in.   And that has brought up another related topic. Just today, a co-worker who has been working with me for a quarter century, resigned.  He's leaving the company for "other opportunities".  So I interpret this as either he's seeking better compensation, or better benefits...as in health insurance. Can't say as I blame him. But the point is he's cleaned out his desk, and in the trash can set outside his office, I spotted a tin can.  Not just any old empty soup can, but a cracker tin can.  This short squat tin has a separate lid, and fits down over the lip to seal in freshness and keep rodents and bugs out. It reminds me of the type of tins that coffee once came in, and later, hot chocolate. Now, I'm not talking about Nestle's milk chocolate, that had a circle hatch in the middle of the top of the tin......

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... So recently, I saw a photo on a rocketry forum page that showed a field range box or tackle box, dropped and spilled. It was a sad sight, with the contents mixed helter-skelter... the kind of picture that makes your heart sink.  But we've all been there. Among the comments were various suggestion on how to avoid such a fate. And one senior member of a club nearby specifically said, "That's why I keep small   carabiners through the hasp of all my boxes, so that they can't do this." It got me thinking, much as we all have tackle boxes or range boxes, and have discussed how each of us have a different type or style, we've never discussed securing those boxes. So I'd like to ask, "Do you secure your range box?  How?" You can talk about locks, hasps, bread ties, paper clips, removable links, carabiners, or whatever. Personally, I don' t secure my tackle boxes, as they have a fold-down hasp that snaps down a...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... I was skimming a Facebook page recently when a posting caught my eye.  It was basically asking what the term  for a particular style of balsa fin construction is. What's the term for " making a fin that is comprised of multiple pieces of balsa butted up against each other." Now, this wasn't anything particularly spectacular.  And part of the reason why it caught my eye was that the fin shape was one that I had recently built.  And so, it was a question that I would have asked as well. While I can't give you an exact picture, the plan was to make a unique fin shape out out two flat triangles that are glued together to form.... I don't know what... but it makes me think of either a phoenix or perhaps a delta wing fighter...  (I'm talking through my hat here, cause I really don't know how to describe the finished shape.) For clarity, let's just say that the largest piece of fin is NOT a sweptback fin that att...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... So it's another Wednesday night and I'm bored, so I do what I usually do when I have time on my hands and 10 days til the next club launch.... I drive over to HBY LBY and cruise the Estes Rocket supply aisle. Now, I must admit, I don't often find anything that grabs my attention, however, I just as frequently walk over to the clearance wall and prowl about for anything that catches my eye.  Sometimes it's just a keychain....sometimes a couple of plastic, wood or tin letters that I can rearrange into something shocking...or something for me at home. And sometimes I leave with a bargain.  Other times I just walk out. But tonight, I spot something I hadn't ever really considered...  a TAZZ. I am totally unfamiliar with TAZZ, but the sticker on both the two kits on the pegboard catches my eye.  Normally priced at $19.99, there's not much chance of catching a sale price on their  rocket kits.  However tonight, the br...