Stubby Too! A 3FNC Scratch Build

Custom Pine Turned Nose Cone,

BT/C-60 based body,

(3) 1/4" Plywood Fins,

and a 24mm motor featuring rear eject.

1/4" Dowels are used as fin base reinforcement, as well as the spears.

Inspiration for this one came from ASP's "Stubby" kit.

 

 

2026-06-25 Nose Cone

Got the Nose Cone turned on the lathe... made it from Redwood. The Lag Screw Plug is made from Southern Yellow Pine. Ballast goes in the void.

2026-06-26 Fin Sub-Ass'y

Cut the fins from 1/4" Plywood on my Table Saw and Scroll Saw.​

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Cut the Dowels from a 1/4" Pine dowel on my Chop Saw, sharpened the tips using a Mechanical Pencil Sharpener​

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Glued the Dowels to the Fins​

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Sanded the Dowels to fit the rear curvature of the Fins​

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Used my Router to round over the edges of the Fins​

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Sanded the routed edges.​

 

 2026-06-27 Fin Sub-Assy...

Applied some CWF to the fins early this morning... then sanded it down later. Cut the BT/C-60 Tubes, The Ballast and the Fillet Dowels. Then set about to glue the fins to the C-60.​

 

2026-06-28 Ballast Redeux

 

I fat fingered the Nose Cone Ballast in Open Rocket and input .454 ounces/cu-in instead of 4.54 ounces/cu-in. As a result the Nose Cone Ballast is way to heavy... I used a 2" long bar when I needed a 3/4" long bar. I glued the bar into the nose cone yesterday... so I went out to the barn to drill out the Ballast Bar. Luckily once I started drilling the Ballast Bar it broke free from the glue and I was able to remove the Ballast Bar. Cleaned the glue from the Nose Cone internals using Fostener bits, and then chucked it in the wood lathe and sanded the outside.

New Ballast installed... good to go!

 

  

BT-60 Scallops

Sliced and diced the BT-60... 3 dimensional scallops​

 

Altimeter Bay Installation

 

 

2026-06-29 Nose Cone Lag Screw Plug and Nose Cone To Body Tube

Slathered some wood glue into the bore of the Nose Cone, inserted the Lag Screw Plug, and sat the Nose Cone on wax paper with a plastic lid under the paper for it to dry overnight. Sitting it "Nose Up" allows the glue to drain downward, ensuring it stays around the Lag Screw Plug.​

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Next morning removed the Nose Cone Assembly and allowed it to dry for 2 hours.​

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Then glued the Nose Cone to the Body Tube via a couple of holes I punched through the Body Tube. Spun the Nose Cone in the Body Tube a couple times and then set is aside to dry.​

 

 

 

 

 

Vector ... An Inspired Scratch Build

This rocket is inspired by a photo I saw of a Vector-V, an OOP.

Bill Eichelberger did a modified a scratch gooney version he named Vector G.

My version is a quite bit smaller in diameter up front (BT/C-60), a BT/C-80 Fin Can and the fins are quite a bit larger (1/4" Plywood).

A 29mm Rear Eject spool dumps the Motor and the 24" Parachute out the back.​

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I'm going to take a shot at making the Transition and BT/C-80 as one integral piece, by sectioning the tube and coupler and folding it down into place. The internal coupler splices straddling the body tube splices. That means unobstructed room for the spool (see the Open Rocket Side View below).​

 

 

The Duck Rocket.... A Scratch Build

Spent some time at Stagecoach Reservoir in Colorado, hiking and watching waterfowl. Ducks... they're awesome in flight, especially while landing on water. Their wings curved downward, gliding for a perfect sliding landing into the water.

Here's a rocket that's designed to mimic a duck. The wings are attached to curve downward and ring fins are used to add some vertical depth, as well as stability. Powered by a 29mm Motor, featuring rear eject spool for the motor and 36" parachute.

Should be a good flyer.