07-20-2011, 01:21 PM
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Captain Low-N-Slow
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Northern California
Posts: 30
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by luke strawwalker
I don't bother with fin alignment jigs. I prefer four fins, and use an "L" shaped piece of balsa scrap, or a mini-carpenters square (thin steel "L" shaped 90 degree tool I picked up somewhere along the line) and use double glue joints to attach the fins in opposing pairs, one pair at a time, and then put the "L" shaped piece over the end of the rocket like a "V" and using clothespins clamp it to the opposing fins-- holds them perfectly aligned to each other while the glue dries, making them perfectly straight to each other. If the fins are swept back behind the body tube, you can do the same thing using a ruler or flat balsa strip like you did here, going across the aft end of the tube (assuming the motor mount isn't sticking out too far... that's why the "L" is nice...
Later! OL JR  |
What I like about the fin alignment jigs, either the Estes version or my homemade version, is that they square the fins to the body tube, and also keep them in line with it. No matter if you have three or four fins. As far as I can tell from your description, with your method the fins get squared to each other, not the body tube. If one fin is out of line, the opposite one will be too.
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NAR 91107, Level 2
Paint is the devil.
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