The Rocket Shop

[Holt]

Your room looks great. I have a question for you though. It looks like you have a lot of slat wall installed yet I see nothing utilizing it. I know the stuff is not cheap where you planning on using it or was this something that say the previous owner install? I ask as I have a Menards hear in town and they sell slat wall panels but very few options for the accessories are sold there and never really seen it used unless you are using a brand like gladiator or big box store house brands.

 

[woodrail]

Very fair question. On the workbench, nothing but the clock is hung on the slatwall!

The rest of the shop is also done is slatwall from 3' high to roof. These walls hold multiple shelves and more importantly, my rocket kit collection. These Estes kits were mostly offered on pegs.

I'll get some pics up soon.

Also, Most of the slatwall was free or close to it. It all came out of stores going out of business or refit. The hardware was bought used also. I probably have enough for 10 shops my size. I would guess I have less than $150 in materials for all of it.

 

[Holt]

Thanks for answering my question. Even though it not being utilized much it is really handy to always have the options to add some stuff to it at your convenience and not be putting holes in the wall.

 

[mgoug]

Very cool! I really like the lights you've added.

 

[ihasmiata?]

Can you tell me what brand/style spring hinge you used for the board that hides the slide out work space.

After looking at your build, I want to incorporate that same feature, for addition work space on my lighter projects

Thanks, I'd appreciate it!

 

[woodrail]

Can you tell me what brand/style spring hinge you used for the board that hides the slide out work space.

After looking at your build, I want to incorporate that same feature, for addition work space on my lighter projects

Thanks, I'd appreciate it!

Sorry I missed your question prior to this. The small doors have two regular cabinet hinges, I think they are about three inches long. The doors also have snap catches to hold them closed.

I'll try to get a pic of them up soon.

 

[Red Leader]

Nice work, the curved corners and the canopy remind me of Red Leader's garage: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103099 I spy a Craftsman 150 drill press in the background as well...it would be interesting to find out just how many of us here own one of them.

Haha, I don't! I would love to get a '50s '100' series floor press. One day...one day...

Cool set up. Dont be embarassed by your "before" pictures. Years ago I worked for a company called Flight Systems Inc. that did model and sounding rockets. The company was opperated out of a 2+ car garage that was about that cluttered and packed. We put out a ton of stuff out of such a humble shop.
Really like the top work.

Actually, the worse the 'before' pictures are, the better it makes the 'after' pictures look!

The chrome is simply 1/2" automotive chrome body strips from AutoZone or Advance. "Cowles" I think. About $15 for 18 feet. Autozone was cheaper.

This is a really nice touch and a great tip for other retro builders. I'll keep that one logged in the back of my mind when I am putting finishing touches on my build and workbench.

To answer a couple of question: The wood floor is great! I highly recommend it. Esay to sweep up, and easy to stand on. My floor was built over a old asphalt floor that was is very bad shape. 2x4's were laid on the flat and leveled. 3/4 plywood was installed over it. It is currently unfinished.

Wood floors are great. Another hidden benefit is they are a lot easier on your feet and body than a hard floor like concrete. So you laid 2x4s across the entire floor? If so, did you attach them with glue or anything? How did you get it flat? Did you rent a floor sander? I was deliberating a LONG time about doing a wood floor out in my garage (I really preferred it and really like wood floors) but the contest came along for the Epoxy Coat and free turns out to be good

I would like to end up in some place that has the barn style wood flooring - that would make for a very nice vintage touch.


Overall, very impressed with your shop. You show a LOT of creativity, especially with that retro overhead cloud lightbox. We'll be waiting to see more.

:thumbsup:

 

[woodrail]

The shop is "pole barn construction". The biggest step in putting down the wood floor was emptying the shop! Wow. I don't want to do that again!

Next was trash pick-up, sweeping, then finally blowing off the old asphalt. They existing asphalt is probably 60 years old. Let's just say it was aged.

Pressure treated 2x4 were "loose laid" around the perimeter and shimmed to be level with various blocking. Flat stone and brick were used in the most extreme depressions.

2x4's were positioned to fall under every joint of the plywood. Once these were in, I added additional 2x4's to infill at 16" on center.

In order to facilitate plywood replacement, I opted to not use tounge and grove. 3/4" plywood was laid down with seams staggered. I think I used 1 1/2" deck screws to secure it.

During construction, the parts bounced around, sagged, and wanted to travel. Once everything was screwed together, the floor construction acts like a monolithic piece.

Add a heavy *** lathe, multiple saws and joiner, and some loaded toolboxes, and it isn't moving anywhere.

The floor right now is "raw". I keep on consider finishing it, but I'm really waiting to find some salvage factory flooring or bowling alley stock to put on top. Until then, I consider the growing patina proof I actually work in there.

 

[woodrail]

It's been a while since I've taken the time to have some fun and throw some rockets into the sky. Although I have plenty of rockets (an extreme understatement), I thought this polar event we seem to be stuck in would allow me some time to do some building of new ones.

With that in mind, the goal is to build "Armada 2014". 10 new rockets will be built with the intentions of launching at the largest local launch. The local rocketry club, the Skybusters, hold a major event west of Amherst on May 10 & 11 near Amherst, Ohio.

With that, we are at T-88 days, and all systems are go!

Here is the rocket 1 of 10. It is an Estes "Der Red Max". This was originally release in the 1970's. It is a simple kit commonly know as a 3FNC. This stand for "Three fins and a nose cone.

 

[Wingnut65]

Cool, 10 new projects in 88 days! Any excuse to spend time in the shop is a good excuse!


BTW, Dan. I love the workbench and shop and details you used. What did you use for the round edges on the workbench and pull-out rack, Masonite?

Also, what about those pix of the rest of the slatwall and the Estes collection??

 

[taumac]

That tool box bench and lighting is awesome.



Have a good one, Gerard

The 5 Stitches Garage part 1 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142100

The 5 Stitches Garage part2 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899

 

[Sims5]

Workbench looks awesome.

 

[woodrail]

To answer the question about the curved pieces of the workbench; this are built from a stock item made in my hometown of Lorain, Ohio by a company called Geometric Forms. They make some extremely cool stuff! The piece I used was shaped from MDF. It is a MDF J Mould. It was pricey, like $8 per foot or something. Really couldn't come up with a better way to do it though.

Onward to this weeks update:

This is Rocket 2 of 10 of my 2014 Fleet. It is a slightly more complex kit than the Der Red Max. Although it is a smaller diameter, it has multi-piece fins, strakes and a formed nosecone.

It's called "Nemesis". No idea why, but whatever. If this was entered in a competition, it would fall into the Sci-Fi category.

[URL=http://s22.photobucket.com/user/dbihary/media/2014%20Rocket%20Armada/Nemesis-2_zpsdd30c2d9.jpg.html] [/URL]

T-81 days till launch.

[URL=http://s22.photobucket.com/use... Armada/Nemesis-2_zpsdd30c2d9.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

 

[woodrail]

In the attempt to ignore that I'm not camping, I continue to build rockets for a big launch in Amherst Ohio on May 10.

Ten new rockets will be constructed and have their first flights at this event. These are rockets #3, #4, & #5.

First up is the Silver Comet. This is a larger diameter rocket about 23" tall. It features a "boat tail" with thru wall fins that are reinforced directly to the motor mount.

Second is a "semi-scale" kit of a rocket that was inspired by the NASA Saturn 1B. This kit was originally released by the Centuri Engineering company in 1967. It will fly on a cluster of three C rocket engines.

Finally, the Hornet. Nothing special, except for a fantastic paint scheme and artwork.

T-67 days, 5 rockets to go!

 

[Craptain]

Dan, I am curious about these rockets. You say you build them but they have to be kits, or at least part kits. So just how complete are they and would a total innocent like me be able to build something cool like that?

 

[woodrail]

So far all the rockets I've posted are kits produced by Estes or other much smaller manufacturers. Typically these kits include laser cut balsa wood fins, plastic or wood nose cones, and cardboard tubes and centering rings.

Building these can be done in as little as an hour (if you want it to look like ****) or as long as a week. I'll use the Hornet as an example. The first night the bag was cut open, the balsa fins were lightly coated with wood filler, and the motor mount was assembled. The second night, the fins were sanded and tapered, the nose cone sanded, and the body tube lightly sanded. The fins were glued on and the rocket set to dry. Nights 3-6 were spent primering, wet sanding, masking, and painting. Night seven was decaling and photo op!

"Build time" is a lot less than "dry time". I will typically have 3 rockets in various stages at a time. This week I'm starting a Saturn V that I suspect will take a couple of weeks due to the details. I'll probably have two other quick ones I'm working on also during the "drying times".

The kits are very complete. They do not include anything needed for the flights such as a launch pad or engines. These can be easily scratch built or purchased for about $20-$30.

Engines are about $1.50 or so per flight for small rockets. Mid-power flights in the E-G range are about $10-$20 per flight. Higher than that gets exponentially more expensive. I've witnessed flights that have probably over $7K-$10k invested in them. Let's just say those are pretty special. They normally have better than a year in design and construction on board.

...and that is why I stick to low-power!

 

[CoopVA]

It's been a while since I've taken the time to have some fun and throw some rockets into the sky. Although I have plenty of rockets (an extreme understatement), I thought this polar event we seem to be stuck in would allow me some time to do some building of new ones.



With that in mind, the goal is to build "Armada 2014". 10 new rockets will be built with the intentions of launching at the largest local launch. The local rocketry club, the Skybusters, hold a major event west of Amherst on May 10 & 11 near Amherst, Ohio.



With that, we are at T-88 days, and all systems are go!



Here is the rocket 1 of 10. It is an Estes "Der Red Max". This was originally release in the 1970's. It is a simple kit commonly know as a 3FNC. This stand for "Three fins and a nose cone.

I remember building this one back in the '70s! Very cool shop! Thanks for sharing!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[FJ 432]

Here is the rocket 1 of 10. It is an Estes "Der Red Max". This was originally release in the 1970's. It is a simple kit commonly know as a 3FNC. This stand for "Three fins and a nose cone.

Wow and thank you. I had one of these back in the day. If I remember correctly this small little rocket used to take a "D" size motor/cartridge and every time I flew this thing it would go like the devil to the point of losing it in the sky but it always returned home safely.

Mine looked nothing like yours because I was a 12 year old boy who barely sanded the fins, sprayed painted bright red and ran out the door. My best friend at the time had his mom do all the prep work and used to build the most impressive rockets (including a tall rocket if I remember correctly was called Andrometer). His rockets always crashed and my red max made it safely home.

 

[quasi_accurate]

I love your lighting setup. It looks straight out of a magazine I'm impressed!

 

[woodrail]

Finished up rocket #6 of the 2014 Rocket Armada project tonight. THis one is a very cool re-release of the Estes Interceptor.

This is my build-up:

[/URL][/IMG]

T-57 days till launch.


This text was stolen from Estes:

"Here’s the Estes bring back that everyone has been asking for, the original Interceptor. Modern design and production technology has allowed us to improve upon an already great rocket design with the reintroduction of one of the most popular model rockets of all time. The new Interceptor retains all of the original intergalactic cruiser looks that made it a favorite for years. Our designers improved many of the parts and assembly of this classic, so sentimental rocketeers won’t be disappointed. There are a number of upgrades to the original kit, including laser cut balsa fins, a highly detailed, blow molded nose cone, molded two piece wing pods, molded exhaust port and an accurately reproduced, waterslide decal set. All these upgrades make for an exceptional building and flying experience.

Estes Interceptor EST1250 Skill Level 2 · Classic Bring Back of a World Renown Model Rocket! · Updated with New Parts & Added Details! · Precision Laser Cut Balsa Parts! · 5 Color Decals for Extreme Detail! · Flies to 525 ft. (160 m) on Estes C Engines! · Over 2 Feet (610mm) Tall! Introducing a classic remake of the ESTES Interceptor one of the most popular model rockets of all time! The new Interceptor retains the intergalactic cruiser look it had decades ago, but with new and improved features such as: laser cut precision balsa parts, highly detailed blow molded nose cone and 5 color decal sheets that provide spectacular results! Over 2 feet (610mm) in length, this rocket flies great on Estes B & C engines to heights over 500 Feet (152m). An 18" (457mm) parachute deploys at apogee for risk free recovery of this model rocket masterpiece. No doubt that this truly classic design will be the talk of any launch site! Building supplies, launch equipment and engines- not included. Recommended for ages 12 and up. Specifications: Length: 26.0" (660.4mm) Diameter: 1.3" (33.0mm) Weight: 3.85oz (109g) Max Altitude: 525ft (160m) Recovery: 18" parachute Fins: Laser cut Balsa Engines: B6-2, B6-4, C6-5"

 

[JimVonBaden]

You sir, have set the bar far higher for me than I ever expected. I need to really sharpen my pencil for my pending shop addition!

 

[zcar751]

Very nice work area. I like the creativity you brought to the space. The rockets take me back 35 years when I was in Junior High I built about a dozen kits and even designed a couple of my own. One was 36" tall single stage. We would load it with an A size engine and launch it. It would struggle to get of the pad and travel about 25 - 30 feet up and pop the shoot. Everyone in the club got a "blast" out of it.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Awesome garage and projects, thanks for posting.

 

[transplant_wi]

I love the pull-out end units. Could you give us any details on those? Are they built with special slides? Looks awesome. No offense, but the 'before' pics make me anxious - I am a clutterphobe

 

[56vette461]

supergollygoshgeedarnwow.... now that is an awesome look for a shop. I love the retro cabinet design and the way it flows throughout your work area. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Boiler]

Sweet space! I have been thinking about building rockets again now that I have kids. Back in the day building them for 4H (and dominating ) kind of started me on my path to become an engineer. It was fun. First year I got reserve grand and realized "hey, I'm good at this apparently" and went on to grands for the next few years. Haven't build one since. I really should, I live about two miles from the AMA.

 

[woodrail]

Thanks for the complements guys. The shop has been a great project.

I flew at the AMA field years back. It's an amazing place!

OK, for this week...

Rocket 7 & 7.1 of 10 - Mosquito and Mega-Mosquito

Perhaps a flashback for older rocketeers, this is an upscale of the original Mosquito. The original very popular rocket is shown underneath the big one.

T-35 days till launch.

 

[Gentle_Ben]

I don't know how I missed this thread earlier, but I am totally impressed. This workbench is a work of art!

 

[DocRock]

New to the Journal and in looking through things came across your thread. Way cool! There are a lot of ideas here for my own garage & shop. Thanks.

 

[56vette461]

All I can add to the comments is WOW!! You have definitely maximized the use of the space for storage and work surface. I.B. impressed.

 

[pjboy]

Awesome.

 

[lakeroadster]

Amazing shop you have there.

Do you build any rockets of your own design?

I was really into rocketry as a pre-teen / teenager. Here's a photo of an Estes "Honest John", circa mid 1970's.

 

[woodrail]

Finally finished installing one of the more ambitious projects to come out of the Rocket Shop.

This is a custom designed A/V gaming station. It will have three screens connected to a minimum of 3 XBoxes.

It is constructed of (8) 4x8x3/4 melamine sheets, Oak face frames, and about 500 Kreg screws.

This one took a long time. It has 15 major pieces.

Glad to have it out of the shop!

 

[BoilermakerFan]

Any chance you can move the pics to a new host? I'd love to see this build.

 

[fartymarty]

Any chance you can move the pics to a new host? I'd love to see this build.

There are now plugins for most browsers to get around the hot link issue. Search for "Photobucket hotlink fix <insert browser name>"

BoilermakerFan fyi, I'm able to see all these photos on both Chrome and Firefox using the respective fixes for those browsers. I don't know if there is one for IE or Edge but it would be worth searching for, or even switching browsers even if you only switched for this one forum.

I have a question for the OP.

woodrail, I'm curious about your vise. Is it just sitting there unmounted to be moved to a more usable space or ????? I'm sorry if this has been addressed before (I obviously missed it) but it looks almost unusable there even if turned around.

(BoilermakerFan, because I'm a caring person {Pinocchio emoticon goes here} I've attached a picture about my question.)

Very nice shop build!

 

[BoilermakerFan]

BoilermakerFan fyi, I'm able to see all these photos on both Chrome and Firefox using the respective fixes for those browsers. I don't know if there is one for IE or Edge but it would be worth searching for, or even switching browsers even if you only switched for this one forum.

I have a question for the OP.

woodrail, I'm curious about your vise. Is it just sitting there unmounted to be moved to a more usable space or ????? I'm sorry if this has been addressed before (I obviously missed it) but it looks almost unusable there even if turned around.

(BoilermakerFan, because I'm a caring person {Pinocchio emoticon goes here} I've attached a picture about my question.)

Very nice shop build!

fartymarty... I had a PhotoBucket plug-in installed in Chrome, but it wasn't working... I installed a different one and it worked.


Awesome shop Dan! Are you still using the unfinished plywood or did you find a floor?

I'm trying to decide what to with the floor of my garage. I've spilled enough oil and other chemicals on it that grinding it probably wouldn't help so epoxy/paint coatings are out. I may just put down click-lock vinyl plank if I can find some cheap enough so that my wife can eventually park in the garage again.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

Finally finished installing one of the more ambitious projects to come out of the Rocket Shop.

This is a custom designed A/V gaming station. It will have three screens connected to a minimum of 3 XBoxes.

It is constructed of (8) 4x8x3/4 melamine sheets, Oak face frames, and about 500 Kreg screws.

This one took a long time. It has 15 major pieces.

Glad to have it out of the shop!

Holy Cow that is a big station. I'm assuming it was built in sections from the 15 pieces and then finally assembly was completed in the basement or it's final home? Or did you bring all 15 pieces in separately and then do the final assembly?

 

[woodrail]

First off, I'm in the process of moving images off the POS photobucket. I've been dealing in software since the 1970's and never have I had a worse hate then with them.

The A/V station was built into the 15 main pieces at the shop and fitted together. It was then disassembled and moved into my sons basement.

The floor remains bare wood. I really don't do much metal work, so it's working out well. It puts up with the snow ok.

The vise is loose. Again, this is more of a "tech shop". The vise is used fo the construction of various things including mid-power rockets, electronics, and mechanical components. I don't use it like many people would. I do have a bench vise on the opposite bench used when the banging and beating needs to happen.

 

[larry4406]

Just saw this thread for the first time and you sir have done an outstanding job!

 

[fartymarty]

The vise is loose. Again, this is more of a "tech shop". The vise is used fo the construction of various things including mid-power rockets, electronics, and mechanical components. I don't use it like many people would.

Ok, that makes sense, I appreciate the answer.

I do have a bench vise on the opposite bench used when the banging and beating needs to happen.

At the risk of sounding greedy (I am ), I think you should show us the other side of the garage. I mean come on warts and all, not just the side you're proud of ( justifiably so IMO).