post your rocket racks

[St1dinoh]

ok for thoes of us who are planning on building a rocket rack this year, i was hoping to assemble a collection of different designs for ideas...

i know i have a general idea but i'm quite sure with all the pyro inginuity out there there must be some better ideas than what i'm thinking...

so let er rip guys show us what you got....:lol:

[St1dinoh]

seriously guys....no rocket racks....

where's noslo's rack at? the links to his design are dead now. if i remember right he's the guy who made one to fire the KAR's right....i thought it was sweet.

[pyrochris]

seriously guys....no rocket racks....

where's noslo's rack at? the links to his design are dead now. if i remember right he's the guy who made one to fire the KAR's right....i thought it was sweet.
here you go! Enjoy! http://www.pyroreview.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/3077/sort/1/cat/all/page/1

[DennyMo]

Here's another one:
http://www.pyroreview.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/2347/sort/1/cat/500/page/1

And another:
http://www.pyroreview.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/2631/sort/1/size/medium/cat/504/page/

And another:
http://www.pyroreview.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/2082/sort/1/size/medium/cat/504/page/

[St1dinoh]

well damn ask twice and ye shall revieve.

edit....

ok so here's the question.....i'll be shooting some fire pheonixes

http://merchant.cboss.com/ProductImages/178/Fire-Phoenix-web.jpg

and i'd like to shoot them in a front simultaneously. so what i'd like to do is make 8 18shot racks that i can use to form a line, thes racks would be modular, so they can be oreinted anyway i chose.

i was thinking of using the PVC but figured 144 1 foot sections would be kinda expensive. so i'm tossing around the idea of using 2 boards about a foot apart with some holes drilled in them for guides.

do you think 2 holes aligned about a foot apart would suffice as a good guide for the rockets, or should i spend the cash for the pvc?

the way i figure it i should be able to make the holes the right size for the pvc, then i'd have the option of using it in the future. but i sure don't want 144 rockets flying all over the place when we hit that switch.

is anyone just totaly concerned with not using pvc guides....or am i being overly safe here (if there is such a thing). basicly am i worring about something i shouldn't be concerned about?

[pyrochris]

well damn ask twice and ye shall revieve.

edit....

ok so here's the question.....i'll be shooting some fire pheonixes

http://merchant.cboss.com/ProductImages/178/Fire-Phoenix-web.jpg

and i'd like to shoot them in a front simultaneously. so what i'd like to do is make 8 18shot racks that i can use to form a line, thes racks would be modular, so they can be oreinted anyway i chose.

i was thinking of using the PVC but figured 144 1 foot sections would be kinda expensive. so i'm tossing around the idea of using 2 boards about a foot apart with some holes drilled in them for guides.

do you think 2 holes aligned about a foot apart would suffice as a good guide for the rockets, or should i spend the cash for the pvc?

the way i figure it i should be able to make the holes the right size for the pvc, then i'd have the option of using it in the future. but i sure don't want 144 rockets flying all over the place when we hit that switch.

is anyone just totaly concerned with not using pvc guides....or am i being overly safe here (if there is such a thing). basicly am i worring about something i shouldn't be concerned about?
You could actually did what noslo did, you can buy those little m80 tubes for like 12 for like 3$ and did what he did.

[shaneth]

also you could buy pvc in bulk and get the 15 dollar Pipe Cutter or just use a miter saw and have 144 smaller tubes.

[SomeGuy]

How are you guys fusing these rockets together? I made a rack last year & just zip tied the fuse to each rocket. Was a PITA, but it worked for the most part. I didn't have a rack as large as the ones posted. I only do about 5-`10 rockets at a time.

So what's the best way to build a rack for me & what's the easiest way to fuse the rockets together?

[SEAHAWK]

I started making a rocket rack out of pvc. I did it differently though, because i cut 48 sections of 1" pvc and I'm planning to glue them with liquid nails about 1-2 feet apart. It took forever to cut that many though because i was using a hack saw for all of it :puke:

[St1dinoh]

well the best way to fuse the rockets IMO is using some quick visco.

one main chain of visco and then zip tie/tape/wire tie the rocket fuses to the quick visco. this should fire them all in rapid succession

unless you want to fire them all at once, like i'm going to do, then you'd want to use some QM/SM.

[St1dinoh]

here's a video of the fire pheonix rockets

2 going off at once.....as you can see the ti-spark tails on them are gorgeous.

http://www.pyroreview.com/gallery/data/500/343double_fire_pheonix.avi

[SomeGuy]

well the best way to fuse the rockets IMO is using some quick visco.

one main chain of visco and then zip tie/tape/wire tie the rocket fuses to the quick visco. this should fire them all in rapid succession

unless you want to fire them all at once, like i'm going to do, then you'd want to use some QM/SM.
Where can I get the Visco & what is QM/SM?

[Pyro35]

Where can I get the Visco & what is QM/SM?

Tough guy here:D QM-Quickmatch & SM-Stickymatch.

[Pyro35]

Visco can be purchased at pyrocreation, skylighter, cannonfuse, pyrotubes, and other I can't think of.

[Bl@ckMarket]

For the larger rockets like Kars, I only remember these....This one has spaces in between and so can accomodate the bigger rockets without wasting PVC and space. Unfortunately very small...
http://www.pyrouniverse.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4025&highlight=rack
and the 50 rocket rack,adjustable...can hold large but you have to space them out. http://www.pyrouniverse.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3653&highlight=rack

BTW....St1dinoh last I checked your box for PM's was full.

[SomeGuy]

Great, thanks. Visco is what I have been using. I've had a few times where it did not light every rocket. How does the QM & SM work?

[Bl@ckMarket]

Great, thanks. Visco is what I have been using. I've had a few times where it did not light every rocket. How does the QM & SM work?
SomeGuy, if you go on the PyroU homepage click on "Your Own Display" there you will see detailed information on QM, TapeFuse (stickymatch) or you can find links to sources outside of PyroU also like ...http://www.wecreate4u.net/dwilliams/sticky/sticky.html

They will provide the details on how it works and how you can make your own. Be very careful with this stuff and alway try to read , read , re-read you will find the easiest method for yourself.

[St1dinoh]

BTW....St1dinoh last I checked your box for PM's was full.

thanks for the heads up....man that thing fills up quick

[PyroBubba]

My main racks, loaded for July 2005 show (http://www.pyroreview.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/2206/sort/1/cat/500/page/1).

Three shots of a rocket rack from different angles: 1 (http://www.pyroreview.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/1194/sort/1/cat/500/page/1), 2 (http://www.pyroreview.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/1204/sort/1/size/medium/cat/500/page/1), 3 (http://www.pyroreview.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/1216/sort/1/size/medium/cat/500/page/1).

This is another variation on the "short PVC" type of rack. I believe it was Stinky who developed this basic idea last year -- 2 short pieces of PVC (about 3 inches in length) about a foot apart, for every rocket, attached to a plywood base with Liquid Nails.

The "short PVC" rack is advantageous in that it is relatively lightweight and can be constructed quickly without a lot of tricky cutting or measuring. It's a fool-proof design.

[DennyMo]

PB, it looks like your rocket rack is fixed in position. What are your thoughts on making it foldable? I'm thinking that you could swing the upright forward and fold it under the base, make it even more easily portable and storable. OK, I gotta go tinker...

[St1dinoh]

ok i've done lots of measuring and sketching and come up with a good, cheap design. not gonna be using any pvc at all. instead i'm going to use some 1x1 1/2 stock (about 40 feet) and drill out some 1/2 inch dia holes every 1 3/4 inches. each rack will have 2 pieces of wood running horizontaly with holes drilled in it for a double guide (about a foot apart). then i'll be using 1/4 inch to reinforce the sides (faces). i'll be using eye hooks on the side of the racks and conduit poles for the support. the idea is to line the shore with these racks and fire a case (144) of thoes rockets. when our shoot is over, the odds of me using a line of rockets is slim to none. so i've designed them to be as thin as possible, so i can set them side by side in a box if i want. so rather than being stuck with a line rack. i can combine it all together for larger #'s in a small area...

just re-read that and even i'm a bit confused. ok i'll be building these in the next week or two and i'll take pics of the first couple and how they will interlock.

[PyroBubba]

PB, it looks like your rocket rack is fixed in position. What are your thoughts on making it foldable? I'm thinking that you could swing the upright forward and fold it under the base, make it even more easily portable and storable. OK, I gotta go tinker...
You are right, others have built portable folding racks that are even lighter in construction than mine.

The thing with me is, my carpentry skills & tools are very primitive, so I tried to keep it simple while still being safe.

[shrapnel]

Has anyone considered using cornerbead for drywall? very inexpensive, $3.00 for a ten footer, holes are already in it, (if large enough)It's metal so no chance of burning. Just screw a couple of these about 10" apart to the face of sawhorses and you have an easy angle rack in about a 5 min. set-up. Looks and sounds good in my head, but like the damn blueprints from the architects say, "subject to onsite fit and finish"

[DennyMo]

If the holes are big enough, it might work. I'd also be concerned about the thin edges of the metal snagging on a sliver of the rocket sticks, either preventing flight or causing even more random flight than normal...

For those who've made and fired rocket racks using the PVC, how have the top pieces of PVC held up to the rocket exhaust at liftoff?