Lev 1 build thread BD Samurai

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kullas

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Im starting my lev 1 rocket build well i started it last night. Its a Samurai from Binder Design. I ordered it before the first of the year and got a free electronics bay :clap: I went with the 38mm MT and not the 54mm MT. I decided to build the E bay first here is a pic of it

Lev1 Samurai build 001.jpg
 
Here is a shot of the motor mount. I held off to install it until i went to the hardware store to get some Tnuts for the motor retention


Here is a pic of the Tnuts after I got them installed

Lev1 Samurai build 002.jpg

Lev1 Samurai build.jpg
 
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While i was waiting on the stores to open I went ahead and cut the fin slots in the body tube cutting fin slots is something i have never done before but after test fitting everything i think they turned out very nice. I took my time got everything layed out the lines marked and used a new #11 blade made a light pass on the cut and then came back with 2 or 3 more passes and did not have any problem took about 20 min to cut all 8 slots

Lev1 Samurai build 003.jpg
 
HaHa after posting this i noticed that i put it in the MPR any way i can get it moved to the HPR section :rolleyes:
 
HaHa after posting this i noticed that i put it in the MPR any way i can get it moved to the HPR section :rolleyes:

NO! You will only be able to fly you rocket on "G" motors now!... :p

I'm sure one of the mods will fix this for you... :D

Looking good, I appreciate all the pics, love to see how other folks do things.
 
It may be my Blackberry, but in the pics the tubes look a blue-gray/green. Binder Design isn't selling Blue Tube equivalent are they?
 
I think its a mix of my camera and the blue mat they are setting on. They are cardboard well atleast they cut like cardboard :)
 
Well while im waiting on a nice Mod to move this to the HPR section i thought i would add a pic of the fins test fitted in the airframe

Lev1 Samurai build 004.jpg
 
Here in done with the fins well i still got to do the fillets but they are all epoxied in place and showes how i line up the upper fins

The 2nt im trying something new. I taped off the fillets and im going to use epoxy for the fillets hope they turn out ok :)

Lev1 Samurai build 005.jpg

Lev1 Samurai build 006.jpg
 
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it may be an illusion but those fillets look TINY!!


Ben
I measured 1/4" on the fin from the tube and a 1/4" up the tube from the fin. Is that enough or do i need to make it a little bigger?
 
I have always loved this design. Maybe when I'm done with school I will pick up a kit! I am thinking more along the lines of all FG tubing, FG fins and a 76mm hole...

I think your fillets are fine as long as you had good contact when gluing the roots to their respective tubes.
 
I think it's just the scale of things - those fins are pretty big.

The biggest i have ever used :)

I have always loved this design. Maybe when I'm done with school I will pick up a kit! I am thinking more along the lines of all FG tubing, FG fins and a 76mm hole...

I think your fillets are fine as long as you had good contact when gluing the roots to their respective tubes.

there is no way to get fillets in side but i did apply some epoxy to the inside tube and then coted the root edge with epoxy and slid into place. after 12 hours of drying i gave them a bend test this morning and they felt solid


this evening i plan on adding all the fillets and wrapping up the loose ends and start getting it ready for paint
 
The biggest i have ever used :)



there is no way to get fillets in side but i did apply some epoxy to the inside tube and then coted the root edge with epoxy and slid into place. after 12 hours of drying i gave them a bend test this morning and they felt solid


this evening i plan on adding all the fillets and wrapping up the loose ends and start getting it ready for paint

Have you already epoxied the rear centering ring in place? If not, DON'T! You can run some epoxy down the inside and on each side of the fins and make fillets. Use a long stick or something to smooth it out. Or you can FOAM the inside of the fin can.

If you have already epoxied the rear CR, then nevermind. Although you could still drill a hole in the rear CR and squirt some foam in there.
 
Have you already epoxied the rear centering ring in place? If not, DON'T! You can run some epoxy down the inside and on each side of the fins and make fillets. Use a long stick or something to smooth it out. Or you can FOAM the inside of the fin can.

If you have already epoxied the rear CR, then nevermind. Although you could still drill a hole in the rear CR and squirt some foam in there.

:eek: Now that ya say that i remember reading that some where here on the forums. Well this is my first through the bodytube fin design i have done. now that i have learned i bet ya i will do it on the next one :)
 
Don't worry about the internal fillets, you don't need them. I have two L1 sized rockets without them, and I have yet to pop a fin. One of the rockets even has an epoxy incompatability (Polyester epoxy doesn't stick to Aeropoxy), so the fins are held on only by the root to MMT joint and the filler over the epoxy fillets. No problems yet.
 
Don't worry about the internal fillets, you don't need them.


Correct. Foam is not needed either. It is a 4" rocket with a 38mm mount, not an L3 bird. If that stuff was needed, it would specifically be covered in the assembly manual. You could also use titebond wood glue instead of epoxy for a lighter build. Avoid the urge to overbuild and you'll get much better performance out of 38mm motors.

Looking good so far!

Mike Fisher
Binder Design
https://binderdesign.com
 
there is no way to get fillets in side but i did apply some epoxy to the inside tube and then coted the root edge with epoxy and slid into place. after 12 hours of drying i gave them a bend test this morning and they felt solid

Actually, there is a way to reinforce the fin/tube joint - what I've done with my Samurai (that's currently under construction) was to extend the fin slots all the way to the end of the tube, so I could assemble the fin can and then slide it up and into the tube, then glue the airframe to the centering rings. I reinforced the fin/motor tube joint with fiberglass - that's the one place I've had trouble with previous rockets, and this time I'm pretty sure that won't be happening.
 
Correct. Foam is not needed either. It is a 4" rocket with a 38mm mount, not an L3 bird. If that stuff was needed, it would specifically be covered in the assembly manual. You could also use titebond wood glue instead of epoxy for a lighter build. Avoid the urge to overbuild and you'll get much better performance out of 38mm motors.

Looking good so far!

Mike Fisher
Binder Design
https://binderdesign.com

I mean no disrespect. I was thinking that that would have been covered in the instructions if necessary. Just my experience has taught me that stock is not enough, but that's just me.
 
So far i have stuck with the instructions and everything have came out so far.
Im done with the fillets and now im going to get it ready for paint. I do have one question. The shock cord connects to the CR and up to the ebay then from the ebay to the nosecone. How do i connect the ebay to the upper section by glue or some other way?
 
So far i have stuck with the instructions and everything have came out so far.
Im done with the fillets and now im going to get it ready for paint. I do have one question. The shock cord connects to the CR and up to the ebay then from the ebay to the nosecone. How do i connect the ebay to the upper section by glue or some other way?

The way I connect my e-bay to the upper tube (housing your main chute) is using 'pop rivets'.You can find them here.You will want the "Click-Lock Shank" variety..You don't want to glue the upper portion of the coupler into the tube and make it permanent, then you wouldn't be able to use it for it's intended purpose(unless you have long skinny arms and very dexterous fingers!:roll:)
 
Here is a shot of the motor mount. I held off to install it until i went to the hardware store to get some Tnuts for the motor retention


Here is a pic of the Tnuts after I got them installed

It maybe a viewing angle perspective thingy, but, it appears as if your t-nuts are further out from the motor tube then 1/4"?
 
Pantherjon-Could you explain the need for the 1/4" spacing? I've never heard of that.

Kullas-You are doing great! Bird looks good. Listen to Mike, he knows his kits best. By the way, my first Stealth was built bone stock and it flew on a K550 to well over 7K before I lost it. And my Sentinel held up through a 54mm L boost with only wood glue internal fillets. Probably hit close to 10K on that flight, no way to tell as it floated away. Build light and have fun with the 38mm motors! Personal fave is any load for the 38/480 case. Altitude around 2k for easy recovery.
 
Pantherjon-Could you explain the need for the 1/4" spacing? I've never heard of that.

So the clips will be able to reach the thrust ring of the motor and retain it upon recovery deployment..IIRC , in the instructions during the building of the motor mount there is mention that the t-nuts should be centered axially and 1/4" from the motor tube..If they are further then 1/4" the clips may not reach the motor thrust ring.
 
So How do i connect the ebay to the upper section by glue or some other way?

Here's how I suggest to do it. Do not glue the bay into either tube. Instead secure the nosecone with rivets or screws. When your main charge goes off it will blow off the bay section which is heavy enough to pull the main out cleanly. To hold the upper section to the bay, you can use friction fit if you don't mind a possible main at apogee, or do what I like to do and use aluminum tape strips as shear tape. You can use plastic rivets or styrene rods as shear pins, but it tends to chew up the kraft airframe after a few flights.

By doing it this way, it keeps the bay fully accessable before and after the flight for easy setup. The main will deploy much cleaner by pulling it out the back instead of trying to blow it out the top.

Mike Fisher
Binder Design
 
I mean no disrespect. I was thinking that that would have been covered in the instructions if necessary. Just my experience has taught me that stock is not enough, but that's just me.

None taken.:) These larger 4" diameter kits built bone stock have been tested to 54mm L class. Stock is good! :clap:

Mike Fisher
Binder Design
 
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