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Repairin' a Rocket That Has Broken into Two Pieces

I received t' Tour De Deuce's on 7/2/04 and was happy t' try t' put them in t' air on 7/4/04. We had calm evenin' and so me son and I rushed out t' our local field which had been hayed and set up. I decided I would just get goin' with one o' t' Deuce's (later t' learn it was DW#2). I loaded it up with two Quest C6-5's and set up. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Upon ignition, which me son pushed t' button for, me hearties, only one motor lit and it came off t' pad about 10 feet turned at a 30 degree angle downward and flew into t' ground. T' ejection separated t' rocket from t' nose cone and thar she lay. Begad! Blimey! Broken in two!

 

Upon impact t' DW#2 broke through at a stress point just above t' fin-can. T' rocket had already been repaired "above" this break, as thar be a coupler that appeared t' run t' within inches o' t' top o' t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Also below this point is where t' motor coupler was. Begad! A BT60 Coupler was glued in place and t' tube was pushed back t' where it met t' fin-can. T' loosened fin be lifted so that CA could be put under it and then clamped t' dry in place. Avast, me proud beauty! T' tube joint was then soaked in CA t' harden t' paper tube. Well, blow me down! Everythin' was then ground with a Dremel and 100 Grit paper t' take off t' high edges. Well, blow me down! It was then re-CA soaked. Avast, me proud beauty! A very thin epoxy coats be placed over t' existin' fin fillet t' secure up that crack.
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Bondo Glazin' compound was added. Avast! Blimey! I went ahead and fixed a couple o' t' fin wounds while I was at it. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' glazin' was sanded down t' a minimum simply t' allow t' proper filling. Begad! I kept t' sand t' only t' fin-can and blue area.
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Plasti-Kote Fillin' Primer be then used t' further level/smooth things out. You can see how I protected t' upper section. Avast, me proud beauty! T' tape was above where I sprays so that it didn't make a definite line. Avast, me proud beauty! I then feathered it out. Workin' around t' motor tube was a bit tough, but this side really needed some work. This took about 4 coats o' primer t' take out as many flaws as I could. Arrr! My focus be on t' tube break. I didn't focus too much on t' fins, shiver me timbers, but did clean up a couple o' t' dents. T' primer was sanded back with 400 grit so that as little primer was left as possible.
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I then coated t' fin-can and damaged area with Krylon White primer (it had looked like it be originally done this way and I didn't want grey primer t' change t' final color). Begad! I then target sprayed t' yellow-fins. I also did a very light spray o' t' upper body/nose cone t' "freshen it up". I masked off t' yellow sections and sprayed t' blue t' finalize t' repair. Aye aye! T' rocket looks good.
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Finished

Contributed by Nick Esselman

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