More Shop Progress....

Two more tall cabinets are awaiting assembly and will be placed next to the workbenches.
After that, power and lighting needs will be taken care of, after which begins the monumental task of organizing and arranging all of the tools, hardware, and, of course- rocket stuff! 

Phew!

This stuff is fun, but it will be nice to sit down and get back to rocket building again.

Yet Another Diversion....

A couple of weeks have passed since I last had anything new or post-worthy to present here.  The reason is that I have embarked on yet another project that has put an abrupt hold on any rocket building.

Workshop renovation.....

Yep, once again the BlastFromThePast basement workshop is undergoing yet another phase of its ongoing evolution.  This time it's a major facelift.

Up to this point, the shop has been operating using a hodge-podge of benches, desks, cabinets, and makeshift shelves. Nothing matches, it's aesthetically unpleasing, and adequate storage area is sorely needed.

To add to the chaos, the same shop space is used for my other hobbies:  hand-tool woodworking, and my ever growing LEGO collection (Yep, I'm an AFOL - Adult Fan Of LEGO).

Not to mention that the shop is also the place where I engage in the usual household utility stuff  -general repairs, electrical, small painting projects, and the like.

So, last week I was wandering around the local Wal-Mart, when I happened to notice some items I had never encountered there before - some heavy duty metal storage cabinets and matching heavy duty workbenches.  I could tell just by looking at the display samples that they were well designed and very good quality - definitely not the typical plastic or particle board junk one is usually accustomed to seeing.

"Made In The U.S.A." said the box.    Hmmmm.....

A quick online search of the particular manufacturer and its shop furniture products revealed a consistent customer review rating of 4 and a half stars, with a lot of very positive comments to go along.

I was sold.   I later brought Mrs. BlastFromThePast back to Wal-Mart to see the items, and floated the idea of perhaps getting one or two of the cabinets for the basement shop. She was thrilled at the idea that I wanted to take steps toward cleaning up the chaos there.

After doing a little comparison shopping of similar shop furniture at other stores, I was still drawn to those at Wally World. I just liked the overall look and features they included.

We ended up purchasing three of the storage cabinets and two of the workbenches.

The past few evenings have been spent assembling some of the new all-steel shop furniture.  As I suspected, the items are extremely well-engineered, easy to assemble, and packed with a lot of great features I have not seen with other commercially-made shop fixtures.  And the price point is not too shabby either.

Here are a few pics of this new adventure.....

A table loaded with displaced wood-shop tools and hardware.

Hey - there's those scissors!   I've been looking all over for those.

The first storage cabinet- assembled and in place.

And, more future fun with a wrench and screwdriver.......

I am totally stoked about getting my new shop space organized and start using this new stuff. 

Maybe even get a few rockets built!

More to come.

One More Project Before Getting Back To Rocket Building.

This week, I was all set to get back to work on the Protostar, when I came across this old microscope that has been banging around in basement storage for quite a long time. 

The device was part of a high school biology lab many years ago, and came into my possession when the building was re-modeled and upgraded. I was working in the School District's electronics/AV/computer lab at the time. The high school sent in a large amount of old lab equipment for disposal, so I was allowed to take home any of it that I wanted, because it was destined for the trash dumpster, anyway.
This device hasn't been used around my house since my kids were in elementary school back in the early 90s.  We used to go out to a nearby pond, gather up a jar of pond water, take it home, put a couple drops on a glass slide, and spend hours looking through the eyepieces at all the interesting little critters swimming around.
I now recognize this device as perhaps another excellent visual enhancement tool for the model rocket workbench.
It does possess one small problem, though...
The focusing mechanism travels only so far before it reaches a spot where it will no longer move.
Time to get into mechanical tinkering mode.
After figuring out how to dis-assemble the piece, my suspicions were confirmed.  A section of the brass rack that runs the focus arm was missing a number of teeth, so the mating pinion gear had nothing to grab onto in that one spot. Doubtless, this was caused by all the use and abuse from numerous high school students over the years it spent in that old lab..
I consulted a McMaster catalog I have hanging around at my workplace to see if I could find a replacement rack.   They had ones with the proper width and tooth pitch that I require, but were only sold in 48 inch sections that cost around a dollar per inch! 
No good...I wasn't about to shell out 50 bucks for what would amount to using a mere 5 inch section of rack material on an obsolete old microscope.
So,  I had to settle for pulling the rack off and turning it end for end, so that the stripped section was away from the most-utilized focusing area.  It works fine, but I just have to remember not to crank the focus arm up too high, else it will get stuck in the dead spot at that point.
While I had the unit apart, I was able to glop a little machine grease on some of the moving parts, and even fix a problem with the on-board incandescent illumination lamp.
The last detail to fix was to find some replacement rubber feet for the microscope's base. The originals were long-lost. This one required a little bit of 'McGyvering' as well.  Just so happens, I have a plastic bag containing an assortment of rubber feet that came off of various pieces of electronic equipment.  The bag yielded a set of four that fit perfectly.  A little super glue and all is well.

I now have another fine optical aid to help in making detailed parts for all those upcoming scale birds.
I might even do that 'pond water critter' thing again, except this time with my young grandkids......

A Look Back At 2018

Hi, Folks,
It's hard to believe that it is 2019 already. Apparently, we are having fun, since time has definitely flown. 
Anyway, This time of year, I always like to take a step back and look at what was accomplished over the past twelve months.

2018 was a considerably busy year for the BlastFromThePast model rocketry operation.

Here are the highlights:

• 7 new model rockets completed and added to the fleet.  (That's a substantial number for someone such as myself, who takes a very long time to finish projects.)
• 4 launch sessions.  22 flights.  2 models lost, none destroyed.   The number of launch sessions conducted was rather low primarily because of the local fire restrictions in place throughout the entire summer.  Also, I'm very particular about what kind of weather conditions I fly in.  Clear, windless days that coincide with my time off from work or other obligations are few and far between.
• A visit to the NAR 60th Year Re-union back in August.  I got to meet all of the hobby royalty and a lot of old-timer and newer rocketeers that make up the core of this great hobby.
• Meeting a couple of old BARs like myself right here in Castle Rock, with whom I have been able to share some rocket flying sessions.
• Completion of getting the model rocket portion of my basement workshop organized and efficiently operational.
• Completion of organizing the lion's share of my vast model rocket resource and reference library.
• And of course, adding a LOT of posts to this blog!

I would like to thank all of you for visiting this humble site.  There is plenty more to come in 2019, so check in often.

Keep 'em flyin'.....

-Ed

My Newest Rocket Building Tool Ever.

Now that the hustle and bustle of the Holiday season is nearly over, I have finally found some time to sit down and write a quick post, and even squeeze in a little shop time to work on some rocket builds.

A few weeks ago, when one of my daughters called asking me what I wanted for a Christmas gift, this device immediately came to mind:

A magnifying lens headset!

Just the thing for an old geezer with not-so-great eyesight to use for seeing that small detail work.

This one comes with several clip-on lenses of differing magnification levels.

It even is equipped with a VERY bright LED illumination lamp, which is kind of irritating to other persons who wish to engage me in conversation while I'm working.  I blind them when I look up at them!

Anyway, this was the perfect addition to the rocket bench tool arsenal.

And, yes, it is exceedingly and delightfully nerdy.

Just the way I like it....

Helping To Keep The Hobby Going

Even though I am not currently a member of the NAR, I firmly believe in the 'Pay Forward' mantra espoused by the organization.
In the past two and a half years since I've embraced BAR-ism, several of my 'lone wolf' launch sessions at local parks have attracted the attention of other folks who happened to be in the vicinity.
Many of these onlookers had never seen a model rocket before.  They asked a lot of questions, expressed a genuine interest in the activity, and asked how they could get started.  I would end up tearing a sheet of paper out of my field notebook and scrawling down some information to give them.

Not entirely efficient.

So, this week I took some time to sit down in front of the ol' PC and make these:

I plan to carry a dozen or so of these in my field notebook to have ready to hand out to interested potential new rocketeers who happen to stroll by during my launch sessions.

The sheets feature my contact info including the URL to this blog.

Also included are:

• The NAR website
• The three major model rocket club/NAR sections along the Colorado Front Range.
• Information on where to buy model rockets locally.
• The two main online rocketry forums.

On the back of each sheet is a copy of the model rocket Safety Code.

I figure this should be ample resource information to get anyone started.

It certainly doesn't hurt to attempt bringing in new blood to this great hobby of ours.

"Jump in, folks...The water's fine !!!"

Now...Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Program....

This past weekend, the BlastFromThePast shop became fully operational again.

An intensive 'Shock and Awe' barrage of medications launched at that nasty cough has started showing its effects.

The first order of business was to re-arrange the rocket-building bench (again) to accommodate the installation of a small bookshelf stereo set, a DVD player, and a small TV monitor.  Even though I generally prefer to have peace and solitude while working in the shop, there are those few occasions where I like to have music or a good concert DVD going.

Once set up, I went back to work on the Steampunk Protostar, consisting of forming more rivet panel detailing on the fins.  There wasn't anything new enough here to dedicate another build series post.

The weekend's biggest accomplishment was in sitting down and planning out the model rocketry project list for 2019. Here is a pic of all the kits in the queue waiting to be assembled:

Next year will be fairly heavy on scale models.  In addition to the ones shown here, I will be picking up the new Estes Saturn V. I never built one of those in my 'old fleet' days, so it's high time I tackle that one. Also looking to purchase a Mercury Little Joe, and maybe a Black Brant III.

Aside from scale birds, I still have an Orbital Transport partially completed, and a parts kit assembled for a scratch-built EAC Viper. 

Being a glutton for punishment, I have another FlatCat in the works, except this one will be modified as a sliding wing R/G.

Oh, and there's also that must-have-in-the-fleet 60th Anniversary Alpha! 

If time permits, there are a couple re-builds of some old fleet favorites to throw in the mix, as well.

Besides rocket builds, I plan to pull out one of those PA monitor stands I procured last year and turn it into a heavy duty launcher for the bigger birds on the build list.

Finally, I must design and build a new launch controller that can handle cluster ignition.  I may go with a relay system with that one.

Anyway, it appears that 2019 is shaping up to be quite a busy rocketry year for this old geezer, with plenty of new posting fodder for the BFTP blog!

Cheers.