Before gluing the balsa parts to the body, I also wanted to prime the body tube. The body tube seams were already filled with thinned Carpenter's Wood Filler and sanded smooth. Next, the spray primer will fill any of the remaining seam.
I cut thin strips of masking tape to cover the root edge gluing surfaces on the body tube. As mentioned in the last post, I am filling and priming the balsa pieces before gluing them to the body tube.
Notice the center tick marks between the ports. The balsa reinforcement strips will also have a center mark.
It's just easier to to match up the marks before the glue has a chance to set up.
NOTE: This is not as strong a glue bond as gluing the fins directly to the body and THEN priming and painting. This is just another way to "pre-finish" a rocket.
Masking off the root edge areas of the tube will give me a stronger gluing surface. I'll have a raw balsa root edge glued to the masked areas on the body tube. I've also stuffed small pieces of paper towel into the ports to keep paint out of the body tube.
The base of the nose cone got a coat of 15 minute epoxy to protect it from the ejection charge. After drying, the nose cone was glued in the body tube with epoxy.
BE SURE THE HOOKS IN THE NOSE CONE ARE CENTERED BETWEEN THE PORTS!
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