Estes V2 Build Part 14 Gluing in the Engine Mount

I used a prototype of the upcoming Odd'l Rockets FINTOOL to hold the fins in alignment.
Note the FINTOOL centers the engine hook between two fins.
There is no glue holding the fins on right now. It's like having an extra hand.





I ended up sanding off the small rear notch on the lower fin tab.
Above the notch the TTW fin will be glued onto the engine hook retainer ring.
That and the upper tab willl give it plenty of glue area to hold onto.

With the small notch removed I got a better fit of the curved root edge against the plastic boat tail.

TIP: I'd recommend using Epoxy glue on the engine mount. CA (super glue) gets brittle over time and white glue will "pucker" the tube. You'll end up with a recessed ring where the white glue dried on the inside.

Look close and you can see a ring of epoxy around the lower inside edge of the middle centering ring. This glue ring will sit on the shoulder edge of the boat tail.

The instructions have you use CA glue to attach the engine mount in the plastic boat tail. I wanted to avoid any chance of the CA glue getting brittle and coming apart a few months down the road.

I didn't use any glue on the lower, smaller ring inside the bottom of the mount. With all the other epoxy joints above it, it didn't seem necessary.

The glued ring was taped down onto the boat tail shoulder edge for drying.
Be sure it is centered! Keep excess epoxy off the plastic shoulder.

The elastic shock cord had already been tied onto the Kevlar loops. It was rolled up and stored out of the way in the motor mount tube.