El Cheapo Sugar Rockets

New to rocket making? Here's the perfect rocket project for you to start with. It uses
basic rocket tooling that you can make in a few minutes at home.

These sugar bottle rockets were invented by Dave Sleeter. He wrote a big book on
making rockets, so he knows a thing or two.

Making the propellant

Here's the fuel for the Sleeter Sugar Rocket.

Sleeter Sugar Rocket Fuel

 Potassium Nitrate – 63
 Sugar – 27
 Sulfur* – 10

*You can use a pinch of red iron oxide in place of the sulfur.

All parts by weight

Grind each chemical separately, fluffy fine using a coffee mill.

Then weigh each of the chemicals into a small plastic container which has a tight-fitting
lid. Put the cap on the container. Shake the chemicals in the container vigorously for
about 3 minutes. Pour the chemical mixture though a 20-mesh screen pr kitchen
strainer to break up any lumps. Then put then back into the container, shake some
more, and repeat the shaking-screening process 3 times.

The finished propellant will be a pale-yellow colored powder.

Note: This particular mixture of chemicals can absorb moisture out of the air. Keep the
lid on. It can be stored indefinitely.

Making the Casings

Now you need to find or make a parallel tube that is 1/4-inch inside diameter x 2-inches
long. Tubes this small are very easy to roll using gummed paper tape or even strips cut
from a grocery bag, glued with a little white Elmer 's or even a glue-stick.

To roll your own, first get a 1/4-inch diameter x 4-inch long wooden dowel. To make
sure the tubes do not stick to the dowel, wrap a piece of clear plastic packing tape
around the dowel. This will give you a nice smooth surface.
Cut a strip of gummed paper tape or brown kraft paper from a grocery bag about 10
inches long x 2 inches wide and lay it on a smooth, flat surface.

If you 're using gummed paper tape:

Using a slightly damp sponge, moisten the tape except for the last inch. Starting at the
dry end, roll the gummed paper tape strip around the dowel, trying to keep the edges
nice and square.

If you 're using strips of paper cut from a grocery bag:

Apply a very thin layer of glue to the paper strip, leaving the last inch dry. Starting with
the dry end, roll the paper tightly around the dowel, trying to keep the edges nice and
square.

It may take a little practice. But if the tape/paper is not too damp, the tube should hold
together and stay rolled up right away. If it doesn't a little piece of scotch tape can keep
it together while it dries. Allow a day to dry.

Making the Rockets

If you were to simply load this propellant into a cardboard tube with a hole in one end, it
would burn too slowly to allow a rocket to fly. To get this slow-burning fuel to propel your
device into the air, you need to get the powder to burn faster. And you do that by
making a core through the middle of the propellant in the tube. Such rockets are called
“core-burners.” They are perfect for slow-burning, homemade propellants.

You have two simple options for making your rockets. Either you can ram them solid
with fuel and drill though the nozzle to create a core. Or you can make a simple rocket
tool and form the fuel around a hollow core.

How to Make Simple Rocket Tooling

To make the tooling get a 3/32-inch thick finishing nail that is 2.25-Inches long.

Cut a 2×2-inch square of 3/8-inch plywood. Drill a 1/4-inch hole though the center. Now
cut a 3/4-inch length of 1/4 inch dowel. Very carefully drill a 3/32ths hole right down
through the center of this little dowel. This will hold the spindle dead center in your tube
so it’s important that the hole is straight and centered. Now glue the dowel into the hole
you drilled in the plywood base. Finally, tap the nail though this hole.

Assembling 2×2 Plywood Base, Hollow Dowel for Nozzle, and Finishing Nail Spindle

We will also need two rammers: a solid rammer and a hollow rammer.

Cut two 4-inch lengths of 1/4-inch dowel. In one of the dowels drill a 1/8-inch hole about
2-inches deep–again dead center. If you have access to a drill press and vise this is a
pretty simple procedure. But even if you don 't, after a couple of careful tries you should
get it right.

Solid and Hollow Wooden Rammers

Ramming the Engines
Place a rocket tube onto your homemade rocket tooling. Add 1/8 teaspoon of dry
bentonite clay. You can make a simple funnel using a piece of paper. Using your hollow
rammer, give a few firm taps with a hammer to pack the clay tightly.

Next, repeat the ramming steps using the hollow rammer to pack rocket fuel until the
spindle nail is completely covered. Once the fuel is above the spindle, then add another
1/8 teaspoon of clay to form a bulkhead.

The easiest way to fly one of these little rockets is to simply glue or tape it onto the end
of a stick. Bamboo skewers make great rocket sticks. Because the core on these little
rockets is so small you will need to use thin fuse to ignite them. Cut a 5 inch piece of
cross-match or other thin Visco. Insert it all the way up into the core, then tape the fuse
to the stick using a small bit of tape.

Insert your rocket into a launch tube and let ‘er fly.
 How to Make Model Rockets
The Skylighter Model Rocket Kit allows you to build your own model rockets from
scratch. EVEN THE ROCKET MOTORS. In this article, we will guide you through the
process to build and fly model rockets similar to the ones you can buy in hobby shops.
The engines you will build have a thrust output similar to a Estes A8-3 rocket motor
which is a perfect flight profile for smaller launch fields.

The optional companion kit comes with a rocket tool set for ramming your own rocket
nozzles and rocket fuel into the motor tubes, as well as the parts needed to build and fly
3 rockets and construct 50 rocket motors.

You will need some basic supplies such as glue, dental floss and a little FFg sporting
black powder for the ejection charges on the motors. In the next section we will outline
your shopping list so you have all the materials needed on-hand and a prepared, safe
work space before starting the project.
Workspace:

 Sturdy table
 Concrete or brick ledge

Tools:
(Most of these items can be found at your local Walmart or any home improvement
store)

 Scissors
 7/64" drill bit
 Retractable blade or box cutting blade
 Dead blow hammer
 Leather Gloves
 Small Funnel
 Ruler
 Sharpie
 Hot glue gun and glue sticks
  Cookie cooling wire rack
 Digital scale, good up to 500g or more
 Electric coffee grinder (for potassium nitrate ONLY)

Supplies:
(Most of these items can be found at your local Walmart or grocery store)

 Sandwich size Ziploc baggies

 Popsicle sticks
 Paper or plastic weighing cups (4oz or 5oz work well)
 Garbage bag liner (ie: new, unopened 13 gallon trash bag)
 Dental Floss (low wax or non-wax type, Glide brand works well)
 Computer paper
 Packing Tape
 Glue
 Water spray bottle
 Paper Towels
 Baking Soda
 Goex FFg grade Black Powder (from your local sporting goods store)

Skylighter Parts: (All of the rocketry supplies can be purchased from Skylighter
including two convenient kits which provide all of the pyrotechnic supplies needed for
this project.)

 Skylighter's Model Rocket Kit

(Makes 3 rocket airframes and 48 engines)
[Link]

 Optional: Skylighter's Black Powder Kit

(for making the FFg grade black powder used for ejection charges)
[Link]

GET YOUR WORKSPACE READY

Go ahead and lay out the supplies from the kit on a sturdy table, outdoors, preferably on
a not-too-windy day. An easy-up canopy works great as shade.

MAKING THE ROCKET MOTORS

The coolest thing about this model rocket kit is you get to make your own rocket motors!
There is a bit of an art to it, but with a little practice, you can make some powerful
motors that launch your rockets high into the sky. With a little practice you will be
constructing motors with ease for considerably less than the cost at your local hobby
shop. If you need a refill of the rocket motor casings, rocket fuel chemicals, and a few
more rockets, check out Skylighter's refill kit for this project.

Setting up the Tooling for the Motors

Within your supplies kit you will find a set of tooling used to perfectly form your model rocket
engines. This tooling is the heart of the kit and comes disassembled for ease of storage and to
keep it from being damaged.

The tooling consists of the following parts:

 A Circular Base to keep the tooling stable.

 A Spindle to form the nozzle and cored fuel grain.
 2 Rammers (frequently called drifts) - One solid and one hollow to consolidate
the nozzle and fuel grain.
 And finally a bolt to hold it all together.
Take the spindle and put the fat base of the spindle into the hole on the large aluminum
circular base. Holding these two parts together, flip the circular base over, and thread
the fastening bolt into the bottom hole of the circular base. The bolt should engage the
threads of the spindle and bring those two pieces together. Finish tightening the bolt up
with the hex key until it is snug and secure (there is no need to over tighten).
You should end up with a solid circular base securely fixed to your spindle, like this:

This tooling if treated well will be used to make countless rocket motors for years to come!

Understanding Rocket Fuel and the Motor Design

Here is where you will go from being an interested party to a rocket scientist or at least
able to construct a motor capable of flying a model to great heights!
 Note: Nozzle BULGE?? This is an important feature and we'll get to that part soon.

The tooling in this kit makes a core-burning fuel grain. A core-burning fuel grain allows
us to control the amount of rocket fuel which is burning over the duration of the burn.
This is referred to as the burn profile, and in this case we are designing a progressive
burn with a delay burn at the end.

If you look at the surface area and imagine the fuel burning away on all exposed
surfaces at the same rate you'll see the surface area increasing, then when the cored
section is consumed a sudden decrease. This allows the motor to generate a rising
thrust profile (pressure) until the rocket is at its maximum speed, then the rocket will
coast until the ejection charge is reached.

Let's look at it another way: Most of the rocket fuel grain is consumed quickly in the
beginning since there is a hollow core that goes up the middle of the grain. This creates
the strong jet that pushes your model rocket quickly up into the sky. The remaining fuel
grain portion that is packed solid on top of the core section then burns with less thrust,
and acts as a delay fuel, letting the rocket glide for a while before the ejection charge
ends the flight. The picture below is a snapshot of the transition from the “thrust” stage
to the “delay” stage, where the motor goes from a core-burning type to an end-burning
type.

With this design there is no need for a “delay” composition. You can use one rocket fuel
formula for both the thrust and the delay. Pretty neat, huh?
Making the Rocket Fuel

Before you start, get the supplies laid out to make sure you are not missing anything.
Rocket fuel by definition burns “explosively” fast. So we want to limit the time this fuel is
in loose form outside of the motors.

Pro Tip: As mentioned before we should be performing this step outside on a wind-free
day. Our goal is to work mindfully avoiding any sources of accidental ignition. This
means no smoking, no sources of flame, static or sparks. Look around your work area
and remove any items that are not needed so you have room to work and an
uncluttered environment. Lastly smart rocketeers change into cotton clothing which
covers exposed skin. This way if there was to be an accidental ignition you have
protected your skin from the heat of combustion.

Tools & Supplies:

 Digital scale, good up to 500g or more

 Electric coffee grinder (for potassium nitrate ONLY)
 Drill and 7/64" Drill bit
 Dead blow hammer
 Sharpie (for marking things up)
 Ziploc baggies (Sandwich size are good)
 Popsicle sticks
 Weighing cups (4oz or 5oz work well)
 Small Funnel
 Measuring Spoon (1/4 tsp)
 Safety Goggles
 Potassium Nitrate
 Charcoal powder
 Sulfur powder
These rocket motors work well with the following fuel formulation:

Making the Rocket Fuel

First, take some of the potassium nitrate from the kit, and scoop it into a coffee grinder
and grind it really fine in short 5~10 second bursts, shaking and tapping between each
burst. Our goal here is to reduce the potassium nitrate into a flour like fine powder. It's
not possible to over grind the potassium nitrate. Take your time on this step. It's critical
to the proper function of your motors. Coarse potassium nitrate will not produce the
thrust needed for your rockets to fly.

Note: You should NEVER grind a mixture of an oxidizer and a fuel. Only grind the
potassium nitrate alone, never mixed with the charcoal or sulfur.

The sulfur and charcoal fuels that come in the kit are already ground fine enough for the
rocket fuel and can be used as is.

Using a popsicle stick, weigh out the ground up potassium nitrate (KNO3) into a
weighing cup placed on a digital scale. Add it to a plastic baggie. Use the sharpie to
label the bag.
Do the same for the charcoal and sulfur and add it to the rocket fuel baggie. Once you
have your nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur added to the baggie, remove any dust that may
have found its way into the zipper of the baggie, then seal the baggie really well.

Note: Now that your potassium nitrate is ground, and all chemicals are weighed out we
are ready to clear our area of electrical cords, coffee grinder, and the scale. Our goal
should be before we have any rocket fuel made to remove any sources of ignition.

With your chemicals weighed out, and your bag sealed, spend a few minutes really
mixing this fuel up, making sure to rub and smear the powders together with your
fingers until they are mixed up uniformly. The better the three ingredients are mixed the
faster and more effective your rocket fuel will be. Undermixed fuel will burn slowly and
not produce enough thrust to fly your rocket.
Pro Tip: Undermixed fuel is the number 1 cause of poor performing rockets! If your
rocket engines lack the energy to fly fast and high check back to this step and make
sure you have thoroughly mixed the three ingredients.

Before you move on try this simple check. Put some rocket fuel powder into another
weighing cup, to check for any clumps. Powder should be smooth and blackish-grey
without clumps visible. If you can see any clumps or a non uniform color it's time to go
back to mixing until your mixture is completely homogeneous.
 Congratulations!
You have just made honest to goodness rocket fuel!
As such you should from this point forward treat it with the respect that it deserves. Avoid
sources of ignition, static and when handling it wear long sleeve, cotton shirts and safety
glasses when appropriate.

Making the Clay Nozzles

The rockets you are about to create produce a strong thrust of very erosive gasses! We
want to channel and restrict these gasses with strong durable nozzles which can hold
up to such conditions. We are going to make a nozzle mix which is strong and resistant
to changes in humidity.

First, the bentonite clay powder in the kit has to be heated and thoroughly mixed hot
with wax or petroleum jelly to make it into material suitable to form a strong nozzle. This
preparation is conveniently done in a kitchen, as it does not involve any hazardous
materials.

Workspace:
  Sturdy table
 Kitchen with Oven set at 350F

Tools:
(Most of these items can be found at your local Walmart or any home improvement store)

 Can opener
 Flat head screwdriver
 Digital scale, good up to 500g / 16 oz or more
 Blunt butter knife for mixing
 Foil-lined cookie baking sheet
 Hot mitts and hot pad

Materials:
(Most of these items can be found at your local Walmart or any home improvement store)

 Skylighter Bentonite Clay powder

 Wax Candle (made from paraffin wax) or petroleum jelly
 Empty, cleaned out soda pop can (7.5oz or 12oz both work fine)
 Aluminum foil
 Wooden popsicle sticks (for scooping out clay and petroleum jelly)
 Storage container, such as a snap-lid container or a plastic zipper baggie for storing your
greased up clay powder

To do this, we start with a soda pop can, and remove the top of the can to form a convenient
mixing container.
A can opener works to remove the top from a soda pop can. (Careful!! Sharp edges will
remain on the lid. Wrap sharp lid in aluminum foil and dispose of lid so no one gets cut)

The process works with either petroleum jelly, or paraffin wax. Both additives will
produce a final clay powder that will compact into strong rocket nozzles for your motors.

Okay, here’s the breakdown of the composition for the clay/wax or clay/petroleum jelly.
You need 13 weight percent of either wax or petroleum jelly in this clay mixture for the
nozzles to work properly.

We made a 2 oz batch using petroleum jelly in a 7.5 oz soda pop can, and a 4oz
batch using candle wax in a 12 oz soda pop can.

You can scale your batch sizes as you deem necessary. You can get at least 14 rocket
nozzles made from a 2oz batch. So, a 4 oz batch will give you plenty of clay to make at
least 25 rocket motors (a whole bag of rocket motor tubes!) The heating times get
longer with a larger batch size of clay, so these are just suggestions to get you started.

Start by zeroing out your scale with the opened up can on it.

Candle wax (left) or petroleum jelly (right) are shown as examples. The process is the same
whether you choose to use wax or petroleum jelly. Both processes result in nozzles that are
suitable for these rocket motors (We are not advertising Dr Pepper, it’s just what we had on
hand!)

The process using Vaseline is easy. Just add your clay powder into the can, then use a wood
popsicle stick to scrape some jelly on the inside edge of the can over the clay until you have the
right amount.
For the candle wax, you can do something similar, but you’ll need to use a screwdriver instead
to scoop out the wax in bits and pieces and add it to the clay powder. Start with weighing out the
wax pieces first, then add in the clay.

Clay and wax in can (left), or clay and petroleum jelly in can (right)

Whether you choose wax or petroleum jelly, heat your can in the oven. If using
petroleum jelly, the blob of jelly should melt and fall in, on top of the clay powder. Using
wax will result in the same outcome, and you’ll have pieces of wax that melt and
dissolve into the clay powder just like the petroleum jelly.
If you heated and mixed it really well, you will notice the clay powder will soak up the
wax or petroleum jelly like magic! It will turn back into a powdery consistency. This
indicates you have completely incorporated the additive into the clay powder, and you
are ready to cool it.

Carefully pour the mixture out onto an aluminum foil lined baking pan. The powder
should spread out and appear dry and free-flowing if you mixed it up well enough.

The clay powder with your additive (wax or petroleum jelly) will flow just like the clay powder out
of the bag when cooled. After this powder cools down, go ahead and store it in a small storage
container and label it as such for making rocket motors (next section!)...