Cyclone Centering Ring Construction

                     CYCLONE
PHOTOS               DESIGN               CONSTRUCTION                 VIDEO

Fins     Centering Rings     Fin Can     Motor Tubes    Booster Section

Aft Electronics Bay    Airframe    Forward Electronics Bay    Nosecone

The centering rings were cut out of 3/8" and 5/8" baltic birch plywood. We first marked out all of the holes on the aft centering rings and then we cut the rings for the booster section using a Jasper Jig #300 from Rockler Woodworking & Hardware. We drilled a 1/8" hole in the center of the ring and then we set the jig for 8". We installed a 1/4" plunge router bit from McMaster-Carr in the router and then we spin the jig around the circle using the pin as the center point to make the cut out.

We cut out the centering rings for the 75mm main motor tube using a Jasper Jig # 400 from Rockler Woodworking & Hardware. We used a wood screw to temporarily hold the ring to the sawhorse while we cut out the hole. We then used a sanding drum with a drill press to sand the hole so it would fit the motor tube just right. We purchased a kit of sanding drums from McMaster-Carr.

To drill the 38mm holes we used a Forstner drill bit from Rockler Woodworking. We clamp the centering rings together and cut scrap pieces of airframe and motor tubing to keep everything in line. After we drill the holes we then use a drum sander to get them exactly to size.