Perfect Water Rocket Bottle Cutting.
Introduction:
Nearly every water rocket design that you can construct will involve some sort of bottle cutting. Whether you are making a nosecone or fairing or attempting to splice bottles together to make a larger volume, you will want to easily make perfectly straight cut bottles. This tutorial will show you an easy method for getting perfect cuts every time.If you strive to make your cuts as perfect as possible, all subsequent steps of water rocket construction will be easier and have better results.
Step 1:
Fasten enough sheets of paper together (with the edges matched up and perfectly parallel) to wrap completely around the circumference of your bottle. If you have a large enough sheet of paper to circle the bottle then you can skip this step. Secure the paper to the bottle with the mating edges of the paper aligned with each other and the place you wish to cut the bottle.Gallery
Step 2:
Using the edge of the paper as a guide, draw a line around the circumference of the bottle with your felt-tipped marking pen. Now you can remove the paper and check your work. You can erase any mistakes by wiping with rubbing alcohol or mineral spirits. If you use mineral spirits you may need to wash the oily residue off before using the bottle again.Step 3:
Cut the bottle 1/4 to 1/2 inch away from the marker line on the side of the bottle that is being discarded. This will make the actual cut line much more accurate because the unused portion of the bottle will not be interfering with the scissors when making the cut. You may now make the cut following the marker line more accurately.Tip: If you cut the bottle on the side farthest away from your body, the cut will be much easier. Look through the bottle as you cut along the far edge. The top blade of the scissors can follow the line more accurately this way because it pushes the removed material out of the way.
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Step 4:
Clean off the marker guide line using rubbing alcohol or mineral spirits. If you use mineral spirits then you should wash and dry the oily residue off before using the bottle. You have now created a perfectly cut bottle for water rocket fabrication. Using this method, you will rapidly become very proficient and will be able to produce large quantities of bottle components for complex rockets in a short time.