Boring out Tornado Tubes

[Spaceman Spiff]

Does anyone have any ideas how to bore out the inside of a Tornado tube to make the hole bigger without ruining the tube? I only have hand tools, so I can't get the drill to stay in the center of the bore and it will veer off to one side and it won't be centered. I am being careful, but once the drill goes off center, I can't get it back and it usually causes the seal to leak at the joint because the rim where the bottle seats is not circular anymore. I get about a 50% failure rate no matter how carefully I go at it.

[Blenderite]

I would either choose a drill press or lathe, if you got access to either of those.

[Team Seneca]

Does anyone have any ideas how to bore out the inside of a Tornado tube to make the hole bigger without ruining the tube? I only have hand tools, so I can't get the drill to stay in the center of the bore and it will veer off to one side and it won't be centered. I am being careful, but once the drill goes off center, I can't get it back and it usually causes the seal to leak at the joint because the rim where the bottle seats is not circular anymore. I get about a 50% failure rate no matter how carefully I go at it.

You need to find a STEP DRILL bit. This special drill bit resembles a cone that tapers in steps. Each step makes a hole a bit larger than the previous one, but is designed so that the current step centers the bit as you drill the next one. Harbor Freight sells a cheap one that probably would dull in minutes if you use it on metal, but for plastic it will last forever. The step is probably not going to be deep enough to go clean through the thick section inside the center of a tornado tube, but you can probably get a whole hole *very punny* by drilling in from each side. If not, it would still give clean lips where the bottles meet and you could hack out the part you can't reach with any regular drill.

[Water Rocket Expert]

Hey guys I got an idea. Has anyone thought of making a two stage rocket with fish pump tank tubing. Just like antigravity. Plug the tube and use it as the nipple with a small hole in it.

[Team Seneca]

Hey guys I got an idea. Has anyone thought of making a two stage rocket with fish pump tank tubing. Just like antigravity. Plug the tube and use it as the nipple with a small hole in it.

There is a design called CRUSHING SLEEVE that uses rubber tubing to hold the stages together. Is that the sort of thing you had in mind? Antigravity uses a swelled nipple which I don't think you can make from tubing because it does not expand like the nipple they use. You need a sleeve to get more friction.

[Water Rocket Expert]

No well actually the tubing I was using worked well because I tried it i=on my ozone probe and it worked fine. I just have to try to make my own rocket. The way to make it more stretchy is you have to use a heat gun on it.

[Spaceman Spiff]

No well actually the tubing I was using worked well because I tried it i=on my ozone probe and it worked fine. I just have to try to make my own rocket. The way to make it more stretchy is you have to use a heat gun on it.

Can you adjust the fish tank hose diameter with the heat gun? I want to make it thinner. I want a tiny hose for a new idea I want to test. Can I heat it and pull it and have it get narrow and it will stay that way when it cools off?

[Water Rocket Expert]

I haven't tried shrinking it but it will stay the same size if you can find a way to make it smaller. I use a pencil or pressure to make it bigger.

[U.S. Water Rockets1]

Does anyone have any ideas how to bore out the inside of a Tornado tube to make the hole bigger without ruining the tube? I only have hand tools, so I can't get the drill to stay in the center of the bore and it will veer off to one side and it won't be centered. I am being careful, but once the drill goes off center, I can't get it back and it usually causes the seal to leak at the joint because the rim where the bottle seats is not circular anymore. I get about a 50% failure rate no matter how carefully I go at it.

You need to find a STEP DRILL bit. This special drill bit resembles a cone that tapers in steps. Each step makes a hole a bit larger than the previous one, but is designed so that the current step centers the bit as you drill the next one. Harbor Freight sells a cheap one that probably would dull in minutes if you use it on metal, but for plastic it will last forever. The step is probably not going to be deep enough to go clean through the thick section inside the center of a tornado tube, but you can probably get a whole hole *very punny* by drilling in from each side. If not, it would still give clean lips where the bottles meet and you could hack out the part you can't reach with any regular drill.

That's a good idea! You could probably get a regular bit that matches the diameter of the step drill segment you want and then bore the hole from each end with the step bit and then take out the portion you can't reach with the regular drill bit. The partially drilled part would center the drill bit because you have the same size drill as the hole that is partly drilled.

[bugwubber]

Does anyone have any ideas how to bore out the inside of a Tornado tube to make the hole bigger without ruining the tube? I only have hand tools, so I can't get the drill to stay in the center of the bore and it will veer off to one side and it won't be centered. I am being careful, but once the drill goes off center, I can't get it back and it usually causes the seal to leak at the joint because the rim where the bottle seats is not circular anymore. I get about a 50% failure rate no matter how carefully I go at it.

I made a crib with slat rails with "only" a circular saw and router. You just need guides.

Here's how I do it:

CAM00229.jpg (2.49 MiB) Viewed 111 times

Chopped off bottle neck, screwed into cap or tornado tube. 1/2" pvc spacer ring, 5/8" forstner bit.

[Water Rocket Expert]

Tornado tubes are too expensive for me.

[bugwubber]

Tornado tubes are too expensive for me.

No need to buy them when you can make your own.
No need to make your own when you can just buy them.

Neither statement is wrong but which one is right depends entirely on the individual.


Bugwubber

[Water Rocket Expert]

Key words are "for me."

[bugwubber]

Key words are "for me."

Exactly!

[Reptiglorandrockets]

Tornado tubes are too expensive for me.

You can buy a $57 water rocket that you could have made for half the price, but you can't buy a $1.99 tornado tube? Seems kinda odd to me.