How I make my own rocket motors

This blog is a step-by-step walk-through of the process I use to make my own rocket motors. If you're interested in the design/test process of the motor, check out this page. The  motor that I build here is the same as I usually make, except it has one difference - it has a plastic piece attached to the outside so that it can be put into my 3D printed rocket. This motor uses dry fuel; I am working on making one that uses liquid fuel, which should work even better than this one.

Step 1. I cut out the case for the motor from a long pvc pipe:

Step 2. I marked the screw holes on the sides of the caps, and the nozzle hole on the top of one of the caps. The nozzle is where the blast of the motor will come from:

Here are the three different drill bits I used; the largest one is for the nozzle, and the two smaller ones are for the two types of screws:

Step 3. I drilled all of the holes, screwed on the cap with the nozzle, and attached the plastic piece onto the case:

Step 4. I made the fuel for the rocket motor. It is 65% potassium nitrate, and 35% powdered sugar. I then mixed and sifted it:

Step 5. I poured and packed the fuel into the motor:

Step 6. I screwed the back cap onto the motor:

Step 7. I took the motor off of the rod, and it is done! Now it can be placed into the rocket for use.

Step 8. I made an igniter for this motor using a matchstick and two copper wires:

Here is the motor in action. It is astonishing how powerful it is: