Brief:
This is a custom-turned and finished poplar nosecone that was made for me by Gordon (Gordy) Agnello, a.k.a. sandman on The Rocketry Forum. I know a cone is not normally a part that would warrant its own review, but I really wanted to highlight Gordy’s work. He does great custom work, but doesn’t have much of a web presence as far as vendors go. If you get a chance, pop on over to TRF and poke around to see more of his work. You can also contact him at gagnello@yahoo.com

Construction:
I had seen Gordy’s work on TRF and decided I wanted a hardwood cone for an upcoming project (a review will be posted once it flies). I chose hardwood for two reasons. First, I had never used hardwood for anything bigger than a MicroMaxx cone and just want to use one. Second, I wanted to keep the raw wood look. The cone is 2.6-inches in diameter (BT-80), 5.5-inches long, and has a 1.25-inch shoulder. One thing I liked about working with Gordy is that he will advise you on what you are doing. He pointed out that the cone would be heavy, so he also offered to drill a 2.25-inch hole to lighten it up. Now that is one big honkin’ hole! I had been pondering how to attach the shock cord to this cone until it arrived…he also installed an eye-bolt in the cone.

Finishing:
Gordy scratch-builds wooden sailboats, so he is as much an expert on finishing as he is turning cones. When he heard that I wanted the raw wood look, he also offered to finish the cone [for a reasonable price, of course ;-)]. He gave the cone three coats of finishing epoxy, which turned the cone a beautiful amber color. To protect the clarity, he gave it a similar number of coats of marine-grade, UV protected varnish. My photos don’t do justice to this cone.

I rate his work a solid ‘5!’

Summary:
Like I said earlier, there isn’t much to say about a cone. This one was delivered promptly (it took a while because of the multiple finishing steps), looks fantastic, and fits well. It isn’t as cheap as a plastic cone, but it’s hard to come by custom plastic cones. Now you probably understand where the title sandman came from. If it’s made out of wood and goes on a rocket, he can most likely hook you up.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5