This budget 3/4" PVC rocket work stand project served two purposes: first, a place to put my new AMRAAM 4 now that it was nearing completion, and secondly, getting the satisfaction of doing something rocket-related on a cold Saturday in October. The fact that the stand was put together for less than $5 was a bonus.

Materials

Nothing fancy here. Materials consisted of:

(2) 3/4" Sticks of PVC (smaller stands can get by with one)
(2) 3/4" 4-way crosses
(4) 3/4" 90 degree elbows
(4) 3/4" Slip fit end caps
(1) 3/4" Split foam pipe insulation
(16) Utility ties

Construction

I cut my PVC with a 10" Delta bench saw which gave nice straight, effortless cuts. Don't do this with your best blade and make sure to wear some eye protection. Some type of mask is also recommended as there gets to be quite a lot of stuff flying around.

I chose to assemble my project without any glue. I wanted to be able to break down the stand for easy storage and transport. The slip fit method seems more than adequate for a stand this size.

The split foam pipe insulation was cut to length and each section fastened with two utility ties. I've seen electrical tape used in place of the utility ties, but I wanted to go for a little cleaner look. The insulation on the long base sections will not slide once they are firmly tie-wrapped.

Future Plans

Although this project stand was built for my AMRAAM 4, shorter base sections could be cut and then substituted for the current long base sections as needed, fitting a wide variety of rockets