Rocketeer buckles cast in real metal

[DavidJGuyton]

I figured out a way to cast the fabled and elusive Rocketeer buckles in real metal. As any of you die hard fans know, the original buckles are so rare that they might as well be made of pure gold. These, however, are pewter. Instead of trying to recreate the exact mechanism, I simplified it drastically. Instead of latches and springs and pivots and clasps, I made each buckle as two separate parts. On each part, there are either a set of prongs or a set of corresponding holes. There are also rare earth magnets embedded on both sides. The magnets hold the prongs in the holes, and the prongs provide the necessary strength. Since the entirety of the weight of the rocketpack (my metal ones weigh in at about 27 lbs), rests on your shoulders and not the buckles, there is almost no lateral load applied to the buckles. The magnets are plenty strong enough to do the job.

Figuring out how to cast them and make it work was a long and expensive ordeal. Each set requires a lot of cleanup, polishing and weathering to finish.

If you are interested in learning more about my all aluminum Cirrus X3 Rocketpack builds, make sure to see my thread dedicated specifically to that here on the RPF.

 

[joberg]

Yep, those were stamped metal and rivets and, as you said, rare and expensive Yours are, for sure, a very good plan B for Fin Heads

 

[gregday]

Got mine and they are pretty fantastic and a wonderful addition to the Guyton metal rocketpack, or any other pack. "Rare" doesn't even begin to describe the original buckles. I believe to date, only 4 originals have been located.

I had planned on getting a resin cast or plastic printed replica buckle, but this is way cooler.

 

[cjunco1937]

Amazing job

I figured out a way to cast the fabled and elusive Rocketeer buckles in real metal. As any of you die hard fans know, the original buckles are so rare that they might as well be made of pure gold. These, however, are pewter. Instead of trying to recreate the exact mechanism, I simplified it drastically. Instead of latches and springs and pivots and clasps, I made each buckle as two separate parts. On each part, there are either a set of prongs or a set of corresponding holes. There are also rare earth magnets embedded on both sides. The magnets hold the prongs in the holes, and the prongs provide the necessary strength. Since the entirety of the weight of the rocketpack (my metal ones weigh in at about 27 lbs), rests on your shoulders and not the buckles, there is almost no lateral load applied to the buckles. The magnets are plenty strong enough to do the job.

Figuring out how to cast them and make it work was a long and expensive ordeal. Each set requires a lot of cleanup, polishing and weathering to finish.

If you are interested in learning more about my all aluminum Cirrus X3 Rocketpack builds, make sure to see my thread dedicated specifically to that here on the RPF.

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amazing job!

 

[gregday]

Wore my Guyton rocketpack with these buckles to the work costume event and they held up great, for anyone wondering how they perform in real use.