pyroMIKE Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 (edited) Just curious..Would a 1 inch crossette pump be too big for a 6 inch ball shell or should I get one bigger?.. Planning on making some D1,c6,c8, TT, willow stars.. Edited October 11, 2014 by pyroMIKE
schroedinger Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 1" is the right size for such a shell and can be used even in smaller ones. But aou also could go and take one one size bigger.
Mumbles Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 Are you talking about ball shells or cylinder shells? Probably fine for either. 13 or 14 per ring in a 6" cylinder shell. You could probably go up to 1.25" if you wanted to save a little work on them (10 per ring).
dagabu Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 Are you talking about ball shells or cylinder shells? Probably fine for either. 13 or 14 per ring in a 6" cylinder shell. You could probably go up to 1.25" if you wanted to save a little work on them (10 per ring). Where do you draw the line for 3/4" crossettes in a cylinder shell?
pyroMIKE Posted October 11, 2014 Author Posted October 11, 2014 They will go in a 6 inch ball shell..I'll probably go a little bigger then to save on work..I'm thinking 1 1/8 or 1 1/4.Haven't made my mind up yet.Im leaning more on the 1 1/8 since all I will be making are 6 inch ball shells..I dont have any mortars for 5 inch..The next size I use is 4 inch ball shells.I need to get into cylinder shells..All I have ever build are ball shells.
schroedinger Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 MIKE do you have a passfire account? They had lots of informations and ideas for them there when i had an account (10 years ago now, so should have been grown quite a lot).
nater Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 I would think a 3/4" crosette from a faster burning comp would be fine in a 3" cylinder shell. At least, I have been wanting to make a TR inspired shell with small color stars and a ring of 3/4" D1 crosettes.
pyroMIKE Posted October 12, 2014 Author Posted October 12, 2014 Have never been on passfire or fireworking..I think I would rather try my own comps and go from there on my own..My only question here was average size of 6 inch ball shell crossettes and I thank everyone for your speedy comments. More comments would also be appreciated.
ddewees Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 I like working on my own projects/experiments too, but the knowledgeable members at fireworking are incredible, and extremely helpful. You'll also find a lot more active discussions there than anywhere else I've found. Worth the cost of membership for sure.
pyroMIKE Posted October 12, 2014 Author Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) I decided to go with the 1 1/8 Wolter pump.I also got the adjustment rings with it.It looks like an impressive tool..Hope it works as good as it looks.Anyone know where to get graphite spray? Edited October 12, 2014 by pyroMIKE
pyroMIKE Posted October 12, 2014 Author Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) Never mind I found some.. http://www.grainger.com/search?searchQuery=graphite+spray I happen to have a grainger close to the house. Edited October 12, 2014 by pyroMIKE
Bobosan Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 Home Depot also carries graphite spray in hardware dept. Messy black stuff, though.
dagabu Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 I decided to go with the 1 1/8 Wolter pump.I also got the adjustment rings with it.It looks like an impressive tool..Hope it works as good as it looks.Anyone know where to get graphite spray? I haven't had good luck with the spray, I use a little tub of seed graphite to powder the tip, it works much better for me.
pyroMIKE Posted October 12, 2014 Author Posted October 12, 2014 So what is the best easiest lube to use to get the comp from sticking to the tool while removing the star? Or is any even necessary with the Wolten tool?
schroedinger Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 With the wolter tools you won't need any for most things. The easiest to use are either ptfe spray or graphite powder. The ptfe needs will last fkr about 100 stars before you need to replace it, really easy to work with.If you use graphite put it into a little plastic container with a long nose and spray some into the tool every 10 comets, you also can add about 2% to the comp. Why not just use ptfe? Graphite gives much better results when working with comps containing coarse particles.
pyroMIKE Posted October 12, 2014 Author Posted October 12, 2014 One other question..Would using hard metals such as titanium hurt the Wolter pumps? I know using titanium in your comp is not recommended for brass pumps.
dagabu Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 One other question..Would using hard metals such as titanium hurt the Wolter pumps? I know using titanium in your comp is not recommended for brass pumps. I find brass to be the best with Ti, aluminum the worst and the NiTuff coating to be inbetween.
Mumbles Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 Dag. For practical reasons I use 3/4" in 3" and 4" cylinders. 1" in 4"-6". I don't actually own any larger tooling. You can use 3/4" in any size you like really 3" and larger. It's more of a factor of time that keeps me in the mentioned ranges. Pumping and assembling close to 100 3/4" crossettes for a 6" shell probably would be impressive, but a lot of work and time. Sorry pyroMIKE, I don't have a lot of experience with crossettes or comets in ball shells. I would probably go with either 1" or 1 1/8" though. They don't pack quite as densely into ball shells, so slightly smaller than for cylinders probably would be better. I've used all sorts of lubes, and with the NiTuff coating, they all work fine. Graphite spray and powder, Teflon spray, Sailkote, even cooking spray. They all work. The biggest thing is to keep the tooling clean, especially around the pin and the base of the cavity. When comp builds up there, it tends to start accumulating more and more. I keep a toothbrush around to quickly knock anything off.
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