Richtee Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I was looking at keeping the rope length short, and not a lot of extra weight. The shell is not that heavy so Im worried that a long ol' rope would cause it to slow down rather fast.Go with a ball of foil then. Can't weigh but 10 grams or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyboy Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Hello, I've shot a 4" shell last night here it is: this was my first try with my new 12-cue electric fireing system, and it didn't fail Beautiful, all the way from launch to the break, only "mistake" would be the camera to close so one couldn't see the full break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I don't think 6" will have any impact really. The air obviously deforms around the ball as it rises. It will make a "wake" in it's path like a boat to an extent, but it will reconnect. Probably best to imagine a comet or something. I'm not sure if it's straight up resistance that orients the shell, or just the desire for the rope/ribbon/tail or whatever to stay within this wake zone where there is no air resistance. I'd personally try something like a foot or two of 1" wide ribbon. It will add a nominal amount of weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyboy Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Just put a "skirt" on the bottom of the shell to increase drag. As long as it doesn't fall of from the lift it is one of the easier and more effective ways IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tentacles Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Make up a dummy shell and test fire it during the day with various lengths of rope or schemes or whatnot.. It's both cheap, and easy.. as well as fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyco_1322 Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Good idea Tentacles, I might just do that then. The issue with a skirt is this: The shape is layed in on the equator of the shell. Meaning if you want the shape to stand up in the air, the rope has to be attached to the side of the shell. This could work with a skirt but the time fuse is 90 degrees to the equator, which puts it right against the mortar wall if the skirt is up or down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyboy Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Good idea Tentacles, I might just do that then. The issue with a skirt is this: The shape is layed in on the equator of the shell. Meaning if you want the shape to stand up in the air, the rope has to be attached to the side of the shell. This could work with a skirt but the time fuse is 90 degrees to the equator, which puts it right against the mortar wall if the skirt is up or down. Didn't see that it was a letter that had to stand up, my bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miech Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 The method with the skirt was initially designed for use with your audience far away. If you are practically standing under your shell when it goes off, it doesn't make much sense indeed. You could try to attach some skirt to the north pole (assuming the fused side is south), or tying some to the time fuse. Then light, and pray God it turns out right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty green flame Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Problem, I got a little carried away when pasting a 4" can, pretty big one, it's a little tight in the gun, with about 1/8" clearance, what would be the best solution to avoid a flowerpot, larger lift grains (-4+10mesh) or less lift? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted February 12, 2009 Author Share Posted February 12, 2009 Problem, I got a little carried away when pasting a 4" can, pretty big one, it's a little tight in the gun, with about 1/8" clearance, what would be the best solution to avoid a flowerpot, larger lift grains (-4+10mesh) or less lift? Less lift if you want, but if you have that much clearance, I don't think there would be a problem. I guess it depends on your construction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyco_1322 Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 If you put on more paper, it will be stronger. If it will go into the gun, shoot it! It will be ok unless you really have to beat it into the mortar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Some of my multi-break shells need a little assistance into the gun. As long a it slides down with relative ease (IE, no jumping on it), it should be fine. Unless it's the first shot, I always toss a little sand or clay into the bottom of the gun just in case to kill off any potential sparks. I don't want it going on when I'm shoulder deep in a mortar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty green flame Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 ok then, should leave the mortar without problems.And just to show off a bit , here's a picture, awaiting the lift charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Looks very good. Way less masking tape and black fingerprints than I'm used to with my shells Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty green flame Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Looks very good. Way less masking tape and black fingerprints than I'm used to with my shells You should've seen the improvised passfire bucket, quite a bit of masking tape there Anyway, I like to add a "pro" touch to my shells and with a turn or two of kraft gives it that Italian style look. I hope the spolettes on the inserts light properly this time, put 4 strands of blackmatch over the spolettes and tied them down the side. The maing burst is a simple burst of colour (Red) with BP on rice hulls 10g of flash dusted on the hulls as a booster. if everything goes OK it should be a nice big break with 4 smaller shells going of 2 seconds after the first charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swervedriver Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 whew, good lookin shell there man PGF. I'd like to see video of that one when you shoot it. What length is the 4" gun you're using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty green flame Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 whew, good lookin shell there man PGF. I'd like to see video of that one when you shoot it. What length is the 4" gun you're using? I think the gun is 70cm, it will probably be enough, and there will deffinately be a video of it, hopefully with everything working properly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick2354 Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 (edited) I have bought a few rolls of Fiberglass strapping tape and am waiting for them to arrive, and I am wondering If I can use them to "paste" 3" round PAPER shells. I haven't found much information about this except for the 1st page of this thread and a little bit on youtube. My Question: Has anyone used Fiberglass strapping tape for "pasting" paper round shells and did they have any success and what bursts did they use? If no one has had any experience with then I will try it and find out myself. Edited February 14, 2009 by nick2354 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebobman Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 I would venture a guess that fiberglass reinforced tape would work. I generally tape up my small 3/4" - 1" shells with electrical tape instead of spiking, and I use loose flash for burst with the rest of the shell being filled with tigertail microstars. Gives a fairly loud report but burns hot enough to ignite the stars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 It might work. I'm always a bit worried about the lift melting or weakening the tape. I'm also not sure how well it'd adhere to the paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richtee Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 It might work. I'm always a bit worried about the lift melting or weakening the tape. I'm also not sure how well it'd adhere to the paper. I use a wrap or two of paper adhered with the spray contact adhesive over the fiberglass tape. The lift gas DOES eat that stuff up pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojonesm Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 casing: 21mm PVC ( european )fuel: 40 grams of willow C based meal powder. I think i need to work on my stars. 21mm_3___header_specificaties.wmv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swervedriver Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 hey cojonesm, that looked spectacular to me man. good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moof Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I apologize if this is in the incorrect section since I'm unclear if this is for showing off aerial shells or asking questions. Anyways, I plan to get into making aerial shells soon, so I read through many guides including some of Fulcanelli's works. When he writes about insert shells in the shell of shells section, he gives instructions on how to make a 1.5" x 5" canister. The instructions say to not have a core of burst, but to first put small stars in the canister, then put blackpowder on top which is followed by a shake to consolidate. Although this is for an insert shell for a big 5" or similar, I'm wondering if this can be adapted for 1.5" mortar use? A saw another guide here: http://www.wichitabuggywhip.com/fireworks/mouseturds.html which seemed similar in concept. I have a question about that as well. Does a burst such as whistle or flash have to be used, or can fast blackpowder substitute? One last question: Since these small shells don't have core bursts, does that mean they break unevenly or else why bother to have cores on 3"+ shells? Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyco_1322 Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Fiberglass tape will work fine for 3" ball shells of any material. The lift gasses wont hurt the tape, it will live. Several wraps around the shell should suffice. I would suggest about a 3g booster, flash or whistle works fine. Do add some hot glue around the time fuse as the tape will not protect against fire as well as pasted paper would. Moof, This section covers both of those. It is very common to make smaller shells, usually up to 2" or so, that way. There is just not enough room to make an effective core. The shells will tend to have an off shaped break. Most of the time for shells this small is not a big factor as the shells are just for effect and there perfection is not a main focus. The faster break helps aid in the shells looking more symmetrical. A hot black powder burst could also work. Whistle seems to give a nice kick and still applies ample fire to light stars. It also does not have the "shattering" effect on stars that flash does. I would suggest it over straight flash for these reasons. FYI, that is Dan Creagans site, he is an experienced pyro and most of what you will see on there is valid information that can be relied upon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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