Aerial Shells

[Mumbles]

THe problem with that is binding. Saran, at least good saran, is not appreciably soluble in any normal solvent except at rather high temperatures.

[qwezxc12]

It;s o.k., but not great IMO. KPerc based blues just can't compete with AP based ones. I only used them because I had 500g or so rolled up. I prefer Al's Hexamine fueled AP blue that I used in the 2in and 3in mines...much more intense and pleasing to the eye.

to what formula are you referring?

 

 

btw thanks for your help qwezxc love your work.

Thanks. I was referring to the Shimizu Blue-70 stars...they're Potassium Perchlorate based and the formula is listed on the previous page. It's one of the nicest KPerc blues made with "common" ingredients, but it doesn't compare to an AP based blue, IMHO. Like I said, I used them up because I had a bunch rolled already.

 

The blue mines were AP based and hexamine fueled as was the lone violet 4in shell. I wish I had made a few more shells. Definitely expect to see some in the near future...I really liked the way they looked.

[crazyboy25]

i was asking about AL's hexamine fueled blue the only AP based blues i have heard of use copper benzoate.

[tentacles]

crazyboy: I've used this formula before with AP, it's decent but not as intensely blue as CuBz stars:

 

Perchlorate 62%

copper (II) oxide black 15%

hexamine 13%

saran resin 10%

dextrin +4%

 

You could probably sub SGRS for the dextrin and I did a small test batch using PVC, it was pretty comparable. Parlon or dechlorane may improve it, but parlon is too rich for my blood.

[crazyboy25]

i was considering copper benzoate stars but than again i dont want to buy a pound of it then never use it again. so i think i will stick to:

 

Potassium Perchlorate.....................64

Red Gum.......................................10

Copper Oxide.................................13

Parlon...........................................14

Dextrin..........................................+4

 

 

even if it isn't the best blue because i am gonna get red gum and parlon and copper oxide can be used in other blue formulas as well as dragon eggs.

[qwezxc12]

The blue formula I used in the mines was (from picric's salt's website):

 

Ammonium Perchlorate.....62

Hexamine.......................10

Copper Oxide..................13

Saran.............................11

Dextrin............................4

 

It's very close to what tentacles posted.

[crazyboy25]

what are they bound with?

 

cut rolled or pumped?

 

can saran be subsituded for PVC thanks.

[jacob]

Qwezxc, when you say ''AL's hexamine fueled AP blue'' what are you refering to? the only blue i've seen from AL93535 is this,

 

Potassium perchlorate 62%

Hexamine 10%

Copper (II) oxide 13%

Saran resin 11%

Dextrin 4%

 

don't know of any AP blue from him.

 

.EDIT. ohh i think i understand now, did you just switch ammonium perchlorate for potassium perchlorate?

[qwezxc12]

.EDIT.  ohh i think i understand now, did you just switch ammonium perchlorate for potassium perchlorate?

Yes, I substituted AP for KP as the oxidizer after making some initial test batches. It looked so nice, I kept using it like that without further mods. I still refer to it as "Al's hexamine blue" in my notes...As the AP is a chlorine donor all by itself, I might be able to lower the saran %, but I haven't experimented with that. The % of saran probably hels as a burn rate modifier as well.

 

what are they bound with?

cut rolled or pumped? can saran be subsituded for PVC thanks.

They're bound with the usual 6-8% of 75/25 water/alcohol and were pumped. Based on how easily the damp comp consolidates in the pump, I'm sure they would roll very nicely as well.

 

I do not know if PVC can be sub'd for saran without making additional changes. PVC adds a fuel value to a composition that saran does not.

 

I originally tried them because Al mentioned that the hexamine fuel gave the stars a larger flame envelope compared to other fuels. I have to agree - the burning stars are the most luminous blues I've made without resorting to metallic fuels and the subsiquent washing-out of the hue due to the higher temps.

 

I haven't made any CuBenz blues though, so my experience is limited in that regard.

[crazyboy25]

one more question i am assuming Shimizu Blue #70 is bound with 75/25 water alc and can be rolled?

[Zmuro]

Pasting shells is such a time consuming job if you want a nice break, so does anyone know a faster way of doing it. What rising comet formula should I use if I want a long tail of sparks?

[deadman]

Some people use strapping tape instead of pasting. If you have the budget you could always opt for a WASP3 machine. It's recommended for 3"-8", but the site has a video of it pasting a festival ball. It takes under 2 minutes to paste the shell and is very smooth. The website is www.ctpyro.com.

[psyco_1322]

Ya if you can afford a WASP it would be a good investment. They are amazing machines.

[al93535]

I think the fun is doing most of the work yourself. And it gives a feeling of accomplishment.

 

Ok so I have been working on a 6" farfalle Shell. There are 38 Farfalle inserts (1/2" by 2-1/2") which will burn for 4 seconds. I also included red 1/2" stars, fueled with -200 mesh mgal, which will give me a burn time of about 3 seconds. Then I have a bottom shot which should ignite at about 4.25 to 4.5 seconds.

 

It weighs in at 2080 grams, 4.5 lbs. I will lift it with 135 grams of my lift. I will be adding crackling glitter comets as a rising effect.

 

So the inner circle of stars will burn out 1 second before the outter farfalles will, then the bottom shot goes off. This should be a nice shell.

 

I made one of these and lit it at a 4th of july party, in which mumbles attended, But we had a 12 pack too many (or so) and didn't video it, or remember it very well for that matter. So Here is another for video!

 

Pictures of construction.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/al93535/farImage2.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/al93535/farImage3.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/al93535/farImage4.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/al93535/farImage5.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/al93535/farImage6.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/al93535/farImage7.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/al93535/farImage8.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/al93535/farImage9.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/al9.../farImage10.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/al9.../farImage11.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/al9.../farImage12.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/al93535/arbors.jpg

[ULTRABUF]

Top notch construction al, looks like it will be a great shell. Could you give more details on Farfalle inserts? I googled it and the only real pyro references I found were in different languages. Everything else was pasta.

[crazyboy25]

*gasp* sweet mother of god... just two questions

 

1. whats a farfalle?

 

2. is the crackling comet made with dragon eggs or the composition itself crackles if its the comp what is it?

[Mumbles]

Well Al, I do remember this shell actually, one of the few. It was beautiful. I'll be shooting my farfalle shell off in sept here.

 

http://www.fireworks.de/assets/images/intro13farfalle.gif

 

I'd point you guys to some info on farfalle on rec.pyro, but it is a bit of a mess right now. It's a bit hard to describe without images. It is a tube that is capped w/ clay on one end, then a hole is drilled completely through the tube, out both sides 180 degrees apart. A piece of blackmatch, or in Al's case what looks like thin visco, or fast visco, is inserted through, and out both sides. It is then charged with compositon, such as BP with metals. A second cap of clay is placed on. Normally no priming is needed, but with the fuse Al is using, priming is a good idea.

 

It took me a while to figure out what you were doing with this one. I have never seen anyone build a shell in the upside down fashion that contained a bottom shot. Still looks very good as usual though. I like the use of rice hulls at the bottom.

[al93535]

That about sums it up. But as a really simple explanation, a fafalle is a gerb, or fountain that is ignited in an aerial device.

 

What I did was press a clay plug into a tube, then I pressed my composition, which was basicly unmilled BP with titanium. After that I pressed the clay plug. Here is where I did my own thing: most of the time people drill the hole and add a piece of blackmatch THEN press the comp over it. I drilled a hole all the way through the finished device to add my fuse.

 

The crackling comets do have dragon eggs embedded in them, and they are a matrix star.

 

I can't believe you remember it mumbles. All I remember was the bottom shot.

Ahhh I don't really remember a whole lot until the end of the night It was fun though.

 

It was a lot of pyro....

[Mumbles]

Well, the first part of the night was fun. The ending was less than fun. I am getting the super less fun thing dropped though I think. Like I said I remember a lot more about that night that others would think. Thats what you get for drinking since you're 5.

 

I'm not sure I would exactly describe it as a fountain or gerb. I think that would more accuratly describe a serpent. It is more similar to a tourbillion or something. The holes are perpendicular through the tube itself, and not through the end plug. You can get an idea from the pictures.

 

Al, I thought you said you were done drilling through farfalle, or was that until you got said drill press?

[crazyboy25]

i am almost finished with my 4" shell its going good all i need to do is attach the lift cup and sticky match. the shell is a 4" with 1/2" silver reeper stars, a tigertail ring and a dragon egg pistil. maybe maybe when im done i will add a D1 rising effect.

 

 

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w318/cr...25/100_0827.jpg

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w318/cr...25/100_0828.jpg

[qwezxc12]

Looks good...What's the burst? BP on hulls + whistle boost? Wondering your BP/carrier ratio and amount of whistle. Are you going to tape or paste the shell?

 

Hope you video the shoot.

[qwezxc12]

One of my friends just emailed me some pictures he took at my BBQ shoot last week. The camera was hand-held so they're not even close to the quality of the pics optimus took of the show he worked at, but a couple came out nice...

 

A series of 3in peanut shells - twin Chrys6 in the background and two Al flitter shells breaking:

http://www.apcforum.net/files/2xdouble3in.jpg

 

A single 4in AP Violet shell:

http://www.apcforum.net/files/4inviolet.jpg

 

Two 6in D1 shells breaking simultaneously:

http://www.apcforum.net/files/2x6inD1.jpg

[pudidotdk]

Nice pics/shells. Where those shells homemade?

In that case I'd love to hear the formula for the AP violet stars if you can get it...

[qwezxc12]

Nice pics/shells. Where those shells homemade?

In that case I'd love to hear the formula for the AP violet stars if you can get it...

All the shells were home made...most were documented in the Random Thread starting with the stars in this post, and went through building the 4 and 6in cans and all of the ball shells and comets...and ending with the video of the show.

 

As far as the violet goes, this time around it was the AP blue formula I listed on the previous page a few posts back with the Copper Oxide reduced to 6, and the addition of 7 parts Strontium Carbonate.

 

It's probably not the best, but I was really short for time. Since I was mixing up a pile of the blue, it was easy to modify a few hundred grams into violet.

[mormanman]

Well I uploaded it to yousendit. pudi also hosted as well, so there are two links for download. Thanks pudi!

 

www.yousendit.com:

8-27-07show.wmv

 

pudi's site:

http://www.flashnet.dk/files/8-27-07show.wmv

 

 

It's 37.8Mb, and edited it down to 5:37". It's as short as I could make it.

It wasn't perfect...I had two pulverized breaks in 4in shells, one red Ti, one yellow MgAl at 4:00" and 4:08" respectively. Some of the more delicate effects didn't show up well at all, like the 6in streamer at 4:45 and the 4in willow can didn't show up at all.

 

Enjoy...I sure had fun lighting it all off!

Can you youtube it please.