stix Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 Whilst waiting for some other comps to dry, in the next few days I'll be attempting this formula for gold twinkler stars. 53 KNO39 Sulfur9 Lampblack/carbon black9 Aluminium Powder (200-300 mesh)9 Antimony Trifulfide11 Sodium Oxalate+4 Dextrin This formula is off Pyrodata, but was inspired by this post from rogeryermaw:http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/10192-rogers-pyrotechnic-offerings-and-experiments/page-6Post # 115. My method will be to ballmill everything except for the Al and Sb2S3 and screen them in later. I'm aware that Sodium Oxalate is very toxic so I'll be using gloves and a dust mask. I'll be wetting using a solution of: 88 water / 10 Denatured Alcohol / 2 Boric Acid. I'm not sure if the use of the alcohol is necessary because there is no charcoal (but lampblack?) although I did read using alcohol somewhere.I'm only making a small mix (50g) and i'll be cutting 1/4" stars and pumping a couple of 5/8" comets. Have I missed something? any tips would be appreciated. Cheers.
enanthate Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 Let us know how that works, ive tried a couple of "gold twinkler"-like formulas myself, but never gotten one im satisfied with. Would love to know albert's comp from dirtyjobs. I shot a 4" today tho, that looked a little similar to a gold twinkler IMO. Will post the vid in my topic soon.
Mumbles Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 I have Al's composition, and it's essentially just Winokur 20. The trick is in how it's used. For what it's worth, in this instance twinkler is another name for glitter not strobe. Some glitters, like Al's, can visually give a similar effect though if used right. A very similar formula is given by Weingart as Golden Twinkler #2. The biggest difference being the use of charcoal instead of lampblack, and the prevalence of using meal as a base instead of components. A little bit of alcohol will help. Lampblack can be rather hydrophobic. Also wear clothes you don't care about. Lampblack is a pain to get out of clothing and off of skin. I've had the best luck with a high strength handsoap containing pumice personally. Let us know how it works. I always like seeing some of these older formulas.
Livingston Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 @Mumbles So what do you exactly mean by "how it's used" ? Are you meaning pressing comets or Rolling or Cutting stars or you mix everything
stix Posted March 6, 2015 Author Posted March 6, 2015 (edited) . . . I'll be wetting using a solution of: 88 water / 10 Denatured Alcohol / 2 Boric Acid . . . Thanks for the info guys. I'm making this right now and I need some clarification regarding the use of Boric Acid and how much. I did indicate 2% but now thinking about what I read, it was referring to "powder" weight. I've made a saturated solution (w/water) and decanted off the top as suggested by some reference that I can't remember but it makes sense. So that would mean I should use more than 2% of the solution? I did also read that adding boric acid to comps using Al is not necessarily a "must" but a precaution. Nevertheless I'd rather do it right otherwise I tend to get a bit cautious when making metal comps. Also, are the any issues "hammer ramming" small comets of this comp - ie. friction etc..? Cheers. Edited March 6, 2015 by stix
enanthate Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 I allways add 2% BA to water and let it dissolve, works fine. Personally I have hammer rammed these kinds of comps, but since I really have no idea whether its safe or not, Ive done it away from all chems\finished stars. So worst case would be a burnt finger.
stix Posted March 7, 2015 Author Posted March 7, 2015 (edited) I allways add 2% BA to water and let it dissolve, works fine. Personally I have hammer rammed these kinds of comps, but since I really have no idea whether its safe or not, Ive done it away from all chems\finished stars. So worst case would be a burnt finger. Thanks, that makes sense - will do. [EDIT] Ok, all done - two pumped comets & some cut stars. I didn't notice any unusual reactions like heat or weird smells - as a matter of fact the comp smelled really nice and almost edible. That reminds me, I'd better make myself lunch Just have to wait for them to dry and test. Cheers. Edited March 7, 2015 by stix
Mumbles Posted March 7, 2015 Posted March 7, 2015 If you use it as a core, it can appear to be a strobe. Win 20 and related compositions leave very little tail, only glitter flashes. When the star is moving slowly, such as when it's a core, the flashes can appear to be strobes as opposed to a glitter when moving quickly through the air.
odan56 Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 For whatever reason I came up with "star on a stick". I guess it was to strip the melt off the star. Win20 does make gold pifs. http://pyrobin.com/files/mov00537.mpg
stix Posted March 11, 2015 Author Posted March 11, 2015 After 4 days, these stars have dried very quickly compared to some charcoal rich comps. I cut one open and it seems bone dry. I did a test in a small 1/2" star gun, just a few stars and they work brilliantly - nice golden twinkling balls very similar to Winukur #20 as pointed out. My only query is that over the last 24hrs they have started to stink really bad of sulfur. I certainly didn't notice this in the first few days of drying. I was going to put them in a container with desiccant as Done!, but now I'm thinking just to wait until the stink disappears, if ever?? I remember when I made Winokur #20 that I had the same sulfur smell, but that was in the first stages just after cutting and only lasted for about 24hrs. It's weird because they seem really really dry, but perhaps another stage of further volatiles coming off and best not bag them yet. Any thoughts & ideas appreciated? Cheers.
stix Posted March 25, 2015 Author Posted March 25, 2015 (edited) Ok, so finally a proper test. Unfortunately no Video (maybe next time) so the best I can come up with is this description. 5/8" comet launched in star gun (1.7g of lift) - Nice tail as it left the mortar which seemed to increase in length and become wider as it gained in altitude. The tail "twinkled" beautifully as the name suggests. The comet reached a height of approx. 25 meters (80ft) before apogee and was consumed about 1/4 of the back way down. Perfect, excellent and absolutely brilliant!!! The description doesn't really do it justice. Thanks everyone, especially to rogeryermaw for pointing me in that direction. It's definitely a comp that I'll be making again. Cheers. Edited March 25, 2015 by stix
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