Spolettes and Aerial Can & Ball Shells

[Nickmaslo]

Hey guys, my first thread post on APC! (Woo!) I have an inquiry into Spolettes. While I wait for my Best of AFN XI maybe in the meantime you guys can help me. My first intro to Spolettes were from Ned's YouTube videos among some other sources. I need some quality advice on making them.

- Do they need to be made for all aerial shells, ball shells, and can shells, or does it depend on size?

- is there a good thread or link around here for everything you need to know about spolettes while I wait for my copy of AFN XI?

- Do you guys fill them with different mixes that you guys prefer or know work better than most?

 

Anything and everything for a beginner who is interested in making spolettes would be really appreciated.

 

Thanks Guys!

-Nick

Edited July 2, 2015 by Nickmaslo

[Mumbles]

I think you may be thinking of Pyrotechnica XI. That or Best of AFN has published a lot more volumes than I thought. In any case, if you were interested in spolettes, Pyrotechnica IX (9) not XI (11) would have been the one to get. IX covers the basic essentials of cylinder shell construction. XI covers more specialized things like multi-breaks and more complex timed shells.

 

They do not have to be made for every type of shell. There are alternatives such as time fuse or visco in some instances. If used as a header on rockets, a true fuse isn't really required, just a device to pass the fire. Every shell will require some sort of ignition or delay however. Larger shells will at some point require longer spolette tubes. For small shells or inserts, a smaller than normal tube can be used as well to save on space.

 

Most people just use black powder. If you use homemade BP, it's often encouraged to make a spolette only batch of BP so you can time them once, and know what timing to expect going forward. There can be variations from batch to batch that can affect timing enough to be noticeable in some instances. If using commercial BP, meal D or something equivalent is often recommended. There are some who make their own BP who still use commercial BP for spolettes for the consistency it affords.

 

I don't know of a specific thread off hand, but I'll look for one and get back to you.

[Nickmaslo]

Hey thanks Mumbles, from my brief existence on APC your word and experience is the standard around here, 24K gold you can take to the bank basically ! I am honored, sir.

 

You may be right I think I meant to say AFN VI not XI, I might be thinking of Fulcanelli and Pyrotechnika which is going to be added to my library and research once I believe I am ready, receive all my shipments, ball mill, media, chems etc. I am fascinated by Fulcanelli and the Italian style spiking and the chems with their relationships and reactions to one another, its truly an elevated art.

 

So timefuse would be more of the standard when I am manufacturing smaller scale 1"-2" canister and ball shells to save on space that can be better used for a break charge and stars?

[nater]

To clarify something, what is known as the "Fulcanelli Papers" or sometimes Fulcanelli 1 and 2; is in fact an article titled "Traditional Cylinder Shell Construction" and it was published in two parts in Pyrotechnica magazine, issues IX and XI. The author(s) wrote under the pseudonym "A. Fulcanelli".If you are interested in building Italian-American style cylinder shells, you will want to get both issues of these of Pyrotechnica and follow the instructions to a tee.

 

As for your questions, I prefer spolettes because they spit more fire into a shell leading to better breaks and emit a large enough flame you can track each break in the sky without tails. I feel the advantages of spolettes far outweigh the penalty from the small amount of space they take up. The smallest shells I fire out of mortars is fired out of a consumer sized mortar and I use a spolette in them about 75% of the time. I rarely use time fuse for anything except small inserts.

 

I am one of the people who make my own BP, but use commercial Meal-d for spolettes. The consistency is important and it is a small price to pay for powder that always performs the same and does not need to have the timing tested as often .

 

Spolette tubes are usually 5/16" or 3/8" ID with tbe OD around 1/2" or just a bit larger. Some do use 1/4" ID tubes a few some even use 1/2" ID tubes. The length of the tube varies. I use them as short as 1 1/2" long for inserts and 3" long for larger shells. Another benefit of spolettes is the longer tubes give you plenty of space for spiking and the paste wrap. On a 3" shell, using 1" of time fuse between the cross matching does not leave much space to account for to finish the shell properly. One can simply stick a length of time fuse inside a 1/4" tube and treat it as a spolette to overcome this.

 

As Mumbles said, black powder is most often used as the composition. Once in a while a builder will use whistle or something else for a special effect. I would start with BP and not worry about using anything else for a while.

 

In this thread, I showed a few pictures and steps of cylinder shell construction including my spolettes. The video is towards the end, but you can see each spolette burning in the air before each break.

 

http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/10820-5-5-timed-spider-construction/

 

Edited to correct ID of spolette tubes to 5/16", not 5/8". Sorry about that.

Edited July 2, 2015 by nater

[Nickmaslo]

Thanks for clarifying that Nater, I was under the impression Fulcanelli was a famous forefather of Pyro.

 

Like you, I will also be milling my own BP. I was reading the article under the blog post tab here which details someone's construction of 30 ball shells in under 3 weeks. Fascinating stuff. I see he used a Spolette in these as well so I am actually leaning toward your point on the advantages of the Spolette, rather than the space it will take in the cans I want to roll and balls I want to make. I have 3mm Visco chinese for a leader, and I'm making my horses (based off of Ned's design) for my spiking and black match threading.

 

Leading me to another question - when filling the spolettes, I should use a batch of gunmeal that I feel is hot enough and set it aside just for Spolette use before I granulate it, correct got it.

 

My question(s) is toward the ramming, does the material of the rammer and rod make much of a difference in safety/quality?

 

Also when cross matching/fusing the Spolette to a leader - do you just lay the black match across a fresh scratched BP surface on the tip of the Spolette , tape it down to glue and paste kraft, then fuse a leader - OR - is it your preferance/experience to actually stick a black match inside the Spolette, into the rammed BP, like a firecracker, and leave the black match sticking out in order to fuse to a leader?

 

If these questions are painstakingly nubile please understand I've been studying deep Pyro & chemistry for only a short while.

 

Thanks -

Nick

Edited July 2, 2015 by Nickmaslo

[Nickmaslo]

PS. LOVE that spider, I can see those spolettes burning up before the break. What a beautiful effect , I will conduct some of my own experiments with spolettes and Visco/Time-Fuse/Blackmatch but I have a feeling I'm going to settle on spolettes. I will start sourcing some tubes for construction. What would you recommend for 3" cans? 3/8th or 5/8th ID ? I figure the length should be around 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" ? I guess I will have to make some and feel out the timing.

[nater]

Nick,

 

You are right, when using your own BP for spolettes it needs to be hot enough and set aside for spolette use only. Figure out how fast it burns per inch and mark the container so you don't forget.

 

Rammers need to made out of something non sparking. An Oak dowel will get you by for a short time, but you will eventually want to move on to something more durable. Aluminum, stainless steel or Delrin rods would all be good choices. Talk to Caleb here, Firesmith Tools or Wolters Pyro Tools for good spolette rammers and other items you may need.

 

I have some aluminum spolette rammers with 1/4" graduations marked on them. Timing is usually figured to the 1/4" and the marks are helpful.

 

I will have to see if I have pictures of how I finish them. The process is detailed in the Fulcanelli text when you get it.

 

Both ends of the spolette are prepared I'm slightly different ways. For the fire giving end on the inside of the tube, I always press or ram 1 × 1/4" increment more than the timing I want and then drill a small core. I use a 1/8" drill bit and a jig on my drill press to hold the spolette. Using the drill press I set the depth to the exact timing I want and drill the core. Now I now the timing is precise and the core can help jet the hot gasses into the shell like a tiny rocket. Once it is drilled back, sticks of black match are placed in the empty space of the tube, sticking out about an inch. A piece of kraft nosing is glued around the tube and cinched around bundle of black. It is tied shut with some string. Pierce a small hole in the side of the nosing with a brass awl. This step is insurance in case the bundle of black match does not light and allows the hot gasses to escape and ignite the shell.

 

To prepare the flush end, I scrape any paste off and scratch the core with a brass awl. Using a slurry of BP and nitrocellulose lacquer, apply the slurry to half of the core. Lay black match across the core so it touches both the slurry and plain core. Bend the ends of the black match down and tie in place with a hitch knot. Fold them up again so you have an H shape of black match on top of the spolette or what looks like rabbit ears.

[nater]

I use 3/8" tubes for spolettes. 1 1/2" tubes would be the shortest I would use for a 3" shell. I have a bunch that cut to 2 1/2" long and use those.

 

Tubes can be purchased from hobbyhorse.com. Look for the pyro tube tab in his site.

[Nickmaslo]

Once it is drilled back, sticks of black match are placed in the empty space of the tube, sticking out about an inch. A piece of kraft nosing is glued around the tube and cinched around bundle of black. It is tied shut with some string. Pierce a small hole in the side of the nosing with a brass awl. This step is insurance in case the bundle of black match does not light and allows the hot gasses to escape and ignite the shell.

 

-Nater

 

When your talking about piercing the nosing, you mean the last half inch or so of the Spolette that's passing fire into the inside of the shell and NOT the cinched and clovehitched kraft paper around the black match correct?

 

 

PS.

I absolutely love the precision peoples minds are equipped with in this hobby and on this site, sometimes I feel in my real work and what's left of my social life that it has been a while since I had met anyoneone with a like-minded technical/engineers mind to connect with and learn from!

Edited July 2, 2015 by Nickmaslo

[nater]

Just the nosing is pierced with a hole. It is above the wall of the tube but below the string that cinches the nosing closed. I will find some pictures to post in the morning if you like. Seeing how they are prepared makes it self explanatory.

 

I know what you mean about the technical mind. My job requires very quick thinking and precise work, so I am fortunate to be surrounded by highly intelligent people at all times.

 

Edit to add:

 

Check out this video from Ned if you have not seen it.

 

https://youtu.be/Y3IjoNU027M

Edited July 2, 2015 by nater

[Mumbles]

Tom Niesen did a wonderful pictorial on fusing the taking fire end of a spolette on passfire a few years ago. This will nicely compliment Nater's description. It sounds like he uses two "bunny ears" instead of just the one in the pdf. Same idea though.

 

http://www.pyrobin.com/files/spolette%20fusing.pdf

[Nickmaslo]

That's a great .PDF Mumbles, thank you ! I have saved that to my dropbox cloud so when I am next in my office I can print that into a carbon copy. So thats the end that goes into the lift cup/lift charge. And the other end is the one that Nater is talking about drilling a core into, like a nozzle-less rocket motor, adding some black match into the hollowed core, crimping it with kraft & glue, poking a hole into the nosing and thats the end that is aimed into, or in contact with, the break charge and contents of the canister/ball shell, correct? Edited July 2, 2015 by Nickmaslo

[Mumbles]

Yes, that is generally right. With cylinder shells, the spolette end is pointed up when in the mortar. I'm not totally sure what people tend to do with ball shells. I've seen some larger shells with spolettes that are top fused, but I'm not sure if that is a general practice.

 

I've been off for the last couple of days, and forgetting to include key pieces of information. The finishing shown in the pdf is generally for inserts and the 2nd, 3rd, etc subsequent breaks for multi-break shells. It is essentially just a thorough priming method. For single break shells, or for the first break of multi-breaks, this much preparation isn't always required. There's no reason you can't use it, even although it tends to be overkill. Many people stop after scratching the surface up.

 

Quickmatch with some of the blackmatch exposed is tied over the top of the scratched spolette. This is called the passfire, and it transfers fire from the spolette area to the lift charge. A tube is glued and tied over the top of this, which is called the bucket. Then a second piece of quickmatch is inserted into the bucket, which is tied close 1 or two times. This is called the leader and is the piece that is actually lit. The bucket secures everything together, and ensures there is a lot of fire around to light both the shell delay (spolette), and the passfire which initiates the shell lift.

 

As a related note, I tend to add a lowering rope to most of my cylinder shells. Even with the bucket securely glued and tied on, lowering a shell by the leader itself has always seemed a little dicey to me. I also like to have something secure should a shell ever need to be removed from a gun.

[Nickmaslo]

I had to read that a few times becaus you had me backwards there with the mention of top fusing. I had to grab a consumer shell and look at it for better grasp of what you were saying. When you said top fusing I said, "whoa whoa whoa, why would the leader go into the top of the shell, wouldnt that initiate a lift charge and fly the shell down inside the mortar, and not up out of the mortar?".

 

I want to make sure I don't harm myself or anyone by misunderstanding anyone or anything.

 

I just needed to re-read that a few times and realize we were saying the same thing differently. The Leader is the fuse that is overhanging outside the lip of the mortar. The fire then travels down into the "bucket" or "lift cup" that contains the lift charge and the rabbited quickfuse/blackmatch thats been lacquered and tied to the end of the scratched spolettetip.

 

That's what you call the "passfire", which launches the shell and if a successful "passfire" has been initiated, the spolette simultaneously burns fuel and acts as a "shell-delay" allowing the shell to travel higher before igniting the break charge/stars/gerbs/effects, right? or do I have this all backwards or something?

Edited July 2, 2015 by Nickmaslo

[nater]

Not quite. Those consumer canister shells made in China do not reflect how traditional Cylinder shells were madr in the United States. (emphasis on canister vs. Cylinder shells intentional)

 

Cylinder shells are typically built with the fuse or spolette on top of the shell and the lift on the bottom. A length of piped match called a passfire is attached to the shell from the spolette down the side of the shell and into the lift charge on the bottom. The fuse is on top to prevent the weight of the shell from damaging it. A large multi-break shell can exceed 100 lbs!

 

The "bucket" is a few turns of kraft wrapped dry around the primed spolette. It connects the leader to the passfire and spolette. When successful, the leader ignites the spolette which starts the delay for the shell's burst and passes fire to ignite the lift at the same time.

 

 

Ball shells are often made so the time fuse sits in the lift cup, but I also known own builders who prefer to place the fuse on top and use a passfire like a cylinder shell.

 

Mumbles, do you tie a lift rope around the shell before the lift wrap is pasted on or is there another method? I usually use stick an ematch in the bucket rather than use a leader. This way, I have nothing to safely lower a shell unless I hold the spolette and stick my hand down the mortar (not safe at all) or use a rope.

Edited July 2, 2015 by nater

[Nickmaslo]

Ah, I just watched BangkokPyro rabbit fuse the end of a spolette for a huge what looked like 5"-8" 3 break cylinder shell. So then the first break would have the passfire attached to it, running down the side of the shell , into the bottom of the mortar and into a lift charge so the weight of the shell doesn't affect the timing of the breaks. Because there is a difference between a canister shell & a cylinder shell. Ahhhhhh - genius. Now I am really excited to get a copy of those Fulcanelli Papers now and Pyrotechnika IX and XI. I see how much it is worth the investment, why do all the work for a 2" can shell when you can spend a little more time making an Italian-American style shell in a bigger size and hey, a more sizable payoff in gratification. Edited July 3, 2015 by Nickmaslo

[Nickmaslo]

- ask and ye' shall recieve. Ill be spending the rest of my night studying lift and leaders now! You guys are the best !!!

 

Kindest Regards -

Nick

Edited July 3, 2015 by Nickmaslo

[Mumbles]

I e-match the leader itself. I feel safer matching a shell that's already loaded into the gun. If it goes off, I will still get to see it, just a little sooner than intended.

 

I like to add it before the lift wrap is put into place, regardless of if I'm doing a wet or a dry wrap. You can see the general idea in this picture of Tom Niesen's shells. http://www.pyrobin.com/files/100_5270.jpg I usually use somewhere between 4 and 8 arms. I actually use long pieces of string or twine that cross under the bottom of the shell, and then go up both sides, so 8 arms is really just 4 pieces that are crossed over. I've done both individual strands, and all tied together in the center to make what I call a "spider web" (not an official term). All tied together is easier to handle and manipulate, and doesn't pose as many problems, but is more time consuming. Depending on how domed and slippery your shell is, some small pieces of tape or gummed paper can help to stick them into place. They get covered up by the wrap anyway, so I don't care how it looks. I bunch them at the top and tie all pieces into a knot near the spolette. I then twist all strands together, and tie another knot at the end. This keeps the individual strands from getting tangled with other things. A wet lift wrap secures everything well. With a dry lift wrap, you'll probably need to be more generous with the tape or even paste it in with paper or gummed tape so that everything stays in place.

 

I wont lie, I've been real tempted to try commercial sausage netting instead.

 

This is something I came up with on my own, mostly after observing Tom's shells. I probably should have just asked at some point what the proper technique is.

[Nickmaslo]

404 Not found Mumbles, maybe I need to register for Pyro Bin.

[Mumbles]

I fixed the link. For some reason the forum or my computer think it's a great idea to include spaces as part of the link.