Magnesium 200mesh vs. 325mesh for flash and go getters, much difference in reactivity?

[dangerousamateur]

I often experiment with very small inserts, who have very little confinement and also tent to create small go getters instead of salutes.

Traditional 70/30 wont do the trick. But Perchlorate/Mg flash seems to do.

 

And speaking of go getters, i like to use 63µm Mg. But I still could use a hotter fuel.

 

 

A seller offers several grades, amongst them 200mesh and 325mesh. "Ball milled".

Since I only need relativly small amounts, i'd say i dont care about the price.

 

My question:

How much more reactive is 325mesh usually compared to 200 mesh?

Has anybody compared the two?

 

Of course you never know how old/oxidized the stuff is.

[Sparx88]

Have you used any aluminum or does it have to be mag?

[dangerousamateur]

With 70/30 i meant perchlorate and black 000 aluminium ( =indian dark i think).

[mohammacl]

my friend 70/30 alumminum 400 mesh test :

http://www.mediafire.com/download/3wmro38p23bar23/4_271463923339755581(000012.859-000016.164).mp4

 

i think u can use 250 mesh mg + 325 non-flake aluminum

[insutama]

How big are your inserts ?

[dangerousamateur]

1/4 and 3/10 tubes.

 

But one end is made as spolette, so when the delay burns up, the tube is open in the end.

 

 

@mohammacl:

Thank you, but that does not tell to much about going BANG under light confinement. Mine burns the same way.

 

 

 

Any opinions about the 325 mesh stuff?

[NotBadAtAllToBeHonest]

I recently bought some 500 mesh mg (atomised, not flaked) for my first attempt at kn03 flash. I bought it knowing that the finer the better and would mean the mix would burn quickly but may be less stable. The mix seemed quite stable in quantities below 1 gram, as I wouldn't go any higher for obvious reasons. I think that there wouldn't be much difference in reactivity, but I would always go smaller than 200 mesh for flash comps.

Earlier, I mixed a 50/50 Mg+S, despite the somewhat high mesh Mg and the fact the sulphur makes flash much more reactive, I had no issue with the reactivity what so ever. The mix when confined in a cardboard tube containing 500 milligrams makes a somewhat deep boom.

Anyway, I would go with 325 mesh, BTW, is it flaked or atomised?

[insutama]

Well I have some 230mesh mg and it didn't really work that great for flash it was about as fast as slow flash is (kno3/dark al) so I tried ball milling 100 grams in my ball mill with chrome plated steel ball bearings for 2 days and what came out was super fine mg not sure the mesh but when I made a 1 gram batch of 50/50 mg/kclo4 it was extremely fast .05 of a gram on a plate made a pop with no confinement so I made some super small times reports with it by taking a small straw about 1/8" ID and used hot glue for plugs and a small peice of visco primed at the end with nc laqour then I wrapped the straw with a few wraps of electrical tape to strengthen the straw and they worked exellent very loud with only 200mg of flash per straw I put them in a 1" canister shell I made I was very happy with results. I would say the mg flash was at least twice as fast as 70 30 flash im not sure what the mesh of my mg was after ball millin it tho I would say go with the finer mg out of the two and if it isnt fast enough mill a small amount outside in a safe area were if anything were to happen there would be no damage and make sure you use a timer and ever couple hours if possible open the container I opened it 4 times a day and it worked well anyway I hope that helps best of luck to ya

[deltawar567]

That's pretty interesting.

[OblivionFall]

Magnesium can definitely outperform aluminum powder if it is more than 400 mesh. I don't see why your KClO4/Al wouldn't do the trick. How are you even confining the tubes? Please elaborate.

 

How fast does your flash burn unconfined? It should make a poof or even a thump. If it doesn't, your aluminum powder may be the problem and you should get different aluminum powder. For how powerful magnesium is, it's not worth it and you are just better off making a 10g KClO4:Al salute rather than a 7.5g KClO4:Mg salute that has the same power if that makes any sense.

 

Try actually gluing in end plugs and using thin fuse so it is actually contained. There is something wrong with your flash if it is acting like a go-getter in that situation.

 

Pretty much what I'm saying is there is no reason to really need to use Mg unless your tubes are open-ended in this case. Just tape the ends or do something that will give it some confinement.

Edited July 26, 2015 by OblivionFall

[insutama]

Maybe he doesn't want to make somthing as big as 10 grams and more like 200mg that's were you notice how much stronger the magnesium flash is

With the little 1" shell I made with timed reports it was a huge difference from say the loudnes of a cap to the loudness of a blackcat firecracker

[dangerousamateur]

But nobody ever made a direct comparison huh?

 

I wonder if the advantage of 325mesh is more or less nullified by having more oxide in the powder.

 

 

No ball milling intended. The stuff should be usable as delivered.

 

 

so I tried ball milling 100 grams in my ball mill with chrome plated steel ball bearings for 2 days and what came out was super fine mg not sure the mesh but when I made a 1 gram batch of 50/50 mg/kclo4 it was extremely fast

 

Because your stuff was still less oxidized, fresher, than the stuff lying around some time.

 

[dchambers490]

I am a newcomer to this site but I love what I see! I was having same sort of issues with 2 inch shells. I went to german black al. powder/ perchlorate 50/50 and went down to 1/8 gram in small 1/4 inch stubby tubes using hot glue and viscro. My problem is getting all the reports to go off. Was using nail polish which is nitro cell. to prime with fine bp but still not right. Love your idea of using straws. any ideas of a more reliable prime? I like using more metal in reports as I think it gives off more light. The finer the better for reports.

[schroedinger]

Dc use 7:3 for al powder and 1:1 for mg.

Leave out the prime just let the visco run 1 cm into the flash.

Do you got the license for making firecrackers?

[dchambers490]

The problem I was describing is that the burst charge doesn't always light the visco so I have been priming the end that is exposed to the burst.

[OblivionFall]

DC, could you please explain to me how you are making these inserts? The flash powder you use will report in an open-ended tube if there is enough of it. I don't see why yours wouldn't work unless you're not even confining it or plugging the ends. Edited August 3, 2015 by OblivionFall

[Mumbles]

You're missing the point ObvilionFall. The visco fuse isn't lighting from the burst. There is no problem with the report composition.

 

Using bare nitrocellulose can in some cases act as a fire block. I find this more common with lower nitration grades, which I would assume nail polish is made from. I'm also not sure what, if anything, is included in nail polish as additives. One solution might be to make a slurry of meal powder and the nitrocellulose. Dip the fuse in this mixture, and then in the granular BP. A lot of people have had success with this, even when straight NC leaves something to be desired. The BP in the NC heats everything up, makes more fire, and can help prevent the NC from burning over the surface and not actually lighting the fuse.

[fckiamdead]

I am a newcomer to this site but I love what I see! I was having same sort of issues with 2 inch shells. I went to german black al. powder/ perchlorate 50/50 and went down to 1/8 gram in small 1/4 inch stubby tubes using hot glue and viscro. My problem is getting all the reports to go off. Was using nail polish which is nitro cell. to prime with fine bp but still not right. Love your idea of using straws. any ideas of a more reliable prime? I like using more metal in reports as I think it gives off more light. The finer the better for reports.

 

Have you tried to not cut the visco horizontal?

Some times this is more than enough..

[insutama]

i primed my fuses with NC lacquer that i mixed some meal powder into and it works every time. I made the NC lacquer from ping pong balls. Does anyone know what is a good container to store NCl lacquer i have mine in a canning jar but the acetone keeps eating away at the gasket on the jar lid then the acetone evaporates out.

[dchambers490]

Thanks for all the advice guys! I will try another nc source and another prime.

[wyzard10]

I make NC lacquer with flash cotton and acetone. The flash cotton can be found at magic supply stores I get mine from a place called theater fx. Its about 10 bucks for a package and it will make about 1 pint of clean clear NC lacquer. Go get an empty quart paint can from lowes or home depot there only a few bucks to store it it. I had the same problem with the acetone eating the gaskets so I switched to the paint cans and it works great.

[insutama]

okay perfect thanks

[dangerousamateur]

Thanks thus far.

 

has anybody an opinion on 325mesh vs. 200mesh, is worth the extra money?

[schroedinger]

The 325 is only interesting if you need a lot of power like for fast go-getters or realy strong flash. Else 200 is good and 80 or 100 for color stars. 60 mesh works good in them but is a pain to work with because of the big particle size

[insutama]

could someone link me to a formula for go getters using mg ? this is something i would like to try