6inch charcoal willow

[Potato]

Hello together,

 

I'm new here and english is not my first language. So please forgive my mistakes.

I practice pyrotechnique since a few years. The last 3 years I was very busy because of study. But now I'm done and I have more time for that beautiful hobby.

I plan do build a 6inch charcoal willow and I made some pressed comets. First I expected it is a good idea to wrap them to something like pillbox stars(like in the picture). But as I tested the stars- unfortunately the burning charcoal effect in the air was gone. So I decided do make the stars without the paper.

A view days later I checked my results and pressed the comets between 2 fingers(to see if they are hard enough to "survive" the shell break). Unfortunately they weren't. Some of them popped into small pieces, but some where hard enough. In follow that, I will make new ones out of the crumbled ones and press them with more preassure and less water.

The reason because I started that topic is my question at that point: Is it possible to glue the comets(18mm in diameter) on the inside of the shell hemis to hold them in position, like in my picture with the 4inch hemis which are filled with rolled stars? With a small amount hot glue for instance....

 

 

Greetings

Potato

Edited October 5, 2015 by Potato

[MrB]

Glue stars / comets in place on the inside, while it is possible, if your stacking them like in the picture, it shouldn't be needed. If i were to head that route, i think i'd use thick NC, or super glue (crazy glue), rather then glue guns. (It should be noted i never tried either, just read about them being used.)

But thats mostly since i don't like the idea of a gluegun in proximity of explosives. I know people use them for loads of things in pyro, but i just cant get away from the fact that glueguns are notorious for shorting out, and / or overheating with sparks, or even fire as a result.

B!

Edited October 6, 2015 by MrB

[schroedinger]

@MrB gett a good quality cordless glue gun. The type that only has power if resting on the base and an extra big heating cell. If you take them of the base, they are powerless and only melt the glue with the saved heat inside the chamber.

 

@Potato there is o need to glue i your stars, only stacking is enough. Some people glue in a ring around the equator with hot glue. It is not needed and also helps to keep the enviroment clean. Krazy glue is not suited, since it isn't void filling.

 

But from what you describe it aounds more like you have other problems. You are using a charcoal comp, which a d what star size? If you use Something like C6 i expect your stars to be about 3/4" big. Give them about 4 weeks dring time, if it is more like TT use 2 months (a drying box can speed things up). This would explain why some stars crumble and other not. Also your missing tail, when pasted in, can be cause by this.

Edited October 6, 2015 by schroedinger

[Potato]

Thank you both for your answer.

The idea behind my question about to glue the stars is a more symmetric burst. First I filled the hemis only by stacking the comets, but it is not perfectly filled, you understand? If I fill both hemis, only by stacking, I have a "ring" around the equator without stars. It would be nice to know if gluing the stars will result in a better burst with a more symmetric break or if the opposite will happen.

@Schroedinger: I use 18mm(0,70inches) pressed star. The Composition is nearly like Tiger Tail(44:44:6:6, KNO3,C,S,dextrin) but plus a small amount charcoal to make the stars burn slower. But not as slow as the Shimizu Willow(35:45:12:8, KNO3,C,S,dextrin).

I tested the stars and I was very satisfied about their performance in the air. I made the stars in 2 charges. The 2nd one was better, because the mixture from the first one was a bit to wet(water comes out of the tube while I pressed the comet).

 

Edit: I will make a video from my shells when I lunch them and I will document the construction in this topic if it is okay.

Edited October 6, 2015 by Potato

[Mike]

Potato, actually the gluing can deform the patern if you use comercial hemis and the don't fragment even. If you have problems with left open space between the hemis, you can also overstack o e hemi a little.

[braddsn]

From my experience, Mike is right. Gluing stars to the inside of the hemis is not a good practice. It can deform your break. Symmetrical breaks take practice to achieve. Stars being sized precisely the same +/- .5mm will help to ensure that they light and go out at the same time. Also, boosting the shell break helps. If the shell breaks hard, it makes it harder to see the seam where the hemispheres come together. Lastly, make sure you have enough layers pasted. Having enough layers pasted along with a hard break will make the seam almost impossible to see. Like this:

 

https://youtu.be/uIq2E8r07hk?t=19m8s