How much of which chemicals?

[Arthur]

Still say, start with BP til you have good BP and fountain mix and rocket fuel. Add the chems required for glitters and then you have a lot of fun available. When you really do have all that done perfectly look at colours, Veline is a system of compatible colour mixes, there are a lot of other comps, most to all colours are based on perchlorate so you'll need a lot of that. Remember that there is also one last chemical that you could look for to make something, but there is more satisfaction in actually making something within your resources.

 

Avoid bangs for a long while. Most firework accidents involve skin getting cooked a bit, from which recovery is possible. Flash is powerful enough to remove fingers -which don't stick back with superglue.

Avoid Chlorate compounds til you are fully aware of their hazards. and have a set of tools dedicated for chlorate mixes.

 

Basically most comps are Oxidiser 50 - 75%, Fuel 10 - 15%, Binders 5%, Chlorine donors 10%. SO large amounts of nitrate and perchlorate are needed, but less of all the rest. However with shipping costs sometimes its better to chose quantities carefully.

[OldMarine]

@Arthur I get to make giant bangs for a living so salutes are meh to me. Watching 1500' of solid rock heave up and split into little rocks makes a much larger impression!

I'm looking for the "pretty" stuff rather than brute force and loud noises.

Perfecting my BP is goal #1 then sparks, then colors. I'm pretty sure I'm good on chems except for as you and others have pointed out: perc and KNO3. I'm remedying that as of yesterday and concentrating on a better mill and a press.

I actually thought I was farther from a starting point than I actually am.

Thanks to y'all I realize I may be able to field a few articles of my own making for my New Year's Eve show.

[OldMarine]

As to NC lacquer: is ping pong ball mix satisfactory or would there be a benefit in using single base shotgun powder? There is a cost difference and if the performance difference isn't great I'll stick with PB mix. Edited October 28, 2015 by OldMarine

[Seymour]

NC is generally used when you need it's sealing qualities, such as some crackle and strobe compositions. The nitration or nitroglycerine content is not very important. I'd say various reloading powder would be most widely used, but this is just because people have it on hand. Ping pong ball stuff should work as well as a binder, though I'm sure it varies brand to brand... not including the brands that are not at all NC.

 

I question the need for it in this thread. Some people use it for all sorts of things, like priming fuses, but I cannot think of a single thing in fireworks where it is needed. Even coloured strobes and dragon eggs have alternative binders. I use it, and for things like a barrier layer between ammonium perchlorate and potassium nitrate in a star it's great, but it's definitely not an essential substance for this hobby.

 

I definitely put NC in the category with Ammonium perchlorate, Potassium dichromate, Gum Arabic and many others. "great substances that I know and love, but in no way necessary to make fireworks".

 

Titanium though, well nothing is needed (though KNO3 is damn near an essential), is something that I think we've all forgotten to add. It makes the best silver sparks out of all the common metals. You might want to consider getting it at some point when you are thinking of moving past charcoal and glitter effects. You are going to see Brocade/Kamuro shells and everyone loves them. Some formulas call for ferrotitanium, but the difference between it and titanium in the effect is not great. You probably want some fine stuff, maybe -40 mesh, or 60 to 100 mesh, and maybe you will also consider coarse stuff, such as 20-40 mesh for large fountains and comets. Titanium is more versatile than ferrotitanium.

[OldMarine]

I must disagree that NC shouldn't be included in the thread. I read many others before I started this one because I found them sorely lacking in the basic answers that satisfy a newbie's questions.

 

From everything I've learned, a decent NC lacquer IS a beginner chemical. I am a beginner in fireworks.

 

That said, I appreciate the rest of your advice and will add it to my growing notebooks of information.

 

Point of information: I have a powder license and handle deadly shit regularly. I won't be condescended to, nor will I admit to knowledge I don't have. I think I posted earlier that I do not enjoy the big bang but rather the art.

 

Sorry if I offended in this day of easy offenses.

[OldMarine]

I just realized my anger from a post on another site was translated here. I offer apologies to Seymour as my untimely post followed his in my timeline. Both posts involved the same subject and I being..uh..me mixed them up. Sorry again.

[Seymour]

No offence taken. I'm certainly not saying that NC should be avoided by anyone (definitely not saying anyone here is not qualified to handle it either), I'm just saying it's not one I consider essential, and accept that this is my opinion and that opinions vary

[Arthur]

NC lacquer is not the most common binder but sometimes it's essential. It's probably best sourced as "guitar lacquer" from ebay aor a luthier. Otherwise double base powder softens nicely in acetone or MEK and makes a darker drabber mix. All depends what you have easy access to. Modern ping pong balls are not NC.

 

 

Right at the end there is a nice firework display of the period -all charcoal effects with some iron filings sparks.

Edited October 29, 2015 by Arthur

[OldMarine]

I could live with those effects right there for quite a while! I've already made a few lances but until I get enough powder to do lances and sticky match a display will have to wait.

As for the ping pong balls, I have about 50 in a box leftover from my teen days when we had a table at home. These things burn fast and smell like Vick's when you cut them. I'll probably use them up them switch to something better.

[dynomike1]

Figure enough to make 2lbs. each of various stars that will go a long way.

Edited October 30, 2015 by dynomike1

[OldMarine]

Was gifted some items today by a customer with similar hobbies;

3 lbs saran

3+lbs chlorinated rubber

1 lb Ammonium perchlorate

1 lb atomized Ekhart aluminum

Of these I'm not sure of the chlorinated rubber and the aluminum.

I haven't studied either but they were free so they're going in the cabinet.

[Col]

hopefully they`re not all going in the same cabinet

[OldMarine]

Actually I've got three of those upright plastic storage cabinets that I've got under the lean-to connected to my little shop. Got them at a local liquidator for $25 each. I bought then before I got into this hobby else I'd have bought more. Paper goods and tools inside, chems in the cabinets. Workbench and ball mill at my brother's house (more acres). I'm eventually moving everything there but I need to do some barn repairs and electric upgrade first.

Everything is going in hdpe jars with printed labels and with individual scoops for each chem. Oxidizers, fuels and metals will have their own cabinet and I plan on getting another couple for completed comps etc..

I'm trying to do this right so I can do it long time with all my parts.

[Mumbles]

I'm not sure if you were asking, but chlorinated rubber is a generic name for Parlon. The atomized aluminum will probably be great for glitters.

[OldMarine]

Yes, I was curious about those two items. Haven't needed them this far so hadn't researched them. They'll keep a while I hope. Thanks

[MadMat]

There are a number of blue star comps that use ammonium perchlorate

[OldMarine]

@MadMat It'll be a while before I get that far but as long as the chems don't decompose or worse I'll just hold onto them.

The fellow who gave me the chems has offered to help me press a few items on his press weekend after next so I'm rather excited. I have some charcoal gerb comp and spherical titanium I'm gonna try.

[Arthur]

Most chemicals degrade instantly as the label falls off the bottle! A little care in placing chems in OK bottles with OK lids and labels is worth real money.

 

Separate fuels from oxidisers, in your store location.

[OldMarine]

Most chemicals degrade instantly as the label falls off the bottle! A little care in placing chems in OK bottles with OK lids and labels is worth real money.

 

Separate fuels from oxidisers, in your store location.

 

I fully understand the label adhesive/product life correlation. I deal with many products with a "lifetime warranty" that apparently only applies to the box said product arrives in. Lose that? No warranty.

Seriously though, are metals shelf stable? I have several different types that I won't be ready to use for a while. I imagine aluminum is already oxidized but what of iron, steel, titanium, etc., and the other iterations of those metals ie: carbonates, sulfates...ad nauseam?

[MadMat]

Though I no expert on all of them, but I've heard of treating iron/steel powders with linseed oil. That would increase the shelf life considerably. I have heard that some commercial aluminum powders are treated as bought (my bright flake aluminum really smells as though there is something added to it). The nice thing about titanium is that it is very corrosion resistant, it should have a very long shelf life if stored in an air-tight bottle in a cool dry environment (pretty much the same environment you would want for all your chem.s) Keep in mind the biggest enemies of chem storage are oxygen and moisture. Also some chemicals have a problem with light ( the reason you will see a lot of lab chems stored in amber glass bottles)

Edited November 21, 2015 by MadMat

[Mumbles]

Most chemicals are pretty storage stable as long as they're stored properly. Magnesium is probably the least storage stable chemical we use, and even that is stable on the years time scale, but probably not decades. I have some from circa WWII that is pretty noticeably oxidized, though still works fine. A couple of things like cremora, wheat paste, rice hulls, seeds, etc can attract insects and rodents, so watch out for that too. Some chemicals will clump on storage, but that doesn't affect them. One of the more popular items for storing chemicals are 5 gallon buckets with gamma seal lids. They're cheap, rugged, and basically air tight. Tossing in a couple desiccant packs will keep everything in prime condition.

 

Flake aluminums tend to have a coating of stearin, stearic acid, or occasionally oleic acid. It's always seemed like bright flakes tend to have more than dark flakes to me. At least the odor is stronger with bright flakes. Side note, but the coating makes it kind of a pain to clean up. Simply Green brand cleaner makes short work of it though.

 

The issue with steel and iron is actually after it's mixed for the most part. Nitrate can can accelerate rusting. You should use the compositions within a couple weeks of manufacture, or coat the metal with wax or linseed oil.

[Arthur]

Ingredients are almost always stable. The major exceptions being Magnesium (fine material oxidises over years) and ammonium oxidisers ( can detonate if stored in big heaps but ammonium nitrate should be stored in heaps of not more than 30 tonnes! which might be OTT for home pyro)

 

Good bottles, good lids and seals solves most issues. Correct labels preserve the usefulness and identity and any safety warnings needed.

Keep oxidisers separate from fuels, and keep sulphur separate from chlorates -that should keep you safe for a long while.

[OldMarine]

I don't foresee any need for chlorates in my near future so I'll avoid them.

I'm currently using ldpe quart deli containers with bags inside for storage but I'm outgrowing them already. Don't have space for a ton of buckets so I'm thinking of utilizing 1 gal restaurant pickle jugs. Same material with a screw on lid. They have the advantage of being free.