Eyegasm Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 This past new years somebody on the next street set off some kind of cake with probably close to 500 bees. It wasn't rocket or whistle based. The sound was definitely that rattling zip from high speed rotation. What got me was the sounds were coordinated to produce a simple two tone back beat and a short melody. At first I thought Jack Daniels was hitting me back, then I realized I didn't drink any this year. The physics are pretty obvious that it is possible to tune the object, but the coordination was almost too good. I can't imagine that was done with Visco. I'm guessing it was electronicly fired. Then it got me wondering. I'm familiar with how bees look. And everyone knows the helicopters. But I've never looked into what bees actually are. I have always been more into aerial shells and rockets. But that display really got me curious. The problem is I walked over to see who it was and what it was, but between the cake and me getting around the block, they set off something illegal and flew the coop. Probably some homemade HE or something in that area. It's a real shame because the cake was really impressive.
lloyd Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Look up "Speedballs" (in the context of fireworks). I won a competition with some I'd made, and wrote a short article about their manufacture. They are basically just a 'spinner' with a nearly full-length core and nozzle on the end opposite where they're lit at a spin-hole. When the solid portion burns through to the core, they continue to spin, and also 'rocket off', quite pleasingly, and with a "high tone". They're fairly simple to make, and very rewarding. They use only a tiny bit of material, and give a really visual and aural effect! Lloyd
Seymour Posted March 8, 2016 Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) If used as inserts they often don't use a core, just the tangental vent(s) through the side of the tube. A diagram would make it very easy to describe how to make them but I'm too lazy to find one. They are called hummers and in my opinion they are a wonderful and under used effect. They are slightly simpler to make than what Lloyd is describing, but I'll admit, probably less exciting, and potentially safe in some cases that speedballs present a spreading fallout issue. The two critical factors that I would like to stress is: Using a fast burning mix, such as well milled BP with a reactive charcoal, or whistle, and secondly, a thick enough wall thickness so that the hole is not eroded too fast by the flame. I find priming is easiest done with a good stick of black match stuck through the tangental port (drilled before loading the tube) with the powder pressed around it, locking it in place. Edited March 8, 2016 by Seymour
pyrojig Posted March 8, 2016 Posted March 8, 2016 I might add that a bit of NC /Bp prime( over the black match), dusted with riced powder will help keep these hummers more "bullet proof" during handling and manufacturing . Loyd: you seem like a very crafty guy. , I too devised up some simple tooling to make these lovely devises . I reversed engineered some commercial produced products , and was most pleased with the screaming /rocketing projectiles I devised . Worked great for arousing the neighborhood dogs !!
Eyegasm Posted March 8, 2016 Author Posted March 8, 2016 If I had to guess what they were then some sort of spinner is the only thing that really comes to mind. But this is why I'm so glad I found this forum. Nothing but great information and professional dialogue. I had actually thought I'd catch a shit storm for not knowing exactly what bees are. I really appreciate the advice. That would explain why all I found in Google was stuff about spinners, insects, a couple of Pyro vendors and an add from Ali-Baba asking if I'm looking for 10,000 of them cheap from China.😅
Recommended Posts