How small tubes produce large effects in cakes?

[SignalKanboom]

What is the process for making tubes in a cake. How is their such large amounts of color and such loud reports? Do the tubes get multiple layers/shots?

[snapper]

think of them like a large cylindrical star with burst in the center. this is the reason the display is never round unless you get the more expensive versions that contain actual ball shells. they seem very loud because typically they break pretty darn low and use some form of flash as burst. clear as mud?

[SignalKanboom]

think of them like a large cylindrical star with burst in the center. this is the reason the display is never round unless you get the more expensive versions that contain actual ball shells. they seem very loud because typically they break pretty darn low and use some form of flash as burst. clear as mud?

I wish there was more info on the process like there is for everything else. I know there are more shots than tubes, Non consumer cakes that is. I would like to learn how to make a multi shot cake tube like that. Mines are not supposed to be multilayered though, so why is it ok to multilayer a smaller mine attach to forty other mine tubes.

[Mumbles]

I can't speak for everything. The majority of cakes are single shots per tube. The construction, at least from what I've seen personally and deconstructed, is a little different. The shells, as I'll try to call them here, deviate from more traditional construction.

 

There really isn't a good comparison for them. If you take one apart, they're essentially solid. The walls are thicker than normal, typically at least 1/8", and they're usually longer than normal. For smaller cakes it's probably thinner. They look to be made from commercial wound tubes. They also tend to have thick clay plugs on both ends. I suspect this is to ensure they explode outward despite the wall thickness. Essentially, the burst and stars are pressed solid. This may be a result of the plugs, but it works. As a general example, lets look at something like a 1.5" ID tube cake insert. Effectively the same will be true for class C sized single fire shells, just a bit bigger. The OD of the tube is probably around 1.25" OD x 1" ID. There is a probably 1/2" or so clay plug at both ends. There is a bottom plug of clay again about 1/2" or so thick with a fuse. More than likely the fused end is pressed first with a hole or drilled out. There is often some sort of glue or cement around the fuse to secure it, but it could also be pressed around the fuse. The burst is a bunch of smaller stars, probably 3/16" to 1/4". They're filled with BP and more than likely a flash or whistle type booster. It's not clear from taking them apart, but they burst hard enough I believe there is more going on. This is essentially a solid mass after construction. There is again a solid top plug of about the same thickness.

 

I'm probably not providing enough details to go out and make one. It's going to require some experimentation with bursts, wall thickness, and plug thickness. This hopefully is at least some info to steer you in the right direction.

[Cucinotto]

certainly among the very small stars the composition for break is based on potassium perchlorate and dark aluminum. looking closely you get the impression that it is opening quite and full, but already from 50 meters you see how limited it can be. the effects are achieved with the fast sequence of shots. In fact, 100 shots last about 40 seconds. if the tubes were turned on one at a time, you would notice that they are poor as effects

[BetICouldMake1]

There are scads of videos on youtube showing how commercial cakes are built. Mumbles covered the basics well. The bursts look big because they are broken very hard, and tend to break very low.

 

Here's a playlist I made a while back when I was messing around with cakes. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXHEnTfPrPqrfRv9gTjdx-LuUi10knHXY

[kingkama]

All info provided are good, i tried to duplicate the effect with succes. I changed some in tube making, for me 2 turns of Cardboard and 4 of craft glued with Wallpaper paste. The end plug is made directly folding the 2/3 id length of craft you must add booth cardboard end. The stars i used were 3 to 5 mm, IMO the effect in this little device must contain at least 2 effect, 1 color and 1 tailed, best suited metal dust, strobe, mgal colors but blue and charcoal spideweb are my favorite, in the end this is a question of choices. Stars are dumped inside pre mixed without order, a flash break is mandatory, but some tamer than 70/30. The tubes are closed with a tongue ply and the glue reapplied (at this point the tubes are rock hard so some time is required to tenderize the paper) using the case former, the ply is gently forced to compress stars and break, forming a 2 - 3 mm Socket This socket is a must. When all dry, in the center of the closed tube a hole is pierced to insert a piece of visco that will works like time fuse, this visco is locked with hot glue that must fill the socket created before. The outside end of wisco must be primed with a hot prime mix to insure the ingnition. The crucial poits are the break mix and the wisco length in this points the pleasure of try and errors effort, but remember that the visco burning time is declared and i read on this forum a lot of miX that could works fine. Edited August 10, 2020 by kingkama

[Richtee]

Cakes, to me are the TV dinners of the pyro world. Ya buy it, put it in the oven..or microwave these days- and volia’!

 

 

that said..they do do a decent job for a TV dinner.

[kaotch]

@kingkama,

Thanks for your info very helpful as usual. Could you elaborate how you fused your caketubes. Thanks in advance

[kingkama]

@kingkama,

Thanks for your info very helpful as usual. Could you elaborate how you fused your caketubes. Thanks in advance

You need different burning time visco like match, in US you can buy anywhere, usually are light green, yellow, pink, cakes time intervals are usually set to half second, you can refurbish a used cake and use it for template.

[Richtee]

You need different burning time visco like match, in US you can buy anywhere, usually are light green, yellow, pink, cakes time intervals are usually set to half second, you can refurbish a used cake and use it for template.

 

I’m gonna buy one just for dissection But I see then in the trash after. Hmm...