pyrogenius007 Posted January 4, 2023 Posted January 4, 2023 I am planning on making crackling fountains. I have made fountains containing aluminum, iron, mg/al etc., all of which came out well. I now want to make crackling fountains. I watched a video by Ned Gorsky in which he showed crackling fountains made by him but there was no mention of the composition, whether it was choked or open ended. I also tried searching this forum and other sites like Cannon Fuse, etc., but could not find anything on crackling fountains. I once tried to put some crackling stars in a regular fountain containing a slow composition, I added some alcohol to the mixture and pressed it in the usual manner with my arbor press, the stars just flew out without crackling. All information regarding crackling fountains will be highly appreciated. Thanks.
cmjlab Posted January 4, 2023 Posted January 4, 2023 (edited) Ned used a standard 5/16" (3/4" ID) gerb spindle (end burner), with a nozzle expanded to 3/8" (hand twisted with a drill bit). He used Buttered Popcorn Glitter at a ratio of 2.5 oz comp to 0.5 oz Bismuth Trioxide crackle stars (-8 + 24 mesh). Crackle comp was Lloyd's Crackle (74 Bismuth Trioxide / 14 Copper (II) Oxide / 10 Mg/Al / 5 Atomized Aluminum) +10% NC Lacquer (Green Dot, Double Base) Hope that helps. Good luck. Charles Edited January 4, 2023 by cmjlab
pyrogenius007 Posted January 5, 2023 Author Posted January 5, 2023 Thanks for the info. cmjlab, I presume the mix was dampened with alcohol and then pressed. Were the stars primed ?. I will try this composition and post the results. Regards,PG.
cmjlab Posted January 7, 2023 Posted January 7, 2023 Over on FW.com he doesn't say anything about dampening the mixture. Typically the glitter is mixed and then slightly dampened and pushed through ~16-~20 mesh screen to granulate the glitter comp and cut down on the dust for pressing. However, that glitter mix and the dragon eggs are just thrown in a tub and shaken / mixed, then pressed dry.
pyrogenius007 Posted January 10, 2023 Author Posted January 10, 2023 Pressed dry ? well if it was done that way by Ned Gorsky than I guess it was the right way to do it, I will do it the same way. Once I am free sometime next week or so I will give these fountains a try. I will post the results. Thank you.
SKC Posted March 9, 2023 Posted March 9, 2023 I am planning on making crackling fountains. I have made fountains containing aluminum, iron, mg/al etc., all of which came out well. I now want to make crackling fountains. I watched a video by Ned Gorsky in which he showed crackling fountains made by him but there was no mention of the composition, whether it was choked or open ended. I also tried searching this forum and other sites like Cannon Fuse, etc., but could not find anything on crackling fountains. I once tried to put some crackling stars in a regular fountain containing a slow composition, I added some alcohol to the mixture and pressed it in the usual manner with my arbor press, the stars just flew out without crackling. All information regarding crackling fountains will be highly appreciated. Thanks. Hi, have you successfully made crackling fountain. Or you still need some help.
pyrogenius007 Posted March 11, 2023 Author Posted March 11, 2023 Hi SKC, I am in the process of constructing my new house (I took down the old one as it was more than 40 yrs. old) I am not finding time for indulging in my hobby. It may take another 2/3 months for the completion of my house, till then I will be occupied with the construction work. My new house has a separate room for making fireworks. Once the house is completed I will have both time and space for my hobby. I will post my results once I make and try one of the fountains. Regards.PG
FlaMtnBkr Posted March 25, 2023 Posted March 25, 2023 I know this is from a couple weeks ago, but having a room inside your house that will be dedicated to making fireworks is a terrible idea! I hope you rethink your plan and do something else like a shed in the back corner of your lot. Everyone has some type of accident at some point and you don't want that to happen inside where you live. If you decide to ignore this then I hope you at least live alone.... 1
SharkWhisperer Posted March 25, 2023 Posted March 25, 2023 I know this is from a couple weeks ago, but having a room inside your house that will be dedicated to making fireworks is a terrible idea! I hope you rethink your plan and do something else like a shed in the back corner of your lot. Everyone has some type of accident at some point and you don't want that to happen inside where you live. If you decide to ignore this then I hope you at least live alone....Noooooooo kidding... "My new house has a separate room for making fireworks." Cheezus build a friggin shed. Away from your house, ffs...
pyrogenius007 Posted April 8, 2023 Author Posted April 8, 2023 Hi, Thanks for your advice, the separate room I am planning is well away from the main house and it has a asbestos roof, it is a 10x10 room with 4 windows measuring 4x5 ft. I think it is safe enough, however, all suggestions regarding safety will be seriously taken into account. Regards PG.
Mumbles Posted April 26, 2023 Posted April 26, 2023 Just a little additional tidbit. Fountains made with microstars (colored or crackle) really benefit from a converging nozzle. Having a flat inside to the nozzle can really hold things up and stop them from escaping. With crackle stars, I wouldn't be surprised if it caused additional problems if they started going off inside the fountain body. A larger choke can also be beneficial. I like to make the nozzle at least 2-3x the maximum size of the star or crackle inside. I don't find these sorts of devices really need a towering column of spray anyway.
SKC Posted May 8, 2023 Posted May 8, 2023 Hi SKC, I am in the process of constructing my new house (I took down the old one as it was more than 40 yrs. old) I am not finding time for indulging in my hobby. It may take another 2/3 months for the completion of my house, till then I will be occupied with the construction work. My new house has a separate room for making fireworks. Once the house is completed I will have both time and space for my hobby. I will post my results once I make and try one of the fountains. Regards.PG To make some successful crackling fountain you just need two things.1) A simple non hazardous but effective crackling composition+process.2) A simple fountain mix. I've been making crackling fountains successfully for last few years. Sorry I do not have any video to prove my candidature but my wife loves those stuffs & asks for repeatation every Diwali.
Arthur Posted May 9, 2023 Posted May 9, 2023 Some UK fireworks were made as cones because the effective nozzle was constant but the burning surface became larger during the burn, also the effective nozzle was smoothly tapered. The cones were waste from the spinning and weaving industry where thread was spun onto cones and pulled off the cones to weave fabric.
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