hindsight Posted September 16, 2013 Posted September 16, 2013 (edited) Welcome Jon! Our personal pyrotechnic histories bear an uncanny resemblance. When you and I were experimenting in our uncautious youth, there was no internet. Heck, there weren't even PC's. On the other hand, you could go to the local hobby store and buy a bottle of just about any chemical you wanted. No retailer concerns for liability and virtually no Federal regulations. This forum has been a gold mine for those of us who have returned to the avocation (a bit more safety-minded than before). I agree--the fact that some of us survived our youth is proof of the existence of a compassionate God. And, yes, we are still kids at heart. Edited September 16, 2013 by hindsight
NeuroticNurse Posted September 19, 2013 Posted September 19, 2013 Not my first post. But here's my intro. Hi everybody.I'm a 26 year old bloke from Adelaide, SA.My interest in the chemistry behind pyrotechnics came mainly from magic, and more specifically, making nitrocellulose, which I've been doing for a very long time on a very small scale. But at some point last year I got hooked on pyrotechnics when seeking out KNO3 for smoke and I realised that much of what I use and know is directly applicable to pyrotechnics as well. I'll confess that I'm VERY new to making pyrotechnic effects, so any help you can give is always appreciated.Anyway, hope to learn lots from you all.
NeuroticNurse Posted September 19, 2013 Posted September 19, 2013 **KNO3 for smoke/rocket candy rather**
nt8 Posted September 24, 2013 Posted September 24, 2013 Hi, I'm nt8, i live somwhere Europa. Im not too young, but i'm beginner In my country, haven't much opportunity to make homemade fireworks , but i try to develope my firework knowledge and practice!Sorry for my bad english!
dagabu Posted September 24, 2013 Posted September 24, 2013 Hi, I'm nt8, i live somwhere Europa. Im not too young, but i'm beginner In my country, haven't much opportunity to make homemade fireworks , but i try to develope my firework knowledge and practice!Sorry for my bad english! Your English was just fine! Welcome to APC.
somecommiebastard Posted October 3, 2013 Posted October 3, 2013 Welp, not much to say to be honest but I picked up pyro as a hobby around about 4 years agoand now its just one of those little things I like to do with my free time. I haven't really made anythingbigger than a simple firecracker and a few smoke bombs, but I'm gonna see if this board and its memberswill help me learn anything new.
pyroman2498 Posted October 5, 2013 Posted October 5, 2013 Sorry for late reply , ive been recovering from a pyro accident, Anyways ,Welcome to the forum SCB, hope you enjoy your stay, and as long as you fellow the simple rules , we can help you, and you will gain ALOT Of friends & knowledge on this forum. Stay Safe & Stay Green ~Steven
Boommaker Posted October 29, 2013 Posted October 29, 2013 Hello, My name is Marvin Botts. I am a LONG time pyro. I first joined the Portland Oregon Pyrotechnics Association in '82, then PGI the same year. I have won numerous trophies at PGI, wrote many articles for AFN, was webmaster for Pyrobilia in the mid 2000's, and now am web developer again for the new Pyrobilia Encyclopedia of fireworks, PyroPedia. I live in Paducah Kentucky, but am moving to Spring Hill Florida. Looking to hook up with pyro's in central Florida.
BJV Posted October 29, 2013 Posted October 29, 2013 Welcome Marvin, this is a great group of Pyro'sBJV Barry 1
marks265 Posted October 29, 2013 Posted October 29, 2013 Welcome aboard Marvin, Your handle had me going there for a minute. I just had to drop in on this and see what's up. I was combing through the AFN Best of's, now I'll have go back and look for the "MB's". Mark M 1
Boommaker Posted October 30, 2013 Posted October 30, 2013 Mark, likely AFN #1 collection. It was a LONG time ago! I used to manufacture special carts that hauled fireworks for Jack Drewes operation in Colorado some time ago.
Jam1n Posted November 1, 2013 Posted November 1, 2013 Hello. My name is JAM1N, and I'm a pyroholic... Seriously though. I am hear to learn everything I can. Thanks all.
adam1 Posted November 1, 2013 Posted November 1, 2013 Hi I'm Adam, I'm 18 and from Melbourne, Australia. Always enjoyed pyro but joined mostly to learn
BurritoBandito Posted November 2, 2013 Posted November 2, 2013 (edited) Hello Jam1n and Adam. Welcome to the forum. Edited November 2, 2013 by BurritoBandito
TheSidewinder Posted November 2, 2013 Posted November 2, 2013 Welcome to the forums, Marvin, Jam1n, and Adam, glad to have you aboard! Pull up a chair and set a spell.
IFIONLYHADTHUMBS Posted November 7, 2013 Posted November 7, 2013 Hello all. Have always had a love and fascination for things that go boom and flash. Just got into this again earlier this year. Had great success with bp rockets. Have a lot to learn and want to do it safe and correctly. Hand made a 1/2 star press out of alum. Got some great ss screens and an arbor press. Welcome me into your community. Would love to go to a shoot next year. Thanks
Nyssiom Posted November 9, 2013 Posted November 9, 2013 Hey everybody.. I want to present myself (no, actually I'm wrinting my first post to be able to create topics...) Anyway... I'm Nyssiom, 15, love powders, love you guys... love BP, rcandy... Pretty sure that's enough
Seymour Posted November 10, 2013 Posted November 10, 2013 IfIonlyhadthumbs and Nyssiom, Welcome to APC
Belisarius Posted November 11, 2013 Posted November 11, 2013 Hi, my name is Rich. I'm 50 and I live in SE Michigan USA. I've had a lot of widely varying interests over the years, but I always keep coming back to pyro.My interest in pyro started in the late 70's when I discovered Weingart's Pyrotechnics. Wow, what an eye opener. I had a lot of fun making (or trying to make) gerbs, etc. About 15 years ago I picked up a copy of Shimizu's Fireworks: The Art, Science and Technique. It was also an eye opener, both in the author's detailed and scientific approach but most importantly in the realization that many (if not most) of the compositions in Weingart's book are now considered hazardous.I'm still very much a novice pyro, though I have been interested in pyro and have been making things off and on since I was a kid (I'm still a kid in many respects). Mostly I've stuck to small gerbs and rockets. I did try a few film-can shells and they worked well, but I only used effects harvested from commercial comsumer fireworks.My current resurgence of pyro interest started with my interest in BP muzzleloading firearms, which led to making BP (sporting BP is now $25/pound retail!). It works fairly well, but I still have work to do to get the performance that I want.Since I now have inexpensive BP & pulverone, I decided to dig out the 4 oz. rocket tooling that I made about 20 years ago and try again (last time I tried they just kept blowing up). I've had much better results this time, and I hope to expand my pyro experience some more by moving beyond BP type compositions and start playing with color. I'd also like to try making girandolas, but I have a lot of learning to do before I can expect success there.Well, that's my intro. I'm looking forward to learning a lot from the forum - from people that actually know what they're doing!
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