2x6" Can Shell, TT w/ Glitter and Mg Inserts

[NightHawkInLight]

Well here's an entry doomed to fail amongst the 4"+ shells...But i figure it can't hurt to show some of my work. The shell used a 1g kno3 based flash break, an inner core of small winokur 20 glitter stars (w/ Mg instead of aluminum, which my crappy camera didn't pick up to well) And a filler of a variation of TT stars. I also had 4 3/8" inserts loaded with Mg and glitter microstars. Anyway here's the video:

Any comments are appreciated.

[gods knight]

pretty good actually

[ULTRABUF]

Nice job. That was quite the monstrous looking 2" lol.

[NightHawkInLight]

Thanks, I'm glad you guys think so.

Thanks for the comments

[FrankRizzo]

Not too shabby man. What you really need is a copy of the Fulcanelli papers from Pyrotechnica IX and XI. I guarantee you will have even better looking and more reliable shells after reading them.

 

Just a quick note after watching your assembly videos: Quit using a hot glue gun for your entire shell assembly. They're useful for creating a nice sealing blob around the timefuse on the end-disk, but should never be used near your assembly area if you have open containers containing stars, black powder, and *especially* flash. They can fail spectacularly when the heating element is shorted...just ask BlackBooger what the color of adrenaline is...BROWN.

 

Additionally, your casings should extend one full diameter on the bottom and at least one-half diameter on the top, past the end disks (so that the paper lies right up next to the base of the fuse when pleated down).

[mormanman]

It scared me how big the launch was. But I liked it. Now I'm going to watch you making one.

[NightHawkInLight]

Thanks for the tips FrankRizzo, I'll be sure to look up those papers. I didn't understand what you meant by your last comment about extending the casing, as it seems to describe what i did, although maybe not on the first layer of paper under the spiking.

Also thanks for the warning about the hot glue gun. I've used one for years and have done all kinds of crazy tests to make sure it couldn't ignite anything i was using, but i never thought about a short. I usually never do use it near any of my chemicals and compositions but i did for that particular video because i didn't want to move the camera.

-Ben

[FrankRizzo]

The best place to pick-up a copy of those two manuals is from Warren Klofkorn of Prometheus Publications. Just send him an email asking what he's currently asking for the Fulcanelli papers set...his price will be much better than Skylighter's. His address is: prometheus_pubs@hotmail.com

 

If you already have the proper extension of casing past the end disks, I'm sorry for the confusion. After the part where your camera dies and you come back with the finished shell, I believe you said there was 1/2" of overhang. If you were making a 1.25" diameter casing, you should have 5/8" overhand on the fused end and ideally a full 1.25" overhang on the bottom. The top should be folded down in strips, whereas the bottom should be tongue-folded for strength. Cannister shells are inherently weak where the fuse enters on top, so you should use a second disk with a hole for the fuse atop the pleated paper before you begin spiking (many people also use a second disk on the bottom as well). Additionally, because of the weakness in the top, they should always be top-fused, with a passfire leading to the lift charge at the bottom. If you can make cuts stars, you can make blackmatch and quickmatch.

[NightHawkInLight]

Very interesting! I have never actually read very much about can shells and have come up with my own designs so i have never heard to...Basically fire them upside down right? So the quickmatch ignites the timefuse on its way to the lift, I'll have to try that. I have very rarely had shell failures, (only two that i can think of) but that is probably because i haven't done any can shells larger than 2" OD because of the neighbors. I can see how on larger shells the fused end would get much weaker. Thanks for the tips! I'll be sure to save that guys email address also for when i get some more cash...

[FrankRizzo]

Yep, you've got it. The blackmatch extending from the quickmatch shell leader connects to the cross-match on the time fuse, then another short section of quickmatch (called a "passfire") connects from the leader/timefuse down to the bottom of the shell. The shell is then wrapped in a few turns of thin kraft paper which extends ~1.5X the diameter of the shell on both ends. Bunch up the paper at the top of the shell, with the leader passing through the bunch, then tie a half-hitch or two around the works. Then, tie another knot around the outside of the shell ~1/4" up from the bottom and add your lift charge to the paper cup created by the outer wrap extending past the shell bottom (the knot around the bottom of the shell keeps the lift from migrating between the shell and wrap). Twist up the excess paper, tie it closed, and trim off the excess to finish the shell.

 

The wrap of paper at the top of the shell (called a "bucket") is a huge firestorm when the quickmatch passes fire into it, so ignition with this method is almost guaranteed.

 

If you can scrape together $40, subscribe to Passfire.com. With the current publishing cycle, you'll have at least 2 years of access. I'm sure plenty of others with agree that it's the best money you've ever spent on a hobby.

[NightHawkInLight]

Thanks for the comments, your information has been more than useful

I've been wanting to build some larger multi break shells for a while now and now a have an excuse to do some testing, thanks