jrhpyro14 Posted August 14, 2007 Posted August 14, 2007 Well, as the title says, it didnt work all that well. It was one of the bigger shells i made and one of i think 3 that failed. I made a couple more smaller ones that worked but they werent big enough to be worth posting.but anyways, here it is. (turn up the speakers, i did it on the beach so it didnt sound that loud.)
moonshot Posted August 14, 2007 Posted August 14, 2007 Looks like you need to work on a better lift powder. The shell looked great! Nice break and good color to the stars. What comp did you use for the stars?
jrhpyro14 Posted August 14, 2007 Author Posted August 14, 2007 the lift powder i used was from a regular store bought shell. i used i think 2.5 shells worth of lift so i have no idea how much it was. it was mainly just a learning expeirience for me but i will soon be making my own bp (if i can figure out how).i cant tell you the comp of the stars because i dont know what it was. i have a person that makes them for me.
flying fish Posted August 14, 2007 Posted August 14, 2007 I agree with moonshot. I've built many successful shells but I've never had color stars that looked that good! I use commercial BP for lift so I've never had to go through the trial and error of homemade lift. But if you don't mind me asking, what are you using for lift?
jrhpyro14 Posted August 14, 2007 Author Posted August 14, 2007 i already mentoned that, but i used the lift powder from regular 1.4g shells. i used like 2.5 shells worth.
flying fish Posted August 14, 2007 Posted August 14, 2007 Oops, didn't see your other post! The lift from 1.4g shells is very similar to commercial black rifle powder, which is what I use. Fast stuff, compared to most homemade BP. I plan to learn to make homemade lift so that I have something to be proud of, lol. Probably save some $$ at the same time. If you are opening consumer shells be warned that it could be dangerous: they may contain metal powders...which cutting tools (i.e. scissors) should not make mechanical contact with.
k1ley4evr Posted August 15, 2007 Posted August 15, 2007 i cant tell you the comp of the stars because i dont know what it was. i have a person that makes them for me. or because you used the stars from a consumer shell also? Just like your so-called homemade mine?
jrhpyro14 Posted August 15, 2007 Author Posted August 15, 2007 WOuld that be a bad thing? If it is then i will stop using those stars. i just dont have acces to any other stars. If it s bad to use those, please let me know.
pudidotdk Posted August 15, 2007 Posted August 15, 2007 Both stars and lift is taken from commercial fireworks. Next thing you tell me is the burst was also?
jrhpyro14 Posted August 15, 2007 Author Posted August 15, 2007 yes .i was useing the burst charge too. i just figured it would work becuase they were already in a shell so it wouldnt be a problem using them in a different shell.but now that i see all of yoor negative reactions, Can someone please point me in the right direction!!
Aikimike999 Posted August 15, 2007 Posted August 15, 2007 These forums are a weath of knowledge, have a look round, head to the 'newbie' section and start reading! All you have been doing so far is cheating by useing commercial stuff!
jrhpyro14 Posted August 15, 2007 Author Posted August 15, 2007 ok, i will have a look around. i have been looking at the newbie section also. the only reason i was doing that was because i dont have a ball mill or the right materials. i still dont know if my dad will let me get one or not. but thanks for tall the help.
psyco_1322 Posted August 16, 2007 Posted August 16, 2007 He wasnt cheating, he was just working on his shell building. Other than destroying a good shell to start with theres not much a problem with using commercial stars. It takes away from the thrill of making a shell completely from sratch though. But if you use them to make a better effect than thats good. Like using stars out of a cheap peony shell to try your hand at making ring shells. People buy stars from 1.3g dealers all the time and use them. They dont make there own stars, just the shells, so in a sense your not cheating but making it more easy on your self. You should though try and get the chems to make some bp and stars, even if they are bp based. Read, Learn, Do (<Totses saying, not mine!)
jrhpyro14 Posted August 16, 2007 Author Posted August 16, 2007 actually, thats exactly what i was trying to do. i have the cheapo "small festival balls" and i was trying tio make a ring shell!!you like read my mind. lol the way ui tried it was just to line the perimeter of the shell with the stars and the inner part with burst powder. will that work?
frogy Posted August 16, 2007 Posted August 16, 2007 Something easy for you to do is head to like Skylighter, Firefox, or Phils General store and get like 5 lbs. of Potassium Nitrate... Then get some sulfur and Kitty Litter from a Wal-mart, Lowes, Home Depot, or agricultural store... My Potassium Nitrate is from Phil (ihaveadotcom.com)... My charcoal is homemade from White Pine cooked in a old cookie tin... and my sulfur is agricultural sulfur pellet disks (saucer shaped pellets of sulfur)... My Ball mill was %90 percent free... Only thing I bought was $1.39 of dextrin bearing... (My media cost $14 though)... The best thing you can do when your a beginning pyro would be...KNO3 Smoke mix -> RCandy Rockets -> Fountains -> Small BP Rockets -> Rockets with Headers -> Small Shells\Starmines -> Larger Shells So far I haven't spent much on pyro and I've gotten a long way...$13 for a 550g x .1g Digital scale$15 for 5 lb. of KNO3$1.39 for dextrin bearing (for ball mill)$14 for 100 .54 caliber lead balls If you have the parts like me to make a ball mill... You can get fast in pyro cheaply... Of course now I have over $100 in KClO4, Dextrin, Strontium Nitrate, Copper II Oxide, IBH, and other chemicals on it's way... Just remember to start with the easy stuff if you haven't already, and work your way up... You'll find it much more satisfying getting small things to work than starting off failing with shells... If your dad does let you buy\make a ball mill... Make some charcoal, buy some kno3, and sulfur... make some lift, and tiger tail\chrysanthemum stars and make some starmines or rockets...
psyco_1322 Posted August 16, 2007 Posted August 16, 2007 If you can find a 50lb bag of KNO3 it will be much cheaper than buying it from suppliers. I just bought one for $60. Thats $1.20/lb. Cheaper than the $5/lb for stump remover and the $3/lb. frogy got sacked with. Charcoals free if you have a ball mill to powder it good. Sulfur is about as cheap as dirt also. Dextrin runs the price of cornstarch, plus your oven power usage. So it is possible to get a lot for a little, see!
deadman Posted August 16, 2007 Posted August 16, 2007 I don't think it's such a bad thing he mutilated commecial fireworks to try to make his own. I probably would have done the same thing if I had access to those when I was starting out. I was wondering why the stars burned out so quickly for a 3"er. I didn't realize until after the video they were from festival balls. How old are you? Just wondering. The reason people were surprised you used commercial everything is mainly because they enjoy the satisfaction of a succesful shoot from all the hard work it takes to building a device from the ground up. It just seams to be the norm and when something different happens it catches everyone by surprise. Don't worry about it, just do what you can until you get some real pyro tools and chems. I just have to brag for a moment. I got my K Nitrate for 23 bucks for 50 pounds including tax. Good luck.
jrhpyro14 Posted August 16, 2007 Author Posted August 16, 2007 im 14.but trust me, im verrrrry safe about the things i do and have done alot of research about all of the things i am doing. the reason i use comercial stuff is because i dont have a ball mill or any chemicals yet. btu thanks for the help and recomendations.
flying fish Posted August 19, 2007 Posted August 19, 2007 The reason people were surprised you used commercial everything is mainly because they enjoy the satisfaction of a succesful shoot from all the hard work it takes to building a device from the ground up. It just seams to be the norm and when something different happens it catches everyone by surprise. Don't worry about it, just do what you can until you get some real pyro tools and chems.I'll agree, but this is how I like to put it: I think the reason alot of people got angry was because he tried to pass them off as his own shells, while most of the pyro components were just taken from other shells. Plus, those colors are better than what many of us can produce home-made. I also agree that it might be a good learning experience, so long as you understand that cutting into a shell is a potentially dangerous operation, and you should be wearing safety equipment (especially safety glasses and gloves) while doing this. I'm guessing your incision into the shell should also not be pointed towards you .
jrhpyro14 Posted August 20, 2007 Author Posted August 20, 2007 I also agree that it might be a good learning experience, so long as you understand that cutting into a shell is a potentially dangerous operation, and you should be wearing safety equipment (especially safety glasses and gloves) while doing this. I'm guessing your incision into the shell should also not be pointed towards you . Yeah, definately. whenever i did that i made sure i did not point it toward me and that i wasnt cutting very vigorously. i also did wear goggles. I usually wear gloves but i reacently lost them at a friends house .Would wearing like some gardeing gloves or something work?But thanks for all the help and i will definately try to get a ball mill.Can you get Sulfer at like Home Depot or something?thanks
flying fish Posted August 20, 2007 Posted August 20, 2007 I am glad you are safety conscious. Honestly, I'm not sure what type of gloves would work best, but personally I would go with some tough leather gloves. Since I'm preaching pyrotechnic safety, I might as well also say be careful with cutting tools also! Personally I've never sustained any injuries from pyro, but plenty from tools that have "slipped" on me.
psyco_1322 Posted August 20, 2007 Posted August 20, 2007 What the hell are people cutting shells open with? A chainsaw? You dont need glasses or gloves or lab coats and blast shields. Just take a razor blade and cut through the paper. dont cut through the whole shell in one wack. Cutting shells open is about as dangerous as making them. Now how many people load up on safety when they make there shells?
flying fish Posted August 20, 2007 Posted August 20, 2007 Yeah, the risks in cutting open shells is small. But there can be metal on metal contact if you have metal powders in the shells you are taking apart - which is often the case. I guess you could say this is why you might not want to use scissors. I always thought it would be good to start people off being expecially safety concious so they don't get lazy on saftey, but I suppose accidental ignition due to other sources (static...) is probably alot more likely. I guess what I'm saying is that, while I'm trying to preach saftey, I can't go through everything. Always evaluate the situation before undertakng a project, and do reasearch if you don't know, etc etc. Now I'm rambling...
jrhpyro14 Posted August 21, 2007 Author Posted August 21, 2007 I am glad you are safety conscious. Honestly, I'm not sure what type of gloves would work best, but personally I would go with some tough leather gloves. Since I'm preaching pyrotechnic safety, I might as well also say be careful with cutting tools also! Personally I've never sustained any injuries from pyro, but plenty from tools that have "slipped" on me. ya, i tottaly agre.That SUCKS when your cutting something relativle slippery and before you know it..."SLIP, WHOA, OOOWWW!!"that has happend many time now i it sucks.
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