Hints and tips for Australians

[PeteyPyro]

Hi rcp, and welcome to your first post on APC. So you are trying to source Visco, KNO3 & Mg. Have you made any black powder? What are you trying to make?

[rcp]

Hello Peter Pyro i havent made bp but i am just starting out so i thought i would start making crackers and ti salutes just ground stuff. I need to source Kno3 and Mg for flash and visco offcourse. But idk where to start as getting that sorta stuff is difficult in Aus. I believe.

[AustralianPyromaniac]

Hello Peter Pyro i havent made bp but i am just starting out so i thought i would start making crackers and ti salutes just ground stuff. I need to source Kno3 and Mg for flash and visco offcourse. But idk where to start as getting that sorta stuff is difficult in Aus. I believe.

Hey rpc, can I start by recommending that you stay away from salutes. Big bangs are really not what this hobby is about. I personally never make salutes at all.

There is sources for those kind of things in Australia and visco can be imported from overseas.

So what have you made so far? Just getting to know your experience.

I personally started out with smoke bombs and KNO3 rockets. That would be probably be something more beginner friendly than Ti salutes. Have you though about trying some devises like these first? We wouldn't want to see you get in any trouble or worse get hurt.

[PeteyPyro]

Hello Peter Pyro i havent made bp but i am just starting out so i thought i would start making crackers and ti salutes just ground stuff. I need to source Kno3 and Mg for flash and visco offcourse. But idk where to start as getting that sorta stuff is difficult in Aus. I believe.

Hi rcp. Although many of us have made such salutes as our first devices, it's a very dangerous way to start in this hobby, both from a safety and legal point of view. Flash powder, even 'slow' flash powder, is one of the easiest things to make, yet one of the most dangerous and unforgiving composition that exists. Many beginners, as well as those with some experience under their belts, have been maimed or killed by flash. If ANYTHING goes wrong with it, the consequences, physically and legally, can be immediately horrendous. Australia is not a very fireworks friendly place, and making "bangerz" there is (probably) very illegal, and can land you in serious trouble if caught. Even if it is legal (on some level), you really shouldn't be making it so early in your hobby of pyrotechnics. I sincerely implore you to consider the legal and other consequences would be if you were caught, injured, or killed. If you decide to pursue this anyway, consider making your first black powder instead. There are plenty of valuable resoures and good information on this site's forums. You'll probably do well to study the safety threads, study the vast articles, and study them some more. Then, if you believe that you have the temperment, discipline, and desire to safely continue in this hobby, start with the basics, such as making a good black powder. Find a local fireworking club or Guild (if they even exist near you), and seek a mentor to safely guide your first steps. I personally am still reluctant to work with flash, and am lucky that I survived my youth. Please seriously consider my words as someone who doesn't want to see another newbie get injured, killed, or jailed over such a dangerous pursuit.

BTW, if you're just into 'k3wl bangz', don't expect us to cheer you on to your destruction.

[rcp]

Hey rpc, can I start by recommending that you stay away from salutes. Big bangs are really not what this hobby is about. I personally never make salutes at all.

There is sources for those kind of things in Australia and visco can be imported from overseas.

So what have you made so far? Just getting to know your experience.

I personally started out with smoke bombs and KNO3 rockets. That would be probably be something more beginner friendly than Ti salutes. Have you though about trying some devises like these first? We wouldn't want to see you get in any trouble or worse get hurt.

Hello Pyromaniac, I have made some small firecrackers with Kno3/Mg flash, I have also made a rocket motor with Kno3/Sugar but havent really done anything with black powder since i have no clue where to get Kno3 anymore as well as sulfur, i also need to get charcoal powder as i cant make it. As well as visco fuse if anyone has info or would like to PM about where i can source visco or even if you are selling it yourself please message me.

[lloyd]

"i also need to get charcoal powder as i cant make it."

000000000

RCP,

ANYONE with access to some light hardwoods, a barby, and a paint can can make their own charcoal! And getting it to powder is as simple as building a small ball mill. This is the easy stuff. You need to 'get on board' with a few preparatory steps before you get into any serious pyro-making.

 

Things like Visco are specialty items that usually must be purchased. There's at least one Oz fellow selling a visco-making machine. But you need black powder to make visco, and you're not to that step, yet.

 

I can assure you, that as soon as you really get into making pyro, you'll be wanting your own charcoal, your ball mill, and time fuses (which can be made other ways, besides the 'visco' style. Consider 'spolettes'.).

 

Lloyd

[patsroom]

Hello Pyromaniac, I have made some small firecrackers with Kno3/Mg flash, I have also made a rocket motor with Kno3/Sugar but havent really done anything with black powder since i have no clue where to get Kno3 anymore as well as sulfur, i also need to get charcoal powder as i cant make it. As well as visco fuse if anyone has info or would like to PM about where i can source visco or even if you are selling it yourself please message me.

The two things I do not know - what the laws are down under and what it is that you would like to make. If you are smart enough about finding the site here I bet you could find just about any and all answers here you would like by just reading the posts here in APC in one of the topics. There are a lot of mates there that can help in finding the materials you need as to where you can get them. I hope that you are not just a BANGER and will truly follow the advice that will be give in this forum for your safety and production of fireworks...................Pat

[rcp]

The two things I do not know - what the laws are down under and what it is that you would like to make. If you are smart enough about finding the site here I bet you could find just about any and all answers here you would like by just reading the posts here in APC in one of the topics. There are a lot of mates there that can help in finding the materials you need as to where you can get them. I hope that you are not just a BANGER and will truly follow the advice that will be give in this forum for your safety and production of fireworks...................Pat

Hello Pat i will have a look for some info thanks for the advice and yes that's what i am looking for just some mates who will help me along as i do have a lot of questions and some members have already PMed me to help me start. I do want to learn how to make aerial stuff as well as colour compositions used in stars just some more intricate stuff but in the recent past i have only been able to make ground salutes as i have found that really easy in terms of the materials used but i want to move on as is the reason i posted in this forum, looking for info and people who could help me out.

[rcp]

"i also need to get charcoal powder as i cant make it."

000000000

RCP,

ANYONE with access to some light hardwoods, a barby, and a paint can can make their own charcoal! And getting it to powder is as simple as building a small ball mill. This is the easy stuff. You need to 'get on board' with a few preparatory steps before you get into any serious pyro-making.

 

Things like Visco are specialty items that usually must be purchased. There's at least one Oz fellow selling a visco-making machine. But you need black powder to make visco, and you're not to that step, yet.

 

I can assure you, that as soon as you really get into making pyro, you'll be wanting your own charcoal, your ball mill, and time fuses (which can be made other ways, besides the 'visco' style. Consider 'spolettes'.).

 

Lloyd

Hello Lloyd i understand how to make charcoal and i understand that i could get a visco making machine and so on it is just i cant actually make those things at the present time as they make to much noise as well as take up space which i cant allow. I do have access to a ball mill and can make black powder if i had the chemicals to do so. Which is what i am looking for, people who can help me out with chemicals and fuse as well as even teaching me how to make stars/shells.

[lloyd]

RCP,

Not for nothin', but if you don't have 'room' to make your own charcoal, then you certainly don't have the room to make any kind of fireworks.

 

What you told me - in a sort of 'diagonal' way - is that you're intending to make fireworks inside a small apartment in a block of other small apartments.

 

Hmmmm? Am I close?

 

LLoyd

[rcp]

Making raw materials isn't an option for me as doing that makes to much noise and takes up to much space i cant have this because i am still living with my parents.

 

Thank you, Max.

[lloyd]

RCP....

 

You don't intend to make fireworks in your parents' home, do you? (Not even in a car-park!!)

 

Lloyd

[MrB]

There's at least one Oz fellow selling a visco-making machine.

 

There is? Who? I know the thread where there was a fella, that got pretty far along, but never actually finalized the product, and started selling it. It wasn't exactly to the specifications i would have wanted it, but i would have bought one none the less, just to have a source for visco, even if i couldn't make visco with a paper strip in it, for added strength.

[Mouse]

He did start selling them B I know both memo and I got one but he seems to have dropped off the radar!! As for strength it seems about the same as regular visco to me.

[AustralianPyromaniac]

To my knowledge, there is no one selling Visco fuse machines in Australia. Believe it or not Loyd, the pyro community in Aus is quite small because of our laws and as a result, there isn't really a market for such things.

 

RPC, if you don't want to make your own charcoal it's not completely necessary to but it does help to have a supply of good quality charcoal for BP. For most uses such as stars, I use Horticultural Charcoal for the hardware store. It can be easily milled to air float and works fine. I did once make BP with it and got an acceptable result so if you really can't make your own use this stuff. https://www.bunnings.com.au/brunnings-5l-horticultural-charcoal_p3016175

 

Loyd, don't see your objection to him doing it in his parents home if they're ok with it and its done safely. Ball milling would be my greatest concern but as long as it's done somewhere outside the house it should be safe if it explodes. Yes, it will make an almighty bang but barricaded it should be fine especially if say a rubber barrel is used.

 

Just don't light any devices at the house but I hope that would be self explaitory...

 

Regards, AP

[rcp]

To my knowledge, there is no one selling Visco fuse machines in Australia. Believe it or not Loyd, the pyro community in Aus is quite small because of our laws and as a result, there isn't really a market for such things.

 

RPC, if you don't want to make your own charcoal it's not completely necessary to but it does help to have a supply of good quality charcoal for BP. For most uses such as stars, I use Horticultural Charcoal for the hardware store. It can be easily milled to air float and works fine. I did once make BP with it and got an acceptable result so if you really can't make your own use this stuff. https://www.bunnings.com.au/brunnings-5l-horticultural-charcoal_p3016175

 

Loyd, don't see your objection to him doing it in his parents home if they're ok with it and its done safely. Ball milling would be my greatest concern but as long as it's done somewhere outside the house it should be safe if it explodes. Yes, it will make an almighty bang but barricaded it should be fine especially if say a rubber barrel is used.

 

Just don't light any devices at the house but I hope that would be self explaitory...

 

Regards, AP

Thanks for clearing that up AP, i will definitely have a look at bunnings and yes i do use a rubber barrel i am also aware of the dangers of pyro comps although i am new to the hobby i am very alert when handling such things in the house.

[lloyd]

AP wrote, "To my knowledge, there is no one selling Visco fuse machines in Australia."

 

AP,

Small market or no, I was contacted by an Australian designer/maker of a visco machine just last month. He seems ready to get one to me, and we're entertaining the idea of my becoming a 'stocking dealer' in the US.

 

I have no reason to believe he was lying <shrug>. Besides, this is a world market we're talking about. There isn't a good hobby visco machine available in the US or Europe, either.

 

And then AP wrote, "Loyd, don't see your objection to him doing it in his parents home if they're ok with it and its done safely."

 

Huh? One little accident, and the house burns down. When the insurance company finds out how the fire started, they deny all claims due to illegal or 'policy-prohibited' activities in the home. Parents lose everything.

 

One simply DOES NOT MAKE FIREWORKS IN A DWELLING -- E V E R !!!

 

Lloyd

[AustralianPyromaniac]

I will give you that Loyd, if you look hard enough you can find or make almost anything and I'm sure it is possible to get a Visco fuse machine shipped to Australia. In saying this, I believe the original intent of the message to be where can I buy fuse not where can I invest more the $100 to get a machine to make the fuse. What I should have said is "to my limited knowledge."

 

Hope the business dealing work out well for you and you can get some of the machines by the way.

 

As far as fireworks in a dwelling I have to concede it isn't an excellent idea as you said. The importance of the word safely can't be overstated here. I personally work on property that also has as a house on it, but I do all dangerous (Flammable) pyro work in an entirely separate brick shed not connected to the house. Consider also that RPC would likely work with minimal amounts of material. Furthermore, however unwise, I know I speak for myself and assume I speak for many others when saying that I initially started making smoke bombs in my house with limited safety precations but in short time learned the dangers of such things and stopped.

 

To say that you have more experience than me in these things Loyd would be a gross understatement and this is simply my opinion but I do believe that pyrotechnics can be safely done in small-scale in a suburban property with a backyard. Don't forget us Aussies have some of the biggest outdoor dwellings in the world.

 

Having said all this, I do support your thinking in saying that pyro can't safely be done in any sort of unit and completely condone any such practices. That is madness to me, especially when considering where a ball mill would go on such a property.

 

Regards, AP

[lloyd]

"... I'm sure it is possible to get a Visco fuse machine shipped to Australia."

-------------

You may have missed the point I tried to make. It was invented in, and is made in Australia. He's considering setting up worldwide distribution from 'dispatch' points outside Oz.

 

Lloyd

[greenlight]

Anyone know of any sellers that have willow charcoal and will ship to Au. The only two I have found won't send here.

[rcp]

Does anyone know what happened to Kenicals?

[AustralianPyromaniac]

Anyone know of any sellers that have willow charcoal and will ship to Au. The only two I have found won't send here.

 

Auschems had it a few months back and I got some but he's sold out now. I would email him and ask where he got it or if he will have any in stock soon. Willow is a massive weed where I live so you could make your own if you can find the tree. And do the environment a favor at the same time.

[AustralianPyromaniac]

Does anyone know what happened to Kenicals?

 

They went out of business I believe but if you contacted this youtube he could give you a definite answer. I think he may have run it. https://www.youtube.com/user/toothpick993

[greenlight]

Thanks, I will send him an email the only stuff he has at the moment is mallee charcoal.

[AustralianPyromaniac]

I have seen that. Haven't heard of it for use in BP though so it's quite useless to us. Looks like it's a hardwood useful for star comps from some research.