Swede Posted May 5, 2008 Posted May 5, 2008 This thing made my head snap when I was in a "World Market" store today... http://www.5bears.com/firew/bamb01.jpg It's a 3' wide by maybe 6' tall blind made of perfect bamboo shafts, straight as an arrow and quite small. They had others that used thicker bamboo, but since right now I am into really small rockets, this is the one I bought. It was $10. http://www.5bears.com/firew/bamb02.jpg Back home, a few slices of a box cutter freed the bamboo from the string, and the shafts began to fall free with little effort. http://www.5bears.com/firew/bamb03.jpg When the smoke cleared, I had a huge pile of 3' long bamboo sticks. The value here far exceeds the 99 cent packs of skewers, and this bamboo is finer than the skewers. Best of all, if I want an extra long stick rather than a skimpy skewer, I've got it. http://www.5bears.com/firew/bamb05.jpg I'm pretty sure you can find this sort of blind in stores like Peir-9 and World market, any of the stores that sell cheap Chinese junk, bamboo furniture, wine glasses by the crate, that sort of thing.
moonshot Posted May 6, 2008 Posted May 6, 2008 Yeah swede. I was just in one of our discount/closeout retailers called Big Lots here in the states and saw the same sort of blinds. Really cheap yet great for some excellent rocket sticks. I will pick this up since I am getting tired of cutting my own sticks and for the price vs quantity ratio it's a real bargain. These will fit my smaller rockets great.
asilentbob Posted May 6, 2008 Posted May 6, 2008 That seems like a pretty good idea for small rockets... I wonder how their strength compares with that of other rocket sticks...
justanotherpyro Posted May 6, 2008 Posted May 6, 2008 Thats actually kind of funny because I used to work at a World Market and I threw away several of these things because they were " broken ". If only I would have put two and two together. I'm not really much of a rocket person though.
Swede Posted May 6, 2008 Author Posted May 6, 2008 The sticks in those pictures are small, a bit larger than bottle rocket size, but they make those blinds using all sorts of differing diameters, so if you are looking for heavier sticks, they should be there. Right now, I am seeing just how much performance I can get out of some really small motor tubes - 1/4" ID, 5/16" OD, by 1.5" long. I am on a sort of side track where I am thinking like a Bonsai gardener, wondering if it is possible to miniaturize fireworks. Good for stealth and not drawing too much attention. I've got a nice set of tooling made for these micro-motors, and am working on nozzles to optimize thrust and payload. Too many CATO's right now, though. Hopefully, once I've got a decent mini-lift motor, I'm going to try a few different payloads. The crackling orange Flying fish, cut into tiny cores, maybe some really small round stars (poppy-seed centers), that sort of thing. Bonsai fireworks!
ActionTekJackson Posted May 6, 2008 Posted May 6, 2008 Thats actually kind of funny because I used to work at a World Market and I threw away several of these things because they were " broken ". If only I would have put two and two together. I'm not really much of a rocket person though. Man, I live 10 minutes away... I oughta slap you... not much of a rocket man... psh... *shakes head*
justanotherpyro Posted May 6, 2008 Posted May 6, 2008 Ya but I aint the one who makes em, just some of the headers
lnstantkarma Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 Thats a good idea, I'll do that next time I run out of sticks. World Market is cool too, I have a pig shaped mortar and pestle from them.
Swede Posted September 19, 2008 Author Posted September 19, 2008 You're welcome. I don't know if it makes the slightest difference, but the material in that blind was "reeds" and not bamboo. They work perfectly for 1/4" tubes, and paired, they work for 1/2" tubes as well, although they are a bit light for that size. Two sticks paired 180 degrees apart stabilizes really well as it is symmetrical, and both of those reed sticks together weighs less than a single hardwood dowel or similar.
EEguy Posted March 26, 2010 Posted March 26, 2010 I get my sticks from Cincinnati Dowel. They have a large assortment of sizes, and the prices are decent for their economy dowels.
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