Bonny Posted July 21, 2008 Posted July 21, 2008 i am going to start making crossettes soon (as soon as my pump arrives).What are some good comps? Personal favorites?
Frozentech Posted July 21, 2008 Posted July 21, 2008 i am going to start making crossettes soon (as soon as my pump arrives).What are some good comps? Personal favorites? Winokur 39J is my favorite, followed by Mike Swisher's "Long hang time willow" I don't have the formulas handy but I will dig them out and post them if you don't already have access to them. Anything with a good definite tail seems to work fine though.
Bonny Posted July 21, 2008 Author Posted July 21, 2008 i am going to start making crossettes soon (as soon as my pump arrives).What are some good comps? Personal favorites?Winokur 39J is my favorite, followed by Mike Swisher's "Long hang time willow" I don't have the formulas handy but I will dig them out and post them if you don't already have access to them. Anything with a good definite tail seems to work fine though. I seem to be in need of antimony trisulfide a lot these days...might have to get some for the Win 39J... I didn't see the willow on Passfire, so if you could post it that would be great.
RubenE Posted July 21, 2008 Posted July 21, 2008 Troy Fish Gold Glitter is also very nice. You are probably going to experiment alot to make your crossettes work properly, so before you start making up compositions that require chemicals that are a little expensive, I'll recommend you to start using a comp like Crysanthemum 6 or Tiger Tail. They are very cheap and also very nice in my opinion! What size are you going to start at?
Frozentech Posted July 22, 2008 Posted July 22, 2008 I am away from my house, at work. I evidently don't have the comp on this computer. I will look when I get home. Perhaps Mumbles has it. I am pretty sure he's used it too at some point.
Mumbles Posted July 22, 2008 Posted July 22, 2008 Yep, I have it. I actually made it into crossettes not too long ago. If frozen doesn't have it posted by wednesday I'll be sure to get it. Mondays and tuesdays are brutal for me workwise.
Zmuro Posted July 22, 2008 Posted July 22, 2008 I found this formula in AFN 2 but I didn't test it yet.Swisher Crossette WillowPotassium nitrate 53%Charcoal 27%Sulfur 14% Dextrin 6%
Mumbles Posted July 22, 2008 Posted July 22, 2008 That one isn't it, but it's very close, sans some lampblack. It's from rec.pyro and I can quote the entire post if people are interested. Some history on the word and preparation and that kind of stuff. "Long Hangtime Willow" Taken almost verbatim from a rec.pyro post by Mike Swisher. I've made crossettes with these a couple times, they should also be good in a spider shell. 53.6 Potassium Nitrate23.0 Charcoal (Airfloat)13.4 Sulfur4.0 Lampblack6.0 Dextrin Preparation "Sieve the saltpeter, sulfur and dextrin individually through 40-mesh. Discard anything that doesn't pass 40-mesh. Separately, sieve the charcoal through 40-mesh and discard anything that doesn't pass 40-mesh. Now add the lampblack to the mixed saltpeter, sulfur,and dextrine. Hand-mix and sieve the mixture through 40-mesh onto the charcoal. The reason for this is that the lampblack is almost impossible to sieve by itself, and the other materials help it pass through the fine screen. Now blend all the ingredients by hand and sieve three times through 20-mesh." Dampen with 6% water and pump. (works best to add the H2O to comp in a ziplock bag, knead well, let it rest 15 minutes, then knead well again )
Bonny Posted July 22, 2008 Author Posted July 22, 2008 That one isn't it, but it's very close, sans some lampblack. It's from rec.pyro and I can quote the entire post if people are interested. Some history on the word and preparation and that kind of stuff. "Long Hangtime Willow" Taken almost verbatim from a rec.pyro post by Mike Swisher. I've made crossettes with these a couple times, they should also be good in a spider shell. 53.6 Potassium Nitrate23.0 Charcoal (Airfloat)13.4 Sulfur4.0 Lampblack6.0 Dextrin Preparation "Sieve the saltpeter, sulfur and dextrin individually through 40-mesh. Discard anything that doesn't pass 40-mesh. Separately, sieve the charcoal through 40-mesh and discard anything that doesn't pass 40-mesh. Now add the lampblack to the mixed saltpeter, sulfur,and dextrine. Hand-mix and sieve the mixture through 40-mesh onto the charcoal. The reason for this is that the lampblack is almost impossible to sieve by itself, and the other materials help it pass through the fine screen. Now blend all the ingredients by hand and sieve three times through 20-mesh." Dampen with 6% water and pump. (works best to add the H2O to comp in a ziplock bag, knead well, let it rest 15 minutes, then knead well again ) I'll probably give that one a try sans lampblack as I don'y have any. So, as long as each chem passes 40 mesh it will be alright? I guess using the coarser chems adds to the long hang time effect?
crazyboy25 Posted July 22, 2008 Posted July 22, 2008 I know crossettes are usually made with glitter stars but why not try a color comp? I suppose they would be called splitter stars but the effect would still be cool. On another note related to crossettes, I went to a fireworks show where they had crossettes that broke into two pieces in opposite directions. Anyone herd of this?
Frozentech Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 That one isn't it, but it's very close, sans some lampblack. It's from rec.pyro and I can quote the entire post if people are interested. Some history on the word and preparation and that kind of stuff. "Long Hangtime Willow" That's the one. Thanks Mumbles. As far as color crossette comps, I still can't get myself to like them. Half (or more) of the effect of a crossette, is to leave the crossing lines in the sky, right ? None of the color comps can compete in the tail that they leave, so they end up looking like a bunch of color comets that broke apart. They also leave more burning star chunks raining down in a regular commercial show, where they do have color crossette shells and candles.
crazyboy25 Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 I suppose a glitter comp would be nicer but I wouldn't be as unwilling as you to experiment no offense. The only reason I mention it is I find many but not all glitter comps don't leave a really solid trail so it just looks like a huge mass of glitter rather then individual trails. If you can get something with a nice defined trail it would be good maybe even tigertail.
flying fish Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 Color crossettes are actually quite common commercially. They effect, if well executed is pretty psychedelic. Here's one that I found initially: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWVgygO3U_w , but I've seen better examples of color crossettes. I do also like tailed crossettes better (and they are probably also easier to pull off compared to color crossettes, when considering burn rates and ignite-ability), but if you have the means and the desire, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't make some color crossettes! Also, as for glitter crossettes, I have to mention that not all glitter compositions have a well defined tail - some of them are particularily "dirty" in terms of the flash locations and may lack a charcoal-type tail. This might defeat the purpose of the crossette effect...possibly to a much greater extent than tail-less comps (because it makes the fact that it broke into a cross less apparent). I believe the key to good glitter crossettes would be choosing a glitter composition and charcoal type that produce a good, well defined tail.
Mumbles Posted July 24, 2008 Posted July 24, 2008 If you're after a thinner tailed crossette, you might want to try Win 10. I've only fired them individually, but it seemed to be pretty streamlined.
pudidotdk Posted July 24, 2008 Posted July 24, 2008 I know crossettes are usually made with glitter stars but why not try a color comp? I suppose they would be called splitter stars but the effect would still be cool. On another note related to crossettes, I went to a fireworks show where they had crossettes that broke into two pieces in opposite directions. Anyone herd of this? If they were dark before they splitted, they must be scatter stars. Two cylinder stars in a tube with an amount of black powder and a time fuse to time them.
Bonny Posted July 24, 2008 Author Posted July 24, 2008 On another note related to crossettes, I went to a fireworks show where they had crossettes that broke into two pieces in opposite directions. Anyone herd of this? If they were dark before they splitted, they must be scatter stars. Two cylinder stars in a tube with an amount of black powder and a time fuse to time them. Here is a scatter shell I made awhile ago. It blew out the top, so my cameraman had a hard time tracking it.The shell contained 10 scatter stars/shells (which as Pudi said) had a star/comet in each end of the tubes and a burst with fuse into the centre.
flying fish Posted July 24, 2008 Posted July 24, 2008 If you're after a thinner tailed crossette, you might want to try Win 10. I've only fired them individually, but it seemed to be pretty streamlined.I'm not necessarily after a skinny tail, but one that can be easily followed with at least semi-defined edges. For instance, I think a bushy charcoal (or metallic) streamer would also work well. My "version" of Win22 stars seem to throw glitter out so randomly that it is hard to follow (with the eyes) where the star actually is. I admit though that it may be a result of the aluminum I am using, which is 80-325 mesh atomized (a very wide particle size distribution). In addition, my charcoal is the Commercial airfloat variety, which is also just awful as a spark producer, effectively limiting the amount of "tail" produced. The glitter works well other than the fact that there just are no "edges" to follow. So maybe I'm the only one that has that problem! I actually would like to try some of the Barium Nitrate glitters (like Win 10), but unfortunately don't have Barium Nitrate (and don't intend on trying to obtain any).
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