List Of Chemicals

[oskarchem]

Well I detain this information form one of my chemical suppliers. But let's wait for someone else to chime in.

[PyroMedia]

Found On Skylighter

 

http://www.skylighter.com/fireworks/help/m...rison_chart.asp

Edited August 30, 2008 by PyroMedia

[Arthur]

I'd be wary about buying from someone whose other item was a well tracked drug precursor -iodine crystals. I also wonder about the 4200 mesh. He can say thet but you have no means of checking -Endecotts,com do not do test sieves that fine, so I doubt there are any on the open market.

[PyroMedia]

i think it could be measured under a microscope then converted to mesh, but to be honest i think its BS Edited August 31, 2008 by PyroMedia

[Richtee]

Smokeless powder AS-IS has no uses in pyro, though it can be used to make decent NC lacquer.

 

Surprisingly, a guy I met the other night touched off a commercial cake...whistles/booms, etc. Cool. I grabbed the tubes after and had the DISTINCT odor of the Red Dot I used to load shot shells with. NitroC. Was very surprised!

[PyroMedia]

Smokeless could be useful for suburban settings, as there would be no neighbors complaining about smoke.

 

Im looking into some Ammopulver (did i spell that right)

[psyco_1322]

Ammonpulver is out of its topic here, please discuss it in the HE section.

[PyroMedia]

oh, sorry i didnt know it was a HE, isnt it used as a BlackPowder sub?

 

Sorry to any admins, i didnt know.

Edited September 1, 2008 by PyroMedia

[Mumbles]

Anything more than 300 mesh is extremely inaccurate and in most cases is just an estimation. Both PM and Oskar are correct respectively. Oskar is correct in the fact that a 1000 mesh screen probably has 1 micron openings. Doing a bit of math, you'll see that the conversion is done with the assumption that the wires are infinitely small.

 

In any case, I thought you said you were staying away from flash powder? That fine of a powder has very little use besides flash. You'll want to be looking at something on the order of 30 micron. Though I did hear of a very nice shimmering glitter effect with some that was around 5 micron.

[PyroMedia]

I am staying away from flash powder, till i need it but im stocking up on chemicals, so, why not get some flash chemicals, im going to need them eventually. And I also cant get any perchlorate because nobody is willing to ship up to Canada. I emailed a guy and he said i could meet him down in Seattle and im debating whether i should do this or not, as im only 15.

 

Seems A bit Dodgy to me.

 

Anybody know anything about Crossing the boarder when your under 18?]

 

EDIT: Is Ammopulver discussion allowed here?

Edited September 1, 2008 by PyroMedia

[Swede]

I have no idea about the ammonpulver. As for the trip to the U.S. that DOES sound a bit "off" and if I were you, I'd figure out some other way.

 

I think your list of shell sizes and tubes is a good start. For a beginner (and I am still very much one) the 2.5" size is nice. It's not so small that you have troubles with burst, the cost to load them is still small, yet you can still get good effects AND the shell construction techniques learned will translate well to 4" and up.

 

I have no problems with stockpiling a bit of fine flake Al, as you never know when it will become very difficult to obtain. Perchlorate is a problem because it is SO useful and nearly universally used in so many legit comps. But I advocate patience, you can work with KNO3 as your only oxidizer for a LONG time and still only scratch the surface.

Edited September 2, 2008 by Swede

[qwezxc12]

...snip Though I did hear of a very nice shimmering glitter effect with some that was around 5 micron.

 

That may heve been me...I experimented with several batches of D1 made with different mesh sizes of atomized aluminum. 20-30um is the norm, I think. 5um made for a fast, strobe-like effect rather than a glitter. I also milled the KNO₃. They worked great as 3/8" cores when rolled up to 5/8" or so with C8...they look very much like a strobe, but you don't need the BaNO₃ typically needed for white strobe composition.

 

Flake Al produces little, if any, glitter phenomenon...larger flake will produce more of a poor (short-tailed) streamer, unless you're making something like Shimizu's "Metal Fire-dust" compositions. Fine flake is a waste; it just makes a whitish star.

[PyroMedia]

Im going to need someone who does not mind breaking a small law and shipping to Canada. But Kno3 As your only oxidizer kinda... Sucks. i see all These Comps and all of them need some exotic oxidizer.

 

Also, can someone explain how a star roller works? as in what do you do to start it off?

Edited September 2, 2008 by PyroMedia

[Mumbles]

Colored stars are not the only effect around. I think you may encounter some difficulty in finding someone here to break laws to ship chemicals internationally to an underaged person. You really need to walk before you can run. To my knowledge you haven't even made any lift, rockets, mines, fountains, etc yet. Until you can actually make functional devices, colored stars(or flash) are really not needed. If you try to start with too advanced of projects, you may get discouraged too easily.

 

A star roller works kind of like a cement mixer. There is a barrel open on one end that rotates at maybe 15-20 RPM. The good ones have a bit of bounce to them. A core is placed in the barrel and slightly dampened. Common cores include husked millet seeds, lead shot, acini di pepe pasta, molecular sieves. Basically anything small and round. If you're really good, you can use things such as grains of sand and water droplets. Following the wetting of the cores, you sprinkle on a small bit of comp. It really takes some patience in starting off stars. It requires very little wetting and very little comp. Gradually as they start to grow you can use more water and more comp. The general rule of thumb is to grow them about 1/4" at a time and let them dry to prevent them from becoming driven in. You can use the same comp to keep the same effect.

 

There are of course variations. Some star rollers are made from old car tires. There is a traditional japanese method of rolling stars that uses a slurry. Some have little tricks. Above is the basics though.

[ITCHI]

Mumbles, what's your opinion on the slurry method.

I have seen a video on Youtube of a fellow pouring a slurry of composition into the star roller and was curious as to how it was staying attached to the cores and becoming solidified into round stars.

Any info would be greatly appreciated as I have just started hand rolling charcoal based stars onto #6 lead shot as per the Dave Blesser book and dvd.

It's nice to see these things starting to grow and become full blown stars.

[PyroMedia]

They dont Know im underage, im ordering with a visa to a business address.

 

also, thanks for clearing up the star rolling thing, i didnt want to get yelled for sounding like a noob.

Edited September 2, 2008 by PyroMedia

[LGM]

Ammonpulver isn't out of place here at all, it's just ammonium nitrate based black powder. I'm surprised it hasn't been discussed in the pyro section more actually. IIRC, it produces little smoke as you implied.

[PyroMedia]

It would be great for some people, its more powerful then BP only downside i see would it being hygroscopic

[Mumbles]

Powerful is a tricky word here. In some senses it may indeed be more powerful. The reason people tend to shy away from it's discussion is because it's technically a high explosive. Though pretty insensitive from what I've read, and probably not going to detonate under the conditions we would be placing it under. The burn speed is what I would be worried about. I'm unsure if it has the capability to deflagrate quickly enough to serve as an adequate lift. Propellant it may have better luck with. The hygroscopicity would just make it worse. It should however produce a larger quantity of gas.

 

I've never tried the slurry method. I've seen the same video you have. For those wondering what I am talking about, it's called the Toro method. It's discussed in Shimizu's Fireworks: Art, Science, and Technique. Frankly, I am also at a loss for how it works. The best I can tell, it just coats the surface over time due to how sticky it is. Something to the effect of why you can paint a wall without all the paint sinking to the floor. As the surface gradually dries, it picks up more composition. It is supposed to produce very round stars with excellent uniformity. The trick of course is to get the correct viscosity with the correct amount. Starting stars that way must be agrevating.

[PyroMedia]

Well, i found a supplier of anything i want, the polish Chemical shop, he dosnt seem to mind sending my 5 kilos of erm "clay" Edited September 3, 2008 by PyroMedia

[psyco_1322]

Ammon pulver is not a bp sub. Its made with ammonium nitrate and doesnt even really burn on its own. Its really just another sensitized AN high explosive. It should be kept to a minimal and should really be in the HE section, so this is strictly informative on the behalf of its mention of being a bp substitute.

[FrKoNaLeaSh1010]

actually ammonpulver was originally used in warfare to launch shells like in a howitzer. I believe it was germany that invented it but i am not 100% sure. It can deffinitely burn on its own although when i made it it burned rather poorly. Also due to it having the An in it it is severely hygroscopic. Ammonpulver was one of the first comps i ever made and it would deffinitely be a good practice for a newbie to make just so they can make something that burns and get used to weighing and mixing things. Yes it can also be an HE because it is ammonium nitrate and a fuel although if your lighting it with a fuse or flame it is never going to detonate. I dont wanna go into more detail because it is not in the HE section so thats about all i can say about it.

 

also why the hell are non admin members telling people what can and cannot be discussed. He was talking about using ammonpulver in a pyro setting and although it is a crappy compound it can deffinitely be discussed when talking about using it in a pyro setting. Let the admins tell people what to do thats what they are here for...if they thought it wasnt an appropriate topic they would have said so. He wasnt talking about detonating he was talking about using it as a black powder substitute even though it wont really work. The only thing i ever made with it was a very crappy burning fountain.

Edited September 3, 2008 by FrKoNaLeaSh1010

[tentacles]

That had to have cost a *fortune* in shipping for you. Wait till you discover the magic of glitters and dripping comets and such.. There's so much possibility with KNO3 comps alone, it's staggering. Imagine realizing you suddenly need/want like 14 different types of aluminum for different effects.

 

Well, i found a supplier of anything i want, the polish Chemical shop, he dosnt seem to mind sending my 5 kilos of erm "clay"

[FrKoNaLeaSh1010]

Although most comps call for many different kinds of aluminum i think you can get away with only 3 kinds. High mesh flake, -325 spherical, and 20-30 mesh flitters. although thats just preference and cause i dont wanna buy all the different kinds of aluminum. But most all aluminum that a comp calls for can be substituted with the appropriate one out of those three with little difference in effect

[psyco_1322]

Oops seemed to miss a page of responses when I posted about the ammonpulver. Maybe it does burn ok, its been awhile.

 

Just hope you weren't throwing that statement about non-admin things towards me. You know the admins arent the only ones that can tell someone that something belongs else where, its just usually them that say anything to people.