Cutting Stars

[Brian809]

I have been pumping stars with a syringe but lately I've been building a lot of 4" & 6" ball shells and the syringe is getting tedious with the number of stars these shells eat up, so last night I mixed up a batch of veline red, wet them to playdoh consistency and flopped the mix onto the table.

I used a piece of pvc pipe as a rolling pin and rolled until the thickness was right and then cut. I checked the stars tonight and they're dry and seem lighter than pumped stars which brings up the question, does the mix need to be compressed before cutting? I mean with a loaf box or such or will they be fine the way I did it?

I would hate to spend the time and chems cutting stars this way only to have them burn way too fast or be turned to dust upon burst although they do seem rock solid.

 

-Brian

[Richtee]

I have been pumping stars with a syringe but lately I've been building a lot of 4" & 6" ball shells and the syringe is getting tedious with the number of stars these shells eat up, so last night I mixed up a batch of veline red, wet them to playdoh consistency and flopped the mix onto the table.

I used a piece of pvc pipe as a rolling pin and rolled until the thickness was right and then cut. I checked the stars tonight and they're dry and seem lighter than pumped stars which brings up the question, does the mix need to be compressed before cutting? I mean with a loaf box or such or will they be fine the way I did it?

I would hate to spend the time and chems cutting stars this way only to have them burn way too fast or be turned to dust upon burst although they do seem rock solid.

 

-Brian

 

I have cut stars several times, but always when I use the poly glue binder. They end up real tough. Seems some folks use a light diffuser from a florecent fixture...you know...a bunch of like half inch squares... and roll the comp into that, giving some compression. Apparently they shrink a bit when dry, and pop right out.

[Richtee]

I recall the poly glue discussed here, but was unable to find anything on it through searching "poly glue".

 

Could you tell me the type/brand of glue and briefly, anything else of importance if using the glue as a star binder? Or a link to the thread where it's discussed?

 

Thanks.

Try starting here

[tentacles]

For traditional cut stars you need a loaf box of some sort - many use a breadpan or similar. It just needs to be a container with sloped sides that can take some abuse. Line it with waxed paper or plastic wrap, and use a rammer (weighted, wooden) to pack down the comp. When it's all consolidated, flip it over, peel off the paper/plastic and cut slices, then cut those slices into your stars.. I like to dust the table with meal and put meal on top of the slabs before I cut. After cutting, I sort of toss the stars in more meal to coat the sides a bit, it works very well for me. Dry, then shoot.

 

Cut stars are easy, and quick.

[Mumbles]

Traditional or not, the way you did it will work. It describes how I do it almost exactly. I have a series of square dowels. Several of mine are cut on a table saw, but commercial ones work great too. I use these as guides to get everything even and consistent. I lay the dowels on the table, place a piece of waxed paper over them, then the comp, and another sheet of waxed paper on top. I do roll it out a bit with my hands first, but use a dowel or PVC pipe to get it all consistently spread out. The rolling compresses it somewhat. I take off the top waxed paper sheet, and slide the dowels out and cut away.

 

At the end, they should be just fine. You shouldn't be able to crush them between your fingers when finally dry. Just be sure they're dry. They will look and feel dry on the outside, but still be wet on the inside for a few days.

 

Some notes:

1. It will take a few batches get a feel for proper wetness. I do most of my mixing and wetting in 5qt ice cream tubs. I will normally compress it into the bottom and let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes when I think I am getting close. This evenly distributes all the water. When I can cut the compressed comp into 8 slices like a pie without it really crumbling, it is ready. It probably should be noted that I use SGRS, so it may play a role in giving some gumminess to prevent crumbling at this stage. A little bit isn't going to kill anything.

 

2. I use a paint edger to do my cutting. This holds me to around 3/4" stars max.

http://images.orgill.com/200x200/3563145.jpg

 

3. You're going to get some uncompressed/crumbly stuff around the edges. I just cut this off, and toss it back into the bucket. I do the same with the stars that don't turn out to be the right size. I just mix them back up, roll them out again and cut them. You can also hand roll them into round stars, or pump them into comets. They're normally too wet to pump into good comets, so they will sag when they're drying. I use them for rising tails.

 

4. People will tell you that cutting glitter stars will ruin the effect. It gives a different effect than pumping sometimes. I use boric acid soln to cut all my glitters. The only compositions I've ever had trouble with are ones that contain sodium bicarbonate. These definatly have to be cut with boric acid soln. Probably best to pump or rolled with the boric acid soln too.

[Brian809]

Thanks for the info guys now I'm not so worried, hopefully this weekend I'll have a chance to build a loaf box of some sort but for now I'll continue this way. Pretty easy and quick to make a large amount of stars though, I like it!

 

-Brian

[Mumbles]

I find the method I described maxes out at around 1500g or so of 1/2" stars per "sheet". The sizing dowels I use are 18" long each.

[hst45]

For bulk fabrication of stars like tigertail and D-1 cut stars are the way to go. I've made 6" X 6" screed frames from wood in various thicknesses ( 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2"). Place this simple wood square on a flat surface, put a sheet of plasticwrap on to it, place your wetted compound into the frame, fold the plasticwrap over on top of the compound and roll the mixture flat with a dowel then cut into squares like brownies. It's very quick easy and clean.

[Pyrohawk]

Indeed....I actually have a star roller but I still cut my stars often because its easier, takes less time with my star roller, and you can make smaller amounts. If you aren't making at least a few hundred grams of stars its not worth firing the roller up. But you can make up 100-200 grams by cutting in no time and almost never mess them up. Anyone who rolls knows you get under and oversized stars, spiking sometimes, and I at least always get a very messy worktable.

 

When I cut small batches of stars for like star mines and such where equal size doesn't really matter I just damp the comp until it gets moldable like play dough. Then I flatten it up on the table and use a knife to cut the cubes. If I need a bunch I do it like the above people described.