Random Thread #1

[flying fish]

In case you guys haven't seen this article already, "worlds largest novelty atom":

 

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/scien...st_novelty_atom

 

Good luck to Andyboy, I hope you are able to recover your site!

[Pretty green flame]

What should i use as a solvent in this formula

 

Veline's Modified green

 

KClO4 -29%

Shellac powder - 5%

Magnesium - 11%

Ba(NO3)2 - 37%

PVC - 16%

Dextrine - 2%

 

THF for the PVC, Et-OH for the shellac or water for dextrine? Now water is probably not acceptable as there is Mg in the mix. So THF or Et-OH?

 

Thanks

[Mumbles]

Theres not enough dex to water bind anyway. My personal preference would be to replace all the dex with shellac and alcohol bind, but that would just be in an effort to save my THF. THF would probably give the absolute best attack resistance to the Mg.

[jacob]

Simpsons fireworks this is the funnest thing i've seen in a long time, actually made me laugh out loud especially when homer says ''it's gonna take a lot of fireworks to clean this place up'' hilarious .

[Draco_Aster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFC66PV5QJA...related&search=

 

Thought that might be of some interest to some of you americans

 

Notice those products? Firefox?

[rocket]

Haha I like there idea of illegal firework kits, 95% of stuff on the table where paper tubes the other 5% where plastic contaners

[frogy]

Lol there was some fuse in there too....

 

Wow that has to be the most idiotic things the CPSC has turned out yet... They are clueless on things they are fighting against in many aspects of pyrotechnics... Who the hell holds sparklers against there body anyway...

[crazyboy25]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFC66PV5QJA...related&search=

 

Thought that might be of some interest to some of you americans

 

Notice those products? Firefox?

9200 idiots die in fireworks related accidents idiots who would hold a sparkler to a little girls dress for an extended period of time..pity it wasn't even a very good sparkler. and also if any of you folks plan on celebrating the 4th with salutes please remember to keep them far away from your watermelons and mannequins. and beware the dreaded "quikmatch" funny how paying $400 dollars to the government and properly storing the fireworks makes them totally safe and acceptable.

[Pretty green flame]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFC66PV5QJA...related&search=

Haha, the dangerous sparkler was to die for

 

"Oh look, someone's trying to burn me with a sparkler, I'm just going to stand here and not move out of the way so i suffer 3rd degree burns and give the CPSC even more reasons to ban such a dangerous device"

[Mumbles]

9200 are INJURED. Most of which are using commercial class C products, 95% actually. Most of whom are under 18 anyway, so their parents are likely giving them to them. Sparklers, while seeminly safe, actually cause the most injuries. I believe there are on average only 6 or 7 deaths a year. You're 3 times more likely to die of fireworks than botulism, but only 2 people die of botulism a year.

[Pretty green flame]

How the hell do you die from a sparkler

[tentacles]

Mumbles: Yet the CPSC has no problem with car safety related deaths, or anesthetic related deaths, both of which are much much higher than fireworks will ever be and has ever been.

 

I bet more kids die every year from improper use of car seats than fireworks.

[asilentbob]

More people die from tooth brushes than fireworks every year. And this doesn't count toothbrushes sharpened to a point and used to shank others in jail...

[pudidotdk]

Sure, but look at it from a different angle:

How many people lights fireworks daily compared to brushing teeth or driving cars?

[qwezxc12]

Does anyone have a suggestion for a common item I can use as a case former for 6in cans? I hand-rolled the can I used for the green go-getters and it was a real pain. I had a hard time getting the ends to roll over and seal against the end disks without a former to press against.

 

I'm about to order one or two 5in mortars (I use a 3in HDPE mortar for my 4in can former and it works great), but if someone has another suggestion, please let me know.

 

Thx.

[frogy]

I was going to say 5" PVC is close to 5.5" OD or so... SCD 80 should be like 6" OD

[FrankRizzo]

Frogy is right, 5" SCH-40 PVC is an ideal 6" shell former (a tad over-sized), but it's a really odd size of pipe and hard to find scraps of. A 5" SDR-21 mortar has the same OD as 5" SCH-40 PVC, so you'll save quite a bit of hassle just ordering it from Pyrogear or Kastners. Unfortunately, the plugged-end of a mortar is going to be slightly larger OD due to the expansion, and will have to be cut off.

 

For facing the ends nicely, cut some circles (3 or 4) of ply-wood or MDF with a router jig or band saw to match the inside diameter of the pipe. Using the pilot hole created from the jig, cut a nice 1 1/2" diameter hole in the center of those discs. Then, glue and clamp the discs together to form a plug. Finally, glue the plug into one end of the pipe with construction adhesive and counter-sink in a few small screws from the outside. The large hole in the center of the plug is to accommodate a flash bag in addition to the spoolette.

[asilentbob]

Sure, but look at it from a different angle:

How many people lights fireworks daily compared to brushing teeth or driving cars?

I don't have the figures with me... but im almost sure that deaths from toothbrushes a year divided by 365 would still be much higher than fireworks related deaths a year.

 

IIRC bicycles are still the number one source of injuries... at like 50% or something...

[Mumbles]

It is true that the bottom end of the mortars are slightly bulged, and make poor formers. The screws, unless countersunk completely tend to bind the paper to the mortar too. I have a slightly easier solution than FrankRizzo's plan of action. Use the open end of the mortar. There is no bulging, and the interior end disk fits right on top of the walls to allow for easy folding down.

 

A word of caution, if you wet roll canisters, don't let them dry on the mortar, as you'll have to cut them off. Instead what I do, to make sure the ends stay flat is flip it upside down, and place a 4" mortar inside of it and place a weight on the top, usually a 5lb one. THis of course requires either a sheet of glass, or more preferably, the outer end disc on right away.

[qwezxc12]

Well it looks like I'll be ordering a couple of 5in mortars after all. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

I made an end cap for the 3in mortar I use to roll my 4in cans - it's drilled out to prevent a vacuum from forming and to accomodate the fuse and pipe in the end-disc. I dry roll my cans with just a zig-zag of white glue down the middle to help hold the layers together untill they're affixed to the end-disc. I add the second outer end-disc right after gluing down the tabs of the can and use a couple of strips of wide masking tape to hold it in place until the glue dries.

[tentacles]

The impure sulfate will probably work fine - you can usually find it with the drain openers at 98% or so, it's sold for killing roots in septic systems.

 

CuCl should also work but that's a pricey way to go! FrankRizzo gave me this on making the CuBz:

 

My notes say the proper reaction for copper sulfate and potassium benzoate

is a ratio of 37:63 by weight. The copper sulfate need not be desiccated, as

the ratio takes into effect the 5 moles of water that's usually attached.

Dissolve the copper sulfate into boiling distilled water (~40g/100g water),

and add your potassium benzoate to the least amount of boiling distilled

water that it will dissolve in. Combine the two solutions. The dark blue

color of the copper sulfate solution should turn clear and a blue

precipitate of copper benzoate should result. Let the solution settle

overnight, decant or siphon off the solution above the copper benzoate, and

then wash it with a few more volumes of warm distilled water to remove most

of the potassium sulfate created.

 

Filtering is a PITA unless you have a buchner funnel and a vacuum flask.

Several heating and cooling cycles of the copper benzoate in distilled water

will make the crystals larger and easier to gravity filter nicely with

coffee filters. Dry the result in the oven @150-180F...any hotter will

decompose the product and make your house stink to high hell.

[crazyboy25]

wow thanks for the help i accidentally deleted my comment and i found out it is more impure than i thought it is a fungicide and says:

 

active ingredient:

basic copper sulfate.................90%

inert ingredients......................10%

metallic copper equivalent........50%

 

 

which is fairly confusing and seems too impure so im not sure if its good enough. never mind its green copper sulfate should be blue too bad.

 

found this on the web http://webpages.charter.net/dawill/tmoranwms/Chem_Cu.html

 

a little too advanced for me but interesting none the less.anyway im starting to think sythisising chemicals for pyro is not very economical if i really want the copper benzoate i will buy it.

[flying fish]

I'm paranoid about spontainious ignition...

 

Should I worry about a small "mess kit willow" star, http://www.skylighter.com/skylighter_info_...?Item=74#willow , stuck up in my gutter? It contains KNO3/Al, but I thought that was only a problem with large amounts of composition. It may get a good deal of sun exposure up there as well.

 

I figure I can either leave it there, flush out the gutter with the hose, or get a ladder and try to find it.

 

Either way, here is a video of the stars that did work...I am curious if this is how "Mess Kit Willow" is supposed to look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDzKBd7jOC8 ? (There were some minor changes to the formula because it was bound with NC laquer)

[crazyboy25]

ummm that is exactly word for word cut and paste what tentacles said two posts ago also i mentioned my copper sulfate is green not blue and the bottle says:

 

active ingredient:

basic copper sulfate.................90%

inert ingredients......................10%

metallic copper equivalent........50%

 

so i doubt it is pure enough.

[tentacles]

crazyboy: it's only economical to make your own CuBz if you can get benzoic acid or K/Na benzoate cheaply. Although skylighter's price is pretty extortionate too. Benzoic acid is fairly cheap over at firefox, and the math shouldn't be too difficult. to calculate stoichometric weights for that. Good copper sulfate can also be found at ceramics shops - it's usually pretty high grade and cheap, like $3-4/lb.