flying fish Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Hehe...Yeah...I was also thinking Ford. I wonder if anyone else chose 'em though. I will ask when I talk to the prof today. If you do use flash for shells, I highly recommend using -325 bright flake rather than dark. I don't know how much more safe it is (only marginally I'm guessing)...but it's a bit more forgiving for shell effects and has a wider "sweet spot." For 3", I'd start with about 1 gram and adjust from there. 70/30 made with bright Al is still faster than whistle and pretty much any nitrate flash, but it is a bit tamer than flash made with dark al. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richtee Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Hehe...Yeah...I was also thinking Ford. I wonder if anyone else chose 'em though. I will ask when I talk to the prof today. If you do use flash for shells, I highly recommend using -325 bright flake rather than dark. I don't know how much more safe it is (only marginally I'm guessing)...but it's a bit more forgiving for shell effects and has a wider "sweet spot." For 3", I'd start with about 1 gram and adjust from there. 70/30 made with bright Al is still faster than whistle and pretty much any nitrate flash, but it is a bit tamer than flash made with dark al.I'm with ya Fish. The dark or for that matter any of the "fast" stuff will shatter the shell AND the contents. I was working on BP coated rice crispies when the hammer came down and ended my enjoyment. "Breaking" a shell also involves scattering the contents...not turning them to dust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEskimo Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Okey dokey guys...thanks. And on a side note...has anyone tried the kcnkickthecat color system? He's on YouTube....his account got deleted, but is now O3Cl. Anyways, he developed this color system, similar to Veline's. I have seen vids of the colors, and they are very brilliant. I finally got around to trying it, made a 100 gram batch of the red tonight. I'll post a link to a vid of them tomorrow night. And here's a link to the color system: http://pyroguide.com/index.php?title=Kcnki...at_color_system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_au Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 The filters are VOC filters. How well would this protect against nasty things like BaNO3?As someone else said, put some sort of prefilter on it. I've got a draeger which can filter out ridiculously high concentrations of all sorts of nasty gases, but it specifically says that it is no good for particles. It seems to stop them OK, but obviously the gas filters aren't up to spec as far as OH&S requirements or something are concerned. With Al, you die years later of Alzheimers http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/200.../29/1163941.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEskimo Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 All right, I lied, so sue me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_au Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 All right, I lied, so sue me. I wasn't trying to have a go at you, and I certainly wasn't implying that you should be any less careful, just as a mechanical irritant any metal powder can be fairly nasty. It is just a common misconception that gets repeated a lot in pyro circles so I thought I would point it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEskimo Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 What? Oh, I was just joking around. I say that a lot when I'm wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEskimo Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Well, I finally got brave, and made some Vitamin F (what a weird name....). Anyways, it was quite enthralling, especially for polumnas. So much more oomph than BP. Let me assure you, I didn't go hog-wild with a huge batch. I made three grams, because the smallest my scale can go to is 1 gram, so I went with the stoichiometric ratio of 2:1 KP:Al, which would give me the least amount of flash that could be measured with my scale. I didn't realize there was so much volume to 3 grams of flash. Scared me a bit doing it, but the recent rainstorm, and humidity boosted my confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PyroMan LTU Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 something new... PyroMan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEskimo Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Nice purple...what was it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flying fish Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 (edited) I was just thinking...If you bind a composition with NC laquer that is damp from moisture in the air, will the NC seal in the moisture, preventing it from ever drying? And will this change depending on whether the solvent is miscible with water? (In the case of my last batch, the solvent was ethyl acetate, which is not miscible with water). I know NC laquer is usually acetone based, this stuff that I have came dissolved in ethyl acetate. Nice sweet smell to it... Edited August 22, 2009 by flying fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 A quick note - for those of you who have PM'ed me in the last day or three, I apologize for my slow replies... I have had a wicked last few days of work and have barely had time to pop in and see what's going on, and just haven't had time to get to them. For those that ordered MMO anodes, they are all in the system and enroute. I'll get to my PM's Tuesday. Thanks for your patience. Work SUCKS. Pyrotechnics uber alles. But you've got to pay for the stuff, so off to work again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Bright flakes also burn a bit longer to keep the flame in contact with the stars longer. I use kind of a hybrid slow flash I discovered by accident. It uses -325 mesh dark flake (german 10890). I try not to use it though. I find it more consistent to modify my burst rather than rely on boosters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flying fish Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 (edited) I do mostly plastic shells due to lack of time, and I find the K. perc/bright flake flash to be well suited for boosting them. Only need a little of it to get a relatively clean break, and I've never had problems with stars being blown blind or shattering - with the exception of poorly primed color stars which had little hopes of lighting even in more favorable conditions. This (unfortunately the camera got very little of it) is an example of some Ti/Charcoal stars in a plastic 3" broken with 1 gram of bright flake flash on a mediocre pulverone (the same pulverone that required 25% of the shell's weight to lift it): Edited August 25, 2009 by flying fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkyJoe Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 News for Australians, ACT Bans Fireworks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEskimo Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Wow, what dirtbags. Soon they'll be banning paper, 'cause god knows you could get a PAPERCUT!! Then it'll get infected, you'll run up a horriffic hospital bill, and die months later of pneumonia. How horrible. Gotta keep people from hurting themselves, even if it makes life seem more boring than a piece of tissue paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEskimo Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Blegh...I just made a very smokey house. I tried making puffed rice, for MCRH. Total disaster. I tried making it like popcorn. Put some oil in a pan, cover with corn, cover, and swirl until totally popped. This failed miserably. Some popped, and the rest got black, and very smokey. Perhaps I need to soak the rice in water for a little bit, so it would have the steam generate pressure in the hull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarbelly Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 (edited) Wow, what dirtbags. Soon they'll be banning paper, 'cause god knows you could get a PAPERCUT!! Then it'll get infected, you'll run up a horriffic hospital bill, and die months later of pneumonia. How horrible. Gotta keep people from hurting themselves, even if it makes life seem more boring than a piece of tissue paper. Yeah it never really made all that much sense to me how that works. I mean we understand the risks we put ourselves through, and we determine that it's worth it. As Amelia Earhart said, "...decide...whether or not the goal is worth the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying...." And most people don't intentionally use fireworks to hurt other people. They should just enforce proper use of fireworks. If people are living in the shadows, they are much more likely to end up hurting themselves or someone else. It's like the difference between abstinence only sex-ed and sex-ed in which they teach you to be safe heaven forbid you DO decide to have sex. Edited August 27, 2009 by scarbelly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBluePyro Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 When the fireworks and stuff where on sale this year and everyone shot theres, it was on the news and stuff, and the amount of rubbish and cakes and stuff that people had left behind, its ridiculous, im kinda not susprised that this has happen because if this. Really, it doesnt cancern me, cause Im anywhere near a place where I can 'buy' fireworks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarbelly Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 yeah that makes sense I guess... But I don't really think thats the major reason people ban fireworks. If it was, everything plastic would be banned too at this point. The reason a lot of people leave litter is that they don't want to risk getting caught carrying it I would think. Again if people weren't worried about getting in trouble and were properly told about things, more people might try to clean their messes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 in Australia we don't have a bill of rights and if something is country to our very basic constitution we change the constitution and we don't have a bill of rights either. In Australia you have the right to conform and that's about it we are told when and how to water our garden we are told what to do for every aspect of our lives (not that I support taking illicit drugs or driving while under the influence) but in the US the police need to first prove that you might be under the influence to test you here in Australia they test you regardless wasting time and money. on the topic of our useless police force if you are once suspected of making any pyro (even though some things are legal under the various explosive acts) they will harras you till the day you die and than some. but they wont note it properly. hence why they have visited me and said you have made chlorine bombs in the past (i have never done that) and some one has been blowing up letter boxes on the other side of the city and we couldn't find any one to blame for it so we have decided to waste some of the money you pay as tax blaming you for it. our government is not only backwards foolish and loves wrapping things in cotton wool but wastefull today they anouced 20 million dolars for a short add that will last under 2 min to sell Australia to the world oh did i mention it is not possible to legally make fireworks with out owning or working in a factory and you cant legally launch them till you have the appropriate licensing (which to get to an 8" shell) takes 10 years to attain. p.s. come to Australia you can squint up at a koala high in a tree and barely make out the shape against the tree which is the same colour or you can look at a koala in an enclosure they look the same through glass as the do on tv just with out David atenburra doing a commentary p.p.s glad this is in the random thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miech Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Blegh...I just made a very smokey house. I tried making puffed rice, for MCRH. Total disaster. I tried making it like popcorn. Put some oil in a pan, cover with corn, cover, and swirl until totally popped. This failed miserably. Some popped, and the rest got black, and very smokey. Perhaps I need to soak the rice in water for a little bit, so it would have the steam generate pressure in the hull.There is a little trick in making puffed rice, you have to play with pressure. Take an airtight pot, cook your rice in a little amount of water and suddenly release the pressure. This will lower the boiling point of the water, making it evaporate. Then poor out the rice and let it dry. Add some salt and seasoning if you plan to eat it . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankRizzo Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Blegh...I just made a very smokey house. I tried making puffed rice, for MCRH. Total disaster. I tried making it like popcorn. Put some oil in a pan, cover with corn, cover, and swirl until totally popped. This failed miserably. Some popped, and the rest got black, and very smokey. Perhaps I need to soak the rice in water for a little bit, so it would have the steam generate pressure in the hull. Eskimo, You're supposed to use the store-bought "puffed rice" cereal. It's not really even rice. http://www.blogcdn.com/www.slashfood.com/media/2008/04/puffed-rice200.jpg Cheerios (or the generic equivalent) cereal works too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightHawkInLight Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 One of the more thought provoking messages I have received this day: ~ hi i love your vids can you please tell me what happens if i get a string full of that black thing(tnt) and i connect it to a can full of sodium and tylenol and on top of it is water and on top of the water is hanging sodium metal ~ Hmm...Do I even try with this one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEskimo Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 (edited) Nighthawk...yes, you try...to ignore it. Here's how it works: the black match lights, melts whatever the sodium is on, and the sodium, and water react. The tylenol is there just to take car of the agony of you skin being carbonized, and slowly sliding off your bones while your eyebrows shrivel up, and yer eyeballs boil, and blister in your skull.I know that...I use grasseed for my MCRH. I just wanted to try, 'cause a bag of regular rice is rather cheap, and if you could puff it, it'd be rather cheap MCRH. I am happy. I just went clothes shopping, ate a TON of Panera Bread, got more masking tape, and all the MCRH, BP, and stars from the new batch all work perfectly. What more does a pyro need? Edited August 28, 2009 by TheEskimo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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