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Posted
If I comment below a posted image, then how can I track it, I mean how will I know if I get a reply?
Posted
You can check back later. Sorry, this isn't facebook, it's not going to send you a message for every insignificant thing that happens. If you really want to track it, it may be best to just send a personal message about the image.
Posted
Do the pictures get logged somewhere so one can find all the pictures he has commented on? just like the 'my content' option shows you the threads you have posted into.
Posted

Care to explain what's going on?

 

Certainly :)

 

This is Boron / Barium Chlorate flash. Only photoshop was tweaking a few things to make the trails more prominent, no hue adjustment whatsoever.

 

At first I actually thought the Boron particles were leaving some kind of plasma trail but then realised it's just smoke taking colour from the main explosion.

 

Odd stuff this Boron - the particles burn a distinct yellow but the flash is green, even with Potassium Nitrate (much better colour with the chlorate).

Posted

Something I thought I'd share.

 

Some of the stars I made to fill my 6" can are "new blue."

 

These were acetone NC lacquer bound stars. Because I made them on a 100 degree day, they are ridiculously porous and as such burn ridiculously fast. Much faster than the non-porous stars of the same comp that were made using ethyl acetate based NC lacquer on a slightly cooler day.

 

The striking part of it is that after the stars burn for a couple seconds, they split into multiple pieces - on average 4. They look like crossettes! I've tested around 10 stars from the batch and they ALL do this.

 

Anyway, I thought this would at least be an interesting thing to explore further at some point, intentionally making stars porous to the point where they split mid-air. It's probably not a new idea, but I needed something to sound excited about.

Posted (edited)

Something I thought I'd share.

 

Some of the stars I made to fill my 6" can are "new blue."

 

These were acetone NC lacquer bound stars. Because I made them on a 100 degree day, they are ridiculously porous and as such burn ridiculously fast. Much faster than the non-porous stars of the same comp that were made using ethyl acetate based NC lacquer on a slightly cooler day.

 

The striking part of it is that after the stars burn for a couple seconds, they split into multiple pieces - on average 4. They look like crossettes! I've tested around 10 stars from the batch and they ALL do this.

 

Anyway, I thought this would at least be an interesting thing to explore further at some point, intentionally making stars porous to the point where they split mid-air. It's probably not a new idea, but I needed something to sound excited about.

 

I've put a little thought into this, but didn't think it could be done consistently. I would absolutely love to be proved wrong. Here is an example of some porous stars that I had in some leftover shell inserts:

 

 

Watch the purple stars about 20 seconds in. I have very often had that same result with those particular type of stars.

Edited by NightHawkInLight
Posted (edited)

Cool! That is very much like the effect that I saw.

 

A correction on something that I said in my previous post that was misleading...

 

While all the stars I tested split, their delays were varying. Some split towards the end of their burn, some at the beginning, and some near the middle.

 

Assuming I finish my shell in time for the shoot, we should get a better idea of how consistent the effect is within the batch that I made. Best case scenario - everyone compliments me on the "awesome crossette shell!"

 

Wishful thinking, of course.

 

Edit: So I sorta ruined the experiment, but I did find the source of the effect. Fearing that the burn time was too long for the shell I was going to use the stars in, I cut them all in half. Most have a single large void in them (much larger than the average pore size). The position of this large void within each star varies, which explains the varying delay before the star splits.

Edited by flying fish
Posted (edited)

Man, I should probably stop double-posting in this thread, but as of now this seems like the best place for this stuff.

 

Last night at Nash tree farm (Owosso, MI) was great! It was concluded with a 9 minute pyromusical and lots of big shells.

 

I got my 6" shell up in the air. As it turned out, it was a snug fit in the plastic guns, so I ended up firing it from steel anyway. Thanks to Mumbles and others for the pointers and advice. NightHawk may have gotten a better video, this one my dad took.

 

 

The "glitter" stars burned way too fast, but other than that I was happy with the shell. Those stars were NC bound which I realized could cause this issue. Binding glitter stars with NC has been an experiment of mine. Generally it doesn't completely kill the effect, but it speeds it up to the point where the density is too high and it doesn't even look like glitter from far away.

 

One thing I've concluded was that I definitely need a helmet light! Any suggestions? Any brand recommendations? I was also considering doing something custom with a mini maglite or something. Maybe a touch more sophisticated than duct tape but if all else fails...

Edited by flying fish
Posted

A happy and a little sad day, so I decide to post it here.

 

My Avid BB7 disc brakes for my MTB arrived today. Just when I finished lacing my rims with the new hubs! My audio DAC kit also did arrive.!

 

I mounted my disc brakes and after the bed-in - they are awesome! Totally worth the 110$ USD in paid on eBay!

 

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/4376/picture323b.th.jpg

 

Sadly, I realised my MTB frame was broken :( . Probably its weakest point. It maybe developped a small crack which has progressed with time until now. Gonna bring to an argon welder tomorrow to bring new life to it. Welding a perpendicular reenforcement piece would do good tool.

 

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/6687/picture329n.th.jpg

Posted

That's a nasty break 50, looks easy enough to weld though. Hopefully they can do it at a reasonable price. I just bought a bike myself about a month ago at a garage sale. I used to be a fairly avid mountain biker until my last bike rusted away in the winter after years of abuse. Can't beat $10 for another one.

 

In other news, I'm just about done building and filming for my next video project - an airsoft vortex machine gun. Shoots bbs like a stream of water. It turned out much more powerful than I anticipated, and the welts on my hand are there to prove it after a test fire while holding a towel in front of the barrel. I'm quite satisfied. Can't wait to get home from work tomorrow and play with it in the daylight.

Posted
NHL......... cant just leave it at that, gotta have a link or something. Sounds like just the thing for my neighbors kids as they are making asses out of their selves with their airsoft guns. Kid next doors dad wont let me use my paintball gun, says it aint fair. Well ambushing a 45 y/o after a long day at work dont really seem fair to me lol!
Posted

NHL......... cant just leave it at that, gotta have a link or something. Sounds like just the thing for my neighbors kids as they are making asses out of their selves with their airsoft guns. Kid next doors dad wont let me use my paintball gun, says it aint fair. Well ambushing a 45 y/o after a long day at work dont really seem fair to me lol!

 

I'll make a post about it in the cannon section of the forum once my video is done. It could do some nasty damage against your typical airsoft guns, especially if you had it hosed right to an air compressor. I've got a pair of air chambers on it so that it's portable but they run low pretty quickly.

 

I found a video of an extremely dumbed down version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0R42-vPinc&feature=related

Posted

 

One thing I've concluded was that I definitely need a helmet light! Any suggestions? Any brand recommendations? I was also considering doing something custom with a mini maglite or something. Maybe a touch more sophisticated than duct tape but if all else fails...

 

Hot glue, magnets and a hard hat! Works for me anyways

Posted

I'll make a post about it in the cannon section of the forum once my video is done. It could do some nasty damage against your typical airsoft guns,

 

 

DUDE! your my new hero! Just have to engineer a way to use my CO2 bottles and a trigger! That is crazy awesome, figure bullpup config and if I have to do back pack CO2 that will be OK! I am still laughing at what the neighbors are going to think. That kid was wanting one of the gatlin gun airsofts but alas ............ tooo expensive. see link

 

http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.php?products_id=4515

 

I think this will get his little over hormoned self with his 500 round M4......... LMFAO!

 

Posted
That was incredible. I think that maybe the holy grail of pyro. I know I will never build anything that size but wow what a show.
Posted

Nice NHIL, thanks for the link!

 

-dag

Posted (edited)

 

A much higher order of art.

Edited by stckmndn
Posted

Hi guys,

Just bought 10 rolls of gummed paper, 45 m"m wide 200 meter long.

and made a machine to cut it to any width I want:

http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h479/questl/Gummed%20Tape/gummedtapemachine2.jpg

http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h479/questl/Gummed%20Tape/gummedtapemachine.jpg

http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h479/questl/Gummed%20Tape/gummedtapemachine3.jpg

 

http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h479/questl/Gummed%20Tape/th_gummedtapemachine-1.jpg

Posted

I came across this rare picture of early pyrotechnists today. Rumors that this is a photo of Dagabu's parents at the time of his conception are completely without foundation (but would explain a lot if they were true). :whistle:

 

(ducking and running)

 

 

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_hVOW2U7K4-M/TciFBaaenRI/AAAAAAABeLU/y98SEgMeXKc/s800/wefwefqwdqw.jpg

Posted (edited)

Haha, ah man, that is excellent. Great find.

 

Cool machine Givat, good thinking.

Edited by NightHawkInLight
Posted

 

 

In other news, I'm just about done building and filming for my next video project - an airsoft vortex machine gun. Shoots bbs like a stream of water. It turned out much more powerful than I anticipated, and the welts on my hand are there to prove it after a test fire while holding a towel in front of the barrel. I'm quite satisfied. Can't wait to get home from work tomorrow and play with it in the daylight.

 

That sounds friggin awesome NHL, can't wait to see your vid!

Posted

Looks a lot like them but that is actuall my now deceased aunt and my uncle "hard time" Sparks getting ready to prove that Jackie Gleeason could in fact send Alice to the moon. Apparently, a small miscalculation in the fuel ratio caused a terrific CATO that ultimately ended her life at the young age of 30.

 

I for one will never forget the color of her eyes as one blue to the left and the other blue to the right. Sparky still misses her and tells us that he still has a piece of her inside of him, a shard of hip bone lodged in his left thigh....

 

I sure miss aunt Fraggy!

Posted

Looking for a recommendation on scales.

 

I've been through a lot of "pocket scales", after a while they seem to die whether it is from dust collecting in them, spilling small amounts of solvents on them, humidity, being less than very gentle on them, unknown reasons, etc...

 

I'm looking for something that is resistant to solvents (including acetone) and can handle a harsh environment. I'm prepared to spend up to $300 on it.

 

I like the idea of something like http://www.affordablescales.com/scales_specs.asp?specs=4638&Veritas_S622 (.01 620 grams), because it would work for very small test batches up to full batches of stars. What I don't know is how something like this would compare durability wise to the pocket scales that I've been using thus far.

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