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Need some help. I made a sulfur based smoke bomb(16 suflur 16 kno3 1 charcoal) and said that it was hydroscopic and wouldn't work tomorow afternoon because I wanted to do it tonight(very bored). I know it was wrong and all but my dad said that if it really doesn't work he'll take me to the gun store and get me some FFFg BP so I can use it as burst and lift for some easter egg shells. He has it somewere so I can't tinker with it but when I go to light it I can, is there anything I can do to stop it from lighting? I had one not fire on me last night. Please don't flame me for this, as I really need some Goex!
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Pa_pyro: they look to be about the size of yours but the camera is in slomo so it pics up every glass shard and in real life it probably happens so fast that you don't realize that it's shattering like that. It looks quite powerful in the video but it is probably alot less intense if you were to look at it in person.

 

 

Itwasntme: I'm a bit confused :( . So you tried to make a smoke composition that didn't work and your dad said if it *didn't* work again then he'll get you some commercial BP? And your wanting it not to work so you can get the BP?

 

1) Just do what you did the night before if that's the case.

2) No fence but if you can't get a simple smoke comp. to work why on earth would you want to make a easter egg shell? They're sooo much harder to make and perfect and you need a big area (which I don't have) to shoot them.

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Note to self, start reading this PRRT again at pg.15.

 

I think we should have a page somehow easily accessible from any page of the forum that has commonly asked for information for refrencing. Mabey up around the "members" and "calendar" links.

 

For instance it would have charts of common BP grainsizes for various uses and the grain sizes of the FG and FA powders, both in mesh and mm. It would have a rough table for mesh/mircon/etc. A table of PSI/kPa for hydralic presses and common densitys that are called for in whistle comps. Some basic rule of thumb suggestions for lift of various sizes of spherical shells, canister shells, and starmines. Like the "1oz of 2Fa per lb." guideline. Common unit conversions, like inches/cm/mm. The whole which diameter tube corresponds to calling it a xlb rocket/fountain, and their common lengths. Also common diameter/lengths for other fireworks and mortors of various sizes. Mabey the actual common shell diameters before wrapping and the mortors they fire from. Mabey recommended temperature ranges to cook your charcoal too. Common hardware store ID/Wall/OD of HDPE pipe and common price range? Common carrier/BP ratios? What concentration of what solvent is most commonly used for what composition genre (glitter/charcoal streamers/perchlorate metallic fueled color stars/etc). Thats all i can think of off hand, im sure some of you guys/gals could think up a good deal more possibilitys.

 

Mabey make a sticky thread in the pyrotechnics section and keep editing in stuff every once and a while into the first post(s). Sticky would probably be less hassle for everyone. I think it would be great to keep editing it until a condensed but clear A4 fitting print-out "cheat sheet" is made so that it can be printed out and laminated and used as a reference when you are in the workshop twiddiling away at pyrotechnics goodies. I have wanted to do something like this, but i keep forgetting. Mabey if we make it 2 pages, on one have a very small periodic table and some other stuff and the other the more pyro stuff. You can print the 1st page, then put the paper back in the printer and print the 2nd on the back of it.

 

Edit: I can't remember if i mentioned it or not, but im starting a pyrotechnics/chemistry site. I don't know when it will go up or where it will go up to. I'm doing all the HTML by hand and making sure everything works good before i put it up anywhere. So if you have a good server that your not using much and don't mind hosting a site for nothing... It may be ready to get up around january. Though parts will be missing like the whistle rocket page and various other projects i don't think ill get to by then.

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itwasntme, maybe you would be able to dump a pile of sulfur on top of the pile/device discreetly before lighting it . The sulfur shouldn't light the smoke powder if it is far enough away from the powder/top layer, and it should slightly match the color of the mix, maybe throw a pinch of charcoal in so its not suspicious. Just a thought.
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Sorry must not of said it right. The first time it didn't light, I tried it 5 times and 4 of those it lit, the first time was bad mix(first time making it and got the formula wrong). I told him that it was hydroscopic so I could do it that night. I'm gonna go to do it in a little. I put some bentonite in the fuse hole so it can't ignite. I've been wanting to go to the gun store and get BP for 2 months now I have about 5 grams left.
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Note to self, start reading this PRRT again at page 32.

 

I love my "Thumler's Tumbler and 15lb barrel". I may look into getting another rubber liner to use with milling metals or something. Superb things. I thank my dad whole heartidly for originally getting it to clean/polish rifle cartridges.

 

And if anyone likes the whole quick reference page thing ill go ahead and get it started in the pyrotechnics section when i get back home later today. One great source for tables and useful figues is in the skylighter bullitins of the past, so i may be browsing through those somewhat.

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asilentbob, excellent plan. Along the same lines is a very useful chart in Pretty Green Flame's site that lists incompatablilties of compounds. Something like that in quick-reference form might be useful here also.

(tips hat to PGF).

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Thanks, yeah common substances that are incompatible is a great idea. I'll go ahead and start it essentially now.
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Yep, you sure could make some pretty large pencils.

 

Ahahahahaha! I slay me.

 

Anyone here interested in nuclear chemistry? I made a cloud chamber and I have been pretty enthralled. I am thinking of continuing on with some tangents of this sort.

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You know how a ember is usually faster for igniting compositions due to the efficiency of conduction rather than convention? I have been wondering about making an electric glow plug like device for lighting fuses thats about the size of a lighter. You would push and hold a button and a small but strong wire would heat red hot so you could push a fuse up to it and it would light. It would be in the bottom of a funnel like thing so that it is easy and quick.

 

I have it pictured in my head.

 

I'm thinking about the battery operated glow plug starters for RC cars, but i don't fully understand how they work... yet.

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Sort of similar to a lightbulb wire, except out of the shell, as long as you have a strong wire that doesn't conduct electricity very well, it should work as a lot of the energy turns into heat/light.
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You better put some sort of shield on it so that the fuse sparks don't burn your hand.

 

Swany: I am very interested in nuclear chemistry, as you very well know.

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I am rather interested in nuclear chemistry, but I looked up on google to see what a cloud chamber was, and I don't really see the use of it at home. What are you trying to do with it if you don't mind me asking. Could you post pics.

 

And how do you get supercooled, super saturated water vapour.

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Maybe there are different types because on wikipedia it says water vapour, but 99% ethanol would be much easier.
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I think its 99% isopropanol, somewhat more available than 99% ethanol.

 

Anyways, i just made an organic fueled violet shimizu (modified) batch of 300g, i will be making cut stars with it shortly. Some of my chemicals are pissing me off... My strontium carbonate is little hard granules, red gum is hard chunks, dextrin is mixed with hard chunks and over cooked starch, and my potassium perchlorate isn't free flowing so it takes a good ammount of time to get it evenly distributed throughout the composition. A day of purification/milling is in order.

 

I have been wanting to go up to the local hardware store and look for HDPE but i havn't got time yet, mabey, just mabey ill be able to tomorrow.

 

I know that shellac is usually used in chlorate star comps, but does it perform well in perchlorate comps too? I was wondering mildly about using it instead of red gum in some stars. No particular composition.

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I hate it when your chemicals go into almost unusable hard lumps, it's so annoying, one of the worst being NaOH/KOH, they absorb heaps of water making them into damp, slippery, horrific pastes almost. NH4NO3 is bad too. My NaHSO4 clumped up into large, hard lumps that I had to crush while wearing a gas mask because of the dust.

 

Fireworks on sale in 22 days :D

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Note to self, start reading this PRRT again at pg.49

 

On a completely random note has anyone tryed completely random plants for charcoal? I was wondering about cactus charcoal yesterday, it would take a loooong time to dry out though. Probably no good.

 

Now for a little homework and then ill decide on a different star composition to make tonight, im thinking orange.

 

Edit: I completely forgot:

Baechle (green star i believe)

Potassium perchlorate 25

Red Gum 14

Barium Carbonate 45

Copper Carbonate 3

Potassium Benzoate 5

Chlorowax 5

Dextrin 3

I believe i got this off the PFP database. Would anyone happen to know if the abnormally low fraction of the perchlorate and the high fraction of BaCO3 are errors? It seems damn strange to me!

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I found the formula. Baechle System 4 Aqua. The problem is that there isn't any BaCO3 in it. It's supposed to be Ba(NO3)2.
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The prince ruperts tears. I tried them today and all they do is explode when they hit the water. I've wasted 1.5 rods doing this, any one got any sugesstions?
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Ahh, that makes alot more sense, thanks Mumbles!
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