Random Thread #1

[asilentbob]

I pretty much ignore rec.pyro now unless im searching its archived info for something in particular... I get the digest in the email almost every day and precede to delete it without reading it....

[DeAdFX]

Just started making a rocket. It looks rather bad ass. It will be powered by Sodium salicycate and Potassium Perchlorate. I don't have a press but I will see if a neighbor would be willing to lend it for a moment or two...

 

 

Something tells me I shouldn't have used a PVC casing but O well Say if I use a HDPE pipe would I be better off in the shrapnel department? [The motor is made out of paper]

 

 

EDIT: Is it normal for sodium Salicylicate to look greenish?

[Frozentech]

Something tells me I shouldn't have used a PVC casing but O well Say if I use a HDPE pipe would I be better off in the shrapnel department? [The motor is made out of paper]

 

 

EDIT: Is it normal for sodium Salicylicate to look greenish?

No, PVC may not have been a good choice. It rarely is in pyro.

 

Never seen any Sodium Salicylate that was not as pure white as fresh snow. Where did you get yours ?

[DeAdFX]

Something tells me I shouldn't have used a PVC casing but O well     Say if I use a HDPE pipe would I be better off in the shrapnel department?  [The motor is made out of paper]

 

 

EDIT: Is it normal for sodium Salicylicate to look greenish?

No, PVC may not have been a good choice. It rarely is in pyro.

 

Never seen any Sodium Salicylate that was not as pure white as fresh snow. Where did you get yours ?

I made my own Na-Salicylicate. I had the temperature pretty high during the synthesis...

 

 

 

I used 1/2 mol of Sodium bicarb and Salicylic acid. Half way through the synthesis I put to much bicarb in at once and some of it bubbled over. I then used the CO2 to determine stoichmetry. Anywho I assume the temp of the water was pretty hot (85+C) throughout the synthesis.

[pudidotdk]

Spiking horse a la Passfire. Passfire's great.

 

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/4648/dsc01521dl5.jpg

[DeAdFX]

EDIT: Is it normal for sodium Salicylicate to look greenish?

Ehm, no, as far as I know the salycilate looks white and the salicylicate should look yellowish - greenish doesn't sound right...

 

 

And, as I just read "Today's birthdays": Happy Birthday, PGF. Hope your birthday table is laden with pyro chemicals...

Ok I made another batch of sodium salicylicate. This time its yellow. I will let it air dry for the week and then on friday I will probably put it in front of the electric heater for 5 hours or so. Sigh.. I think I will just buy my own benzoates/salicylicates in the future they are so bitchy to prepare in the anhydrous powdered state(-325mesh).

 

 

EDIT:

PRoposed Whistile propellant

 

KClO4 7.2 (maybe 7.5-8.0 for extra O2)

Na Salicylicate 2.7

Polybutadiene .6

Curative .1

CuO or Fe2O3 .1-.3

 

Hopefully my parents have a press hanging around the hose or I will have to ask a neighboor for help .

[optimus]

Has anyone here ever used any tactical (or >100lumen) flashlights?

 

I'm thinking about getting a Surefire M3-CB but it's quite expensive...

 

Tired of lugging my 4-D-cell Maglight to my test site!

[asilentbob]

My dad has 2 surefire flashlights, and i must say, they are indeed bright.

 

Plus most run on 3V Li batterys, so when the batterys are dead you get free Li metal.

[RUUUUUN]

Too anyone who may be wondering I just dropped off the face of the planet for ~ 2 weeks. I didn't kill/maim/hurt/mutilate(et cetera) anybody or myself. My grand father died so I am in Michigan at his funeral.

 

I went by swany's house at ~12:30 friday morning and was thinking about convincing my dad to pull in and wake him up but we were a little tight on time.

 

I have made a few HCl/Al explosives W/ pop bottles (K3wlish, I know but when you need to improvise some explosives in ~20 minutes ya got any better ideas?), and it looks like we are staying here for a few days so I am going to get some balloons and make some H2 ([/sub] doesn't work....) balloons or an H2 welding torch.

 

fortunately I don't have enough time to set up a full fledged lab here

 

 

*edit* WOOOOOOT! post numba 180!!!! w00t!!

[optimus]

I've started uploading my pyro photos to FlickR.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7957394@N03/s...57600120137781/

 

There's also some novelty stuff I found in Austria which may be of interest to some:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7957394@N03/s...57600159684549/

[pudidotdk]

My recent made black match instrument. I'll make a sizing die and match frame as passfire's sooner or later.

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/3167/dsc01537mb3.th.jpg

 

 

Anyone knows how a rising comet is normally attached to a cylindrical shell?

[Mumbles]

I would say you could attach it after the final paste wrap. It's usually attached by hot glue or pasting it on. I've often wondered that myself. I've glued it onto the strings before when I didn't use a paste wrap, but would be worried about the comet burning through the strings.

[h0lx]

What you think of my new design for an igniter box?

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/8492/schematicszl3.png

 

Legend:

L1-charging resistor, I used a lamp to indicate if charged

B1-Battery

S1-Charging switch

S2-Safety capacitor discharge switch

S3-Firing button

S4-Main switch

C1-Capacitor

R1-Discharge resistor

[Frozentech]

Anyone knows how a rising comet is normally attached to a cylindrical shell?

I've had my best luck on larger shells by hotgluing them on the top face of the shell, with a couple wraps of pasted on kraft paper, with the bottom of the kraft spread out "octopus" style and pasted down.

 

Even better results by using spolettes instead of time fuse, you could use a spark or glitter comp in the spolette for a good visual track.

 

For the most part, the really thick bushy rising effects seem reserved to ball shells, though. Commercial shells often use as many as three comets pasted on the top of the ball.

[crazyboy25]

i was looking to add a cool trail effect to my whistle rockets i have access to magnalium and granular aluminum would either of these work? if so what percentages would i use? also i wanted a payload which i have never done before how much can a 2 1/2" rocket with a 1/2 inch ID lift and how vital are aerodynamics when adding payloads? can i add a small firecracker or a salute that weighs as much as the rocket? thanks

[DeAdFX]

I know titanium works for a fact but I don't know about the other metals. I don't think Magnesium will work. I think it will just intensify the flame envelope instead of adding sparks. Aluminum should work.

 

 

Anywho

 

I was dinkin around whistle rockets/whistle comp my self and I have to say that Copper oxynitrate (basic copper nitrate) is pretty interseting. It improves whistle sound affect for salicylicate based comp. Once the flame from the fuse hits the comp it whistles right off the bat. Thrust wise I have no clue.

[itwasntme]

i was looking to add a cool trail effect to my whistle rockets i have access to magnalium and granular aluminum would either of these work? if so what percentages would i use? also i wanted a payload which i have never done before how much can a 2 1/2" rocket with a 1/2 inch ID lift and how vital are aerodynamics when adding payloads? can i add a small firecracker or a salute that weighs as much as the rocket? thanks

A salute, that weights 5 grams is really loud, add a bit of magnalium, and it makes it a bit louder, brighter flame, and possibly some sparks. Anyway, your rocket sounds kinda small and weak. I dont think anyone can tell you how much YOUR rocket can lift. It all depends on your BP strength, mix, charcoal, core, nozzle, there are so many variables. I say, get some tubes, doesnt matter what kind, weigh one, and fill with sand, until the tube AND the sand weighs 5 grams. Make another one, and make it weigh 10 grams, the next one 15 grams. If you can get 20 grams up with that small rocket, then its pretty strong IMO. Just becarful, sometimes, when the payload is a bit heavy, the rocket might not fly up, rather it will go horizontal.

 

Also, when you increase the weight of the rocket, with a payload, it might not balance, so use a longer stick.

[crazyboy25]

any ideas how much aluminum i should use for my whistle comp. also i know my rockets are small (i just started making rockets) but they are pretty powerful and by the way itwasntme if you read my post i wasnt suggesting adding metal to a salute but rather my whistle mix to add a spark trail. and im not even using black powder like you said in your post im using WHISTLE MIX. thanks for the advice DeAdFX.

[asilentbob]

All this school is killing me... i want to get out already and shoot something off! 2-3" starmines ready... and a few 3" spherical shells... mostly...

 

I also want to make one of those spiking things posted above. I have the wood pieces sitting in my garage ready to put together, just need to do some drilling. I actually selected little kid wood building blocks from when i was much much younger...

 

I also want to make a nice big amount of blackmatch soon. Going to set up some sort of drying frame for it. I saw a pic of a spinning one somewhere, i think the PGI bullitin...

 

Ummm got NaOH finally... got alot of some kind of maple wood... etc...

[h0lx]

Oh god. I probably have eppilepsy, I have most the symptoms. Going to a doctor's in june. I managed to collapse again at night while walking to bathroom. My parents say I am having cramps, when passed out, I get these when I have been drinking lately or stressed, etc, etc.

 

I can live with the seizures, but having looked down on by society will be a hard time.

[_DB_]

Wow, I haven't been on here in ages. I've not had the time at all for any pyro this year so far, but with summer approaching that's soon to change. I saw some video on the internet the other day that sparked( ) my interest in pyro again and got me itching to come back here.

 

Hopefully this summer I will finally be manufacturing shells constantly instead of just an occasional one. I befriended a guy at my new school this year who has a nicely stocked shop in his yard. We've discussed making some rocket tooling, and he thinks that being able to make your own fireworks is amazing. Of course, that is quiet true.

[RUUUUUN]

Julius Ceasar had epilepsy, and look at how long the Roman empire lasted because of him. Just Kidding.

 

It would really suck if you had epilepsy, trying to perform a synth and all of a sudden you wig out and kill yourself.

 

As far as being looked down upon in society, Dont give anyone a rason to look down upon you. If they look down upon you for having epilepsy, I suggest year of extremely subtle psychological torture, if you don't leave evidence he will suffer more than physical torture, and the cops can't trace it back to you, he will get thrown in an asylum as a paranoid schizo.

[hashashan]

Hey, anyone knows a normal method to make Titanium poweder out of Titanium block?

[Umphrey]

Hey, anyone knows a normal method to make Titanium poweder out of Titanium block?

Well you can use a hardened file, but this is extremely tedious and wears the files out.

 

I don't know if this classifies as a "normal" method of making Ti powder...But I've had success using diamond bits to slowly grind titanium. For example: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=32351 I place the titanium block in a container full of water and lock it in my milling machine, I chuck a diamond bit and put the lowest tension setting on it(6lb), I then set the speed at ~50rpm, any faster and the friction will build up and destroy the diamond bit. After about a half hour of grinding I end up with ~10 grams ultra fine Ti. This method isn't exactly efficient or timely, but trying to find an easy method of powdering titanium is doomed to fail. Titanium is just too damn hard.

[hashashan]

As i thought, well bummer then. Back to the drawing desk