Post your videos in 2009

[deadman]

Wow. Pure granulated whistle for break! That's ballsy I never would have even considered that, but it obviously worked. I might have to try that one of these days.

 

I think the same way about spending more time at once getting things ready rather than starting months early. Honestly I am so ready to jump the mortar (horrible pyro pun) that I have to make a rocket, fountain, or ground salute whenever I make a big batch of stars. I can't stand working so much in one night and not be able to set something off.

[flying fish]

Haha, the granulated whistle was only in little shells with easy-lighting stars. I doubt pure whistle would work in anything else. The burst was comparible to breaking the shell with a gram of medium (bright flake) flash on pulverone (which is what I normally do for easy-lighting glitter stars). I bet a 3" shell filled with pure whistle would be more of a salute than anything else.

[lodcomm]

Thank you all for your compliments.

 

 

 

That was by brocade inspired by Dave Buell's Slow Gold formula. However, perhaps due to the Pine charcoal I use for streamer stars, the stars burned fairly fast and did not have that glittering effect I wanted. I added extra Sulfur and some bicarbonate to get it going how I like. All but the Titanium were ball milled for an hour.

 

Pakeha brocade:

 

Charcoal 39%

Potassium nitrate 34

Sulfur 12

Titanium 7

Sodium bicarbonate 4

Gum Arabic 4

 

Hi Seymore,

 

Beautiful shells! and perfect filming as well. (nothing quite as nice as friends cheering while watching ones show ) Is the above formula the star composition for the shell that bursts at approx :24 into the video? If so. What was the titanium mesh size used? I would like to construct a few shells that exhibit that effect.. it's quite nice.

 

Oh.. one more thing - the sodium bicarbonate in the pyro formulas... will standard arm and hammer baking soda work here?

 

thanks

Edited August 1, 2009 by lodcomm

[Seymour]

Yep, that's similar to what I use. Because food grade chemicals are highly regulated, their purity is almost always superb, and considering it is here to slow things down, it's not even important!

 

However you may not need to add the bicarbonate. Using different charcoals and manufacturing techniques these stars can burn very slowly without the bicarbonate being added to slow things further.

 

Mine burned fast without the bicarbonate because my charcoal (macrocarpa I think) burns quite fast, and because the chemicals were ball milled together (without the Titanium for safety). If you powder the chemicals separately and screen them together, or use slower burning charcoals, or both, you will get as equally long burning stars without adding the bicarb.

[lodcomm]

Yep, that's similar to what I use. Because food grade chemicals are highly regulated, their purity is almost always superb, and considering it is here to slow things down, it's not even important!

 

However you may not need to add the bicarbonate. Using different charcoals and manufacturing techniques these stars can burn very slowly without the bicarbonate being added to slow things further.

 

Mine burned fast without the bicarbonate because my charcoal (macrocarpa I think) burns quite fast, and because the chemicals were ball milled together (without the Titanium for safety). If you powder the chemicals separately and screen them together, or use slower burning charcoals, or both, you will get as equally long burning stars without adding the bicarb.

 

Thanks for the input on the sodium bicarb, I thought as much, but it is always smooth to ask.

 

I have several different charcoals, and I make a nice slow burn bamboo meal from the bamboo trees (grasses) here in my back yard. I'll experiment with a multi mesh mix of that.

 

What mesh size titanium was it in that shell? - and, lastly - would say bright flake AL or MgAL work in place of the TI? Lately I am finding TI hard to come by, either everyone is out of stock or it's so expensive I cannot stomach the cost.

 

 

Thanks again for all your input.

 

-t

Edited August 2, 2009 by lodcomm

[Seymour]

From memory that Titanium was 40-80 mesh.

 

While other metals may work, none will give as beautiful effect as Titanium or Ferrotitanium. They are expensive, but there is nothing we can do about it, and considering the beauty of Titanium effects, I definitely consider the metal as one of my favorites.

 

I've heard Bamboo is not very good for Black powder, but how is it for sparks?

[lodcomm]

From memory that Titanium was 40-80 mesh.

 

While other metals may work, none will give as beautiful effect as Titanium or Ferrotitanium. They are expensive, but there is nothing we can do about it, and considering the beauty of Titanium effects, I definitely consider the metal as one of my favorites.

 

I've heard Bamboo is not very good for Black powder, but how is it for sparks?

 

Yes, I will have to concede on the TI, it is a wonderful effect - I simply broke down and bouglt a couple LBS from hobby chem . My experience with my bamboo BP is that it is indeed relatively poor. I am satisfied with it as a spark supplier in stars and such, and that is what I generally use the charcoal for.

 

-t