Inspiration and questions.

[TYRONEEZEKIEL]

Last night, I went to a display for memorial day, and I studied each shell break. I noticed that a good portion of the shells had TT or someother sparking trail behind, but also what seemed to be a colored header on the shell. ??

 

I also noticed that the higher shot shells had much much bigger breaks which blasted the stars very fast, but also hat a very concussive report. I also gained a love for salutes. There was one shell in particular that had very few stars, but made a great BOOM that would wake the dead.

 

There was also a shell that had zillions of little green stars that burned very very very long, and they also fell very very slow. it was really weird. They seemed to be in comparison much smaller stars than the ones in the other shells of the night.

 

anyway,

 

I have yet to make a shell yet, but I am planning to get my first one up this summer.

 

What was the color header?

 

How does one get such a salute that demands authority?

 

and what on earth kind of stars/comp burns that slow and falls so slow

[Mumbles]

They colored header were just tailed colored stars. Many formulas can be made to do this by adding titanium for white (maybe coarse Al), or granular charcoal for charcoal. They do this to make the break look fuller.

 

Don't worry about salutes until you have plenty of practice with shells. They're not hard. Once you're to the point of plenty of practice, it should be common sense.

 

Those were falling leaves stars. There is a fuse that does this, but I've never used them. The traditional ones are a certain star comp sandwiched between 2 pieces of paper (1/8" thick or so). They fall like a whirly-bird thing from a maple tree, very slowly.

[Arthur]

Salutes are a definiote part of a display BUT possibly the fifth or sixth part. Colour, shape, movement come way before simple bangs, plus a salute will annoy the neighbours unless there is a row of nice coloured shell bursts either side.

 

My suggestion for projects start with good BP - it is truly VITAL

then make some simple star compouds Tiger tail and D1 for starters

Then make some coloured stars Veline is an easy system.

 

Simple starguns let you test things

 

Then you can work on lift, time fuse, burst and stars and try to get a good break of nice effects.

 

Also if you are careless -even slightly! salutes will bite you back! If one goes off it will maim or kill you. They are more sensitive and more powerful than a similar size shell.

 

For a starter I'd suggest a 3in shell big enough to work on easily but not too expensive to fill. Smaller shells are harder to make well.

 

Added

There is a wonderfull star called "Slow Gold" Possibly credited to Buell has a hang time in the order of 10 seconds. Tends to be a soft finale shell possibly the biggest of the show and it usually burns almost to the ground even from an 8" shell (1000ft)

Edited May 25, 2009 by Arthur

[Weasel]

Added

There is a wonderfull star called "Slow Gold" Possibly credited to Buell has a hang time in the order of 10 seconds. Tends to be a soft finale shell possibly the biggest of the show and it usually burns almost to the ground even from an 8" shell (1000ft)

 

 

I would like to know of such a composition...

The biggest shells i make are only 2 inches anyway, I would have to make very small stars to prevent fires.(if it burns as long as you say it does)(perhaps granualating the comp?)

I would make bigger shells, but I need to find a field somewhere...a 3" shell flowerpotting in my backyard would be very bad. I have deemed that a 2" would be safe if it flowerpotted though...

[tentacles]

I started a thread in the compositions forum for slow gold, it's a great comp. Make them a bit smaller than you normally would for a given sized shell, though...

 

Sorry, look here: http://www.apcforum.net/forums/index.php?a...;&pid=41641

Edited May 26, 2009 by tentacles

[Mumbles]

The problem is that the hangtime of a star is only marginally related to star size. Formulas like that are not suited well at all to small shells without major modification, such as milling the composition, increasing the oxidizer or using very reactive charcoals. Even then you'd be chancing it. I don't think they look as nice without a large spread anyway.

[TYRONEEZEKIEL]

My BP is pretty darn close to par right now, and it will be about a month before I start my shell building as I'm moving away from a neighborhood into 10 acres of nothing but pure fireworks. I think I will be safer out there as there is much less danger of hurting someone or something. Anyway, I have made zillions of star mines, and I'm really comfortable with my star comps etc. But would it be wise to make charcoal stars to start in my shells since they are cheaper if it fails?

 

Also would pulverone lift be adequate, or should I invest in a press and corn my np?

[Seymour]

But would it be wise to make charcoal stars to start in my shells since they are cheaper if it fails?

 

That is always a good idea. I personally am a fan of Tigertail, though my pine charcoal burns fast. If you are using a slower charcoal C8 might give a similar effect.

 

I personally think that Slow gold and other brocade stars ca be wonderful in a three inch shell, but I would not go smaller

 

What shells are you going to be starting with? What size and type?

[Swede]

The slow gold star sounds intriguing. Could the Ti sponge be replaced with spherical Ti? Or Fe?

 

TE, I like the Winokur glitter formulations for an easy, beautiful star, but again it's a star that requires moving air to work. Ground burning does nothing. It looks like a sick little "Pharaoh's serpent" novelty device and leaves behind glowing slag.

 

A while back, I used a leaf blower to create the airflow, and it did work to get an idea of the effect without a star gun. Kind of silly, but one could make a little nest of coarse stainless screen, put the star in the nest, turn on the leaf blower, and ignite the star. Or, if you have shop air available, an air-blower pointed at the star would work. Watch out for burning sparks that can fly several feet, and land in a bucket full of unburnt comp.

 

A star gun is definitely easier, though, with all that said.

[Arthur]

 

We had some fun. There are two 8in slow gold shells. Don't try these in small sizes they burn too long! But as a finale efect they are hard to beat! -one shell holds their attention for ten seconds!

 

Added

See also other vids by the same author esp the ones referenced Icarus

Edited May 26, 2009 by Arthur

[Richtee]

Also would pulverone lift be adequate, or should I invest in a press and corn my np?

 

If you are ball milling your BP and have decent charcoal, a binder such as the SGRS or dextrin and screening will produce all you need in lift or BP burst. And you can always coat rice hulls or whatever for burst as well. Corning, while it produces the best BP...is not really required, IMO.

[firetech]

Now this seems odd to me..Everyone says that corned BP is the most powerful. I granulate my BP and it is quite fast. I have pressed my bp into pucks with a vise and seen inferior BP in terms of burn rate and lightability compared to granulated. Could my problem perhaps be that the PSI exerted on the puck be not enough? They come out rock-hard when dry, but maybe they just haven't reached the ideal density.

[TYRONEEZEKIEL]

I imagine I will start with 3 inch shells.

 

With that being said, what kind of materials would be best for beginners to work with?

 

paper/plastic hemis, cylinder shells, mortar tubes, pasting methods, spiking, amount of lift. etc.

[Arthur]

Lift is just lift so mass and quality defines it. Plastic hemis are simple and quick to use, usually they are used unpasted so they are really quick and give instant results, but they are not traditional and leave huge amounts of plastuc shrapnel which needs clearing up and doesn't biodegrade.

 

With paper you have a week's work pasting it and drying it but toe small bits can be left to degrade.

 

The break for paper ond plastic shells is different and a design for one usually doesn't work quite right in the other.

 

You MUST have a decent mortar without this you will get hurt. You must also have a means of securing the mortar so that it points in the best direction.

 

Read lots here and elsewhere to check on methods for making various shell shapes.

[TYRONEEZEKIEL]

would it be a good idea to purchase paper hemis so that way I can get a feel for what is correct? or should i just jump in the pool with no floaties and see if I can swim?

[Mumbles]

I've become a fan of paper tape. Not quite as fast as plastic, but still pretty quick. I can paste a 3" shell in within 20 minutes, and have it be ready to fire within a few hours.

 

This place sells 3/4" tape, which is wonderful for pasting 3" shells. I use 3 overlapping layers and one single layer, and they've been breaking good.

 

http://www.pyrodirect.com/ccp0-catshow/kraft_tape.html

[TYRONEEZEKIEL]

Mumbles.. I do appreciate it. Also.. there is one more question. I should be set after this. for shell ignition, and timing, what is the most sure-fire way to ignite the shell, also how would I time the shells height with? Should I make a spollette? Maybe I should read a bit more.

[Seymour]

The slow gold star sounds intriguing. Could the Ti sponge be replaced with spherical Ti? Or Fe?

 

I've only ever used sponge Ti.

 

paper/plastic hemis, cylinder shells, mortar tubes, pasting methods, spiking, amount of lift. etc.

 

Here we get in to personal preference... I personally suggest paper hemispheres and kraft + wheat paste for pasting.

 

Not quite as fast as plastic, but still pretty quick. I can paste a 3" shell in within 20 minutes, and have it be ready to fire within a few hours.

 

With paper and paste I can do a three incher, nine layers, in five minutes. This is the product of practice though, and it takes at least a day to dry.

[firetech]

It seems that some of the 'older' methods such as wheat paste are far superior than normal gummed tapes and gummed kraft. Too bad there are that many old timers left to convey their knowledge to us. I prefer wheat paste also, because I believe it creates a more rigid shell than other pasting methods can. Although since I have gummed kraft I'm going to save myself the hassle of making it.

[Seymour]

Should I make a spollette? Maybe I should read a bit more.

 

A spolette is a good timing mechanism and you will learn a lot making it. However, nothing beats bought toime fuse for ease of use and suitability for most shells.

 

It seems that some of the 'older' methods such as wheat paste are far superior than normal gummed tapes and gummed kraft. Too bad there are that many old timers left to convey their knowledge to us. I prefer wheat paste also, because I believe it creates a more rigid shell than other pasting methods can. Although since I have gummed kraft I'm going to save myself the hassle of making it.

 

While I agree completely, some of these newer methods have been producing some perfectly good shells. As an example, here is a nice twelve inch chrysanthemum built by "Bill K" and pasted automatically by a machine using paper tape.

 

http://pyrotechnics.no-ip.org/files/billk_12_inch.wmv

 

From passfire.

[TYRONEEZEKIEL]

wow.. that 12" was excellent.. Its amazing how the lift doesnt harm the shell!

 

So its good ole time fuse it looks like for me to begin with.

[Mumbles]

Yes, once I have all the strips cut, and broken in, I can paste shells in no time, but it's this setup and subsequent cleanup time that is eliminated by gummed kraft. My setup involves a bowl of water, a wash cloth, Sportscenter, and a cup of coffee. In all honesty, I could cut my pasting time in half if not more if I put a sponge in a plastic container to wet the tape for me as I pulled it off the roll. I am just lazy though.

 

I've been meaning to do a side by side comparison of a traditionally pasted shell, a shell pasted my way, and one pasted on a WASP. I actually got to play with a WASP this week, they're a cool little thing. I also tend to argue that traditionally pasted shells are superior in anyway to gummed tape. Others will also argue with this, but a WASP just makes better shells. They are far more consistent and evenly wrapped than anything a human can do. This is going to be a problem in competition soon. Two identically made shells, one on a WASP one hand pasted, and the WASP one will be better. I've seen this happen several times in person.

 

The most surefire way to ensure ignition is a spolette. When made properly, I have NEVER seen one fail. With good time fuse, it can be just about as reliable. I've had 2 shells ever fail on me. One was using visco as a time fuse, and I think I got glue over the powder core. The other, I think the internal passfire got pinched off. I use a mix of both, but it sure is convenient to use time fuse. When all is said and done, they're both fairly cheap, maybe 10 cents a shell.