First shells

[TYRONEEZEKIEL]

It is finally time for me to move on up to the good ole' shells.

 

I want to start small, like maybe film canister shells, but I know that they tend to rip rather than break. I am also thinking about using nighthawkinlights 1.5" cylinder shell tutorial.

 

Anyway, What would be a good setup for a first shell? Mortar( size, etc) star composition, break comp.

[Aneantis]

A nice, D1 glitter round shell 2inch with a normal pulverone break? That was my first real shell.

9mm pumped starrs, 3-4 gram lift, 3 layers paste...

[d4j0n]

My first shells were actually the 1" cupset shells lol. The guide has been fixed in the tutorials section

[TrueBluePyro]

My first shell was just an FC shot out've a pvc tube, they do work, and they are very statisfying for your first go

[Ventsi]

Go with nighthawk's tutorial or just use it to do a 2'' can which ever one you choose , I recommend the 2'' since you'll get nice results the first time around , no matter what goes wrong, Just use some ol' toilet paper tubes with a paste of craft around them before the spiking for the canister. I'm thinking about doing a tutorial myself .

[Mumbles]

If you want anything that even resembles fireworks, and not something out of a cheap chinese cake, go with a 1.5 or 2" shell. My personal preference would be to go with a handrolled canister, and all the spiking and pasting goodness. You'll see what it's like to build big shells in a fraction of the time. It's good practice too. If you get too used to taking short cuts, it will only slow you in the long run.

 

I'd suggest using something reasonably sized for stars, not 9mm pumped glitter stars BTW.

 

Ventsi, are you actually able to fire them from a standard 2" mortar? I guess I haven't tried with my thinner string, but they were always a real tight fit before, and I flowerpotted about as many as I launched.

[Ventsi]

Yeah, mine are a real tight fit in there too, but they fire out fine , it might be shell casing design, I also wrap one layer of cereal box cardboard around the outside of the TP tube before making it it into a casing. I use normal jute twine which is something like 1/16~3/32" or so. I'd love to use some of that Italian flax twine tough , I had some in artshop class, damn I should have "borrowed a roll"!

I quess it could depend on the paper you use to paste the outside aswell, I use some super thin stuff if i had to guess I'd say 10lbs or 5lbs?

 

I guess I could just take pictures as I'm making one and do a tut. .

 

Edit: here is my latest one , it was a bit crappy but WA/E

Edited June 23, 2009 by Ventsi

[Mumbles]

Back when I was making them, I was using jute (sisal maybe), that was a bit thicker than that, I'd say 1/8". I pasted them in with paper grocery sack bag. 20 or 30lb I'd guess. My hemp is much thinner, and I could probably fire them if I had a true 2" ID mortar anymore. Well, now that I think about it, the shells I rolled on a 1.75" former fit just fine into a 2" gun, so something made from a 1 5/8" ID tube should be fine too. Probably my twine.

[Ventsi]

Thats what I'd say the OD of my finished casing is 1.75" with the extra paper on there.

 

Tyrone I suggest reading this first some stuff in there that might help you:

 

 

 

Taken from :

 

The Pyrotechists Treasury

by

Thomas Kentish

Edited June 23, 2009 by Ventsi

[Arthur]

The starting point for a new venture is what you have at the moment! What size is the mortar that you intend to use? Use small stars or they risk burning to the ground and being a nuisance or danger..

 

I'd start with a 2" shell using either 2" (really measures 1 3/4!) hemis or for a cylinder, use 42mm discs of card and kraft.

Round stars could be 5mm to get a good break but cause no damage. If you have good BP and BP chems then Tiger Tail is an easy star comp.

 

Note also the shell tutorials and charts on pyroguide.com though they start at 3".

[TYRONEEZEKIEL]

Yeah, I am really wanting to roll my own shell, I am pretty sure I will go with nighthawks tutorial, As for mortars, and lift, Im really not sure about.

 

For my mines, I have a 3/4" mortar that I use 1g of meal for about 10-18g of stars.

 

As for lift, I've made pulverone, but i find it too difficult for me as it always sticks to my screens really bad. I spend more time cleaning the stuff off of the screens than anything else. Maybe Im using too small of screens??

 

And for mortars, I dont even know where to begin, I want to do it the right way and safely.

 

I like the idea of only using 3g of lift, I dont think that should be loud. Unless it flowerpots

[TrueBluePyro]

...

As for lift, I've made pulverone, but i find it too difficult for me as it always sticks to my screens really bad. I spend more time cleaning the stuff off of the screens than anything else. Maybe Im using too small of screens??

...

 

Pulverone really isnt that hard to make and I'd say your adding way to much water to your BP if it is sticking to your screens. The omptimal amount of water is 14%. Just wet your BP in a sort of bowl and then even tho' it will kinda look like a powder if you can clump it into a ball in your fist just push that through the screen and you will get little granuls, perfect for lift. To wash off your screen go over you lawn and just brush anything off, there usally isnt much on there but just wash the rest off with a garden hose if you must.

 

Hope that help in some way.

[Seymour]

Very little has been mentioned about stars.

 

I personally would suggest one of two things. The first would be to use large streamer stars to give a nice palmlike chrysanthemum effect. Considering it is such a small shell, go with Chrysanthemum 8 or Tigertail. Chrys. 6 will burn to fast to get a good effect. Perhaps 12mm stars could be good. A glitter might also be nice.

 

The other option would be to use coloured stars. This will be more involved as priming them is neccisary. Instead of going for the 'big star' strategy, I would suggest going for density here. Perhaps go for 5-6mm stars before priming. Additionally, I suggest using a mix with a metal fuel for brightness (unless you go blue), and plenty of chlorine for a saturated hue. What chemicals do you have?? That will limit you as for what you can do.

[TYRONEEZEKIEL]

My Chemical Magazine contains:

 

NH4ClO4 I have TONS! maybe 80g milled though

KClO4 about 250g

KNO3

S

C

Yellow Iron Oxide

Red Iron Oxide

Black Iron Oxide

Copper sulfate

Copper Benzoate

Copper Acetate

Potassium Benzoate

Red Copper Oxide

Black Copper Oxide

Copper II Chloride

Lead Tetraoxide

Parlon

Saran

Red Gum

PVC

BaNO3

BaCO3

SrNO3

SrCO3

Na2CO3

Mg

Al 325 atomized

MgAl

Dextrin

CuCO3

Chromium Oxide

Hexamine

NH4Cl

CaCO3

 

I believe thats it. I also dont know how fast my visco burns. Its the stuff bought in a 15 ft roll at a fireworks stand. I'd give it 3-4 seconds per inch if I was being generous to the slow side.

 

I am also really lost about what to use for mortars.

[Mumbles]

I use a thickish tube I found to fire my test inserts. I THINK they were the inner tube from aluminum foil, or saran wrap, or waxed paper or something like that. Nighthawk's tutorial came from the inserts required for a 5" sun and planets, so they're the same size as my inserts.

 

Huge charcoal streamers are not required in the least. My first shells of this size were made with spider stars, made from willow, cut to 3/8". There is plenty of spread. I can post my 5 timed spider shell if you're interested. The inserts are 1.75" and use 1/4" spider stars, thought a bit slower one. There is plenty of spread.

[Ventsi]

Your best guess is to order them , they are quality, prplugged etc. , Even if you come upon a good tube for a gun you'll have to plug it , I am still looking for a plug for my 3" mortar, if I can't find one I'll just burry it to the mouth.

 

Here are some sites that offer cheap, strong quality tubes , make sure they come pre-plugged.

 

http://www.mortartubes.net/

 

http://www.pyrodirect.com/ccp0-catshow/con...ortar_tube.html

 

http://www.pyrodirect.com/ccp0-catshow/dis...ortar_tube.html

 

http://www.pyrocreations.com/mortars_racks

[Mumbles]

You'll want a plug if you are going to be firing anything out of that mortar. Blown plugs are a sure cause of a low break. You're essentially starting with a pre-blown plug, burried or not. I've tried it, and it does not work consistently, or very well at times.

[Pretty green flame]

Your best guess is to order them , they are quality, prplugged etc. , Even if you come upon a good tube for a gun you'll have to plug it , I am still looking for a plug for my 3" mortar, if I can't find one I'll just burry it to the mouth.

 

Invest in a wood lathe, they come relatively cheap and you'll be able to turn solid wooden plugs in no time. Other than buying a wood lathe, get one of those hole cutter saws which fit on a normal hand held drill, they should come in the right size. Be creative. Heck, you could even cast your plug out of fiberglass resin and sand/chopped fiberglass strands.

[Arthur]

Plugs in small tubes can be made with wood shavings and white glue. Try about 2D for tubes up to 25mm

 

For larger tubes I use polyester resin poured into a tube with the same amount of warm dry sand. Seal the bottom with tape pour in resin to about the depth the same as the tube bore.

[Ventsi]

Whats the exact method? Do you mix sand and resin 'n pour?

 

And where do you buy the polyester resin Hone Depot?

 

How long does it take to set aswell?

[Pretty green flame]

Whats the exact method? Do you mix sand and resin 'n pour?

 

How long does it take to set aswell?

 

Drill 3 holes in the tube at equal spaces around the cricumfence, put 3 nails, 1 in each (doh..), this is to hold the plug firmly in place. Then just mix and cast, wherever you do get fiberglass resin, they also probably sell chopped fiberglass strands, which is better than sand for stuctural integrity.

 

Make sure you get casting resin (Either epoxy of polyester), laminating polyester sets pretty quickly, could be as quick a 5 minutes, but usually around 10 minutes, anyway, laminating resin has a tendancy to crack if in larger ammounts, so casting resin is preffered. Either laminating or casting epoxy should work with no problems, laminating polyester will probably crack so choose wisely.

[jrin0630]

I would like to make a 3" ball shell using flying fish fuse. Has anyone done that? Any pointers on how to place the fuse in the hemi's? What about the burst charge?

[TYRONEEZEKIEL]

I would like to make a 3" ball shell using flying fish fuse. Has anyone done that? Any pointers on how to place the fuse in the hemi's? What about the burst charge?

 

 

I think this is getting a bit off topic! Haha

[firetech]

Filling a 3'' ball shell with flying fish is a huge waste in my opinion. You don't need that much to get the full effect since they swim and cover the sky quickly. You might want to use a can shell next time. And if you do, bundle them together into the shell so they are facing the same direction. Put in a small layer of bp where the time delay fuse is, slide in a tissue paper spacer, and put in the fuse. Then seal it up. The tighter the fuse fits the better. Make the pieces about 1'' long.

[derekroolz]

It is finally time for me to move on up to the good ole' shells.

 

I want to start small, like maybe film canister shells, but I know that they tend to rip rather than break. I am also thinking about using nighthawkinlights 1.5" cylinder shell tutorial.

 

Anyway, What would be a good setup for a first shell? Mortar( size, etc) star composition, break comp.

 

 

my first shell was taking a pingpong ball. i slited it in half put bb rolled star roller from a star composition of 44g willow charcoal to 44g KON3 to 6g sulfur and 6g dextrin. and then roll the stars in a star mine roller...dont have one make one

never will pump the stars agian...after you have you ping pong ball cut in half and some round stars put about 6 stars in the first half of the pingpong ball and then get some flash powder about 2g will do incredible put the flash inside a 3"x3" peice of napkin and fold the napkin around the powder to form a sack now put your fuse in the open part of the nakin that is folded and tape the nakin and fuse close but still leaving some of the solid part of the napkin exposed then place the napkin into the pingpong ball and have the stars arond it then you can poke a hole throught the other half of the pingpong ball and close the half onto the other and make sure the hole you poked allows the fuse to come out of the pingpong ball now tape the ping pong balls together and secure the fuse and the pingpong ball when the fuse is stickeing out of the pingpong ball make sure there is about 1-2secs of fuse till explosion. Now either you can take the shell and throw it into the air while light or make some flash powder and put about 3g into a 2inch diameter with schedule 40 pvc and about 4-6inches tall and on the bottom of the pvc piping take a file and make a small dipp just big enough for the fuse to fit and then put the pvc on the ground and stick your fuse into th dipp inthe pvc piping...fill the pipe with you 3g of flash powder and then put you pingpong ball down about half way into the tubing(the size of the pingpong ball will vary everytime so use taping or paper to make the shell fit in the piping so that you have to push it down but not to tightly to wear it actually takes a bit of force make sur that shell being put into the tube has the fuse pointing into the grond. Now light the fuse sticking out of you pipng and run back then sssssssshhhhhhhhhooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!! BBBBBBooooooooooooMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

 

OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH