Mario1 Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 Ok I want to make some of my own end plugs that fit a 3/4'' tube. I might go by some bentonite clay if this doesnt work. Thanks!
Twotails Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 use cheap kitty litter. or hotmelt guel and paper disks, ect
TheEskimo Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 (edited) Bentonite or paper is the only way to go. The are good because if something happens, the bentonite will desintegrate into powder, and will hurt no one. Paper will work because, it is, obviously paper, and who heard of paper hurting anyone or anything, apart from papercuts? Anything else is dangerous, and rather unneccesary, because of the potential for endplugs moving at several hundred feet per second into people or porperty. Edited August 19, 2009 by TheEskimo
FrankRizzo Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 If you hand-roll your tubes, you can crimp them like old-fashioned firecrackers using an awl or something similar. Hot glue over a layer of clay also works well.
Mario1 Posted August 20, 2009 Author Posted August 20, 2009 How do I make a sutible end plug out of paper?
EQUALIZER70 Posted September 1, 2009 Posted September 1, 2009 (edited) I don't have any pictures of this to share but my plug jig is as follows. I use a piece of 3/4" id PVC about 4" long with a small hole drilled at the center to release pressure and 2 pieces of 5/8" wood dowel about the same length. I stack 4 or 5 pieces (depends on thickness of available paper at the time) of 2"-2.5" square paper with good old Elmer's Glue. Place this, still wet, glued up square on the end of one dowel and jam it about 3/4" into the end of the PVC pipe. I do the same with the other dowel and other end of the pipe. I leave these to dry overnight. Once dry I remove the dowel and paper plug then trim the flashing off to make a nice clean paper plug. These fit my home rolled 3/4" casings perfectly. A very simple process actually. I have 10 or 12 of these PVC jigs for each size of casing I roll. This way I can make decent size batches every couple days. If I were to need more a new molding form is only a few minutes and even fewer pennies away. Hope this helps. Edited September 1, 2009 by EQUALIZER70
Arthur Posted September 2, 2009 Posted September 2, 2009 Press some sawdust into the tube and drizzle it with white glue. sets rock hard.
EQUALIZER70 Posted September 2, 2009 Posted September 2, 2009 Arthur, Do those plug disintegrate upon detonation? "Rock hard" is not something I might like heading towards me at a high rate of speed. I may have to give them a try though as i have plenty of sawdust and white glue hanging around the shop.
Pretty green flame Posted September 2, 2009 Posted September 2, 2009 Arthur, Do those plug disintegrate upon detonation? "Rock hard" is not something I might like heading towards me at a high rate of speed. I may have to give them a try though as i have plenty of sawdust and white glue hanging around the shop. You have to consider the weight of the projectile, even if it does not desintegrate it's still pretty lightweight and will do very little to no damage to anything it hits.
EQUALIZER70 Posted September 2, 2009 Posted September 2, 2009 True, and the fact that unless you SOAK the hell out of the sawdust it's likely to be a relatively thin cap with a bit of sawdust filler underneath. I think I'll give this a shot on my next go round. Not that I don't have a bunch of plugs already made but it's always nice to experiment with options.
Arthur Posted September 2, 2009 Posted September 2, 2009 Plugs have to be cheap! That's why the Chinese use clay. I have a bag of pet sawdust and press a bit in to a tube to make a 1/2 in plug with a marked rammer dowel then I put some white glue to soak into the sawdust. Sometimes it takes two soakings in white glue but with paper tubes the glue sticks to the tube and the plug. Mine have proved reusably robust. Obviously they will not stick to plastic tubes.
dagabu Posted September 2, 2009 Posted September 2, 2009 Plugs have to be cheap! That's why the Chinese use clay. I have a bag of pet sawdust and press a bit in to a tube to make a 1/2 in plug with a marked rammer dowel then I put some white glue to soak into the sawdust. Sometimes it takes two soakings in white glue but with paper tubes the glue sticks to the tube and the plug. Mine have proved reusably robust. Obviously they will not stick to plastic tubes. Kitty litter, just use kitty litter. Why make more work for yourself? The Chinese use clay for a reason, cheap, natural, fast.
Arthur Posted September 2, 2009 Posted September 2, 2009 Kitty litter is bentonite! I prefer the sawdust an glue method because I make the tubes at home and it is a silent manufacture so the neighbours don't hear me hammering clay! (The live I make elsewhere)
Mario1 Posted September 2, 2009 Author Posted September 2, 2009 So using bentonite clay for end caps on salutes is ok right?
Ventsi Posted September 2, 2009 Posted September 2, 2009 You can't hammer on top of a flash loaded salute, so no. Use arthur's method , its actually quite common and works just as good or better than bentonite in this case.
Mario1 Posted September 2, 2009 Author Posted September 2, 2009 I dont use flash. I use blackpowder. Is that bad too?
dagabu Posted September 2, 2009 Posted September 2, 2009 I dont use flash. I use blackpowder. Is that bad too? For salutes? Not to be critical but I think you need to do some reading about fireworks, I suggest:FIREWORKS The Art Science and Technique by TAKEO SHIMIZU, PH.D., ENGINEERING. Black powder is used for all sorts of things, lift, break, fill, fuse, stars etc. It is not very energetic and makes pretty lousy reports. If you compact it, it will just burn like a rocket, no pop. Depending on the tube size, if you only confine it in a paper casing, it will only pop and you will have wasted all of that BP for nothing. Arthur, it doesn't have to be noisy at all. It makes a lot less noise than hammering a nail in fact. I get the distinct idea that you boys are making boomers and we don't do that here.
gunner1 Posted September 2, 2009 Posted September 2, 2009 (edited) Here, try these: http://www.cannonfuse.com/store/pc/viewPrd...mp;idcategory=9 Edited September 2, 2009 by gunner1
Seymour Posted September 3, 2009 Posted September 3, 2009 Black powder is used for all sorts of things, lift, break, fill, fuse, stars etc. It is not very energetic and makes pretty lousy reports. If you compact it, it will just burn like a rocket, no pop. Depending on the tube size, if you only confine it in a paper casing, it will only pop and you will have wasted all of that BP for nothing. Arthur, it doesn't have to be noisy at all. It makes a lot less noise than hammering a nail in fact. I get the distinct idea that you boys are making boomers and we don't do that here. Relax a bit. Black powder can make very good reports, even if they can not match the ease of manufacture or sharp crack of flash powder. Even if Mario is interested in bangs, sending a black powder salute in to the air with a timefuse, from a launch tube is well within the 'acceptable' paramiters of this forum, even if to some of us it is very basic and lacking in sparkles and colours. Besides, these sorts of toys (yes, Mario (like the rest of us) is learning, and learning is playing) will be valuable for getting him comfortable with many techniques and properties of this game of ours. I don't think you have to worry about Arthur at all. I completely believe him when he says he does not want to annoy the neighbors. It sounds like he is in no rush (which is very good in this game), and if what he does works, which it does, great for him. So what if he could do it a more efficient way.
Mario1 Posted September 3, 2009 Author Posted September 3, 2009 Actually my black powder salute made a very decent explosion. Enough to satisfy my needs for now. Its a very good sound too. You can hear it down the street from what my friend said. I have some videos. But you cant tell from them because its from a phone.
dagabu Posted September 3, 2009 Posted September 3, 2009 Relax a bit. Black powder can make very good reports, even if they can not match the ease of manufacture or sharp crack of flash powder. Even if Mario is interested in bangs, sending a black powder salute in to the air with a timefuse, from a launch tube is well within the 'acceptable' paramiters of this forum, even if to some of us it is very basic and lacking in sparkles and colours. Besides, these sorts of toys (yes, Mario (like the rest of us) is learning, and learning is playing) will be valuable for getting him comfortable with many techniques and properties of this game of ours. I don't think you have to worry about Arthur at all. I completely believe him when he says he does not want to annoy the neighbors. It sounds like he is in no rush (which is very good in this game), and if what he does works, which it does, great for him. So what if he could do it a more efficient way. Sorry, didn't mean to come off all uptight but it's standard fair to read the basics first and then start experimenting.
NightHawkInLight Posted September 3, 2009 Posted September 3, 2009 I make all of my own plugs by wadding up a bit of paper and ramming it into a tube. I then just pop it out and repeat the process to obtain a plug for each end. Forms a nice disc that only takes a small amount of hot or white glue to hold in place. Very lightweight, very safe.
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