laser200 Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 (edited) Ok..I made my first video. The main reason for this was to see if the shell was being blown apart correctly with just BP coated puffed rice. It had some tiger tail stars but I either blown them blind or I just could not see them. 14 grams of lift was used along with homemade fuse and homemade quickmatch. Total shell weight was 3.8 ounces. Had a great report and it really got some alttitude. And yes. The shell blown apart really well from what I could tell. Thats the reason I shot it with some light so I can watch the shell...The video kinda sucks but any feedback would be greatly appreciated... Scott Edited August 30, 2009 by laser200 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEskimo Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Just appeared that you were a little close to the mortar...I usually try to get 100-150 feet between me and the mortar, with 3 inchers.What is your BP like? 14 grams of lift for a 108 gram shell seems like a bit of overkill. I usually use 11 grams for a 160 gram shell.Too bad the stars didn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laser200 Posted August 30, 2009 Author Share Posted August 30, 2009 Just appeared that you were a little close to the mortar...I usually try to get 100-150 feet between me and the mortar, with 3 inchers.What is your BP like? 14 grams of lift for a 108 gram shell seems like a bit of overkill. I usually use 11 grams for a 160 gram shell.Too bad the stars didn't work. Yep..I think i did over do it on the lift.. I will go down about 5 grams next time....You cant see it but I am behind a crate...But yeah..Im moving way back next time. That was a heavy lift and if it would have flower potted I wouldnt bee typing this probably...Thanks for the reply..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtreme Pyro Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 (edited) Ok..I made my first video. The main reason for this was to see if the shell was being blown apart correctly with just BP coated puffed rice. It had some tiger tail stars but I either blown them blind or I just could not see them. 14 grams of lift was used along with homemade fuse and homemade quickmatch. Total shell weight was 3.8 ounces. Had a great report and it really got some alttitude. And yes. The shell blown apart really well from what I could tell. Thats the reason I shot it with some light so I can watch the shell...The video kinda sucks but any feedback would be greatly appreciated... Scott General rule of thumb is 1/10th the shells weight for aerial shells. But depending on the quality of your lift you may have to raise / lower the amount of lift needed. Anyways great job on the shell, it would have looked nice at night. By the way, was it one of your first shellsl? Edited September 4, 2009 by Xtreme Pyro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario1 Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Aww man your stars didnt light. But you did get it to go up and burst so good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Hmmmmm, I don't know where you got the 1/10th weight rule of thumb. The real one is 1/16th, one ounce per pound. That really only applies to bigger shells though. One ounce per pound up to 10 pounds, then 1/2 ounce per pound for every pound after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightHawkInLight Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Hmmmmm, I don't know where you got the 1/10th weight rule of thumb. The real one is 1/16th, one ounce per pound. That really only applies to bigger shells though. One ounce per pound up to 10 pounds, then 1/2 ounce per pound for every pound after that.Maybe from me he got the 1/10th ratio. It's what I usually use with poor quality BP. I recommend it to most people just figuring out their black powder, since a bit to much height is better than to little. I figure they will likely need the boost anyway with low quality BP and the very small shells beginners usually tinker with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtreme Pyro Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 (edited) Maybe from me he got the 1/10th ratio. It's what I usually use with poor quality BP. I recommend it to most people just figuring out their black powder, since a bit to much height is better than to little. I figure they will likely need the boost anyway with low quality BP and the very small shells beginners usually tinker with. My lift is pretty good quality, I started out with 1 3/4" shells using 1/10th of the shells weight for lift because everyone else seemed to have great success with it, so ever since then I have been stuck on that. I like my shells to gain a little extra height . There have been times when I had to lower the amount though because it would split my shells in half and flowerpot. Edited September 5, 2009 by Xtreme Pyro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasel Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 My lift powder is good but i still lift the crap out of my shells. for anything up to 2 inch shells i use 20% lift. i haven't made larger shells yet, but im thinking around 17% for 2.5 inchers and 15% for 3 inchers. Although i may just find that i prefer 20% lift for any size shell i make. I have not had a single flowerpot ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 Hmmmmm, I don't know where you got the 1/10th weight rule of thumb. The real one is 1/16th, one ounce per pound. That really only applies to bigger shells though. One ounce per pound up to 10 pounds, then 1/2 ounce per pound for every pound after that. That's the ticket! We just made a mess of 5" ball shells last night and argued about lift for 15 minutes before someone finally opened the darn book and looked. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 My lift is pretty good quality, I started out with 1 3/4" shells using 1/10th of the shells weight for lift because everyone else seemed to have great success with it, so ever since then I have been stuck on that. I like my shells to gain a little extra height . There have been times when I had to lower the amount though because it would split my shells in half and flowerpot. Height=gun length, check out Best of AFN V, exhaustive testing shows that more BP just passes fire and blows the shell up, not higher. Add an extra 6" to the gun and you will get better height. Ill take arguments now, dont make me pull my AFN down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonny Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 The powder grain size also makes a big difference in the amount needed. Finer BP (2FA) will require less than if using 2FA, but the finer BP also put more stress on the shell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 The powder grain size also makes a big difference in the amount needed. Finer BP (2FA) will require less than if using 2FA, but the finer BP also put more stress on the shell. In order to cut down on the amount of different types of powder we have at hand we lift everything with 2FA but are contemplating doing a bulk build of BP on rice hulls, maybe 50# or so. I break small shells with a bunch of different stuff depending on inserts etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonny Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 In order to cut down on the amount of different types of powder we have at hand we lift everything with 2FA but are contemplating doing a bulk build of BP on rice hulls, maybe 50# or so. I break small shells with a bunch of different stuff depending on inserts etc. That's a great idea to keep things simple. Personally I use 2 different lifts... -4+10 (my version 2FA) for 3" cans any ball shells over 3" and -10+20 (my version of 4FA) for any smallern shells, comets up to 1.5" and small mines. I too use a variety of break charges depending on the application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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