Multi-Break Shells and Spolettes

[usatrapper]

I am currently working on a 3'' double break can shell. How ever I have no experience with spolettes and was wondering if you guys could give me an explanation on how they work, why they are used, and most importantly how to make them.

 

-Thanks for reading!

[Updup]

A spolette is a tube rammed with a few inches of black powder, since its basicly a solid fuel grain, the ignition from your first break lights the end of the spolette burning for one end to the other.

 

I'm not sure why they are used, and I dont think they are used very much for smaller shells (they might be used for 4"+) but for a three inch you should be better off with some time fuse (which is a spolette if you think about it)

 

To make them you need a strong tube, fairly fine black powder, and somthing to ram/press with. And then you just put a small amount of blackpowder in your tube - you will want to ram in small increments to get a solid burn time - ram and repeat. you also will want to time your spolettes before you trust them in a shell, just put about an inch of blackpowder in and burn it, then take down the time it took to burn and if it's the right speed your good to go, if it's too fast pack a little more BP into the next one and time that, and if it's too short, don't put as much BP in the next one, as simple as that.

[firetech]

It's simply just a time delay before ignition of some device. I always use spolettes because I think they work better than visco. They hold up better against the pull of the spiking too, which is important. You're gonna have to do some experimenting here. For me an inch lasts about 3 seconds. It will depend on the burn rate of your bp.

[usatrapper]

Ok I see, but will I be able to reuse the tubes after timing?

[Updup]

Ok I see, but will I be able to reuse the tubes after timing?

 

I doubt it, the inside will be pretty burnt out. You can roll you own really strong tubes with gummed tape, you can find it at craft stores dirt cheap, and it's simple enough that you don't really need to reuse the tubes.

Good luck .

[firetech]

Check out the 1/4'' ID tubes from pyrocreations. They are perfect for spolettes. They are pretty cheap in cost too. www.pyrocreations.com

[Updup]

Check out the 1/4'' ID tubes from pyrocreations. They are perfect for spolettes. They are pretty cheap in cost too. www.pyrocreations.com

 

Yeah, those tubes are beast, won't break of you drop an anvil with feathers on it on it! How ever they are spiral wound, so not the best for ramming, I got about 50 of them and have made some pretty small fountains with them (yes they were SMALL, I was a newbie).

 

I would take some visco, and wrap an inch in AL foil tape, with ~1/2" sticking out of both ends, then you should be good, it will hold up during spiking, and it's cheap and effective, not to mention easy! That's what i do anyway. EDIT: But if you really want to make a spolette, just roll your own tube out of gummed tape as they are, stronger, cheaper, and you can make them so your smallest dowel/AL rammer will fit them.

 

EDIT: I spelled "it's" "id" and it was bugging me.

Edited November 17, 2009 by Updup

[derekroolz]

Also if you become effective with spolettes, they can add a nice effect to the shell as it goes up.

[Ralph]

much more reliable just to add a rising effect next to it rather than ramming in different things into the spolette

[Updup]

Yeah, and I think he's talking about putting the spolette between the first and second break, so their is not much time for a rising effect. But as Ralph said, you could just throw (or Place ) a commet on top. Edited November 18, 2009 by Updup

[TyrantBB]

One reason you might want to use spolettes, even on smaller shells is that the breaks after the first require much less of a delay than the initial break. With time fuse you're going to have to cut a very small piece for that delay, probably less than 1/4" plus the excess for crossmatching. This could be difficult to work with in the shell and if that very small amount of powder comes loose then there's going to be no delay between the breaks.

[usatrapper]

Wow, thanks for all these replys guys.. im learning alot. Also... cant i roll a spolette out of heavy kraft instead of gummed tape.

[Updup]

Yes, you can, but gummed tape sticks to itself making a "solid" tube. the little layers in kraft paper tubes allow sliding which means you can squish the tube... nothing that will kill you, gummed tape just makes nicer tubes. and since its cheap and easyily available at craft stores, you might want to look in to buying a roll.

 

Also, it gets messy, but you can paint your kraft with white glue...

 

Good luck on your first spolette .

[Mumbles]

I find the best spolettes I've made are actually rolled from manilla folder paper with a few outer turns of kraft. You can indeed roll them just from kraft though. I get lots of wrinkles and air pockets when I do that though.

 

Spolettes were the first, and still remain the most traditional fusing devices. They are superior in quite a few ways to time fuse. I wont even get into visco. Spolettes allow much shorter timings, and generally more reliable burn rates than time fuse. They are also much sturdier, allowing you to spike shells more easily. They also allow you to stack shells more easily providing a post of sorts to stabilize.

 

Traditional spolettes are between 1/4" and 3/8" ID, and around 1/2" to 5/8" OD. The smaller ones for smaller shells and inserts as such. I have used the little red tubes as mentioned before, and they work fine. You just need to reinforce them while ramming. Precocious Pyrotechnics (www.pyro-pro.com), and skylighter (www.skylighter.com) both sell suitable tubes of more traditional manufacture and sizes. The tubes are rammed with good black powder. Mike Swisher recommends using only Meal D, but I've never had problems with homemade meal, though it may be slightly less consistent. I ram around 1/4" at a time. I have a little scoop that gives around this increment. For very precise timing you can drill your powder core back, but unless you're making timed inserts, it's unnecessary. You will not be filling the entire tube by the way.

 

After you have your spolette rammed, it must be prepared. This is actually quite a bit quicker than it sounds by the way. Take your spolette and a sharpened nail or awl or something like that. Scratch the powder on the interior of the tube, make it rough. Pack the empty end of the tube with blackmatch. You don't have to force it, but it should be in there firmly. Some people ram a bamboo skewer in and break it off to really hold the match in. There should be maybe an inch or two of blackmatch sticking out. Wrap two turns of kraft paper around this end of the tube. There should be a bit of glue on the part that contact the tube. Tie the paper around the match near the top of the tube. You can cut off the extra paper, and trim the match down to around 1/2" exposed above the knot if you like. Take your awl and poke a small hole in the paper below the knot. This is done to help prevent the fire from being sucked out of the spolette between burning out and transfering fire to the shell. I think it's a bunch of crap, but hey, it's so easy why not do it just in case? The spolette is ready to be inserted into your shell to be manufactured.

 

After the shell is assembled, the top must also be prepared. Again scratch the powder core. I personally put 2 pieces of black match over the surface, in an X pattern. I tie it off with a clove hitch. Slide a piece of bamboo skewer into the string. Bring the match back up, and tie it off to the stick. There is a more complex method that only adds maybe 30 seconds to the above proceedure, but I am not fully familiar with it. There is an excellent pictoral write up on passfire if you decide to join.

 

Let me know if anything is unclear and I can try to find some pictures or provide a better description.

 

Out of curiosity, are you building the two breaks separately and assembling, or building one on top of the other?

 

By the way, for timings 1" on the initial break, and 3/4" on the subsequent break is pretty standard.

[usatrapper]

I find the best spolettes I've made are actually rolled from manilla folder paper with a few outer turns of kraft. You can indeed roll them just from kraft though. I get lots of wrinkles and air pockets when I do that though.

 

Spolettes were the first, and still remain the most traditional fusing devices. They are superior in quite a few ways to time fuse. I wont even get into visco. Spolettes allow much shorter timings, and generally more reliable burn rates than time fuse. They are also much sturdier, allowing you to spike shells more easily. They also allow you to stack shells more easily providing a post of sorts to stabilize.

 

Traditional spolettes are between 1/4" and 3/8" ID, and around 1/2" to 5/8" OD. The smaller ones for smaller shells and inserts as such. I have used the little red tubes as mentioned before, and they work fine. You just need to reinforce them while ramming. Precocious Pyrotechnics (www.pyro-pro.com), and skylighter (www.skylighter.com) both sell suitable tubes of more traditional manufacture and sizes. The tubes are rammed with good black powder. Mike Swisher recommends using only Meal D, but I've never had problems with homemade meal, though it may be slightly less consistent. I ram around 1/4" at a time. I have a little scoop that gives around this increment. For very precise timing you can drill your powder core back, but unless you're making timed inserts, it's unnecessary. You will not be filling the entire tube by the way.

 

After you have your spolette rammed, it must be prepared. This is actually quite a bit quicker than it sounds by the way. Take your spolette and a sharpened nail or awl or something like that. Scratch the powder on the interior of the tube, make it rough. Pack the empty end of the tube with blackmatch. You don't have to force it, but it should be in there firmly. Some people ram a bamboo skewer in and break it off to really hold the match in. There should be maybe an inch or two of blackmatch sticking out. Wrap two turns of kraft paper around this end of the tube. There should be a bit of glue on the part that contact the tube. Tie the paper around the match near the top of the tube. You can cut off the extra paper, and trim the match down to around 1/2" exposed above the knot if you like. Take your awl and poke a small hole in the paper below the knot. This is done to help prevent the fire from being sucked out of the spolette between burning out and transfering fire to the shell. I think it's a bunch of crap, but hey, it's so easy why not do it just in case? The spolette is ready to be inserted into your shell to be manufactured.

 

After the shell is assembled, the top must also be prepared. Again scratch the powder core. I personally put 2 pieces of black match over the surface, in an X pattern. I tie it off with a clove hitch. Slide a piece of bamboo skewer into the string. Bring the match back up, and tie it off to the stick. There is a more complex method that only adds maybe 30 seconds to the above proceedure, but I am not fully familiar with it. There is an excellent pictoral write up on passfire if you decide to join.

 

Let me know if anything is unclear and I can try to find some pictures or provide a better description.

 

Out of curiosity, are you building the two breaks separately and assembling, or building one on top of the other?

 

By the way, for timings 1" on the initial break, and 3/4" on the subsequent break is pretty standard.

 

Thanks alot, and I am making the second break first. spiking it and then building the first break onto that. Then vertically spiking them together. Is doing all that stuff with the blackmatch really necessary? Can i not just put the spolette in the thing, I mean I understand putting blackmatch on the tope for the quickmatch but i dont understand the other part...

[Mumbles]

It all comes down to what you're willing to do to ensure ignition. Like I said, it sounds like a lot more work than it is. I can go from a bare spolette to full matched and ready to go in less than 2 minutes. The blackmatch packed inside the tube is to help transfer fire, and is totally necessary. The blackmatch on top is kind of to prime it. Since you're building the second break on top of the first, you can probably get away with one strand over the top and tied down. No need to have the bamboo if you're not going to have to insert it into the next break. I've brushed the end with NC lacquer and dipped it in granular BP with success.

 

You can try without any priming on top (still scratch it), and it will probably work, but I just feel more comfortable with the extra BM on there for priming.

[scarbelly]

usatrooper, here's a picture, credit goes to 50AE:

 

http://img241.imageshack.us/i/picturev.jpg/

 

the part that sticks out of the shell is the spolette, and you can see the blackmatch tied down on the end with string. The blackmatch burns slower than the lift and gives the BP increment in the spolette tube a better chance at ignition.

[usatrapper]

alright so ive got all that down pat... but how do i attach the quickmatch to it lol....

[firetech]

Attach the quickmatch to what? The shell?

[usatrapper]

Attach the quickmatch to what? The shell?

 

 

The Spolette lol, how newbie do you think I am .

[firetech]

Well that would be blackmatch that you are attaching, not quickmatch. Quickmatch is blackmatch is a paper tube.

You should attach it with string, and probably a clove hitch knot. You could take a hint from the photo above that string (or thread) could be used.

[scarbelly]

I think he is asking how to attach the quickmatch to the lift, just doesn't realize that it is inserted into the lift, ignites the lift, and then the lift powder ignites the primer on the spolette, which then ignites the spolette. The quickmatch is NOT attached to the spolette. You will want to trim back some of the paper of the quickmatch, stick it in the lift cup and make sure it is stuck in there well. Fill the cup with your lift powder, and stick the spolette end of the shell (which should be primed with blackmatch as per the picture I posted) into the lift cup.

[Mumbles]

You could probably get away with it here, but canister shells are rarely bottom fused. It doesn't make sense to put the most vulnerable point where it would experience the most force. This becomes more and more true as the shells get heavier, as with larger shells or multibreaks. I will have time to cover this one later, but others can feel free to interject.

 

I always feel like I dominate the conversation, and kill any further discussion. Considering this is one of my favorite subjects, I'd love to see some others' thoughts.

[usatrapper]

I think he is asking how to attach the quickmatch to the lift, just doesn't realize that it is inserted into the lift, ignites the lift, and then the lift powder ignites the primer on the spolette, which then ignites the spolette. The quickmatch is NOT attached to the spolette. You will want to trim back some of the paper of the quickmatch, stick it in the lift cup and make sure it is stuck in there well. Fill the cup with your lift powder, and stick the spolette end of the shell (which should be primed with blackmatch as per the picture I posted) into the lift cup.

 

Wait when i say connecting quicmatch,, i thought we were talking about top fusing... Shouldnt I be top fusing this thing?

[scarbelly]

Yeah my bad, I forgot that this wasn't a ball shell