Most Common Shell Size

[firetech]

Hey guys, just a poll to see what you're making.

Thanks for the input.

[Miech]

Mostly 3" balls here. I have to be a little discrete, and in my opinion a 3" is the best compromise between effect width, not attracting attention and saving chemicals.

[Updup]

1.5" can shells for me, although once I make some good stars I'll put together one of my 3" ball shell's.

[Mumbles]

At the same time, I feel 5" is the best compromise between complex effects, and saving chemicals. You just can't do the same things with smaller shells that you can with larger. The timing gets too cramped, and the inserts and effect have to get too small. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I feel like you can't really appreciate how to make the smaller versions without a working knowledge of the larger variety. I've seen numerous smaller varieties of larger effects, and honestly, you can tell the difference right away between someone who has made the full size version, and someone who hasn't.

[firetech]

I've taken almost all my methods from larger shell building. I haven't ever built a shell over 2", but I've seen videos and gotten Ideas from around the internet. Once I get involved in guilds and pyro clubs I'll be building some bigger stuff, but until then I'll be keeping it small. I really think I'm mastering the technique behind smaller sized fireworks (there definitely is one) however they are all based off the same principles that go into making the larger size shells. Like Mumbles said, you simply can't get the same effect sometimes with smaller shells that you can with a correctly sized shell for the specific effect.

[pianomistro]

Most of my shells have been 3" shells. I've made a half-dozen 4's and one 6. I think I'll be upping my standards though to 4" shells for my main display, and 6's and 8's as specials.

[Pretty green flame]

3" and 4" canister and ball shell primarily. Though i'm starting to drift away from ball shells lately, been making only canisters for some time now.

[Bonny]

I make 3" and 5" ball shells as well as 1", 2" and 3" cans. I will try a 5" can one of these days. I don't make as many 3" ball shells as I used to as I find it a PITA to paste, whereas the 5" balls shells are much more enjoyable to paste.

[50AE]

I find that 3" shells have the best ratio of price, effect and noise. But I think everyone of us wants bigger and bigger breaks with time.

[scarbelly]

I like three inchers because they are easy to work with. I haven't tried going higher, but below three inches I find to just be hard to pack it all in and get the same effects. Mind you, I am relatively new to shells, and once I get more practice, I will probably experiment with smaller shells too.

[Ventsi]

I just finished my 2.5" multibreak/Beraq style shell and a bunch of 2" cans. Now I'm moving on to some 5/8" cake insert shells. Phew, will test some tonight and post a video.

[Bonny]

I like three inchers because they are easy to work with. I haven't tried going higher, but below three inches I find to just be hard to pack it all in and get the same effects. Mind you, I am relatively new to shells, and once I get more practice, I will probably experiment with smaller shells too.

 

 

Go bigger!! I only build up to 5". because that's the biggest mortar I have. Once you see the much nicer breaks you can do and how much easier it is to fill the shell and paste, you'll ask yourself why you didn't go bigger sooner.

[KruseMissile]

Most of my shells have been 3" shells. I've made a half-dozen 4's and one 6. I think I'll be upping my standards though to 4" shells for my main display, and 6's and 8's as specials.

 

I thought you were done with pyro?! Lol if ur not im glad. I usually do 2" but im moving up to 3" and 4". The problem with 2" shells is the effect is too small compared to something like 3" and 2" shells are hard to make because they are so small.

[scarbelly]

Yeah, I'll do bigger eventually, but I want to get used to something manageable and cheap first. Bigger is expensive to iron out kinks in, and until I'm good with little stuff, I'm worried about safety also. I don't want my fuse or my lift or pasting to fail because I haven't gotten enough practice with smaller, less big-of-a-deal stuff.

[firetech]

Ventsi, I just finished a 2'' double break myself. Lets see these in the competition section....

[dagabu]

I have built up 8' ball shells and two break 6' canister shells.

 

Caveat:

The bigger ball shells were with at least one other person so as to make the work go faster, the 6" canister was part of a class. Normally, I like to shoot 2" canisters and 3" ball shells but I can shoot stars and comets off every day so i do a lot of them.

 

I shoot on a pyro crew so racking, loading, wiring, matching, and firing of everything up to 12" while the 16" have been hand fired by the makers at club meets.

 

D

[firetech]

I have built up 8' ball shells and two break 6' canister shells.

 

Eight foot and six foot shells Dave!? Wow.

 

How do you think the bigger shells compare to the smaller ones? Aside from bigger and louder breaks..

[Ventsi]

Ventsi, I just finished a 2'' double break myself. Lets see these in the competition section....

 

 

Mine's a :

 

First break: TT and Win 25

Second break : ~15-20 Reports salutes and Granite.

 

I was thinking of adding some Kyoki do to it, but the first break goes in 1.2 sec.

 

I might just throw a few 2" multi breaks together too...

 

I'll post it there{If it doesn't completely fail} after either NYE or Feb 13th, I'm hoping for NYE but the 2.5inch mortar I have is only 14" long.

[firetech]

That size mortar should be alright. It's not ideal but I wouldn't worry about it. You can add a few extra grams of lift if you need to.

Mine is:

TTi (Tiger Tail with 5% Ti) and red

breaking into:

TT, TTi and green

 

How do you make yours?

(you might want to post it in the multi-break section)

 

Don't forget a prefire pic

 

I'll be shooting mine around NYE...

[yellowcard]

Most of the time I make 4'' rounds. With NYE I add some 3'' round to this. Sometimes a 4'' cilinder with beraqs or farfalle's.

Made one 6'' shell, but i ame going to make a few more this NY.

 

ps. Recieved a 15mm starplate today. Man, those things are amazing. Worked through 2kg starmix today and is costed me little effort and time. Made 500g D1, 750g Win26 and 750g Win20 with 100# MgAl.

Edited December 19, 2009 by yellowcard

[dagabu]

Eight foot and six foot shells Dave!? Wow.

 

How do you think the bigger shells compare to the smaller ones? Aside from bigger and louder breaks..

 

Good catch!! LOL, fumble fingers again!

 

Honestly, Shhhh, don't tell anyone, but I like the smaller shells better. Comparison? a 16" shell is HUGE, it weighs more then the dog and has to be a bazillion feet from anything and around here, you have to ask when getting your permit for shells bigger then 8". If you are hand lighting them, I would say they are the best, a bazillion feet away, meh.

 

I love shooting little 3" ball shells with mouse turds, change up to crackle or strobe. At the close range of 200', they look great. The cops really don't give a rats ass unless someone complains and a 3" just gets a bunch of, "Was that yours?". I just shrug and go to the shop for another.

 

I find the most enjoyment is cans though. Bad breaks, bow ties, dumps, all the bad stuff but they take all but 5 minutes and I can test mouse turds to 3/4" comets in a 2.5" can.

 

D

[firetech]

How do you throw your cans together to quickly? My plugs and tubes/casings/everything are cut/rolled by hand. Maybe thats why they take me so long, but they really do turn out nice.

[psyco_1322]

At one point I was making a lot of 3" shells. After stepping up production a little and shooting some 4"s, I found them to be much preferred over the 3" shells. You can get way more in them and they are easier to work with.

 

As for my canisters, I've made several 3"s, tried at some multi breaks on that size and haven't had good success at all, they are really too small to work with. I have some 4" cans I've made recently, hopefully come out nice, then I'll try my hand at 4" multi breaks.

 

3s I'll shoot in my back yard, 4s Ill take out of town a bit. Given my town is quite small, its not like a city.

[firetech]

It may be that I've only shot 1.75'' shells before, and I over lift them entirely because I like them high and I think it looks stupid if they go to low (1/5 shells weight) but the bang from the lift its unbelievably loud. It's not a thump either, it's a crack/bang. I don't want to slow my powder, and I still want them going just as high. Any way to get rid of the bang and make it a thump?

[dagabu]

How do you throw your cans together to quickly? My plugs and tubes/casings/everything are cut/rolled by hand. Maybe thats why they take me so long, but they really do turn out nice.

 

It may be that I've only shot 1.75'' shells before, and I over lift them entirely because I like them high and I think it looks stupid if they go to low (1/5 shells weight) but the bang from the lift its unbelievably loud. It's not a thump either, it's a crack/bang. I don't want to slow my powder, and I still want them going just as high. Any way to get rid of the bang and make it a thump?

 

Another tutorial? Cool!

 

I understand what you mean about hand rolling and making it all but when time is considered, I have to decide what to buy, re-purpose and what to make myself. I use roll towel cores from work to make my 2" cans, they are cut up on the bandsaw, I get childrens books (hard cover picture books) from garage sales or free from whom ever, cut out plugs with a $6.00 plug cutter from Harbor Freight, glue them in to the can, fill them up, drop a 1.5" piece of Time Fuse that is punched at 1/4" on both ends and cross matched hot glued into the hole, spiked with 1/2" plastic strapping tape, covered with two layers of kraft packing tape, Wendy's ketchup cup with 20g of 2FA, leader, chicken fuse and fire!

 

I make up everything in one day for the next year, all my plugs, all my tubes, all my time fuses, everything I can think of. I stow it all away in 2 gallon bags and put them into tubs for storage.

 

Want to keep the noise lower?

 

Use a longer gun and larger powder grains. Use cardboard guns, they muffle some of the noise. The issue is the escaping gas from the gun. As the projectile leaves the barrel, the compressed gas escapes around it and since it is traveling so fast, we hear it as a BOOM! or CRACK!. Lengthen your barrel to the point where the propellant is done providing thrust and you will significantly reduce the flash and report.

 

D

Edited December 20, 2009 by dagabu