aa92td Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 Mumbles its sounds very weird that bp rocket will ignite when you ramming it , bp is very stable , maybe his rocket tools was from a sprarking metal and that caused the accident that iam actually very unhappy to hear about.i'v been made some fuels tests and tried to ram Mg & nitrate based fuels , I also hitted it with hammer and nothing happen.I'm not saying that its safe to do it just saying that something here sounds worng.BTW my rocket tools are from non sparking stainless steel and aluminum that is also non sparking.
Mumbles Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 It was static electricity. Garage in winter in just socks. It's not the actual procedure that I am weary of, it's the fact that I have to hold onto the casing as I am ramming. I have actually gotten Mg and MgAl based comps to go off via hammer. Strobes are notoriously sensitive for one. Never tried with the various rocket fuels, but then again I don't really make rockets. I do have to wonder about Dan C's accident. Something tells me that it was more likely fuel being pinched or subjected to high friction that did it as opposed to the actual compression shock. None the less, not something I'd feel comfortable ramming.
aa92td Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 even its not the main topic i hope its ok that we talk about it.i remember that i saw somewhere some black powder and static electricity sensetivity and its didnt affect the bp at all.need to try it with another fules. Sorry about my English , cheers AgwA.
Mumbles Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 It has an effect, but generally not enough to set it off. Even a electric grill ignitor wouldn't set it off for me. Others succeeded with various transformer arcs. I wasn't there, so I am not 100% sure on the circumstances. It is simply educated guessing. Wooden tools were used, no chance of sparking from impact. I can only go off of what he told me. The news stories obviously didn't present all the facts. Accidents happen whether statistically probable or not. Maybe static won't set it off 999 times out of 1000, but there is always that 1 chance. Perhaps it was airborn BP under the rammer that lit. In open atmosphere perhaps it wouldn't propagate, but under pressure or confinement maybe it did. It's hard to say why it happened, but it happened.
ActionTekJackson Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 It's not the actual procedure that I am weary of, it's the fact that I have to hold onto the casing as I am ramming. lol, this is my problem as well, that and the surface holding my tooling is right at crotch level.... *cringes* not a pleasant thought. I wonder if there is anyway to biuld some sort of vice type thing to hold the rocket whilst you ram, though easier than just gettin a press I doubt... just a thought.
Frozentech Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 Mumbles its sounds very weird that bp rocket will ignite when you ramming it , bp is very stable , maybe his rocket tools was from a sprarking metal and that caused the accident that iam actually very unhappy to hear about.i'v been made some fuels tests and tried to ram Mg & nitrate based fuels , I also hitted it with hammer and nothing happen.I'm not saying that its safe to do it just saying that something here sounds worng.BTW my rocket tools are from non sparking stainless steel and aluminum that is also non sparking.Well, I know of cases where it has happened, and seen the blistered hand pics from two of them. SO.... it *is* possible. What seems to happen is BP comp gets up inside the drift hole of the rammer, and is compressed between spindle tip and bottom of the drift hole. Another reason for small increments ? None of the ones that I saw pics of exploded the tube. They shot flame like rocket exhaust up over the hand of the person though, and painfully burned them. Sturdy leather gloves could have saved them much pain. The rammers shot out into the air also, though I didn't hear how violently. Oh, all were aluminum rammers and stainless spindle, non sparking. [edit] As for static sensitivity - all the tests I saw online, were of corned, polished, graphite coated commercial BP. Most rocket rammers use meal or loosely riced BP, that puffs up dust around the rammer with each blow. I am just guessing, but BP *dust* must be far easier to ignite from static. Also, there is an old old report, from the US Bureau of Mines, that studied Black Powder and static, in about 1930. I have only seen it once, and can't find it again, but it stated that BP was "most susceptible to ignition from static at 6% moisture". About the percentage some people use in ball milling, for what it's worth.
aa92td Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 If its right and makes me think twice before using my Ballmill for black powder..standart ballmill with PVC jar makes a lot of static electricity and I'm milling my meal powder without water for 4 hours and then with few drops of water for another 2-3 hours.nothing never happen to me but the facts you are giving here are little bother me , and i am not the one of that peoples that saying "it will not happen to me" , I am trying to learn from another's accident and to avoid them and I've been learned it in the hard way. Sorry about my English , cheers AgwA.
tentacles Posted March 28, 2008 Posted March 28, 2008 Also, since I can only buy 1lb of Oxidizer a year I don't really wanna rush through the Sr(NO3)2The only reason you might be limited to 1lb per year, is if you only order from firefox. Skylighter has no such rule, though they are more expensive, and I have to say, their Sr(NO3)2 is of questionable quality. No other pyro suppliers limits your oxidizer purchasing, unless perhaps you try to combine it with high mesh metals. Check out the suppliers' section.
Gottagotomoz Posted March 28, 2008 Posted March 28, 2008 Getting a little OT here, but the firefox rule states 1lb of oxidizer per year. Does this mean every 365 days, or could I order something say october 2007, and then order another pound in april 2008? Curious because I had ordered some KClO4 late last year, and was wondering if I can order some Ba(NO3)2.
justanotherpyro Posted March 28, 2008 Posted March 28, 2008 The deal that ActionTekJackson and I have though is that Fire fox is within driving distance. Not paying for shipping is obviously a huge plus when it comes to purchasing chems. I'm just waiting it out until I am able to get my ATF license.
Frozentech Posted March 28, 2008 Posted March 28, 2008 The deal that ActionTekJackson and I have though is that Fire fox is within driving distance. Not paying for shipping is obviously a huge plus when it comes to purchasing chems. I'm just waiting it out until I am able to get my ATF license. Where you really save by going to Firefox in person to pick up, is on the damn HAZMAT fees they charge for certain chems like Barium nitrate, which Skylighter won't even ship.
ActionTekJackson Posted March 28, 2008 Posted March 28, 2008 Exactly, and we kinda need some of those chems, I got extremely lucky this last order that I actually had shipped this time. I ordered 1lb of Sr(NO3)2, 1lb saran, and 1lb elemental silicon for my buddy JAP there. Now the silicon is supposed to have a $20 hazmat fee that would have kicked my total order to $60, but when I got it, they only charged me $35, total this is, no hazmat fee, and no UPS special shipping charges. Not to mention I got my shipment in about 3 days after ordering. Damn the gov. for their hypocritial rulings....
ActionTekJackson Posted March 30, 2008 Posted March 30, 2008 Hey guys, does anyone know of any red rocket compositions using SrCO3 instead of Sr(NO3)2? I kinda found out just how sensitive the previously mentioned formula can be, and I have access to plenty of SrCO3 not to mention there's no injunction on it. maybe using AP as the oxidizer for the same injuction reason? if not then KNO3 (doubtful) or KCLO4 (probable). I did some research and came up with nothing. Thanks!
nick2354 Posted April 23, 2008 Posted April 23, 2008 This probaly a stupid question, but is MgAl Magnalium, or is it a mixture of finely powdered Al and Mg and not melted together?
justanotherpyro Posted April 23, 2008 Posted April 23, 2008 If you were to try and melt metal powders you would have some serious problems. MgAl isn't a combination of powdered Mg metal and powdered Al metal. It is an actual alloy of Mg and Al. The Al is melted first and the Mg is then added while under reduced oxygen conditions or with a flux such as KCl. Both metals are in solid chunks or ingots, not powders.
FrankRizzo Posted April 23, 2008 Posted April 23, 2008 This probaly a stupid question, but is MgAl Magnalium, or is it a mixture of finely powdered Al and Mg and not melted together? Yes, MgAl is a common abbreviation for magnalium.
InRainbows Posted April 25, 2008 Posted April 25, 2008 Hey, is anyone familiar with the Red Magnalium Chuffer Sky Rocket from this skylighter article? http://www.skylighter.com/skylighter_info_...cle.asp?Item=83 I just got my 5 lbs of Strontium Nitrate from them today, and whipped up a tiny batch. I was using tubes 1/2" dia. and 2" long. The comp. was a bitch to light, is this normal? my cores were 3/8" after nozzle. The one time I got it to light today with priming, it flew in an arc 15 feet high at most. I didn't use the vaseline, is this the problem? Or does it just work better with typical 3/4" dia. 7 1/2" long 1 lb. rocket tubes?
FrankRizzo Posted April 25, 2008 Posted April 25, 2008 The strontium nitrate sold by Sklighter is quite hygroscopic due to a contaminant...most likely calcium nitrate from the mfg. process. You need to dry (oven @ 250F) and re-grind it before mixing the comp. The core should be the same length as a BP rocket of the same bore; 3/8" is too small. I also use a strip of blackmatch up the core, then glue a light wrap (2 turns of 20lb Kraft) overhanging the nozzle end and twist the paper shut around the fuse. This process is called "nosing" and will give a bit of confinement and a nice flash of fire up the core on ignition.
fizeau Posted May 25, 2008 Posted May 25, 2008 Color HelisI made several colored rockets. Unfortunately my cam didn't show the colors properly so I decided to switch to helis, as they stay more in the vicinity of the cam I liked the outcome, for once my cam was useful, hope you enjoy too.
psyco_1322 Posted May 25, 2008 Posted May 25, 2008 Wow im impressed at your heli making skills, even if a few didnt come out so good. They look good and Id say you got your colors down.
TheSidewinder Posted May 25, 2008 Posted May 25, 2008 Nice helis, and excellent color from them too. Good job!
ActionTekJackson Posted April 21, 2009 Posted April 21, 2009 So its coming up to that time again... you know the most favored 7/4... at least in the U.S. :-) Its time I start planning some things, seeing as how thats also going to be my wedding day :-D My question here is one I posted earlier no one seemed to have an answer for. I'm looking for a red Rocket composition that uses Strontium Carbonate instead of Strontium Nitrate, for possible safety reasons as well as availability of SrCO3 vs Sr(NO3)2
TheSidewinder Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 Can't answer your rocket question, but CONGRATULATIONS on your impending doom wedding! A July 4th wedding? I'm envious!
ActionTekJackson Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 Can't answer your rocket question, but CONGRATULATIONS on your impending doom wedding! A July 4th wedding? I'm envious! Lol, thanks! :-D
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