Fancy comets

[AdmiralDonSnider]

I´ve recently started out making 1 1/8" color tipped comets as well as matrix comets of the same dimensions. I´d love to hear some experiences and general observations about these types, including combinations you found pleasing, or such that did not work very well.

 

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/2118/comets2.jpg

 

Next to me there is a bunch of tipped comets drying; the comet itself is usually made of a streamer type comp (charcoal, glitter etc.). I figured that it will require some testing to find good compositions for the cavity. I filled them with perchlorate color (Veline), but I´m pretty sure that the streamer will burn out much earlier than the color portion in these; the latter will probably come down to the ground again.

 

Chlorate based color would probably be a better choice...

 

Concerning matrix comets: here it seems that acetone/NC bound color granules work better than dextrin based, which tend to go out of shape when wetted. Other than that the streamer has to be well-chosen; a bright glitter for example will easily overpower the light of green color granules.

 

What are your findings about these kinds of comets? Do you have some successfull combinations to share?

Edited September 25, 2010 by AdmiralDonSnider

[Mumbles]

You're probably right in that the tipped comets will burn out at different times. If you want a more tunable system, you'll probably have to look into married or wafer comets. Purple or blue match very well with silver glitters IMO.

[AdmiralDonSnider]

You're probably right in that the tipped comets will burn out at different times. If you want a more tunable system, you'll probably have to look into married or wafer comets. Purple or blue match very well with silver glitters IMO.

 

Married comets are more tunable, right, but tipped ones will work as well after suitable combinations have been determined. The tipped construction also transites to color (a "surprising" feature) , the married one does not.

 

Often it´s simply a problem of the comps. An average pyro like me tends to take everything left in the store and shape it into comets; when star comps are made into comets this often results in too long burn times, tipped or not. In contrast, the "intended-as" comet comps as found in Hardt are usually very fierce, often with loads of gunpowder.

 

Even if suboptimal comps have been chosen, be it for the comet or the cavity, I think one can compensate by adjusting the amount of lift. A longer burning comet is simply given a heavier charge.

Edited September 25, 2010 by AdmiralDonSnider

[Twotails]

I have yet to test it(havent been able to get to my new testing site, so it lays unused as of yet) just a simple TT to blinding white comet. I had TT left over from delay and stars, so i pressed a comet with a cavity. I was just gonna fill it with something at a later date, but i had extra silver/white go-getter mix all ready to cast(TT was dextrin bound, Go-getter was experamental, and was bound with red gum and acetone) so i figured why not try the go-getter mix in the center(too bad the outer comet wasnt bound with somthing like NC, i would have tried making the inner mix with a water bound comp with DE matrix, ohwell, i guess if this works, i;d do that)

 

But i'll have to try colors and such. is a dark relay needed?

[AdmiralDonSnider]

Why would you use a dark relay? I figure in your design both comps will be on at the same time anyway...

[AdmiralDonSnider]

You're probably right in that the tipped comets will burn out at different times. If you want a more tunable system, you'll probably have to look into married or wafer comets. Purple or blue match very well with silver glitters IMO.

 

Well time for a feedback.

 

The perchlorate color used in the cavity burned too long, but the main problem seems to be the relation comet comp: cavity comp in terms of brightness. In yesterdays tests I had a Winokur 39J transforming to Veline Purple. Due to the relatively high light output of the glitter, the purple was barely noticable as long as the tailed comp burned. Even after it had gone out, the color looked washed out (perception problem).

 

Against this background the only advisable combination is a low light comet and bright color tip. Anything else than charcoal streamers you´d suggest for such a dim tail?

[BJV]

Well time for a feedback.

 

The perchlorate color used in the cavity burned too long, but the main problem seems to be the relation comet comp: cavity comp in terms of brightness. In yesterdays tests I had a Winokur 39J transforming to Veline Purple. Due to the relatively high light output of the glitter, the purple was barely noticable as long as the tailed comp burned. Even after it had gone out, the color looked washed out (perception problem).

 

Against this background the only advisable combination is a low light comet and bright color tip. Anything else than charcoal streamers you´d suggest for such a dim tail?

 

I have used this with good luck, but it's still like charcoal streamers stars.

Bleser Blond Streamer

 

Potassium nitrate 45

Sulfur 6

Charcoal (pine or hardwood) 29

Ferrotitanium (100 mesh) 15

SGRS 5

BJV

[AdmiralDonSnider]

You're probably right in that the tipped comets will burn out at different times. If you want a more tunable system, you'll probably have to look into married or wafer comets. Purple or blue match very well with silver glitters IMO.

 

This again caught my interest. Anyone knows a place selling married comet pumps?

 

Other than that: are married comets realizable with ordinary comet pumps, using spacers?

[Mumbles]

I've actually never heard of a special pump for married comets. The times I've made them I just pressed out comets in my standard comet tooling. For an example I was making purple tipped charcoal streamers in the 3/4" size at one point. The tooling I got from Wolter fit fairly well into 1" ID PVC pipe (I believe). I cut two pieces on a saw to act as an external stop against the pin. I normally press the pin to the top of the sleeve, but this required both of the comet heights to be below the top of the sleeve. One PVC pipe was cut so that it produced an internal height of 1/4" and the other to produce one that made stars 3/4" tall. I pumped 3/4" tall C6 or Spider comets (very similar formulas), and 1/4" tall "wafers" of Majdali purple. They were allowed to dry independently. Once both were sufficiently dry, they were glued together with a NC slurry of BP, and pasted together with a band of paper. I made a few testers with masking tape, but I try to avoid it as much as possible in shells to avoid fallout.

 

The timing can be adjusted via the relative lengths of the individual wafers. There is also a little fine tuning available with the widths of the bands of paper. Some prefer to use elmers or another glue to bind the two fragments together. I never had the two pieces fall apart, but it is possible if they're not bound together. I also don't really like hot glue for this application, so I'd stick with something else personally.