Finale Chaining

[AdmiralDonSnider]

Using delay fuses and quickmatch to precisely fire a set of shells (without electricity) doesn´t seem to be a common practice in amateur displays.

 

I nevertheless wonder if the kraft leaders, being connected to each other, buckets or delay elements, wouldn´t damage the chaining setup on lauch. The shell is propelled with high force and it takes quite a tension to rip/blow the leader off the shell (which usually happens anyway). But doesn´t the finale chain/fuse connection become damaged by the force of shells being launched, preventing the proper functioning for upcoming launches?

 

Don´t know if I´m making things clear enough...sorry.

[50AE]

I get your idea. I've seen video where loose quickmatch is used to fire instantly multiple shells without problem, but you're talking about delay here. I think hot gluing the quickmatches to the mortars will help, but I really don't have much experience in this. The last NYE I fired my shells separately, running with a big lance.

[FREAKYDUTCHMEN]

Admiral, maybe this is a nice solution:

 

http://www.pyro-stuff.com/store/images/t%20connectortimefuse.jpg

 

T-pieces

Plastic caps with hole

 

The QM fits in kind of loose. All parts can be connected without gluing.

These are more reliable than pyro-clocks.

[AdmiralDonSnider]

Thanks for the responds. I´m not looking for another solution though, because spolette/QM chained finales have been used without troubles in the past. Fulcanelli has a great deal of info about the technique involved.

 

I´m just trying to grasp why tied leader pipes can be violently pulled out of the delay/firing chain at launch without doing harm to it, ripping off parts of it, or pulling out connections. I guess the shock is quick enough to rip off the connection to the shell before that happens, right?

 

Edit: It pays to read the whole Fulcanelli article: "No matter how the chains are constructed, they must be firmly anchored so that the chain is not broken or torn as the shells are fired." (p.45)

Edited November 22, 2010 by AdmiralDonSnider

[davis050594]

Well, unlike e-matches, the quickmatch BURNS!!! While it happens instantaneously and not all of the paper burns, enough burns so that it isn't connected to the chain anymore.

[nater]

QM chains do get pretty violent. Even when not chained together, like when you would hand fire a line of shells, the leaders move around quite a bit. Rubber bands or tape around the mouth of the mortar can help keep the leaders where you want them. I think the reason the chains normally work even if they get broken up, is because the hot gases are traveling down the leader pipes much faster than the flame is burning through the blackmatch. Like Davis said above, the kraft leader doesn't always have time to burn, but the blackmatch and gases pass fire almost instantly.

 

I've had some success using delay buckets, the last shoot I helped out on, the lead had us make flights of shells with fast sticky match rather than chaining them. This was very effective, everything in the pods fired as we intended.

Edited November 23, 2010 by nater

[Mumbles]

I wish I took pictures from the WPAG show at the PGI this year. As it would happen when you get into a show with many of the best traditional shell builders in the US, you experience many lesser seen effects and techniques. I'm halfway surprised they didn't have a bunch of us covered in leaves holding handmade portfires The finale shells were all handmade with individually tied finale chains. I believe they were strapping taped to the racks every 3 mortars. They were racks of 12 mortars per rack in pods of three. If they didn't use commercial quickmatch, I could have sworn Fulcanelli himself handmade them. When you saw how they were setup, you could see there was no possibility of one shell tearing apart the chain, or pulling other shells out of the mortars. Getting the inside scoop on doing these very traditional finale chains is getting harder and harder to learn. Some people use plastic zipties or staples to secure the chains, but I've heard staples can set off some quickmatches (some chinese import).

 

I think one of the most important things is to secure at every delay portion, whether it is a nosed spolette, timefuse, string knots in the match, etc. Back when this was a more popular method, I believe explosion-proof staplers were used to secure the match down more easily.

[AdmiralDonSnider]

Very insightful, Mumbles. I think I´ll give Fulcanelli a careful read to get into it. Not having those old masters at hand in person, he´s pretty much the only source. (Damn, how I´d love to join one of your conventions...)

 

The theory of the quickmatch pipes getting separated by burning though...well: I think this depends on the thickness of the paper in the pipe. I´ve experienced both. But you could roll thin pipes to make sure they do burn through, of course.

 

Thanks for your help, mates. I´d love to see some pics about how such traditional finale chains look like..maybe someone manages to dig something out. The exitement is that you can make complicated and precise firing sequences at home, using just match, meal, paper, paste and string. And continuous, choreographed sequences of fire is where a _display_ starts for me.