May be a stupid question, but why is it that....

[oldguy]

A comp just spooned into an open top container & just slightly compressed ignites very easily with visco.

 

But, the same comp with 2% binder added, hand tamped hard into tubes & dried several days.

 

Will not ignite with visco & requires a first fire button addition added to the tube top.

 

Is it the 2% binder, or is it the comp is so well compacted & solidified rock hard. Or both?

 

Just curious.

Edited March 14, 2011 by oldguy

[dagabu]

Yes, it is both.

 

The binder can slow down comps a little and too much will slow it down a LOT! Sometimes to the point where they will not burn at all.

 

When it comes to starting a comp on fire, think about the surface area and temperature rise. If you have 1" cube of Titanium, you will never get it lit with a blow torch, you just cant get the heat up to the point where the metal will burn but shave that cube down to filings and it will just about flash (if kept loose) if it is fine enough. It is the available surface that takes up the heat that get the fire going. The near mirror finish of the end of a pressed comp is pretty hard to light.

 

When making stars, we find that the surface of a particular star is hard to light so we use a prime. BP is the standard prime for a lot of stars but even so, some stars need even more heat to get it going. One of the ways to deal with this is to use s few "steps" of prime where the first coat is 75:25 of your star comp and BP, the next layer is 50:50, the third is 25:75 and the outside layer is all BP.

 

This is called "step prime" and that is what I would do with your flares, step prime the ends of your flare.

[ballmill]

Dave, will that type of step priming work with just about any organic or metallic fueled star?

[dagabu]

Dave, will that type of step priming work with just about any organic or metallic fueled star?

 

I am not sure if I am qualified to answer that but I will give it a shot.

 

If it is a comp that doesn't have anything that BP would not get along with (Chlorate, Ammonium Perchlorate) then I would do just like I have written.

 

For more fire heat, add a pinch of silicon metal to the prime.

 

Really, I have never had this kind of prime fail me. It adds a LOT of thickness to your stars though so keep that in mind. So I guess that Yes, it should.

[oldguy]

When making stars, we find that the surface of a particular star is hard to light so we use a prime. BP is the standard prime for a lot of stars but even so, some stars need even more heat to get it going. One of the ways to deal with this is to use s few "steps" of prime where the first coat is 75:25 of your star comp and BP, the next layer is 50:50, the third is 25:75 and the outside layer is all BP.

 

This is called "step prime" and that is what I would do with your flares, step prime the ends of your flare.

 

 

 

Above is how a road safety flare is primed.

 

They roll crimp the tube top & apply a slurry of prime into & on top the tube to form the starter primer button.

 

That is quicker than step priming, so the way I will go.

 

Priming comp is simple-easy.

 

I just have to make a slight modification to leave a deep round indent in the comp inside the tube to hold it..

 

That is also easy.

 

The tough nut to crack is the scratch ignition comp on the striker top of the cap.

 

Comp is simple, but finding a little Red P is a giant PITA.

 

 

All in all, this has been & still is an adventure.

 

I learned how to pacify reactive metals quickly-inexpensively, have the comp & binder down pat. Which was a tough nut to crack (at least for a beginner). I wanted a HOT burning fusee/flare, that burned off SLOW. Which is a contradiction in itself. But, I got that figured out in about 100 (no joke) burn tests.

 

I wanted a fair size energetic flame envelope, low smoke, minimal or no dross & big sparks. Which was also a learning lesson. Sparks are Mg/Al, iron filings & charcoal. Funny thing, it would spit out the larger charcoal chunks without igniting them. I got around that by rolling the larger mesh charcoal in a BP slurry & drying them.

 

Then it was how to roll crimp the tubes. Which I figured out (with help from here).

 

So, other than finding some Red P for the striker comp, I have about accomplished what I set out to do.

 

It appears Red P is a necessary evil & no realistic way to get around it for the cap-top striker comp.

 

Any suggestions.

 

EDIT TO ADD

 

This is the hurdle I am trying to jump now.

Edited March 15, 2011 by oldguy

[optimus]

So, other than finding some Red P for the striker comp, I have about accomplished what I set out to do.

 

It appears Red P is a necessary evil & no realistic way to get around it for the cap-top striker comp.

 

Any suggestions.

 

Unless you really want to make everything yourself... why not just use a bought striker?

[optimus]

When making stars, we find that the surface of a particular star is hard to light so we use a prime. BP is the standard prime for a lot of stars but even so, some stars need even more heat to get it going. One of the ways to deal with this is to use s few "steps" of prime where the first coat is 75:25 of your star comp and BP, the next layer is 50:50, the third is 25:75 and the outside layer is all BP.

 

This is called "step prime" and that is what I would do with your flares, step prime the ends of your flare.

 

Step priming is great for certain types of stars, but remember you can also just use a hotter/better prime. This is much more appropriate for flares and other ground devices. Falling leaves fuse works well for flares where standard visco fails too.

[oldguy]

Unless you really want to make everything yourself... why not just use a bought striker?

 

 

LOL, where can you buy friction ignition strikers?

No where I know of.

Unless you want to buy a case of match books & take them off the booklets.

If you know a source, let me know.

[optimus]

Unfortunately I don't know of a source, if you'd rather not recycle them from other items I'm sure some of the US guys will be able to help you source a little RP. I disposed of mine a while back - horrible stuff.