My Canister shell

[JFeve81]

So I've been thinking for awhile that I wanted to build a canister shell. Haveing never built one I read some tuts on here as well as a couple of the videos on youtube. I can't remember whos they were but they are a member on this site so thank you. I have a fiberglass mortar that works with consumer shells so built it to fit. Constructed the main parts last night and did the rest earlier today. Used visco for the time fuse (bottom fused), 3/8" Shimizu's C8 Stars, and commercial FFg for lift and burst. Glued a couple stars to the top hoping they would work as a tail but they came off when the shell fired. Best break out of all the shells I've made so far though.

 

Milled up some black powder today as well. Going to granulate it tommorrow and hope it's strong enough to use as lift and/or burst.

 

Anyway here is the vid. A few pics of the shell in the beginning of the vid then the moment of truth. Is there a specific section I should put posts like this?

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LSxZi9pvZg

Edited December 11, 2011 by JFeve81

[warthog]

I hope my first canister works as well as your did. I am right behind you, making my first few myself as soon as I am able to get back out to the pyro farm where all our work is done. I also like the use of a mic stand to keep the mortar in place. That is one I will have to use myself in the future. So this is a 1.75-1.91" type shell and not something like a 2.5"? That makes it even better since I thought it looked like a bigger break than such a small can would give.

 

I think it was a good one. Consider making some pulverone along with the BP and either learning to make spolettes or get some good time fuse for at least the first break (as you get into multi-break shells). I am certainly no expert but I know that switching from visco as my time fuse to actual time fuse made timing my ball shells a whole lot easier and made them go off more reliably and when I was expecting them to go off.

[JFeve81]

I hope my first canister works as well as your did. I am right behind you, making my first few myself as soon as I am able to get back out to the pyro farm where all our work is done. I also like the use of a mic stand to keep the mortar in place. That is one I will have to use myself in the future. So this is a 1.75-1.91" type shell and not something like a 2.5"? That makes it even better since I thought it looked like a bigger break than such a small can would give.

 

I think it was a good one. Consider making some pulverone along with the BP and either learning to make spolettes or get some good time fuse for at least the first break (as you get into multi-break shells). I am certainly no expert but I know that switching from visco as my time fuse to actual time fuse made timing my ball shells a whole lot easier and made them go off more reliably and when I was expecting them to go off.

 

 

Yeah I am quite happy with my first canister. It's not a mic stand I'm using to hold the mortar in place. It's actually the base of a lamp my stepson used to have in his room. The base weights about 10 pounds (estimated). I like it because it's easily portable and doesn't move around. Yeah it's definatly not a 2.5" shell. The mortar's ID is about 1.875". My shell came out at about 1.625" x 1.875" tall (without lift cup) when finished. It was a bit tight once fused so I need to make them slightly smaller next time.

 

Spolettes is on my list of things to make one of these days. I've been planning out my next pyro purchases and the first things are fuses. Was going to get some 1/4" time fuse, fast paper fuse, and some flying fish and/or falling leaves fuse to use as headings in my small rockets.

 

Good luck on your canisters.

[warthog]

Thanks! If things go as planned, my first couple of canisters will be shot on NYE. I will give these timed salutes made from the cap plugs like Dag is selling along with a nice bottom shot to make the New Year come in evil free. (I am told the reason folks make loud noises on NYE is to scare away all the evil spirits from the past year but then that is not why I do it, I just like fireworks). THAT'S what you need, you need to add a bottom shot. They have a good reason for being there too, they lend strength to the overall structure of the shell.

 

Lamp bottom or mic stand, the idea is the same and I think it is a good one. Makes it nice and mobile though I would likely stake it down with some tent poles too but that is just me.

 

 

One thing, when using falling leaf fuse you have to prime it so it will light. I dip one end into some NCL and then into some meal powder and let it dry before stuffing it into a shell, not made any rockets yet. It is sort of hard to light but it doesn't seem like it if you try it on the ground with a lighter. Flying Fish Fuse goes without prime easily, at least so far it has for me. I am a big fan of flying fish fuse. I like to make mines out of the stuff.

 

I don't know your situation but a 2.5 or 3 inch fiberglass or HDPE mortar is pretty cheap. I would go ahead and get one for your next can as they are a little easier to build when they are a little larger than what you are making. Again, not from my experience, only what I have been told by those who know so much more about this than I do or than I am afraid I will know.

[JFeve81]

I haven't used falling leaf fuse yet so thanks for the tip. I have made some small mines out of the flying fish fuse though. I plan on moving up to either a 3" or 4" mortar for my shells sometime next year. Mainly just using up alot of the small stuff I allready have. Plus it's fun and keeps me working with pyro alittle bit longer in between chemical purchases.

 

 

Here's a vid of one of the small flying fish fuse mines I've made.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwtdCPtQfXU

Edited December 11, 2011 by JFeve81

[Mumbles]

The amount of skill or work that goes into a 2" shell vs. a 3 or 4" shell is not much different. A larger shell will allow you to get your hands in there and manipulate components and arrange things more easily. However, they also take significantly more chemicals, and tend to be more prone to certain kinds of failures. Shortcuts and lax behaviors that may pass with smaller shells can lead to catastrophic failure in larger more complex shells. I do build a 2" shell differently than I do with 3" or larger though. This is both to get around the intricate manipulation that may be required in a more traditional manner, and because symmetry isn't as important to me in them. I typically use shells of this size as inserts in larger shells, so a splash of color or streak of sparks is all I need. Essentially they're filled entirely with stars, and the interior

 

You can get some pretty decent spreads out of these little guys. My 2" spider inserts easily break as large or larger than a normal 3" shell.

 

 

Warthog, a bottom shot does indeed make larger shells safer in the sense that it helps the shell get out of the gun. However their use by inexperienced individuals does add a significant amount of danger. It's one of those things you really want to stay away from until you're comfortable and confident with how canister shells are built. A 3" shell is not large enough by any means to require a bottom shot. It's really for longer multi-breaks.

[warthog]

Maybe the nature of the shell I am making is why I was advised to make a bottom shot? I don't know. I asked another person with more experience building these what sorts of things I should do and this was advised and that was the reason I was given. My mistake.