cut vs pumping stars

[dynomike1]

Hi everyone I have just started making Pyro's. I have been looking at star formulas and the question i have is how do you know wether you have to pump, cut, or roll a star compisition. I have a starplate coming from Harry with Chrysanthemum 6 chemicals i know to pump them but i dont know about other formulas. My money says i have to do one or the other starting out. My plan is artillery shells starting then other stuff later on. All help will be appreciated. Edited September 23, 2012 by dynomike1

[eb11]

i have been experimenting with cutting rolling and pumping i am thinking that cutting is the fastest and easiest but thats my opionion

[dan999ification]

cutting is fastest but charcoal stars are not the best imho as they can burn fast due to the density, pumping suits me for candles and crys shells as do rolled stars, depends what you want them for, if you will shoot 6 ounces in a mine cut them, if you need identical size and weight for perfect shells roll or pump.

Cut charcoal stars also take time to dry where pumped and rolled use less water so dry fast, solvent stars are messy so i cut them to save cleaning, youll find what works for you through experimentation ( following the rules of course)

 

dan.

[Peret]

I used to cut stars, now I mostly pump them because it's easier to get them all the same size. Do take a careful look at Harry's star plate, though. I got one from Skylighter in a half-price sale and it's way, way too thin - it presses tablets, not stars. The pins should be at least two diameters long - see discussion here. If yours looks like the one I got, you'd do better to return it and get one here instead.

[Mumbles]

It depends what sort of scale you're talking about. For small batches, cutting is probably the fastest. For large batches, rolling is almost certainly the fastest. None of the above methods really require that much in the way of special tools. You can certainly get very fancy tools, but on a basic level, you don't need that much.

 

I like cutting the best personally. Cut stars are best suited to cylindrical shells, which I am a fan of. Round stars are best suited to ball shells. Pumped stars can be used for either for different effects. In reality you can use all 3 types in most shells, especially smaller ones.

[Bangkokpyro]

I only make cylinder shells so my stars of choice are cut since they pack better than round stars in the shell casing and make for a firmer shell.

I like Parlon bound stars they are easy to cut and dry in a couple of hours. I use cut stars up to 1/2 inch and maybe bigger for spider web shells. For shells over 5 inch I use pumped stars 3/4 inch or larger around the inside wall

of the casing to give the shell more strength esp on multi break shells. With a ready mix, a 2 foot by 2 foot cutting frame, straight edged knife and a bit of practice you can knock out over 10 Kg of cut stars in an hour or less.

[Potassiumchlorate]

I always pump the bigger stars. I don't have a roller, so rolling takes a long time for me. For big stars pumping is the fastest way, if you don't have a roller.

[dan999ification]

you need to see me weighing the charged pump evry star, tedious but the results are worth it, charge, weigh, adjust, two taps with a hammer, discharge, you pick up pace as you get a feel for it.

Oh and dont stop at c6 the same chems can make a fair few different stars, especially if you can get a small selection of metals.

 

Dan.

[dynomike1]

Yea Dan i saw that this morning Chrysanthemum 6 + 80 mesh charcoal + Aluminm firefly= firefly stars. So what i see is you can basicelly cut or pump any formula depends on what kinda effect you want. I will read these threads a couple more times to make sure i read them right. The futher i go the more i learn thanks to the world help here. Edited September 24, 2012 by dynomike1

[LTUPyro]

Hi, maybe that stupid question but then you pump stars you pump it dry, right?

[Algenco]

Hi, maybe that stupid question but then you pump stars you pump it dry, right?

 

no, but pumping requires less moisture, usually 6-8%