where to start

[BrightSpark]

ok i need to no where to start in this hobby

[pyroshell]

If you live in the US i would recommend to buy a turbo pyro kit from skylighter. Otherwise I would say start by getting sulfur charcoal and potasium nitrate.

With those ingredients you can make black powder and stars. With Bp and stars you can make everything from aerial shells and rockets to fountains and mines.

 

 

I am sure that every member here would be willing to help you out. I for one am glad to see that you have an interest in this hobby and might be able to take a better and safer approach then you were taking previously.

[leedrill]

i would suggest being from down under myself read read read read the more you read the safer you'll be we don't have the luxury of having anyone teaching us but having a good teacher isnt what makes a good pyro common logic for safety is a must and an understanding of what you are working with for we have a saying on site don't put you hands anywhere you wouldn't put your cock some might disagree but i feel this saying applies to most things in life if you are unaware of the risks you must learn all of them before you go putting your cock in {or you might lose some fingers or worse } i haven't been a member on this site long and i feel i read a fair bit on here every day and yet i ask questions and find answers everywhere after asking them and feel every time before i ask one i should just keep reading and ill find it / and ill learn a lot along the way in saying this there is no stupid questions in this industry if you are leaning sometimes silly questions bear more answers for the well experienced pyros will see you need help but

p.s. they are not here to help you make noise they are here to teach you the art of pyro and i for one have enough trouble getting what i need in this country with out more people blowing themselves up i hope all this does not come across rudely but i hope you take in everything you can from this forum

Edited March 17, 2013 by leedrill

[BrightSpark]

i understand where you are coming from im study chemistry so i have a some understanding of things im not stupid that for one if i was i would not of come hear for help and understanding ok so i already have sulfer Kno3 and charcoal a ball mill and scales nice working area .

 

What is a STAR

[Oinikis]

as Pyroshell said, get potassium nitrate, sulfur, and make something to make some charcoal, becouse it's important for different uses. personally, for black powder, i use homemade charcoal, made from soft wood, just read and you will find usable wood you have. for sparky applications (like fountains, stars) i use bought BBQ charcoal, whitch burns slow, but produces long lasting sparks. for begining use only these three chemicals, from them you can make simplified version of every firework, also these chems are safe, i have never got BP igniting from impact or friction, but it might ignite from static electricity. the best thing you should do is reading. there are alot of articles starting about the science of making black powder, to making advanced shells. just read various pyrotehnics articles, and build your knowledge up.

 

The star is a pellet (4-10mm size) whitch is made from wet mixuture, whitch is designed to burn with some sort of nice effect. probably the most common star, and i'm sure most of pyros started with it is Tiger Tail, also called TT. it's

KNO3 44

Charcoal 44

Sulfur 6

dextrin 6

it produces nice sparks, becouse it has excess of charcoal.

you know these fireworks, whitch shoots from tube and explodes in the air? it's called shell, and these burning dots you see, are stars. the star composition mention above leaves nice orange charcoal sparks tail after it. with advanced chems you can make colored stars, but that has to wait. again, you should read alot, to know what dangers are folowing you, and how to build fireworks. first thing you need to do, is to make blackpowder. you probably won't get good black powder at first, but you will get it right, just ask questions. and read.

[mikeee]

Stars are usually the most colorful part of an aerial shell.

They are made in different sizes 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, etc. diameter.

Stars are pressed, rolled or cut into the sizes needed.

The larger the shell usually requires a larger star for the effect.

Depending on the chemicals used you have many colors that you can end up with when they burn.

A comet is an oversized star that can be fired into the sky from a mortar or attached to the outside of a shell which burns on the way up.

 

Do a google search for pyrotechnic pdf, or fireworks pdf, you wil find a number of resources that you can save, read, print to learn more

about the hobby/industry. You can also purchase a number of books on the subject from several on-line websites.

There are also several magazines that focus on the Pyro world. AFN American Fireworks News

You might also locate a Pyro club in your area that will help you get started.

There are also a number of professional guilds associated with the industry.

PGI, Pyrotechnic Guild International

There are also a couple of other forums that have a lot of resources archived by hobbiest & professionals.

Passfire.com, Fireworking.com, Pyrobin.com, Pyroguide.com

Wikipedia also has a Pyrotechnic archive of information.

There are a number of personal pages created by hobbiest in the industry.

Many of these are focused in specific areas, rocketry, shells, research, etc.

Decide what trips your trigger, and search for information in that area.

There is a lot of information available if you have the time to read it.

You can also view a number of educational video's on google & youtube.

Just be careful, some of the information can be unreliable depending on the source.

Safety is the number one priority when working with new chemicals.

Some are toxic and many are very volatile, a few are very sensitive to static electricity.

[pyroshell]

Good thing you have a ball mill. It will save you sometime.

What media are you useing?

[BrightSpark]

as in the balls i use im using marbles

 

and just making black powder

[BrightSpark]

so let me see if i got this right a star can be a mixture of BP and a coloring element like bano3 than its packed in to a round card board canister

 

 

and next question how do you make your differant shaped alluminum

[Oinikis]

don't use marbles in a ballmill, it might spark, use lead shots. Ba(NO3)2 won't make green flame if mixed with BP, it need chlorine donor, etc. for color special compositions are used. and you can't make different shaped aluminium, you need to buy it. dude, everyone will get tired from spoon feeding you, you must read, read, read alot, before doing something, this requires alot of knowledge. i have never bought or atempetd something with more advanced stuff, like perchlorates and such, but i still have read alot about it, the dangers, incompactables, how it works, and such, just in case one day i will try. this is not like random weekend project, for most of us, it's our life.

[BrightSpark]

don't use marbles in a ballmill, it might spark, use lead shots. Ba(NO3)2 won't make green flame if mixed with BP, it need chlorine donor, etc. for color special compositions are used. and you can't make different shaped aluminium, you need to buy it. dude, everyone will get tired from spoon feeding you, you must read, read, read alot, before doing something, this requires alot of knowledge. i have never bought or atempetd something with more advanced stuff, like perchlorates and such, but i still have read alot about it, the dangers, incompactables, how it works, and such, just in case one day i will try. this is not like random weekend project, for most of us, it's our life.

 

 

i understand but you see i ask question because sometime i just dont understand i thought it was good to ask question ? and i do read thing i have a bit of matiria pyrotechnes by george washington weingart got good stuff in it i think

[schroedinger]

Look up skylighter. There are heaps of tutorialsn on the free projekt site. That should give you a good hint where tp start from. Go for pyrobin if you wan`t book and look up the documents site

[BrightSpark]

Look up skylighter. There are heaps of tutorialsn on the free projekt site. That should give you a good hint where tp start from. Go for pyrobin if you wan`t book and look up the documents site

 

thank you i shall take a look

 

i appreshiate the help