moonshot Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 This is a video of my first 2" cannister shell. I built a few of these quite a while ago but just got a fiberglass tube to shoot them from. Technically the shell isn't completely finished. Instead of pasting over the spiking and attaching the lift charge and long fuse I wrapped the lift powder in newspaper and bunched it around the cross match then dropped the lift and shell into the mortar. The tube has a fuse hole drilled in the side just above the end plug. I used a piece of white falling leaf fuse to light the lift.prefire pichttp://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/di...07/S3011392.jpg I'm still getting the hang of using my camera to video these things so I didn't keep the camera on the break quite long enough. The shells loaded with cut TT stars and pieces of colored fuse. http://s107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/di...=Picture058.flv
hst45 Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 Very nice. It's quite satisfying isn't it, when it all goes the way we want it to. I have one nit-picking thought though. You said you fired this from a fiberglass tube, but I personally would be uncomfortable doing this. Cardboard tube plus "boom" might yield confetti. Metal/PVC/fiberglass tube plus "boom" might yield schrapnel. I'm probably overly cautious on this, especially in a 2-incher, but I try to minimize all potential negative variables no matter how slight they may be. Perhaps you could wrap an old towel around the tube to act as a sort of blast-mat in case of catistrophic failure. Anyway, keep up the good work, and I'm sorry if I'm being bitchy.
qwezxc12 Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 Moonshot, Sorry to hijack your thread...nice break on the shells. You and your buds sound pleased , but I wanted to reply on the mortar question: ...I have one nit-picking thought though. You said you fired this from a fiberglass tube, but I personally would be uncomfortable doing this. Cardboard tube plus "boom" might yield confetti. Metal/PVC/fiberglass tube plus "boom" might yield schrapnel. ...I thought that GRF (Glass Re-enforced Fiberglass) mortars are 'accepted' in the industry as safe and appropriate to use? I've seen professional companies use and sell GRF mortars: ACME in Australia, and Atlas in Ft. Worth, Tx, are two display outfits that come to mind using GRF. Multi-layered mat or roving fiberglass doesn't fragment when shattered. From what I've read, the glass fibers hold the mortar fragments together around any breach. Yes / No / Rumors?
Mumbles Posted January 8, 2007 Posted January 8, 2007 Not sure how the fiberglass reacts. Never seen it first hand, only HDPE and Steel. A lot of shows now-a-days are shot electronically, so if a mortar fragments, big whoop, no one is around to get hurt. As weird as it sounds all shows that are reloaded are shot almost exclusively from steel guns. Most salutes, or anything with more than 2 breaks, or a bottom shot is generally also shot from steel. Cardboard is acceptable, but more of a pain to use as you have to bag every mortar to keep it dry. Safe or not, steel is many times stronger than HDPE, Fiberglass, etc. Steel rarely fragments, if ever. I've seen 2 different failures from steel. One the end blew off from the lift, and the other the thing split along the seem. You'll notice most steel guns have a seem in order to provide a "release valve" as it were to prevent fragmenting.
moonshot Posted January 8, 2007 Author Posted January 8, 2007 The tube I used actually came from a 1.4g reloadable kit called the Black Mamba. The tube is just the right size for these shells and seems to be extremely durable. I had a flower pot in one and it didn't rupture the tube.http://s107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/di...=Picture062.flv I was still trying to dial in the lift charge and added a bit too much 2fg to my home made lift. I found 12 grams of home made lifts the shell OK.
ewest Posted January 8, 2007 Posted January 8, 2007 Nice spiking moonshot, and TT stars are one of my favorites.
hst45 Posted January 8, 2007 Posted January 8, 2007 Not knowing the source of the fiberglass tube was my concern. If it was a homemade item, or scavenged from some other purpose I was not sure that it would be suitable. I'm sure that a sturdy, multilayered woven mat fiberglass tube would be fine for a 2" shell. Ever cautious, seldom visiting the emergency room. TT is great. It's cheap, easy to light, with very good long lasting effect. Next to blue stars, TT is my favorite.
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