giod Posted September 1, 2013 Posted September 1, 2013 Rolled my first batch of n1 stars and have some basic questions. I subbed mgal for al because I had the right mesh in that only, will this make any difference?I see the basic comp is made from black powder ingredients, and i know that to make BP, you need to "push" the charcoal into the kn03 in a ball mill. Is it better to use premade BP and then mix with other ingredients in, or can I truly just screen the kn03, charcoal, sulfur, dextrin, al etc etc together? I see that I have about 10 different size stars at the end of the run, some the correct size, some like little tiny peas.. Do I just screen out the size I want and return the small ones to the star process? Can I do this at a later date, even after they have dried? Just using them as the base rather than mustard seed? I "primed" the stars by rolling the last 3 coats in fine BP. Is this the correct way? My drill runs too fast for my star roller, so I put a rheostat on it, but it's hard to control still.. Any ideas for a better motor to direct drive my bucket on my star roller? I ended up doing in a small bucket swishing by hand.. Almost seemed to go faster this way.. Thanks in advance for any help!
Mumbles Posted September 1, 2013 Posted September 1, 2013 Yes, MgAl will change the effect. Whether it will change it positively or negatively, we wont know until you try them out. I suspect the stars will still glitter and be fine. I tend to prefer MgAl glitters over Al. You can just screen all the components together. The very first glitters were originally made from BP stock with added ingredients. This works, but I tend to stick with formulas designed this way. Ones made this way tend to burn faster, and have shorter but bushier tails, and tend to produce less fallout/debris. Milling all of the components (sans metals) generally will harm the effect in my opinion. The tail and delay become noticeably shorter. Glitters definitely benefit from some unmilled components. The claims that potassium nitrate and sulfur are pounded into pores in charcoal is bullshit by the way. Yes, you can screen out what you want and bring everything up to size later. I'm glad you're looking to get rid of the drill motor. They spark and are dangerous in the presence of flammable dusts. I don't know what moron thought this up on youtube, but he's going to be responsible for a lot of injuries if people keep using them. There unfortunately are not a ton of suitable motors for direct driving. There are some nice designs for combination ball mills and star rollers. Most are indirect drive or use pullies to directly drive for speed reduction.
TYRONEEZEKIEL Posted September 2, 2013 Posted September 2, 2013 (edited) Giod, I made the same bucket type roller, but I never attempted to use the drill. I have always rolled the bucket with one hand, then sprayed and coated with the other. It definitely let me go slower and be more intimate with the batches while I was first learning. I am now in the process of designing a 3 batch at a time roller with a variable speed motor. As for priming with BP only, it does work for some comps, but others it isnt hot enough to make it happen. I suspect for this comp, you should have absolutely no problem. Have you ever tried using a "star gun?" Edited September 2, 2013 by TYRONEEZEKIEL
giod Posted September 2, 2013 Author Posted September 2, 2013 Giod, I made the same bucket type roller, but I never attempted to use the drill. I have always rolled the bucket with one hand, then sprayed and coated with the other. It definitely let me go slower and be more intimate with the batches while I was first learning. I am now in the process of designing a 3 batch at a time roller with a variable speed motor. As for priming with BP only, it does work for some comps, but others it isnt hot enough to make it happen. I suspect for this comp, you should have absolutely no problem. Have you ever tried using a "star gun?"thanks Tyrone, yeah made a new star gun last night. Now just waiting a day for the stars to dry. I def got the hand of the roller. Takes a little practice to know when to add water.. Speaking of jut water right. No need for alcohol cut in the comp correct? Also I'm just using the super fine BP out of the mill, I thi she right prime, or should I use something chunkier for more surface area? Hmm.. Now I just need. Better motor for the star roller. Drill does not like being throttled by the rheostat .. Get hot. NOT Good. Man stars take a LOT of comp! Ran out of sulfur! Didn't realize how ugh comp it takes.. Of course I made big batch of stars. Those things seems to "breed" in the roller lol.
Jakenbake Posted September 2, 2013 Posted September 2, 2013 After you finsh with your BP prime I like to get the stars while they are still a little damp and put then in a tray full of BP straight out of the ball mill. Make sure they are coated all the way around and set on a screen to dry. The "fuzzy" appearence of the star will aid in lighting. Depending on your rolling technique sometimes rolled stars surface can almost be too tight and smooth to readily take fire. 1
TYRONEEZEKIEL Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 I wouldnt suggest using straight meal powder for most comps, but I think you are pretty safe here, as your comp itself is pretty easy to ignite alone. I would recommend using 25-50% alcohol when spraying. It helps smooth out the drying process IMO.
giod Posted September 3, 2013 Author Posted September 3, 2013 So 25 or 50% alcohol for wetting ? Really with this comp?
Jakenbake Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 With that comp you are working with 25% should be fine. Try both and see what seems easiest for you. I've herd too much alcohol can hinder the dextrins binding (like over 50%)
dynomike1 Posted September 4, 2013 Posted September 4, 2013 Windshield wiper motor hands down. I fought with a drill till i got cross eyed. Hook it to a battery charger and your ready to go. They say run it on 2A. but i get better stars on 10A. 1
Shadowcat1969 Posted September 4, 2013 Posted September 4, 2013 I second that. A windshield wiper motor is awesome. And cheap at a u-pull it junk yard. I run mine with a modified computer power supply, you can find directions to turn one into a bench top power supply all over the web.
giod Posted September 4, 2013 Author Posted September 4, 2013 Windshield wiper motor hands down. I fought with a drill till i got cross eyed. Hook it to a battery charger and your ready to go. They say run it on 2A. but i get better stars on 10A.The wiper motor will turn a bucket? How do I control the amps?
Shadowcat1969 Posted September 4, 2013 Posted September 4, 2013 A car battery charger should have a selector switch to charge at a low(2A) or high(10A) rate. I haven't put a large bucket on my motor, but I've used one of the 2.5 gallon buckets on it and it turns it just fine with as big a batch of stars as I want to make.. It would probably run a 5 gallon bucket fine, I'm not sure how much load you could add to that though.
dynomike1 Posted September 4, 2013 Posted September 4, 2013 I put enough in mine when they get about 1/8" i have to raise the bucket up to keep them from coming out. I feel like a 5gal. bucket would be no problem. If so make smaller batches.
giod Posted September 4, 2013 Author Posted September 4, 2013 comets vs stars. aside from method of construction.. what are the pros and cons? same thing different shape, how does performance differ?
Shadowcat1969 Posted September 5, 2013 Posted September 5, 2013 Its primarily a difference in terminology. A star is meant to go in a device with other stars and be ignited all at once, whether it be a shell or a mine, etc. A comet is aactually just a star (usually larger) meant to be ignited by itself, can be attached to the outside of a shell to give a rising tail, or shot individually from a mine, etc. There are, of course, exceptions to this, but overall, that is what the differnce is. A comet is just a big star, used slightly differently.
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