8"stutata peanut

[fredhappy]

I have bought a reinforced fiberglass 8"gun . It should be able to fire multibreak canisters, so I figured I'd make a double 8"stutata and see

how it would hold. The wall thickness is about twice the size as my regular 8"tube, it is made for heavy loads..

 

http://imageshack.us/scaled/thumb/689/88a8.jpg

8"stutata peanut, guinea pig edition....

The stutatas were filled with 14x2.5"inserts. For the first break I've used organic blue with orange, the second one had only orange inserts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCncGr4p5B8

The total weight was 4.9 kilos/about 10 pounds. I've used a bit too much lift, so the second break went a bit high.

I am also waiting for a timefusecutter to arrive. The timing of the inserts was a bit too sloppy, I will try to improve that next time.

It was a fun shell to build, and the effect was huge. Next time less lift and perhaps 28x2.5"salute inserts...

best

fred

[BJV]

Very Nice,

Great work thanks for sharing.

Here is one of mine from our last shoot.

This is a 6" with 15 or 16 1.75" inserts.

Barry

[pyrokid]

Very nice shell, fred! Perhaps it is time to try a spiral shell!

[VikingPyrotechnics]

Great work Fred :-)

 

The blue looks very nice and your shells looks to good to shoot them

Really nice handmade work !

Thanks for sharing bro

 

Greets

VP

[burningRNX]

Verry nice fred, I like that timing of the second shell near the breaks of the inserts of number 1 Edited October 21, 2013 by burningRNX

[CANISTERMAN]

_{Nice work dude !!}

[fredhappy]

Thanks guys, I was pleased with how this one worked out. These shells take some time to build, but I love stutatas..I like to time them short...

 

BJV: nice build clip, I can appreciate you are making your own hemis. The loading hole works best for these type of shells, you can really cram in those last inserts .

 

http://imageshack.us/scaled/thumb/209/xgn4.jpg

 

Again, insert timing is something I wish to improve my next stutata, it feel it can be much snappier.

 

best

 

fred

[ExplosiveCoek]

Very nice one Fred. I think this timing already is better (shorter = better right ) than the previous one you fired. I really think that, to be able to enjoy this type of shell's to the max, that you should have them breaking quite low.

[Seymour]

Fred and BJV, both really nice shells!

 

Fred, I agree the timing could definitely be improved, but it was not too bad. It's not like it ruined it or anything! What method did you use for the time fuse cutting? Personally I've just used a ruler and a pen and a sharp knife and taken quite a lot of care. My 12" SOS shells were not perfect but I think I did quite well on the timing considering. As for your lift, close up is awesome, but brushing the clouds is a lot safer than brushing the crowd

 

BJV, that is a lot of effect for 'just' a 6"! I like your crackling rising comets.

[SideGlance]

awesome good job !!

[fredhappy]

#seymour: I used a ruler, but did a bit of a sloppy job on the depth of the crossmatch. I am awaiting a posh new timefuse cutter, I really hope to be able to get instant timings with that aparatus.

 

You actually have a lot of momentum even when you break low. The inserts are still rising after the first break, giving enough height imo. The first shell was timed on 1.2 seconds, and that was just about right.

 

BJV: I just saw the clip of your 6"er, I missed the shell video the first time I saw the footage. Looks very nice, well done..I like the spread you are getting too..

Edited October 22, 2013 by fredhappy

[Seymour]

Cross matching is definitely where I've screwed up timing too! For when I think timing really counts I have become fond of a flat cut with a thin prime on the end. I giuess my thinking is I'd rather have the odd insert blind than out of time. I notice "the Master" uses a similar system on his timed salutes (with black match to ensure fire is passed, but it's just placed there, no cutting).

[pyrokid]

Yes the master uses homemade flat black match over the square cut ends of his time fuse. He glues the black match on, then ties it with string to ensure that it is secure.

 

The inside portion of the time fuse is primed with a tiny brush and bp/nc lacquer, such that it doesn't interfere with timing but still spits fire.

[WonderBoy]

Nice shell Fred!

 

I really like the quick timing too, much like a multibreak cylinder.

 

I wonder if it would be more aesthetically pleasing if the all orange break were first, followed by the mixed break? It is just personal preference, but I sometimes like to make my shells so that each break adds an effect.

 

I have zero experience with peanut shells, but I noticed the shells travelling in different directions out of the mortar. Are they normally made so that they both ignite from the quickmatch and stay together long enough to make it out of the mortar; then from there it doesn't matter if they stay together or not?

 

I too use the "top hat" method, as discussed in other threads, and have been able to get pretty snappy timing. I do it a bit different than images I've seen of TR's inserts though. I don't use any glue, and I have come to like using 2 strands of blackmatch on the fuse end, then one strand on top, running perpendicular to the 2 lower strands. I don't know if it makes a difference, but I get very good ignition, and in my research have ran across many Italian photos using a similar method. Good timefuse is also very helpful.

 

When crossmatching, it really doesn't matter how long the fuse is cut, the only thing that matters is the depth of the crossmatch.

 

You really should look into cylinder shells, I think you will be very fond of them.

 

 

WB

Edited October 23, 2013 by WonderBoy

[fredhappy]

seymour: I am aware of the "top-hat"method. Slitting the timefuse , inserting 2 strands of blackmatch and tying a knot is the most fool-proof method imo. I ve never had a dud. The downside is that you have to use the same cutting dept time after time, otherwise your timings will suffer.. A friend of mine uses NC-lacquer slurry+meal with a final sprinkling of pulverone. That works nice too, and also has the added bonus of being able to work much faster since this technique has a lower workload then the previous methods..

 

wonderboy: Thanks man..I hear you on having the all-orange break first. But since I'd used an organic blue I rather started out with that colour, since these stars are much more dim. Using organic stars after a whole bunch of metal ones burned on your retina makes the organic colours appear dim. Next time I will make a all-organic blue stutata. Those organic blues are very very pretty on their own. Deep blue...very nice...

 

The peanut uses the hot lift gasses to ignite the timefuses...simple and reliable. Using quickmatch gives a bit more room for errors imo, but I am sure it can be done reliably. The peanut is not suppose to stay together after launch. Most of the times they separate, giving some nice extra spread to the effects. I have been making peanuts for as long as I have been doing pyro and they are a simple and fast way to get multi-break-esque effects from simple round shells.

 

I saw a couple of cylinder shells . My friend and colleague canisterman makes them. Superb stuff, I absolutely love them...but....I have also seen quite a few of these canisters fail. They are more prone to malfunction, although I attest that skilled builders can build them reliable time after time. My friend made an 8"canister with 70 x10 gram salute inserts. He had put in many hours of work , only to have it blow up with a dramatic loud bang at apogee. I guess that's also the fun with this great passion of hours..hehe

 

best

 

fred

 

 

[psyco_1322]

Fred,

You can't blame the shells failure on it's shape if it's really the inserts that were defective. I would bet that a ball shell full of those inserts would have given the same catastrophic effect. Like with anything we make, if you cut corners too much, things can go wrong. Cylinder shells can be just as reliable as anything else if built properly, as with other devices.

 

None the less, that was a great peanut shell, with a very interesting effect. When I made my 8" shell of shells, I measured the fuse with a ruler, and cross matched both ends of the fuses. I find that if you use some anvil cutters, you can place the tip of the blade right on the line and cut. If you repeat the process the same on every fuse, the timing seems to quite consistent.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZBu7yWbr-U

[fredhappy]

psycho: I agree with you. But the mere shape of cylindrical inserts makes them a bit more prone to malfunctions imo. With round shapes much of the force of break/liftoff are dissipated due to the round shape, cylindrical shapes need more reinforcement otherwise they will fail. The bottoms need to be reinforced ( end disks) and the inserts need to be spiked/pasted. Please correct me if I am wrong my cylinder building colleagues...

 

With round inserts I can build many in a single afternoon ,but from what I ve seen the cylindrical stuff needs more attention. But you are right, a skilled builder can make cylindrical shells as reliable as round ones. It just takes more time.

 

Next time I will pay more attention when I am crossmatching my inserts, I like snappy timings...

 

Your 8"sos shell looked wonderfull, lot's of work in that one I am sure. What size did you use for inserts? 1.75"?

 

best

 

fred

 

 

[Niladmirari]

How are you

If the Shell of Shells, which dealt strengthening? As far weaker than the chrysanthemum?