fredhappy Posted October 31, 2013 Posted October 31, 2013 (edited) This is a test shell I ve shot recently. I wanted to test out a batch of 12mm hardt brocade gold stars. The stars were a bit on the large side, but nothing too drastic. I ve made another batch of 11 mm stars for use in 5"brocade shells. That size also worked very well for that caliber. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1xwOJgmujg Hardt brocade gold is a personal favourite of mine. It is a lovely formulae. I've added 20% Fe/Ti. I've made a couple of test shells with brocade stars , some I broke hard like this double petal, others I'd given a more soft break , giving me the typical drooping brocade effect. Both break configurations worked well with this formulae. It is a beautiful gold streamer effect. Hardt brocade is in the middle between TT and willow. It is not as vulnerable towind speeds as original willow formulas are. The best of both worlds....nice hangtime, pretty bright when you include lots of ferro titanium...this formula is a keeper for me. best fred Edited October 31, 2013 by fredhappy
burningRNX Posted October 31, 2013 Posted October 31, 2013 Good work fred, nice round break, nice hangtimeDid I see a "stowaway" in the outer petal? he he how big was your IP? thanks for sharing.
VikingPyrotechnics Posted October 31, 2013 Posted October 31, 2013 You´re one the best hobby pyros i´ve seen so far in europe!!Lovley shell.... works just perfect. Hope i can get my 6" work like this Greets VP
LTUPyro Posted October 31, 2013 Posted October 31, 2013 Nice color combination and perfect timing on stars, good job Fred!
chemtech89 Posted October 31, 2013 Posted October 31, 2013 Wow! Great shell and very good symmetry as well, nicely done. I need to look into that composition, I really like how it turned out. Question about your lift... For shells from 4"-6" do you use a set amount per the size of shell or do you base it off the shells weight? I feel that I over lift my shells so just trying to form a baseline.
psyco_1322 Posted November 1, 2013 Posted November 1, 2013 Great shell! With most mid sized shells, the weight between one and another is not too much of a difference. You can figure up an amount of lift to put under shells of one size, given they are about the same internally. The amount is still usually dialed in by a factor of the shells weight.
fredhappy Posted November 1, 2013 Author Posted November 1, 2013 Thanks for your comments guys..: #burning: one of the inner petal orange stars seems to have migrated. I need to work on my inner petal symmetry and be more precise. The inner petal size was 2.5" . chemtech: I weigh every shell and calculate my lift charge based on that weight. My lift is not the most potent, but does the job reliable time after time. I use grape charcoal. best fred
LambentPyro Posted November 2, 2013 Posted November 2, 2013 (edited) Phenomenal!! Do you mind listing the formula for the Golden Brocade? Edited November 2, 2013 by LambentPyrotechnics
Seymour Posted November 2, 2013 Posted November 2, 2013 Beautiful! I'm not sure that I agree that the stars were too big, I think that it was just right!
fredhappy Posted November 2, 2013 Author Posted November 2, 2013 lambentpyro: sure..here it is KNO3 29Pine C 34Sulphur 6dex 5 Fe./Ti 20%+ (more is better imo), I use 0-250 mesh with a pinch of added 250-450 mesh. I ballmill this mix (sans metal of course) for about one hour to get a cleaner burn and eliminate fallout. I keep making this formula over and over and it never dissapoints me. seymour: Thanks man. I love the drooping effect with brocades, but the flower on this 6"er lost its shape and changed into a sort of "falling ribbons"effect...still pleasing. I'd made another batch of 11mms for 5"ers, andthat size was just perfect..with a soft break it gave me the characteristic drooping effect whilst still retaining its round shape...
marks265 Posted November 2, 2013 Posted November 2, 2013 Great job on that shell Fred. I would continue to use that formula too. I really love being under the long hanging stars especially if I were to try to reach out and grab them and find that there is nothing to catch. Mark
fredhappy Posted November 3, 2013 Author Posted November 3, 2013 marks265: The drooping effect of willow type stars is a thing of beauty..I like it when the flower retains its round shape whilst drooping, but the "gold ribbon" effect is lovely too..... The stars burned out at about 70 feet, but you could hear them shizzle and burn.. fred
LambentPyro Posted November 3, 2013 Posted November 3, 2013 (edited) Thanks. I'll put it on my list of formulae to try. Question, were these rolled, pumped, or cut (the brocade)? Edited November 3, 2013 by LambentPyrotechnics
fredhappy Posted November 4, 2013 Author Posted November 4, 2013 lambent : I precision roll all my stars. When I started out with pyro I used to pump my stars with starplates. The quest for symmetry made me abandon that pretty quickly. I screen my stars multiple times, so I get very uniform batches of stars. http://imageshack.us/scaled/thumb/201/wgrp.jpg11 and 12 mm hardt gold brocade http://imageshack.us/scaled/thumb/543/yhou.jpg6" 12mm hardt gold brocade best fred
Zmuro Posted November 4, 2013 Posted November 4, 2013 I made quite a lot of willow stars (willow diadem and buell brocade horse tail) but I always pump them, because I can't get FeTi (250-450um) to stuck to 1mm cores or even 5mm stars, it's just sliding on the bottom of star roller. Do you use torro for rolling these stars?You rolled 12mm willow stars for 6" shell...is this including prime. Do you put airfloat charcoal into ballmill?
fredhappy Posted November 4, 2013 Author Posted November 4, 2013 zmuro: I agree that rolling formulas with coarse Fe/Ti is a bit difficult.I always start out with very small steel cores. I roll on the first 2 a 3 mm of compo without added titanium. This makes the start up process more easy. I use different ratios of water/alcohol for different star sizes when it comes to streamers. It is also important to work slowly and letting the stars dry in between sessions. Pumped stars will never give you perfect symmetry due to their shape and variations in size. I agree that some coarse titanium will stuck to the bottom of the star roller. When I finish a rolling session I salvage that titanium and let it dry so I can re use it. The coarse titanium is very beautiful and I always try adding some to my streamers. These stars were 12mm and I put 0.5 mm stepprime on them. For coloured stars I roll on about 1.2mm of stepprime, streamers will do fine with only 0.5...just a small layer. The total size of these primed 12mm brocades amounted to 13mm. best fred
ExplosiveCoek Posted November 4, 2013 Posted November 4, 2013 (edited) Nice shell Fred! I think the IP could've been 3'' for size IMHO. I always like the somewhat bigger IP's . Looked like you got (again) some good ignition, seems to be working quite well for you now! Can not wait to see one of those in real life, those shell's are really amazing in real life. Cheers Edited November 4, 2013 by ExplosiveCoek
LambentPyro Posted November 4, 2013 Posted November 4, 2013 What's your secret for precision rolling?
fredhappy Posted November 4, 2013 Author Posted November 4, 2013 explosivecoek: I like the smaller petals ..it's just a personal preference, but 3" would have worked well too. My ignition issues have resolved since I've switched to step priming. it works for 98% of all the stars with the exception of strobes and crackling. Just wait a bit longer until it's NYE, your personal presence is mandatory... ..we are going to have a blast my friend.! lambent: screens with 0.5mm intervals, large batches, loads of trial and error and patience. best fred
pyrokid Posted November 5, 2013 Posted November 5, 2013 Fred, do you have any experience building multi petal shells in the 3 inch caliber? I've often thought of attempting a triple petal shell and using an especially punchy burst, but I think it would be more complicated than that.
Seymour Posted November 5, 2013 Posted November 5, 2013 I want to see a 3" triple petal! Almost mission impossible, but perhaps not quite.
LambentPyro Posted November 6, 2013 Posted November 6, 2013 lambent: screens with 0.5mm intervals, large batches, loads of trial and error and patience. best fredWhere do you get such screens?
fredhappy Posted November 6, 2013 Author Posted November 6, 2013 (edited) Pyrokid: sounds like a challenge, how about attempting one? The only person I know of who can build high quality small caliber pattern shells (2.5") is vh718, perhaps he can elaborate. Lambent: I bought my screens from an online shop which unfortunately is no longer in business anymore due to...er...the cursed "legal issues"... Edited November 6, 2013 by fredhappy
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