Occasional Happiness

[TheEskimo]

Scarbelly--Go to Staples and get some of their Fibre-reinforced gummed tape. It's like 7 dollars for 250 feet. I can paste on 3 layers in 10 minutes, make up the lift cup, QM, etc. in 5 while it dries a little bit, and it's ready to launch. Not very messy, takes only 3 layers for a great burst, and dries in a couple of minutes 'cause it doesnt need to get very wet. I have never tried wheat paste and Kraft paper, and I don't want to, after using this stuff.

Hooray, my D1 is good. Looked crappy on the ground, but it looks great up in the air.

Edited November 19, 2009 by TheEskimo

[scarbelly]

Yeah that sounds like a good plan. The nearest staples is kinda far off, but at Ace they have gummed tape, which is unfortunately not fiber-reinforced. I think a part of the problem may also have been that I made the hemis about a quarter inch too small, so I had to compensate for that during pasting, which ended up amounting to a lot of paper and time. Anyways, I'll experiment, kraft paper and glue are cheap, and time is not too big of an issue.

[Mumbles]

I''ve heard they make good shots for crossettes too.

[Ventsi]

All I need now is a gun to shoot myself once I'm done...

 

http://www.apcforum.net/forums/uploads/1250150951/gallery_9618_29_40218.jpg

[scarbelly]

Oh my lord Ventsi... that's gonna be a bitch of a job. Good luck with that. I hacksawed one cut through 1/2" steel rod the other day, and it literally took me like 5 minutes to make 1 cut. My weakling arms were exhausted. Brass is softer if I'm correct, but still, media with a saw does NOT sound fun.

 

P.S. I like the deodorant and water I'll bet they're a big help

[Twotails]

Hey, Heres a tip, Buy a RTX-B rotary tool, the re-enforced cutting disks, and the mandral, and you'll have that done in no-time.

 

RTX-B- $24.88 (walmart)

Cutting disks (pack of 20) $6.88 (walmart)

Mandral - $1.99 (walmart)

 

its not too bad, eather that or get a saw's all.

 

 

"Ordered 1000 small sized (#3) empty gelatin caps from www.iHerb.com. Gonna make up a handful of mini-torpedo/throw-snaps."- Xetap

 

 

 

I have a bunch of those, i found its interesting to poke a fuse through the cap, then fill the cap with flash. snap that halfs together, and presto, cheap shell insert. Now of corse you should put a wrap or two of kraft around it to protect it from burst, but i see no reason this couldent be fine tuned to work. hell, fill'em with smoke comp, and make a daylight shell, it would even be possable to put a few diffrent kinds within the shell.

 

 

I just made some D1 stars (bamboo charcoal)(had to substitute the dextrin for Redgum, and NC) I was bord, and just wanted to try it out, i also made a charcoal based Firedust(Hemp).

[Ventsi]

Oh my lord Ventsi... that's gonna be a bitch of a job. Good luck with that. I hacksawed one cut through 1/2" steel rod the other day, and it literally took me like 5 minutes to make 1 cut. My weakling arms were exhausted. Brass is softer if I'm correct, but still, media with a saw does NOT sound fun.

 

P.S. I like the deodorant and water I'll bet they're a big help

Hey, Heres a tip, Buy a RTX-B rotary tool, the re-enforced cutting disks, and the mandral, and you'll have that done in no-time

 

 

 

Yeah its not fun, it takes me around 1-2 min a cut. Thats the 5/8" stuff, the 1/2" is just under a minute. I might get a dremel from HF but I doubt it, I need to invest into other things. I'll suck it up and probably hack through most of it tomorrow.

 

Ohh and brass is softer but NOT soft, I needed to take a break every 10 cuts or so, a PITA definitely, this isn't a labor of love, its torture...

[scarbelly]

Yeah, I know brass isn't soft. I feel for you man. I hope you survive this ordeal.

It's funny that you posted this in "Occasional Happieness" haha.

 

For my happiness, I just got back from a bonfire with a bunch of friends at the beach, and I tested out my first two aerial shells, one was a 2 inch can and the other a 3 inch ball. Both D1 glitter. The fuses I used were a little bit too long, so they didn't explode until partway down, but other than that they were huge successes. I was so happy. The can broke so that all of the stars shot straight downwards (I thought that was weird because I tried to load them around a canule) , and the ball had a very symmetrical break, with a rising comet. Everyone loved them. Sorry about my bragging, but I feel like it's OK considering most of you have done millions of times more and better. When I walked back to the bonfire carrying my mortars everyone was clapping and I felt like an astronaut walking back with his helmet. My stars were also a little too big, but all in all, for my first shells, I am VERY satisfied.

[TheEskimo]

Hooray!!! Did you get a vid? They sound pretty cool.

[scarbelly]

Thanks Eskimo. No I didn't, my friends just sort of showed up at my door and I was in a rush to get out of the house, so I forgot my video camera. They really weren't anything groundbreaking, but I was really excited because they were my first ones.

 

EDIT: Does anybody know why the can broke downwards? One of my friends commented that he noticed the can shell made less of a "pop" than the ball shell when it burst, so is it just that the break wasn't enough to scatter the stars much? I did use MCRH with a slight booster of granulated BP, so you think that was the problem?

Edited November 22, 2009 by scarbelly

[NightHawkInLight]

Yeah its not fun, it takes me around 1-2 min a cut. Thats the 5/8" stuff, the 1/2" is just under a minute. I might get a dremel from HF but I doubt it, I need to invest into other things. I'll suck it up and probably hack through most of it tomorrow.

 

Ohh and brass is softer but NOT soft, I needed to take a break every 10 cuts or so, a PITA definitely, this isn't a labor of love, its torture...

Were I you I would definitely either buy an electric cutoff wheel (You'll never regret having it around) or find someone who will let you use their tools for an hour. You take care of tools like that and they don't go bad. Never a bad thing to accumulate for later in life.

 

I guess you could just drink a protein shake and call that your workout for the day.

 

Edit: Oh and hang on to those filings if you could, I'd be interested to see if you can get them to burn in a gerb.

Edited November 22, 2009 by NightHawkInLight

[Ventsi]

Oh yeah, I'm saving them up, does anyone know a good use for them? I'm thinking of adding some in a red comp. to try for a purple/ zinc tail?

[Swede]

Ventsi, I am going to abuse your tool... that hacksaw (no offense) is a total POS. If you can find a "real" hacksaw, your job is going to be infinitely easier. The type of hacksaw I'm thinking of has a handle or stub at the forward end that allows a good 2-handed operation. Load it with a 16 TPI high-speed steel blade, a quality one, and it'll zip through that brass in 1/2 the time.

 

Even with the very best hacksaw though, it'll be a bitch. Good luck with it! And oh yes, have fun deburring the media! You might want to tumble the brass with a charge of alox or some other sand-blast media.

 

http://www.plumbersurplus.com/images/prod/6/DeWALT-DW3970-rw-78878-136665.jpg

 

Another option is a "sawzall" like the Ryobi line of cordless tools. I have one of these and it really works well, and is not too expensive.

http://di1.shopping.com/images1/pi/ab/76/fc/42543063-177x150-0-0.jpg

 

You can probably find a working sawzall at a pawn shop for dirt cheap.

[Ventsi]

Thanks swede, though I'll pass on that offer, The saw isn't anything special, and honestly its not terrible. The blade that came with it was total crap however, I bought some replacement blades for it and I can cut in less than 1/2 the time, I'm done with the 5/8" rod and halfway on the 1/2" . For deburring I'l probably go with some sandblast media or silicon carbide, whichever...

 

In future I'll definitely buy a automated tool, and since I think these will last forever, that will likely be for when I move up to a Gal jar.

[Steps]

I move out today! Can finally start pursuing pyro properly! Shed and all!

[TheEskimo]

Hooray...you moving to the country, or to a less-strict province?

And my blues, reds, and D1s are drying nicely. I'm off to make some MCRH. Hooray for midnight pyro. Maybe I'll try some Emerald green with my BaNO3...I haven't opened it yet. Drink some epsom salts or rub a solution on if you get BaNO3 on you, correct? I think it turns it into the virtually insoluable sulfate, right?

Edit: How do you guys clean off BaNO3 starpumps, mixing cups, etc? Is it OK to wash off the crumbs, which then would go into a septic tank? Or would that kill all the bacteria in my septic tank?

Edited November 28, 2009 by TheEskimo

[Gunzway]

I assume he's just moving out of his parent's house and now can have his own space and own say to pursue the hobby.

[Ralph]

if I were you I would dissolve the crumbs in water than add a sulphate (like Epsom salts) this will result in a precipitate of virtually insoluble inert barium sulfate (I know it isnt fully inert but it wont readily react and is safe enough to plants and animals that doctors feed it to people so they can xray them and see it moving through their system ) than you can either poor the solution off and bin the precipitate or throw it all down the sink

[Ventsi]

Well my brass is kicking a$$ and here is some crazy hot 36 hour willow mill dust.

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m100/asota_2006/P1080076.jpg

:D

[TheSidewinder]

Ah, now there's a good picture.

 

Looks very familiar, too.

[TheEskimo]

Very nice looking......I want to upgrade to brass, cause breathing in smoke with a taint of lead does not appeal. But I am a poor pyro at the moment.....

Tomorrow is shaping up to be a great day. Off from school, due to first day of hunting season (it's like a national holiday here where I live), and my friend is coming over to try making some stuff. All the burst, lift, fountain, and rocket fuels are dry. The D1, Ruby red, and blue are dried and primed. Emerald green w/titanium is drying, and will be primed early tomorrow. Need to shape a new fountain/endburner former tonight, cut fountain/rocket tubes, and cut strips for pasting. All tools are assembled, and things are cleaned up.

I tested a rocket tonight. Coreburner Teleflight. Added some coarse charcoal for a tail. Core about 5 inches long. Got several hundred feet; the Ti delay worked great, and the stars all lit. I will have pics and vids within 2 or 3 days if all goes well.

[Twotails]

Im happy, I just made a nice looking Sodium yellow flame, was hoping for a poor boron green but, it worked. I had to use a crappy scale(5000g cap, .10+/- accuracy, my small one was dropped by my mom, or dad, only good news, i get a new onw for Xmas now)

 

I used(+/-.10)

25g Potassium chlorate

10g Borax household cleaner (boron compound, although dident work)

about 10g red gum

about 7g charcoal (used bamboo)

 

wetted it with acetone/alcohol mixture, granulated it, let it dry. It does have a lot of residue left over, wit ha little tweaking it could be fixed. looks like it might be useful as a yellow star comp.

 

All-in-all, im happy with the yellow color.

[TheEskimo]

HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My friend finally came over. Made 4 endburners, 4 coreburners with stars, 2 mines, and 4 shells. Everything worked really well, except for the mines. The mines were wayyy overlifted, and blew some of the stars blind. And the camera didn't pick up all the colors, but it went really well. She had lots of fun, and says that she wants to come back and build some more. He who hath smelt the smoke is ne'er free again.

Here's the vid...get it while you can. Someone seems to be taking fiendish delight in flagging any and all of my YT vids. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3PilYHZJiM

[Twotails]

Wow, Does that perticular seller still have more for sale? Possable link?

[Swede]

Well my brass is kicking a$$ and here is some crazy hot 36 hour willow mill dust.

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m100/asota_2006/P1080076.jpg

:D

 

Sweeeeeeeeeet! Brass is a great media. It will blacken from the sulfur eventually, but overall, it's awesome stuff.