MWJ Posted April 25, 2014 Posted April 25, 2014 Hi every one, I used to be into rock polishing and found some Iron filings that I used for that. I am wondering what I can use them for. I'm pretty sure they will work for sparklers but I would like to incorporate them into stars, if that will be a nice effect or not. If any of you have tried this maybe you can post some videos of what I can expect. Any ideas and formulas would be great. Thanks!
Arthur Posted April 25, 2014 Posted April 25, 2014 All depends on the size of the filings! The carbon content will determine how bright the sparks are. Look at formulations for fountains and sparklers.
MWJ Posted April 25, 2014 Author Posted April 25, 2014 All depends on the size of the filings! The carbon content will determine how bright the sparks are. Look at formulations for fountains and sparklers.Would it help if I take a photo of them? Fountains would be fun too, but I'm thinking maybe some with stars.
FlaMtnBkr Posted April 25, 2014 Posted April 25, 2014 You will need to coat them if you want to store them much more than a couple days. Once in contact with an oxidizer it will begin to rust. Boiled linseed oil is the traditional coating. That said you can add 5 to 10% to most any star formula that you want a trail of sparks. They would probably work in a color formula, but I have only tried them in charcoal type stars. And they looked great. But even coated, I would plan on using them within a couple months and not years.
MWJ Posted April 25, 2014 Author Posted April 25, 2014 You will need to coat them if you want to store them much more than a couple days. Once in contact with an oxidizer it will begin to rust. Boiled linseed oil is the traditional coating. That said you can add 5 to 10% to most any star formula that you want a trail of sparks. They would probably work in a color formula, but I have only tried them in charcoal type stars. And they looked great. But even coated, I would plan on using them within a couple months and not years.They are at least 15 years old already so I guess they already have been coated. I see no sign of any rust at all. I'll have to try the charcoal stars first. Do you have any videos I can see?
nater Posted April 25, 2014 Posted April 25, 2014 I like iron and steel filings in gerbs. They make beautiful, soft orange sparks. The effect is ruined from any distance, so only use them in devices you trust to be viewed up close. I made some a few years ago and intended to fire them the next day, so I did not coat it. Well, I did not get a chance to fire them before the B line was shut down. They sat a month and there were no sparks besides the BP base.
psyco_1322 Posted April 26, 2014 Posted April 26, 2014 Iron can make for a nice effect in pyro, but as Nate stated, it's only appreciable up close. But for the size of things you are probably making, it might be viewable.
FlaMtnBkr Posted April 26, 2014 Posted April 26, 2014 You can see the additional sparks at a distance. But you need to be close to appreciate the delicate branching sparks of a high carbon steel. If it isn't high carbon the sparks won't branch much but will still look nice.
MWJ Posted April 26, 2014 Author Posted April 26, 2014 Anyone have a nice formula for sparklers or fountains?
nater Posted April 26, 2014 Posted April 26, 2014 For BP based fountains, I usually use whatever BP rocket fuel I have on hand plus 20% metal for sparks. For colored gebs, a lot of star comps make a good base with Ti or FeTi added for sparks. If you have the PGI anthology, there is an article on colored gerbs, I believe the formulas are reprinted on the Skylighter site.
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