Pyrostar

Hi I can find very good aluminiumpowder, but it is very expensive. Also, I haven´t got any KCLO4 at all, that´s why I am using Potassiumpermanganate. Pyrostar

Hi all Since I can not really get aluminiumpowder via internet, I have to get it elsewhere. I have found a spray can can with silver paint. I guess it is aluminiumpowder with anything mixed. How can I extract the aluminiumpowder from paint then? Thanks, Pyrostar

Hi I WILL wear a breathing-mask next time! Pyrostar

Hi all I have made this flash for my first time and it went better then expected. Now I stuck to another ratio: 3parts Kmno4 1part paintaluminium Burns much faster and is safer( I think?) , because there is no sulfur added. Aluminiumpowder is a bit messy, because it is airfloat and make your hands ugly and it is very hard to get rid of the dust. I am sneezing silvery aluminiumpowder in my kleenex Pyrostar

Hi all I made a video of the flashpowder( 1g): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdB9kNQZ2X8 I used Kmno4, because I can not get KCLO4 here. Pyrostar

Hi all Because I have heard that Resin-Filler aluminiumpowder is not good enough, I want to use paint-aluminiumpowder. Would that be good enough and what is the mixingratio for this flashpowder? It is very fine and makes your fingers look like silver, also, it is airfloat. Thanks, Pyrostar

Hi I can´t get my hands on such a fine aluminiumpowder( just 43micron, how much mesh is it?) I made my magnesiumpowder myself using a drill and a sanding disk and a ball mill afterwards. Usually I get 50g in one hour. Any other flashpowder´s that can be used such as kmno4/Al? I need a flashpowder that can produce a loud report with a little coarse metalpowder´s. I can get very much Kmno4 and I want to know wether I can make a powerfull flashpowder with it. Mixing ratio´s would be cool, too Pyrostar

Hi I thought it was barium, or potassiumnitrate mixed with indian blackhead aluminium ? Anyway, I may try potassiumpermanganate instead, is this a good report-composition? I want to use pigment aluminiumpowder or 43micron aluminiumpowder. My Kmno4 is airfloat. I have some crazy plans on making these cracker´s( I thought they are called thumping thuder´s): First, I´ll take a tube, ram a clayplug in one end, then I ram a red or green flare composition inside the tube, drill a small hole for the visco and fill the left space with Kmno4/Al ( around 5g) if the flashpowder is good enough or with other flashpowder´s then KCLO4/Al. May this work? The flare mixture I am using is from a crappy roadflare, this red is not that bright, but I mixed it with 50% magnesiumpowder and the result was a very, very bright and deep red. Advices for the flashpowder´s I can use( instead of perchlorates or nitrate´s) would be very cool. Thanks, Pyrostar

Hi all I browsed around youtube and I found this video here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=LzE5oiZ-D7k Very loud, and now I am confused because I have heard that nitrates can not make good flashpowder, even if confinement is present. What is the flashpowder out of and which substitutes for potassiumperchlorate are used? I thought that this banger in the video seems to be from belgique, because in the nederlands you use BP as a charge. Thanks, Pyrostar

Hi My wood-sticks are a bit too big I belive( much bigger and thicker then a thumb). Sometimes, I have the same problem with willow. At this time it was pine. And keesthemad: Your BP will be much too fast for rocket´s I did the same with my 10h milled BP and all the rocket´s I had built had a CATO. Now I stuck to Mortar and Pestle BP and I never had a CATO( built 5 rockets, they all went fine) Check out my video for the burn speed of this BP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heYhtA28N24 PS: I have made 10 rockets now, they all have a payload. I´ll record and upload them on youtube. Check my videos if you want to. And thanks for the advices, Pyrostar

Oh god, I ran out of willow and now I have 200g of pine charcoal, because I was thinking it will make a good propellant Anyway, I will charring some willow on the weekend then, and there is enough time and money to make enough rocket´s, cause I have 6 week´s holidays now I notice that some pieces of my charcoal are very soft, and other chunks are very hard( very difficult to grind them in a non-electric-coffeegrinder). What is wrong here? Is it the charring temperature? What is the best charring temperature for rocket charcoal and how can I see that the temperature is perfect without a thermometre? Pyrostar

Hi all What about using another charcoal such as pine? Are different ratio´s needed? I am tired of using willow, because it doesn´t leave a big tail, and that is what I am looking for, a thick sparkling tail. Is pine a good charcoal for this? And does it matter at which temperature I cooked the charcoal? Thanks, Pyrostar

Hi all I started to make bigger rockets, now I have made a rocket with 15mm ID tube and 10cm in length. The propellant is mortar and pestle BP again. I am a bit afraid that they will CATO, don´t know why:) I am thinking of a payload( salute) What can I use instead of KCLO4 or Kmno4 as a strong flashpowder oxidizier? Something with BaNO3 or anything else? I have heard that it is used as a substitute for KCLO4 I have acces to aluminiumpowder or magnesiumpowder Pyrostar

Hi Thank´s Tyneman. I´ll record some rocket´s at nighttime with some tigertail stars. They are so small but very powerfull . And I didn´t use a ball mill, hurrey! Rocket´s are my favourite firework now. And I have got enough blackpowder to make a lot of rocket´s. Pyrostar

Hi all! It have made my first homemade rocket´s. I used 15g of Mortar and Pestle blackpowder for the propellant. The tube was a homemade craftpaper tube with 3mm thick walls. The tube has the following measurement´s: 1/2 ID, 7cm in length. Noozle ID was 3mm and the core was 10mm deep. Balance test was perfect, too. Here are the video´s:( sorry for daytime recording ) http://youtube.com/watch?v=dg7GoDEPwBY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WA19-jovJs Other rockets will follow. Pyrostar

Hi I have to get a window-weeper motor. I ask a car-yard, and they will sell some motors for 30€. Then I have to get a 12V supply, that will cost 60€. Then I need to get bearings and so on and that will cost 40€( including the media). Too expensive! Any way, I give back the fan to the supermarket, so that will not annoy me anymore. I have to try out the CIA-method, but I am confused of all these different instructions in the internet. I will buy a coffeegrinder and will grind the charcoal and the sulfur together, maybe that will make an airfloat mix. maybe that is perfect for CIA-method. I have seen a site in germany where someone uses 3g CIA lift for a 2" inch KNO3/Mg salute shell. That lift was awesome! But now the site is banned, because it is illegal to make fireworks here. And I am very corious wether I can get the same result´s with my CIA-BP. I have also seen a video of the corned BP( added dextrin as a binder), it burned very,very fast. Maybe I can cool the mixture down very fast using liquid nitrogen or icecubes? Pyrostar

Hi all I have asked a supermarket for very thick walled tubes. These tubes where plasticfoil is sitting on. They are 50cm in length, something like 2" ID and are 1,0cm thickwalled. I get 3 tubes in a week. I have asked more supermarkets and now I will get 40 tubes in a month. They have got tubes in various sizes( 1"/ 3" and 5" ). And they are so damn nice and strong! I said them I need these tubes for my mice. Now I just need to build a ball mill for lift and I am ready to make shell´s from plastic-halves. PS: Thanks for the advice, Mr.Stintje! Pyrostar

Hi all I have seen an electric table fan for 15€. You need to build the fan together, all the parts especially the motor are seperately. You can adjust the motor in 3 speeds: 120RPM/240RPM and 360RPM. I have found a good wooden box and I´ll ask a weapon-store wether I can get 1Kg Leadballs from them. I have got a gearwheel and a rope for it. I am a bit worried how I can fix the steelrods in the woodenbox and on the motor without getting too much friction when I want to use the ball mill. I need some ball bearings, but I can´t get my hands on some. I have a jar etc. Can I use this fan for my ball mill? Or do they tend to get very hot and fail? Edit: Yes they tend to get very hot and fail, I learned it the hard way, because I turn on the fan and it became very hot:( 15€ was spend for nothing! PS: I will post some pictures to the construction´s in the" Tools-Thread", and I just ask you here and I don´t want to start a new thread. Tyneman, if this question is not allowed in this section or whatever, you can remove it of course. Pyrostar

Hi I can´t order these tubes via internet, but it is very hard to find them elsewhere! I can´t find any smaller mortars, too. Just some weak tubes (4cm ID); these tubes where aluminium foil is sitting on. Pyrostar

Hi all I am lack of a ball mill and I can make some BP, because I store all my BP and other materials in a gardenhouse now, away from my house and the neighbourhood. Has anyone here tested the CIA-Method with succes? I want to use it for rockets and liftpowder, because I want to make a 4" Tigertail Shell. I won´t add any binder, because I will build a 2-ton press. Also, are there trick´s to make the blackpowder better if it isn´t that good? How can I make it then and what equipment should I have? PS: A video of the resulting Blackpowder that has been made with this method would be very, very nice. Thanks , Pyrostar

Hi all Good news: I have found some 4" plastic-balls for 2€. I want to make a 4" tigertail shell with these balls. Now I just have to find a good plastic-, or aluminium-mortar. But thaks for the advices! Pyrostar

Hi I have simply taken a 10*10cm piece of paper, then I layed it in the mould, press it and then I continued with pressing pieces of paper that have been dipped in glue, the result was a perfect shell, but I have to get the clue how I can cut them exactly, so that they snap together perfect. I used 10 layers of craftpaper. Pyrostar

Hi I have made a mould out of plaster( golfball-sized), I covered the golfball with plastic foil, then I try to make a shell halve, but the craftpaper always sticks to the plaster, and the procedure was a whole mess. Any advices would be great, Pyrostar

Hi It is just the fact that my neighbour is from the police and BP-making is illegal in germany. I didn´t really think over it, until my mother scared the heck out of me as she was saying that she would like to ask a firefighter wether it is illegal. I told that to her many times, but she recognize it. She also took my BP for showing it the firefighter, but luckily I cried and she didn´t go to him at all. Back to topic: What are the disadvantages of candypropellant instead of using BP? I mean the payload they can carry etc. Pyrostar

Hi Can I also make good rocket´s without melting the fuel? Pyrostar