Blaf

Ah, there you are Exhile! I already thought I could get out from this just like that. You're right about crystalizing of KNO3 - next batch will be wetted by acetone/water mix. Meanwhile, my first batch dried and I forced it through a kitchen sieve. We'll see how it works...I don't expect great improvement, though. I saw somewhere on the Net that some guy wets the meal and then puts it into kind of plastic mold, covers it with appropriatelly sized lid and presses everything with a hydraulic press. The final product is a dry round cake of black-powder which he furtherly crushes and sieves to desired size. Don't know what's advantage of this method but he obviously doesn't do it for no reason... Blaf

Hello guys Anyone of you ever tried to make BP as described at www.freepgs.com ? I mean mixing meal powder with hot water, making thick slurry and then spread it on paper and let it dry...etc. I haven't yet, just simple dry ball-milling and that's it. Any useful tricks or suggestions? Blaf (lives forever...)

Here we go again... I'm playing recently with core lenght to adjust the height at which my rockets would fly one day. Well, it proved true that if you omit core the thrust is too weak and your rocket goes nowhere. I made a few static tests and really, fuel burned too long and nozzle did not give that healthy hissssss. Then I attached a stick shaped stabilizer made of pressed cardboard...you know, just to see what happens. This construction had a slight tendence to fly but in fact just tipped over and burned on the ground. Me and bystanders took cover, of course. Next two engines (engine - does this sound too proud?) to fire will have 1,5 cm / 3mm dia. cores...first one I ever made used to have 3 cm long core and gave too much power...I don't need that much indeed. At the end I should mention that fuel is KNO3+sugar+Sulphur mixture. Never tried BP so far but I promise I will. Blaf p.s. Any new projects on your side guys?

Pk you're right, I did it the same way with one difference - I made a small plastic box where the unit was then installed and added a main switch, charge switch and fire switch. A small red LEDiode was already there so I just drilled a hole in my box so that I have visual controll over charging. And one last difference - I never tried to use it on humans...which is I admit, very interesting idea... Blaf p.s. Hay, I'm just kiding!!!

Here you come again Exhile - you're talking about blackmatch or one of the variants....I need a bendable, yet reliably burning fuse... I'm giving you another chance anyway... Blaf

Well, I have a wire some 20 meters long and it works like there's no wire at all. The clue is in CD-Unit which charges an electrolytic capacitor to few hundreds of Volts (Yes, from a single AA 1,5 Volt battery through a suitable electronic circuitry) and at a stroke of a switch, discharges it in microsecond! Experts say that power wires could be much longer and thinner(!!!)...they even mention hundreds of meters. I never tried it, though. So, with 12 V source you have to consider conductors lenght and surface to maintain the triggering current at certain level...but with this little CD-Unit it's simply not an issue... Blaf p.s. I'll try to recall where I found this on Mighty Net and post a link later...

Why I need it? Because I'm sick and tired of making my own. And I'm not talking about QUANTITY, I'm talking about few meters. At the end, I'm ready to compensate all the costs. Huh, this was exhausting... Blaf

Here's something I pulled out from "Backyard Magnalium" by A.J.Smith which tells more about properties of this nice alloy...with special attention to specific sound of it when burning. Here it is: "The composition of the sample was probably slightly slanted to the magnesium end of the continuum, perhaps about 55/45 magnesium / aluminum because of the oxide content of the aluminum sample. Qualitative analysis of the sample was not available. However, pounding portions of the sample in a steel mortar and pestle revealed that it crumbled into a granular powder with minimal effort and minimal expenditure of time. The resulting powder was screened into powders of different particle size and tested for its charachteristics in several pyrotechnic mixtures. Admixture with water produced the aroma of ammonia (i.e. NH4OH), which suggests that care should be used with this material, avoiding mixtures with chlorates especially in water-based systems (e.g. stars bound with dextrin and water). Magnalium glitter made with the material had bright flashes and the characteristic sizzling sound associated with other magnalium based pyrotechnic mixtures. Dropping small quantities of the coarser powder through the flame of a propane torch also elicited the characteristic sizzling sound, and produced bright flashes of white light." That much of "Who makes crackle" dispute... Blaf

Hello PK Sorry, I have no satisfactory answer for you in this regard. Just wanted to kill some time while waiting for an expert in this field. And since I'm here it would be OK if I say something...as far as I know, no strange chemical reactions would occure. Blaf

As you might already know, I have no chance (neither opportunity) to purchase that tiny Visco fuse here in my country. Since this is a fact which can't be changed, I just wonder if any of you guys could send me some by postal service...say, in a plain looking envelope? Or protective, brown-coloured one... How about that? Any wise idea would be more than welcome. Blaf p.s.Do not, and I repeat - do not give me any alternative solutions as I already know everything...

I don't know if any of you guys ever tried to make bridgeless matches but I have. And it was a success I might humbly add. They were graphite based ones with nitro-cellulose+meal coating and they work perfectly. Much before I came accross the know-how on Mighty Net, I used to make my electric igniters with steel wool wrapped around copper wires...which is tricky stuff to do and not reliable as those graphite ones are. In addition, as a power source I started using CDU (Capacitive Discharge Unit...or Flash Unit) which I took out from an used photo-camera...simple circuit which gives a lot of power from a single 1,5 Volt battery. The only shortcoming is that you can fire one firework at a time, but I don't really care. Anyone interested in details? Blaf

Is this a forecasters forum or what? OK, so be it - wetter weather is what we should wait for... Blaf

Wise decision...let's wait for cooler weather. Blaf

This is to all of my faithful followers Last wednesday I attended an annual family gathering for the St.John's day held in a small village where my father came from. An ideal place to set up a small display of my recent projects. Exhile, I know how earger you are to hear the rest...so be there and read. I took my famous bag with several items such as three rockets with star payloads, two fountains, one roman candle (never tried this new design so far...) and a well known tourbillion which gives a headache to all forum members. And, after a good meal and considerable quantity of beer...well, it was Hell hot day here, otherwise I would never touch it (what, I'm serious!)...I took my bag and started sorting things. There was a bunch of kids playing around and I wanted to get them by surprise...but nothing happened! One of my cousines came to me and said - "Look around, we had no rain for weeks and everything is dry like gun-powder...be wise, put it back and we'll have another beer". To be honest, it didn't take long to talk me into sin again... The bottom line - beer and common sense won again...somehow, I've got a feeling that these two don't come together, but still...it worked in my case! Blaf p.s. Comments are welcome, of course.

Yeah, well, that's a good one. It should be known that beaches here in my area are rather narrow and surrounded by pine trees...and when pine burns it burns vigorously. Bottom line - no further testing until the season ends. Hope I don't spoil the fun to all of you waiting for news... Blaf

Exhile, this could sound crazy to you...but I can not launch my little projects just like that. Why? Because Adriatic coast (where I live) is full of tourists during summer so I don't want to bring any bad reputations here. All my firings could be easily postponed for autumn... Blaf

Tnx for flash suggestion...I'll try it soon. C'mon, enlighten me about Ba(NO3)2. And finally, Belgium sounds OK to me - tnx again! Blaf

No problem Ananas, your english is perfect. As for ceramics supplier here, well, they do sell tiles and glues and that's it. Incredible how those salesman know little about chemistry...they actually know nothing of what they sell...just a price tag. Blaf

Exhile my Man Where do you come from anyway? And where do you purchase Ba(NO3)2 - from a pyro supplier or what? Whatever it is, I consider you to be much more fortunate than my humble self. Unfortunately, Barium salts are as much exotic for me as any of those elements I listed in my previous post... Blaf

Hello guys Several times by now I came accross those stars which are rolled around flash or crackle core - very interesting indeed. Anybody ever tried to make those? If yes, what composition would be recommended for core? And please, try not to mention exotics like Titanium or Bismuth or something even worse... Blaf

Any payloads taken up Exhile? Or just a bare rocket engine with a stick? Blaf

I see someone asked how do I do this propellant, by melting or mixing...I have to confess that I forgot to add Sulphur when I started this topic. So, this is KnO3+sugar+Sulphur mixture, well known around pyro Net. I don't melt it (eventhough I melted KnO3+sugar many times but for smoke effect) but simply mix it and ball-mill it. At the end, this whitish powder packs really well and works fine as a rocket fuel. But as I said already, no sparkles could be expected from it. Sorry guys for misleading you!

Making Pb3O4 at home, no thank you my friend. I told you, I have a life supply of it it. As for MgAl in flash, I never tried it. You know what - it would be best to record a crackle on tape and play it back when I need it... Blaf

How about Argon? I think this one is available at welding shops too... Blaf

Here is your faithful Topic Starter again So, we all know in general how this compound is made and that it can be easily powdeed in ball-mill and bla, bla, bla....but I would like to know this: If I ever build melting furnace (which I exactly intend to do sometimes in the future) to melt Magnesium and Aluminium, how would I prevent this mixture to burn completely while melting? OK, they say inert gas should be used...but none says which way it should be done. I believe that inert gas (inflammable and heavier than air) should be placed over the surface of the molten alloy...moreover, maybe a constant flow of gas should be provided here...don't know exactly as I couldn't find thorough explanation of this procedure. Any coments...or God forbid...instructions? Blaf