bangkokpyro

Bangkokpyro, did you put some of those stars in a shell? Did they survive the break?

Yes sure they survived the break... they are like concrete when dry.
I always use cut stars. Just add enough Acetone to the mixed comp in a stainless steel bowl till it's tacky and like bread dough and knead it together for a minute, roll it to the thickness of the star you want and cut it into cubes with a straight edge sharp knife.
It's important that the PVP is fine mesh.... around 200 mesh or finer or It's not going to bind well and you need to buy your PVC powder already fine as you cannot grind or mill it any finer later. Magnalium for these stars also needs to be very fine 325 to 400 mesh works best.

I've use both the Barium Nitrate and Strontium Nitrate versions of this star both with fine powder form PVC bound with Acetone, the Acetone dissolves the PVC no problem and makes rock hard stars.
If you do it like that there is no problem with reaction of the Nitrates and the Magnalium and no need to coat the Magnalium with anything. The stars are dry in around an hour and done outside well away from any ignition source and wearing a solvent mask it's pretty safe.
These stars are hard to beat for colour saturation and brightness.

Hi Paul,

Can you tell us what the shipping costs to Holland would be? That would give us a idea of total price.

I have too many prices to post on forum ,it depends on what type of wood, what size, how heavy,what type of finish etc etc, also I give different price for set of formers than for just one piece.
but this gives you some idea

Prices including postage to Netherlands
Solid Hardwood former for 3 inch shell 34 GBP
Solid Hardwood former for 4 inch shell 58 GBP
Insert former 1 1/2 inch 16.50 GBP
Insert Former 1 3/4 inch 18.00 GBP
Solid Teak 6 inch 118.00 GBP

Just email me for a complete price list.
Thanks Paul

I have some special deals on my formers between now and the new year.

Why not Buy yourself the Christmas present you deserve?

All Thai Yang hardwood formers 15% off.

Buy a full set of Insert formers and get 20% off. (Yang Hardwood only)

All Teak formers under 5 inch Diameter 5%.

Offer till Dec 31st only or till stocks run out.

Just Email me for a full price list of my formers and other Pyro related Items I sell.

[email protected]

Not bad at all, you can get alot of feedback from dutch members, because we speak englisch as a second language most time.
Can you tell me how many lift is needed for a 5 inch cylinder per gram of finished shell?
I use willow pulverone lift and less than 5 mm between shell and mortar.
I think I will blow my shell to the moon with 10%


Yes I see most Dutch speak English very well.
When you say 'willow polverone lift' do you mean it is unmilled B.P lift?
There are some variables in calculating the amount of lift needed for a particular shell.
round or cylinder type shell - Shell Diameter and clearance in the mortar - single or multi break - weight - type of lift powder you intend to use - how high do you want to put the shell etc etc
As a rough guide 1 Oz per Lb (28gms per 450gms)of shell weight is about right for a single break round shell if using commercial lift powder like Goex or Wano brands. Cylinder shells normally have a little less clearance in the mortar than round shells so you can use a little less.
A 5 inch cylinder shell is going to weigh between 1.5 and 2Kg and I would use between 90 and 120gms if using commercial 2F powder.

Now if you are using homemade powder you might need more or less than this amount depending on the quality and granulation of your lift.
I don't like ballmilling and see no point in it for shells over 3 inch so I make all my lift powder by a simple screening of the fine ingredients 3 times through a 40 mesh screen, moisten with water then granulation through a screen to 2F size (passing a 4 mesh screen but retained on a 12 mesh screen) I use 3% SGRS as a binder.
This powder is not as strong as commercial powder but what the hell ..... it's quick to make, cheap and safer to make than ballmilling/pressing pucks/corning etc and it works just the same ......you just need more of it. For this rough mixed powder I use approx 160 gms for a 5inch shell.

Yes its VERY quiet in the english section indeed.
Nice you try to get some action in this section. A 8 inch shell is nice do you have it on film?
Wel i got a question for you. Is it treu you can buy a lot of chemicals very easy in Thailand?
Especially after 9-11 and Bali.

Hi shells on video I only have big big files and have not figured out how to compress/reduce the file size. Chemicals in Thailand ? yes not a problem as I run a small firework company. I make cylinder shells for the domestic Thai market in sizes 2 to 8 inch. Actually most explosive devices used by terrorists nowdays are a bit more sophisicated than flash or pyrotechnic firework compositions so you can still get pretty well anything here without restrictions.

Deze vind ik leuk!
Ik heb wat (goede) ervaring met Thailand (Pt anodes o.a. )
Voorstel is om deze te pinnen, ook omdat er zo'n leuke foto bijstaat zeg maar, fleurt de boel een beetje op.

En nu in het engels.

I like this one.
I have some (good) experiences with Thailand (Pt anodes and more)
Could we pin this one, also because of the nice picture, making this site more attractive.

Yes sure, that would be good to pin the topic thanks.

Hi
I'm new to this forum and unfortunately I can't speak Dutch so I'm stuck here in the English section where there seems to be very little going on.
I have been making Italian style cylinder shells in sizes from 3 to 8 inch for a few years now and would be happy to help anyone if they need any advise.

https://pyroforum.nl/uploads/post-3253-1285591692.jpghttps://pyroforum.nl/uploads/post-3253-1285591767.jpg
I have wooden case formers for making cylinder shells in standard sizes 3 to 16 inch diameter made from solid Teak and other hardwoods.
These formers are hand turned to exacting standards and made to last a lifetime. They have a recess in one end to accept a time fuse or flash bag and a hole driled throughout the length to make case removal easy after pleating down one end.
I also have formers for making insert shells, comets, crackers etc a set of 6 in sizes from 1 1/8 to 1 3/4 inch in Teak and other hardwoods.

I sell and ship send these formers to anywhere in the world.

Please contact me for more details, prices and pictures of my products.
Paul Moulder

[email protected]