KMnO4 flash

[the antverpian pirate]

Cant you make stars with it offcoarse you'le have to see if the other chems are compatible but you alyet know that offcoarse but i heard of flash cored stars before and i think the effect will be nice.
But myself i first have to get a rocket airborne before i start thinking about payloads althoug thats what i want to do eventualy make rockets with stars and maybe mortars and shells but i like rockets more.
And dont wory you alyet scared me to death by saying 15 years :wink:

Ah good to hear you got the mail.

Pirate

[Blaf]

I tried KMnO4,S,Al as a flash core for my little stars but wasn't quite happy with it. Binder used was NC lacquer (water mustn't be used with Permanganate as it reacts generating heat...) and finished cores were little spongy, soft at touch and did not burn quite quick. Further experimentation will surely follow...

Blaf

[the antverpian pirate]

Oh thats a pitty it didn't work that nicely.
How did you make the cores did you pumped them or where they handrolled and also did you primed them with somthing ?
I know im a nosy litle bugger but if i ever get around to making my own flashcored stars then i at least have an idea of where to begin.

Pirate

[Blaf]

I tried to make pumped ones but NC was sticking to my syringe tube and piston would not move after a few strokes. These cores should be made as cut stars I believe, slightly wetted with acetone and then primed with meal.

Blaf

[the antverpian pirate]

And if you make them as cut stars you have to grind up some pingpong balls and mix that with the flash right ?
And is it the same as when using dextrine or shellack that 5 percent of the mixture has to be ping pongbal or at least its powder :roll: ?

Pirate

[Exhile]

Ping pong balls have to be dissolved FIRST and then added in a solution to you're sas, i believe NC is a very crappy binder to make stars from.

[the antverpian pirate]

Ah ok then ill try it with shellack i have some lying around here or should i use dextrine or doesn't it matter?

Pirate

[Blaf]

Pirate, this KMnO4 mixture doesn't comply with water so Dextrine could not be used here. You should try shellack dissolved in Acetone as a binder and post your results...I would like to know mechanical and burning properties of finished stars...

Blaf

[the antverpian pirate]

And what should i do with the shellack dissolve it seperatly in acetone(or alcohol ?)and then mix it or should i powder the shelleck and mix it with the rest of the composition?
I read that when you dissolve the shellack seperatly and then mix it it gives quit a mess so im inclined to mix the powders together then wet it a litle bit and then pump the stars.

Pirate

[Blaf]

Unfortunately I have no experience in this at all but all tutorials say that first shellack should be dissolved in acetone and then composition is mixed in. Don't know the ratios, though. Try to dissolve your shellack powder in certain amount of acetone (do not pour liters of it, of course), say...20ml (use your syringe to measure it) and add half of a tea spoon of shellack to it. I would do this in closed glass container as not to allow acetone to evaporate. Shaking should speed up the process. When it's dissolved completely, mix it with your comp.....and remember - acetone will evaporate sooner or later so if you use it too much it shouldn't be a problem...it will just take longer to dry. At least I think this is OK...I never worked with this, though.

Blaf

[the antverpian pirate]

Ok ill take a look that i can give it a try next week.
In most tutorials i also read that the shellack is disolved seperatly but i thought that i also read somwhere that they alyet mixed it upfront and then wettend it.
Ill make two small batches one with the shellack seperatly and the other with all ingredients mixed.
I only should mill my aluminium a bit up front because it do is a fine powder but when i mixed it with kno3 in a 50/50 ratio it didn't work so the pieces still will be a bit to large and probably the aluminium is also not flat because its atomised so an half our in the mill should solve the problem i hope.
Should i also mill the permangate or would it be fine enough when i pestle and mortar it for a while.
Anyway when im done testing and working ill post the results in this topic.

Pirate

[Blaf]

Pirate, you should start a KNO3 flash topic or so.....here we discuss KMNO4 flash only. This is just to keep this nice little forum tidy.
And do not take this personally, OK?
As for your Permanganate, I ball-mill it in small jar small with steel balls. Cofee grinder does the job done too. Pestle and mortar could be too messy...you know, little crystals jumping around and when your mother comes with wet mop your secret activity could be discovered.

Blaf

[-Pk-]

Or a nice little cristal of permanganate jumping right in your eye... careful for that one

[the antverpian pirate]

Ok when i start experimenting some more with kno3 flash i will open a seperate topic.(dont wory i wont take it personaly oh mighty moderator :wink: :twisted: )

And about the permangate i alyet used a pestle and mortar but i used a small quantety and was carefull (but you both are right about tiny jumping cristals nothing happend but when i was cleaning up my towl suddenly was kind off purple)

The flash wasn't of superb quality, but that was to be expected but it did work good.
I didnt make stars yet but i will in a while so i wont forget to post the results here.

Pirate

[Blaf]

Hmmmm....Mighty Moderator...sounds good to me! Maybe I should change my username, he, he. Hay, just kidin'.

Blaf

[Exhile]

First of all i must tell you that shellack is one dirty binder, it can take over a month to dry properly(in big batches, smaller ones take about a small week)
And second shellack only dissolves in ethanol, once dissolved it will become one sticky goey mess that is very hard to handle, search for some other non-water binders, i am sure you will find enough of them

[flashman svenn]

This is my KMno4 flash:

http://www.yourfilehost.com/media.php?cat=...le=MOV00052.wmv

KMnO4 - 5 parts
Aluminum - 4 part
Sulphur - 1 part