44 replies to this topic

[BurlHorse]

Here is a carbonate green - it is light but still a discernible green:

Bright Green (Best of AFN III, p. 115, seen first in Tom Perigrin's Book "Introductory Practical Pyrotecnics")

Potassium Perchlorate ... 30
Barium Carbonate .......... 19
Magnalium ...................... 30
PVC ................................. 12
Red Gum ......................... 4
Dextrin ............................ 4

Unfortunately, it is not easy to light. Triple prime it and you'll be ok. If someone has a Barium Nitrate green that is easy to light and emits a good dark(er) green, I would love to hear about it.

Back to the main topic of this thread - stars that light easily

One method to get a star to light easily is to press it in a square hole star board. The sharp edges make it much easier to light.  Of course, you could cut it - but I am such a mess maker when cutting!

In best of AFN III (about page 124, I think), they suggested getting a recessed light cover that has square holes and using it for an el cheapo star board. I tried it and it works fine. Here's a picture: Wichita Buggy Whip
I made a lampblack star (formula from the same page as the reference above) and darn - to paraphrase Burl - those things can be ignited from 10 paces with a cigarette ash. Definitely no prime needed (which is probably intuitive - add a little aluminum and the formula could be a prime itself!).

Lampblack Star from AFN III page 124

Meal ............ 396
Lampblack .... 138
Sulfur .......... 48
Dextrin ........ 18

On the Square Light Reflector, I found an interesting way to "Square" Things Up. Buy two Sheets, 48 x 24 Or Cut one in Two Halfs, 24 x 24, Why.....hehehehe, Well, The only problem with the light board is that they end up being 1/2 x 1/2 x about 3/8ths......I like Cut or Square Stars Square, So heres what you do.....


After you obtain the light reflector/cover/whatever, get a small can of tolulene or xylene, a paint roller with a very short nap and a roller pan etc. Now, pour some of the solvent in the roller pan, and get the roller evenly, completely saturated, but not dripping. Place one of the sheets or half sheets on a very flat surface, garage floor etc, (just has to be relatively flat and solvent proof).

Now take the roller out of the pan and take outside and swing the excess solvent off, your goal is to be able to paint the sheet without alot dripping of solvent through the squares and making uneven surfaces inside the squares (<Makes Removal Easier When They are dead on square and no drips>) Do the same to the other sheet and then carefully flip it over and place on top of the other sheet so the squares line up Perfectly, ( solvent Sides Facing each other ) After lining everything up, and letting the solvent work a bit, use a FLAT piece of metal or Plywood, whatever and put it on top of the two sheets, and weight it it evenly......your done!! Let this dry over night and then Voila, you now have an easy way to make 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 "Cut" stars, obviously the procedure is the same for loading it, I find a flexible Plastic Dry Wall Spatula Works Very Well to ensure the squares get completelty filled/Packed. My First go round, I had Holes and fissures in them because I tried turning the board over while loading with the comp.....don't, it's not the way to go, make your comp a little more wet than when cutting normal comps and really use some pressure whilest "squeegeeing the comp into the holes, works like Magic, You can also dust the board with graphite dust for easier removal. I tried wd-40, and it did not affect star performance, but it did not make them any easier to get out either. also, using a 1/2 x 1/2 Basswood Stick from the local hobby shop to push them out will result in few broken stars. I've been using this Board to Make 4" Lampblack Star shells and the burntime is perfect as they burn out just before gravity starts putting a bite on the stars. Have fun!!!!!

Best Regards,

Stay Green,

Bear

[paul]

Sorry if this question might be dumb or something, but WHAT are the materials you use and what do they look like. It is nearly impossible for me to get what you mean And how does the finishes product look like ?!

Maybe it is because I am from germany and my english is not that good. I tried to figure out what you might mean, but without pictures, i think, i won?t get it ):


with best regards,

paul

Edited by paul, 22 July 2005 - 04:03 PM.

[LadyKate]

Sorry if this question might be dumb or something, but WHAT are the materials you use and what do they look like. It is nearly impossible for me to get what you mean And how does the finishes product look like ?!

Maybe it is because I am from germany and my english is not that good. I tried to figure out what you might mean, but without pictures, i think, i won?t get it ):
with best regards,

paul

Here is a photo of a piece of the material - it comes in 18" by 36" sheets (or something like that).



It is used to cover recessed ceiling lights - it diffuses the light. You can find it at better stocked DIY shops.

[paul]

Oh, Great! Thanks so much. Everything becomes clear now!!!

I have worked with this stuff allready and did not know what BurlHorse meant. embarrassing...

anyway, thanks LadyKate!!!

[Yugen-biki]

If anyone is interested in a orange star that light easy, Veline?s is a fine one. I manage to light it with one layer of "BP + 10% Al"-prime.
The color is good, but maby one might misstake if for a bad red. If you know it is orange you'll have no doughts.


You can fin a picture of the star in comparison with another orange on my page http://www.a0tu.com/Yuki/Stars.html

Veline?s orange:
K-perc. 55%
CaCO3 15
Parlon 15
Red gum 9
MgAl 6
Dextrin +4

(I used 74?m MgAl, a fine mesh is needed. I guess the parlon might be substituted for PVC)

EDIT:
One more thing on the subject of lighting stars.
It is important to mill the ingredients of the star (and prime) well (unless the mesh is specified, like the Mg in strobe). A more finely milled powder has larger total surface area. A larger area equals a larger area for chemical reactions to take place. And the result is a composition that lights more easy. Just like BP works better if finely milled.
Bare this in mind.

Edited by Yugen-biki, 24 July 2005 - 06:03 PM.

[LadyKate]

Here is a green that lights easily - it uses Barium Nitrate, Parlon and Potassium Perchlorate so the ingredients might not be considered easy to get. The color seems to be fair or better. I have tested it in a star gun - I'll put it in a shell and test it there in a day or so. Edit: The shell test was very successful. Nearly all the stars ignited and the green was very nice.

Green Star

Source: Composition from Shimizu
Preparation:

Barium nitrate....................................28.3
Potassium Perchlorate.............................47.2
Parlon............................................4.7
Red Gum...........................................14.2
Soluble Glutinous Rice Starch.....................5.6 (I substituted Dextrin)

Comments: This one is easy enough to make and lights easily, too. I rolled it and primed it with three layers (I used Veline's but BP and 10% Al will do the job, too). It might be the best of the greens I've tested so far and might qualify as a 'good enough' based on an 'ok' color and ease of ignition.

If you didn't know - Barium Nitrate is a poison so wear protective gear when mixing. I always wear disposable latex gloves. Mix outdoors to be safe - etc.

Edited by LadyKate, 27 July 2005 - 03:34 PM.

[karlfoxman]

I just made this star, it lights from one strand of blackmatch with no prime. So i think its a star that will light easily.

Blesser Mg #9 (Yellow)

Potassium perchlorate 45
Magnesium atomized 100-325 mesh 30
Cryolite 13
PVC (I used saran resin) 10
Charcoal airfloat 2

Notes: I used just acetone to bind and pumped 10mmx10mm stars, they burn very very bright yellow. The size stars i pumped lasted 1 second so they burn very quickly. Plan to make a 2 inch canister shell to try them out, i love them!

Here is a pic, the star was one of the above. I was 5 meters away and the actual star is 90 degrees to my right, it lit everything up and produced shadows on the fence. Try it, its great.

Edited by karlfoxman, 13 August 2005 - 10:21 PM.

[Yugen-biki]

It surprices me that a star containing 30% Mg lights that easy...

Bright is the word, and the color seems to be quite good.

[karlfoxman]

It surprices me that a star containing 30% Mg lights that easy...

Bright is the word, and the color seems to be quite good.

Even though its a camera on a phone it does very well to get the colour, its so easy to light. I am going to make a few simple candles with them, some with prime and some with out prime. I will capture the stars with my cam and will post them. Its such a nice yellow star. If you have them chemicals give it a wirl.

[paul]

I recently played around with "new" star formulas... So i tried Oglesbys "better pearl" composition. It light as every other charcoal-rich formula lights.



47 KNO3
10 Ba(NO3)2
10 Al [i used the cheap 50? Al]
18 Sulfur
10 Charcoal [I used coffeegrinder- milled willow charcoal]
5 Dextrin

You can see a test of a 12mm pumped star here: http://s8.yousendit....KU2CF1QDQC9L4MR

Just wanted to share this with you. The password is: just_a_test

greets,
paul

Edited by paul, 23 August 2005 - 07:07 PM.

[Zmann]

Velines works so well in part to the wood meal adding texture to the star, when you are rolling and inevitably have a bit of comp build up on the rolling bowl, scrape it of and screen it through a kitchen sieve, 10 mesh or so, add these crumbs to your last layer of prime when rolling, it will give a much more ignitable star as it will increase the surface area for the flame to light and stay lit.

Best Regards,

Stay Green,

Bear

What type of wood meal should I use oak or pine. Should I ball mill sawdust

[completebeginner]

i have yet to try this comp in a star but i have tried this as just a powder
50 zinc
50 kno3
it burns a very bright green but it burns a little fast but it ignites easily if you mill the zinc for a few days i think i will test it this weekend in s star

Edited by completebeginner, 20 October 2005 - 07:56 PM.

[sizzle]

i have yet to try this comp in a star but i have tried this as just a powder
50 zinc
50 kno3
it burns a very bright green but it burns a little fast but it ignites easily if you mill the zinc for a few days i think i will test it this weekend in s star

Sounds like it would make a nice star, any chance you can post a pic/video if you use it as stars?

Edited by sizzle, 20 October 2005 - 07:59 PM.

[paul]

You have to bind that composition with some binding agent. This will destroy the good color it gives as a loose powder.

I think someone did test with Zn/S/KNO3 stars here on the forum and posted a video, too. The flame is more or less pale yeloowish/greenish when flying through the air and so it?s quite unusable as a star.

[alany]

The stars in this rocket are Zn/KNO3/S based:

http://www.vk2zay.ne...vice.php?id=193
http://www.vk2zay.ne...ment.php?id=689

The colour isn't too bad if you have nothing else. The less sulfur you use the more bluish it becomes, also adding chlorine makes it greener. Using (per)chlorate as the oxidiser turns it greenish white.