Monday 27th March
I awake and take breakfast at the hotel before being picked up at 10am. We drive to the northwest for half an hour before arriving at the display shell factory (N28deg20.313, E113deg31.800).
On the way we pass a crowd of people with some prostate on the ground with white headdresses. Firecrackers are being let off all around. It is a chinese funeral. I remove my hat as we pass and murmer my respect.
The factory is laid out along the same lines as the others I have seen, but there seem to be less assembly huts and more process huts (note: assembly huts are where many people work doing the same thing. Process huts are smaller, staffed by 1 or 2 people working on live composition)
A worker making crossettes attracts my attention and I take lots of pictures.
Half of the cardboard shell hemis are pre drilled with fuse holes and the "fuse holding tube" is inserted. Some NC soaked string (smell of acetone gave that away!) is wound round the tubes to keep them in place and to provide a good fireproof seal.
The stars looked to be round rolled stars. On the day in question it was rainy and humid, so they were using a star drying shed which was heated with hot water.
Once dried the stars are loaded into the shell and the burst charge (BP on rice hulls) is packed in. On the larger shells they use cotton seeds to act as a filler as to completly fill with burst would be overkill.
The shells I saw being filled were 3 inchers, so I was gratified to see a bit of flash/whistle being loaded into the burst as a burst booster.
Once both halfs of the shell have been loaded they are snapped together and secured with a bit of masking tape.
The shells are then pasted. I was told 12 layers for 3 inchers rising to 24 for 8 inchers. This seemed a bit overkill, but the translator (Peter) may not have explained correctly.
Once pasted they are fused. First of all some strands of blackmatch are inserted into the fuse holding tubes. Then the time fuse is inserted. It is cut diagonally on the inside end and has crossmatch holes on the outside end. The time fuse has a small strip of NC soaked paper wrapped round it to provide a good seal and it is tapped home into it's tube.
The lift and the leaders are then attached. Some of the leaders had snaplock fuse fittings attached, and some had the electrical ignitors pre-installed.
I asked about production figures. The factory was currently running at about one-third capacity and was producing about 100 cartons a day. A carton containing 72 three inch shells, or 36 four inch shells, or 4 eight inch shells. Quickly doing the math I calculate that this factory could produce up to nearly 11000 four inch shells a day!
Over lunch we arrange for the factory manager, a Mr Hua, to dine with us tonight. Apparantly he is a bit of a drinker so I had better put my beer head on......
We then depart for Liuyang and the firework market. This place sells EVERYTHING that the firework constructor could need and I run wild like a kid in a sweetshop. I buy a selection (3's 4's and 5's) of cardboard hemis (Remembering your request Karl!)
Then I see the tool shop. I stock up with a range (about 8) of different sized star pumps, a couple of nifty crossette pumps and also 2 star plates.I just *know* my baggage will be overweight but I don't care. Come hell or high water these are coming back with me! I get the owner of the shop to write a small note explaining what they are as it has been known for this sort of thing to be mistaken for gun parts at customs.
I return to the hotel very pleased with my purchases. Tonight I will be shown a samples of the display shells - about 72 in all! Don't worry I will tell you all about it!
RegimentalPyro
Started by chemicalwazi, Mar 20 2006 08:56 PM
30 replies to this topic
#16
chemicalwazi
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Posted 27 March 2006 - 08:14 PM
"The Saltpeter is the Soule, the Sulphur the Life, and the Coales the Body of it"
#17
chemicalwazi
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Posted 28 March 2006 - 05:30 PM
Monday 27th part 2
Well the shells were stunning. The best of the lot was a huge 8 inch brocade crown with a hangtime in double figures.
Also of interest was a red hanging lantern with dangling strobes, and a shell which had two sets of splitting stars. The comet crossette shell was like popcorn in the sky!
After the show another customer for the chinese domestic market was being shown samples. I took the opportunity to hang around and see what the differences were.
The main difference is that anything goes. A cake of 3inch titanium salutes went straight to number one as the *loudest* firework I have ever heard (and I've heard a few). They also use flash to break their inserts a lot.
Because your average chinese consumer is a bit more strapped for cash than your average westerner, the effects were a little simpler as well. The blues appeared very white and the bursts less rounded.
We retired to a restarant with Peter, Mr Hua and the driver. It turns out that Mr Hua is an accomplished drinker who easily matched me drink for drink They have thrown me a ringer!
Halfway through our drinking session (Chinese for "down in one" is "Gan Bei") Joe arrives to discuss the coming day. I am to feed back on what I have seen and suggest improvements. To give me some time to prepare the meeting will be at 2pm.
I go back to the hotel and (over several large G&T's) write up my notes. By the time I finish it is 2AM and I fall asleep quickly
Tuesday 28th March
I awake too late for breakfast and start to put my thoughts in order for the coming meeting. 2PM rolls round quickly and the meeting goes well. They seem to accept my suggestions for improvement and are interested in my ideas for new products. By 3:30PM we are done and dusted.
We then set out to tour a factory that makes stage pyrotechnics, amongst other things. This is a small but successful factory, that has doubled turnover in the last year. One of the most interesting sections was a building where electrical ignitors were being made. What amazed me was that they were made by hand!
A pair of wires are stripped of about 1mm of insulation and solder flux is applied. Next a very thin (thinner than hair!) Nichrome wire is soldered to each bare end. It is fiddly and precise work and very hard on the eyes. No magnifying glass is used!
The Nichrome wire is then dipped in composition, which looked like white PVA glue. I could only guess at its formula - They don't tell you these things! After being dried the ignitor is painted with nitrocellulose and tested by checking the resistance falls within certain values.
This factory also had a very innvative way of making lancework quickly. The lances came all linked together like sausages and were odd in that the firing hole came out of the side. Apparantly they project a 6 inch jet of flame at a 45 degree angle to the axis if the lance..
The strings of lances are laid on the floor in the desired pattern and chickenwire laid over them. They are then tied to the chickenwire and fused with quickmatch. The chickenwire is then rolled up for shipping.
I am shown many samples of ice fountain. These use a smokeless comp so are used indoors and in stage effects. The largest of these could project sparks up to 8m in the air!
After a quick wash and brushup at the hotel I am taken out for dinner again The food is spicy and delicious, although the smoked pig fat took some getting used to!
I enquire about some large white lumps floating in the soup. They look like, but do not taste like, potato. "White Radish" I am told which surprises me because they are so large. He then points at some carrot and says "Red radish". One lives and learns.
I should say something at this point about chinese eating habits. Chinese meat usually arrives with the bones still on. The carcass is essentially just chopped up and used as it is. No attempt is made to remove gristle etc.
I have even seen what was clearly a chickens head floating in the soup, as well as two chicken claws. Don't be suprised to find a complete fish in your fish soup either!
Table manners are more relaxed than in the UK, and it is perfectly normal to see chinese people chewing noisily and then spitting the bones onto the tablecloth.
The dishes are brought to the table with short 5 min pauses between each. They are all communal. No one person has a dish just to themselves it appears. Chopsticks are used to pick over the food and eat. I am getting quite adept at using them (point of honour - I will *not* use a fork in China), and have managed to pick up 2 peanuts with them. (Try it. It's hard!)
Some chinese (Cantonese) words for you...
"Zor" is left, "Yua" (pronounced "You") is right and "Chantien" is straight on.
"Mad-An" means the bill, and "ey-bai" (pronounced "E-Bay") means 1 glass, and is usually used to order beer. The word for beer is "Pee-Jo"
Well the shells were stunning. The best of the lot was a huge 8 inch brocade crown with a hangtime in double figures.
Also of interest was a red hanging lantern with dangling strobes, and a shell which had two sets of splitting stars. The comet crossette shell was like popcorn in the sky!
After the show another customer for the chinese domestic market was being shown samples. I took the opportunity to hang around and see what the differences were.
The main difference is that anything goes. A cake of 3inch titanium salutes went straight to number one as the *loudest* firework I have ever heard (and I've heard a few). They also use flash to break their inserts a lot.
Because your average chinese consumer is a bit more strapped for cash than your average westerner, the effects were a little simpler as well. The blues appeared very white and the bursts less rounded.
We retired to a restarant with Peter, Mr Hua and the driver. It turns out that Mr Hua is an accomplished drinker who easily matched me drink for drink They have thrown me a ringer!
Halfway through our drinking session (Chinese for "down in one" is "Gan Bei") Joe arrives to discuss the coming day. I am to feed back on what I have seen and suggest improvements. To give me some time to prepare the meeting will be at 2pm.
I go back to the hotel and (over several large G&T's) write up my notes. By the time I finish it is 2AM and I fall asleep quickly
Tuesday 28th March
I awake too late for breakfast and start to put my thoughts in order for the coming meeting. 2PM rolls round quickly and the meeting goes well. They seem to accept my suggestions for improvement and are interested in my ideas for new products. By 3:30PM we are done and dusted.
We then set out to tour a factory that makes stage pyrotechnics, amongst other things. This is a small but successful factory, that has doubled turnover in the last year. One of the most interesting sections was a building where electrical ignitors were being made. What amazed me was that they were made by hand!
A pair of wires are stripped of about 1mm of insulation and solder flux is applied. Next a very thin (thinner than hair!) Nichrome wire is soldered to each bare end. It is fiddly and precise work and very hard on the eyes. No magnifying glass is used!
The Nichrome wire is then dipped in composition, which looked like white PVA glue. I could only guess at its formula - They don't tell you these things! After being dried the ignitor is painted with nitrocellulose and tested by checking the resistance falls within certain values.
This factory also had a very innvative way of making lancework quickly. The lances came all linked together like sausages and were odd in that the firing hole came out of the side. Apparantly they project a 6 inch jet of flame at a 45 degree angle to the axis if the lance..
The strings of lances are laid on the floor in the desired pattern and chickenwire laid over them. They are then tied to the chickenwire and fused with quickmatch. The chickenwire is then rolled up for shipping.
I am shown many samples of ice fountain. These use a smokeless comp so are used indoors and in stage effects. The largest of these could project sparks up to 8m in the air!
After a quick wash and brushup at the hotel I am taken out for dinner again The food is spicy and delicious, although the smoked pig fat took some getting used to!
I enquire about some large white lumps floating in the soup. They look like, but do not taste like, potato. "White Radish" I am told which surprises me because they are so large. He then points at some carrot and says "Red radish". One lives and learns.
I should say something at this point about chinese eating habits. Chinese meat usually arrives with the bones still on. The carcass is essentially just chopped up and used as it is. No attempt is made to remove gristle etc.
I have even seen what was clearly a chickens head floating in the soup, as well as two chicken claws. Don't be suprised to find a complete fish in your fish soup either!
Table manners are more relaxed than in the UK, and it is perfectly normal to see chinese people chewing noisily and then spitting the bones onto the tablecloth.
The dishes are brought to the table with short 5 min pauses between each. They are all communal. No one person has a dish just to themselves it appears. Chopsticks are used to pick over the food and eat. I am getting quite adept at using them (point of honour - I will *not* use a fork in China), and have managed to pick up 2 peanuts with them. (Try it. It's hard!)
Some chinese (Cantonese) words for you...
"Zor" is left, "Yua" (pronounced "You") is right and "Chantien" is straight on.
"Mad-An" means the bill, and "ey-bai" (pronounced "E-Bay") means 1 glass, and is usually used to order beer. The word for beer is "Pee-Jo"
"The Saltpeter is the Soule, the Sulphur the Life, and the Coales the Body of it"
#18
chemicalwazi
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Posted 29 March 2006 - 09:20 AM
Wednesday 29th March
A busy day. Today we visit four factories, and so we start early at 9AM. The weather has warmed up a bit and feels like a lovely spring day.
The first factory (N 28deg24.442, E113deg53.035) specialises in stage pyrotechnics. All the items are electrically fired, and therefore they also have an electrical ignitor production line. We are treated to a firing of a range of samples.
The second factory (N28deg21.095, E113deg50.630) also does stage effects, and cakes/shells as well. They present us with a range of samples to fire at night, when they will be shown to their best effect. Interestingly there is a girandola amongst the samples. I am looking forward to that!
By this time it is lunchtime and we retire to a restaurant in a nearby town The food is what I have come to expect, but then Peter turns to me and asks if I want to try a special dish.
"Sure!" I reply. I suppose I should have been suspicious but everything has been good so far.
The dish arrives and it contains a large munber of black round things. "Oh God" I think. "It can't be, can it".
I have in front of me a large plate of snails still in their shells and the table is looking at me expectantly.
Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained. I take a snail and put it to my lips. Sucking out the meat I chew noisily and beam at my dining companions. It's better than I expect - once one gets over the disgust reaction.
I consider what the Chines would think of a properly aged blue stilton. Milk is rare here, and cheese unheard of. Blue stinky cheese would cause them to gag on sight I think.
Following lunch we visit a factory (N28deg15.989, E113deg41.515) where 40 workers turn out 20,000 electrical ignitors a day, and nothing else. They are made using the "chip" method and the factory seems very efficient.
The mostly female workforce chatters cheerily as they work amid the by-now-familier odours of solder, acetone and nitrocellulose (NC). My appearance at these factories is usually considered most amusing judging by the giggles and laughter - especially my attempts at polite cantonese.
The last factory of the day (N28deg9.433, E113deg36.368) is more of a three room workshop rather than a factory, and there something really nice happens - but I have to give you a bit of history first.
About a year ago I bought a wireless firing box from a company in scotland called "Celtic fireworks". It's pretty nifty - has 12 cues, a nice radio remote control and has done both me, and a nearby pyro buddy good service. In fact it ran my last bonfire night display!
Today I met the very man who designed *and* MADE this very same box! How is that for coincidence? I saw his workshop and his other products and was able to ask him detailed questions about its operation (one of the box's subtleties had eluded me up until now). Best of all I was able to shake his hand and congratulate him on a nice well-designed and well-made bit of kit.
OK - Enough of the fireworks for today. Some more on China.
Prices as you might expect are pretty cheap, but only for stuff made in China. Anything imported is about the Western price, or a little higher. A half liter bottle of beer is about ?0.35, whilst a pack of 20 cigarettes is about ?0.30. A large G&T is about ?4.50! The workers in the factories earn about ?65-?75 a month.
The unit of currency is the Yuen, also known as the RenMinBi, or RMB for short. There are currently RMB13 to the pound.
A busy day. Today we visit four factories, and so we start early at 9AM. The weather has warmed up a bit and feels like a lovely spring day.
The first factory (N 28deg24.442, E113deg53.035) specialises in stage pyrotechnics. All the items are electrically fired, and therefore they also have an electrical ignitor production line. We are treated to a firing of a range of samples.
The second factory (N28deg21.095, E113deg50.630) also does stage effects, and cakes/shells as well. They present us with a range of samples to fire at night, when they will be shown to their best effect. Interestingly there is a girandola amongst the samples. I am looking forward to that!
By this time it is lunchtime and we retire to a restaurant in a nearby town The food is what I have come to expect, but then Peter turns to me and asks if I want to try a special dish.
"Sure!" I reply. I suppose I should have been suspicious but everything has been good so far.
The dish arrives and it contains a large munber of black round things. "Oh God" I think. "It can't be, can it".
I have in front of me a large plate of snails still in their shells and the table is looking at me expectantly.
Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained. I take a snail and put it to my lips. Sucking out the meat I chew noisily and beam at my dining companions. It's better than I expect - once one gets over the disgust reaction.
I consider what the Chines would think of a properly aged blue stilton. Milk is rare here, and cheese unheard of. Blue stinky cheese would cause them to gag on sight I think.
Following lunch we visit a factory (N28deg15.989, E113deg41.515) where 40 workers turn out 20,000 electrical ignitors a day, and nothing else. They are made using the "chip" method and the factory seems very efficient.
The mostly female workforce chatters cheerily as they work amid the by-now-familier odours of solder, acetone and nitrocellulose (NC). My appearance at these factories is usually considered most amusing judging by the giggles and laughter - especially my attempts at polite cantonese.
The last factory of the day (N28deg9.433, E113deg36.368) is more of a three room workshop rather than a factory, and there something really nice happens - but I have to give you a bit of history first.
About a year ago I bought a wireless firing box from a company in scotland called "Celtic fireworks". It's pretty nifty - has 12 cues, a nice radio remote control and has done both me, and a nearby pyro buddy good service. In fact it ran my last bonfire night display!
Today I met the very man who designed *and* MADE this very same box! How is that for coincidence? I saw his workshop and his other products and was able to ask him detailed questions about its operation (one of the box's subtleties had eluded me up until now). Best of all I was able to shake his hand and congratulate him on a nice well-designed and well-made bit of kit.
OK - Enough of the fireworks for today. Some more on China.
Prices as you might expect are pretty cheap, but only for stuff made in China. Anything imported is about the Western price, or a little higher. A half liter bottle of beer is about ?0.35, whilst a pack of 20 cigarettes is about ?0.30. A large G&T is about ?4.50! The workers in the factories earn about ?65-?75 a month.
The unit of currency is the Yuen, also known as the RenMinBi, or RMB for short. There are currently RMB13 to the pound.
Edited by chemicalwazi, 29 March 2006 - 09:21 AM.
"The Saltpeter is the Soule, the Sulphur the Life, and the Coales the Body of it"
#19
alany
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Posted 29 March 2006 - 10:29 AM
This is really excellent chemicalwazi, I am so jealous!
I can't wait to see the pictures.
Did they have pine soot and hemp charcoal at the markets?
I can't wait to see the pictures.
Did they have pine soot and hemp charcoal at the markets?
Alan Yates
http://www.vk2zay.net/
http://www.vk2zay.net/
#20
RegimentalPyro
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Posted 31 March 2006 - 03:10 AM
Yes, they have that, and more! All sold in 25Kg bags for peanuts.
I am trying to persuade the exporter to load up a container and ship to the UK for our local firework shop to sell on. Tools, hemis etc and safe chems essentially. I hope enough people show interest in this to make it a viable proposition.
BTW- Sizzle, I kept you in mind when buying tools. You can have a look when I get back and see if anything grabs your fancy.
I am trying to persuade the exporter to load up a container and ship to the UK for our local firework shop to sell on. Tools, hemis etc and safe chems essentially. I hope enough people show interest in this to make it a viable proposition.
BTW- Sizzle, I kept you in mind when buying tools. You can have a look when I get back and see if anything grabs your fancy.
#21
sizzle
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Posted 31 March 2006 - 07:33 AM
Yes, they have that, and more! All sold in 25Kg bags for peanuts.
I am trying to persuade the exporter to load up a container and ship to the UK for our local firework shop to sell on. Tools, hemis etc and safe chems essentially. I hope enough people show interest in this to make it a viable proposition.
BTW- Sizzle, I kept you in mind when buying tools. You can have a look when I get back and see if anything grabs your fancy.
Thanks very much, an opportunity I will definatley not miss! Chems and Hemi's at SP?!?!?
Category 4 Trained to BPA Level 1 Equivalent.
#22
chemicalwazi
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Posted 02 April 2006 - 09:59 AM
Thursday 30th March
My last full day in Liu yang for tomorrow I return to Guangzho / Foshan. I awake early and breakfast before being met by Peter and driven half an hour south.
The weather has turned warm and sunny, chasing away the humidity and turning the day into a classic english summers day. My mood is consequently upbeat and cheerful
I am taken to Qingtai fireworks. The largest firework constructor in Liyang This is a *large* factory. It is split into two sites, and between the two of them they employ 1200 people and turn out 6500 cartons of fireworks a *day*!
Today they are turning out selection boxs for the US market as well as the ubiquitous cake building. They are also assembling small 2.5 inch shells into multibreaks. I take some pictures.
Lunch is followed by a visit to a mortar tube factory. Traditionally these have been made from paper/cardboard and could be used about t times or so.
With the advent of modern materials and construction techniques we now have HDPE and fiberglass tubes. The latter can hold together for up to 7 years constant use - An astounding feat of strength, especially when you consider the forces to which they are subject.
They start as a cellophane tube, which is loaded onto a roller. This is painted with resin paint into which the setting agent has been introduced. Then layers of fiberglass string are wound round, alternating with layers of fiberglass cloth, all liberally painted with lots of the chemically setting plastiv resin. Once finished the roller is put aside to dry under a hot lamp, which takes about 5 mins. The dried tube is then slid off the roller and the inner cellophane sheath removed. The ends are trimmed with a circular saw and a grinder is used to tidy up the edges and smooth off any burrs.
Meanwhile the bung is being made. Offcuts of tube are used as a mould. First of all they are greased and then half filled with a a mixture of fibreglass and resin. Three steel bars are placed in a star pattern to provide extra strength, and the moulds are filled to the top with more resin. They are left to set outside, which takes about 20 mins.
The bung is fitted into the tube by painting the inside of one end of the tube with resin and placing the tube over the bung. Three nailholes are drilled and nails banged in to hold everything in place.
Finally a square of fiberglass cloth is placed over the end of the bung, and tied down with an elastic band. More resin and fiberglass string is applied.
The whole process was very streamlined and demonstrated to me in about 10mins flat! I estimate that 10 workers could turn out about 800 mortar tubes a day!
We leave the factory and Peter asks me if I wish to climb a mountain. I acquiesce with caution as I am not built for mountain climbing. In fact we drive to within 300 feet of the summit and climb to the top - My sort of mountain climbing! Even so I am gasping for breath as the ground runs between 45 and 60 degrees. Very steep!
The views are tremendous. My GPS indicates we are 2500 feet above the valley floors, and combined with the mist give a lovely feeling of peace and serenity.
We return to the Hotel for a rest before I am taken out for dinner. The restaurant is in a small village as opposed to one of the big towns as my hosts wish me to sample "real" chinese food. Whilst tucking into a bowl of delicious meat with veg and rich sauce I ask the famous question "What is this?". Much discussion takes place and they consult the electronic dictionaries they carry in their mobile phones. Finally the answer comes. "Smoked intestines". I pause fractionally in my chewing - I'm getting good at this.
After dinner we go to view some samples that have been prepared for me. I see some lancework (my name!) as well as a whistling two stage girandola. They have also made some improvements to the first set of cakes and they want to show me. One is a clear winner, and features double hangtime willows. I am pleased to see they have taken my ideas onboard.
I return to the hotel and retire to bed. Tomorrow I leave Liuyang for Foshan.
Friday 31st March
I awake early and pack my bags. Today I catch the 2PM plane from Changsha to Guangzhou.
Before that I have the chance to do a little shopping in Liuyang.. I have already bought everything I need in the firework market, so this is shopping of a more conventional kind. ie: presents for family and friends.
By 10:30 I am done and, as it is nearby, I go to the exporters main office to say goodbye to all the friends I have made. Lots of handshakes and back clapping.
After a quick lunch we set off for Changsha, some 40 miles to the west.. As I leave Liuyang I take a last look round the countryside. I take in the typically chinese hillsides topped with pagodas, and take a deep breath of the pleasant spring air (redolent with exotic odours and the unmistakeable sulphurous whiff of last nights test firings).
Already I am thinking about how I can return.
We drive to Changsha with some haste as we are a little behind schedule. Fortunately so is the plane. I am checked in with little problem.
The flight to Guangzhou takes one hour, so as soon as we take off, it seems we are landing again. Once again I step into the warm humid environment of the South China coast.
We drive to Foshan where I meet up with John Morris. We go out for a night on the town so I can soak in the environment one last time. Many beers are consumed, but also I drink heavily of the sounds, smells and noises of this beautifully busy city.
We make friends with an exuberant five year old child out dining with her mother. The child can already speak english conversationally and is dancing round the restaurant with the exitement of meeting someone new to practice her language skills.
Tomorrow I fly back to England having completed a trip I have been working towards for years. The overwhelming impression I take with me is that China is a country that is exploding onto the worlds stage, and it is being wholly transformed as it does so.
I envy the youthful exuberance of my new friend. Her life will be full of opportunity for exitement and fulfillment, and she is well placed to grab it with both of her sticky little hands.
Jon Williams.
April 1st 2006
My last full day in Liu yang for tomorrow I return to Guangzho / Foshan. I awake early and breakfast before being met by Peter and driven half an hour south.
The weather has turned warm and sunny, chasing away the humidity and turning the day into a classic english summers day. My mood is consequently upbeat and cheerful
I am taken to Qingtai fireworks. The largest firework constructor in Liyang This is a *large* factory. It is split into two sites, and between the two of them they employ 1200 people and turn out 6500 cartons of fireworks a *day*!
Today they are turning out selection boxs for the US market as well as the ubiquitous cake building. They are also assembling small 2.5 inch shells into multibreaks. I take some pictures.
Lunch is followed by a visit to a mortar tube factory. Traditionally these have been made from paper/cardboard and could be used about t times or so.
With the advent of modern materials and construction techniques we now have HDPE and fiberglass tubes. The latter can hold together for up to 7 years constant use - An astounding feat of strength, especially when you consider the forces to which they are subject.
They start as a cellophane tube, which is loaded onto a roller. This is painted with resin paint into which the setting agent has been introduced. Then layers of fiberglass string are wound round, alternating with layers of fiberglass cloth, all liberally painted with lots of the chemically setting plastiv resin. Once finished the roller is put aside to dry under a hot lamp, which takes about 5 mins. The dried tube is then slid off the roller and the inner cellophane sheath removed. The ends are trimmed with a circular saw and a grinder is used to tidy up the edges and smooth off any burrs.
Meanwhile the bung is being made. Offcuts of tube are used as a mould. First of all they are greased and then half filled with a a mixture of fibreglass and resin. Three steel bars are placed in a star pattern to provide extra strength, and the moulds are filled to the top with more resin. They are left to set outside, which takes about 20 mins.
The bung is fitted into the tube by painting the inside of one end of the tube with resin and placing the tube over the bung. Three nailholes are drilled and nails banged in to hold everything in place.
Finally a square of fiberglass cloth is placed over the end of the bung, and tied down with an elastic band. More resin and fiberglass string is applied.
The whole process was very streamlined and demonstrated to me in about 10mins flat! I estimate that 10 workers could turn out about 800 mortar tubes a day!
We leave the factory and Peter asks me if I wish to climb a mountain. I acquiesce with caution as I am not built for mountain climbing. In fact we drive to within 300 feet of the summit and climb to the top - My sort of mountain climbing! Even so I am gasping for breath as the ground runs between 45 and 60 degrees. Very steep!
The views are tremendous. My GPS indicates we are 2500 feet above the valley floors, and combined with the mist give a lovely feeling of peace and serenity.
We return to the Hotel for a rest before I am taken out for dinner. The restaurant is in a small village as opposed to one of the big towns as my hosts wish me to sample "real" chinese food. Whilst tucking into a bowl of delicious meat with veg and rich sauce I ask the famous question "What is this?". Much discussion takes place and they consult the electronic dictionaries they carry in their mobile phones. Finally the answer comes. "Smoked intestines". I pause fractionally in my chewing - I'm getting good at this.
After dinner we go to view some samples that have been prepared for me. I see some lancework (my name!) as well as a whistling two stage girandola. They have also made some improvements to the first set of cakes and they want to show me. One is a clear winner, and features double hangtime willows. I am pleased to see they have taken my ideas onboard.
I return to the hotel and retire to bed. Tomorrow I leave Liuyang for Foshan.
Friday 31st March
I awake early and pack my bags. Today I catch the 2PM plane from Changsha to Guangzhou.
Before that I have the chance to do a little shopping in Liuyang.. I have already bought everything I need in the firework market, so this is shopping of a more conventional kind. ie: presents for family and friends.
By 10:30 I am done and, as it is nearby, I go to the exporters main office to say goodbye to all the friends I have made. Lots of handshakes and back clapping.
After a quick lunch we set off for Changsha, some 40 miles to the west.. As I leave Liuyang I take a last look round the countryside. I take in the typically chinese hillsides topped with pagodas, and take a deep breath of the pleasant spring air (redolent with exotic odours and the unmistakeable sulphurous whiff of last nights test firings).
Already I am thinking about how I can return.
We drive to Changsha with some haste as we are a little behind schedule. Fortunately so is the plane. I am checked in with little problem.
The flight to Guangzhou takes one hour, so as soon as we take off, it seems we are landing again. Once again I step into the warm humid environment of the South China coast.
We drive to Foshan where I meet up with John Morris. We go out for a night on the town so I can soak in the environment one last time. Many beers are consumed, but also I drink heavily of the sounds, smells and noises of this beautifully busy city.
We make friends with an exuberant five year old child out dining with her mother. The child can already speak english conversationally and is dancing round the restaurant with the exitement of meeting someone new to practice her language skills.
Tomorrow I fly back to England having completed a trip I have been working towards for years. The overwhelming impression I take with me is that China is a country that is exploding onto the worlds stage, and it is being wholly transformed as it does so.
I envy the youthful exuberance of my new friend. Her life will be full of opportunity for exitement and fulfillment, and she is well placed to grab it with both of her sticky little hands.
Jon Williams.
April 1st 2006
"The Saltpeter is the Soule, the Sulphur the Life, and the Coales the Body of it"
#23
adamw
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An old Leodensian
Posted 02 April 2006 - 10:42 AM
I'm already in talks with some publishers who will make this into a book!
75 : 15: 10... Enough said!
#24
RegimentalPyro
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Posted 03 April 2006 - 06:16 PM
HeeHee! A new career as a pyro travel writer!
I hope that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
I hope that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
#25
Rip Rap
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Posted 03 April 2006 - 06:51 PM
HeeHee! A new career as a pyro travel writer!
I hope that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
You bet I enjoyed reading them. I looked forward to each new installment! All were really well written & the content was excellent.
Any chance you can put your pics / video onto a cd or two for those willing to cover costs?
"Choose a job that you love & you will never do a days work in your life!"
#26
EnigmaticBiker
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Posted 03 April 2006 - 09:12 PM
Enjoyed indeed, from the GPS readings to the poignant observations at the close.
Hope you got what you wanted from a rare trip.
Simon
Hope you got what you wanted from a rare trip.
Simon
#27
Night Owl
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Shell
Posted 03 April 2006 - 11:38 PM
Hello I'm new on here by the way, what an awsome time you had Jon felt like I was there with you nice reporting!
My site http://pulsar46.tripod.com
Steve
nice reporting! My site http://pulsar46.tripod.com
Steve
Edited by shell shooter man, 04 April 2006 - 01:42 AM.
#28
ChesterPFX
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Posted 04 April 2006 - 12:46 AM
Jon,
Fantastic travelogue, it's left me very envious and wishing I could figure a way of following in your footsteps. Perhaps you'd think about arranging a BPS tour with you acting as guide?
Fantastic travelogue, it's left me very envious and wishing I could figure a way of following in your footsteps. Perhaps you'd think about arranging a BPS tour with you acting as guide?
#29
chemicalwazi
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Posted 04 April 2006 - 07:09 AM
Welcome home Reggi. What a fantastic trip and excellent travelblog 
"The Saltpeter is the Soule, the Sulphur the Life, and the Coales the Body of it"
#30
shadowpyro
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Posted 01 August 2006 - 07:32 PM
Wow! I mean i'm from China originally and i havent even been able to visit any of the factories so far! Though the more exotic foods are prone to be special order meals in resturants, its been along time since i saw a traditional market place and the rural areas as the main cites have been built up so much and are changing too much.- shame.
Methinks i'll be visiting there sometime in my gapyear!
Methinks i'll be visiting there sometime in my gapyear!
There is no such thing as failure, either learn or succeed!
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