8 replies to this topic

[itchy]

Basically me and some friends had a great idea for our ever growing fireworks night. It consisted of this:



A single ignition unit to send off 30 rockets at once.

We toyed with having the standard 'row' configuration, until we decided it would take up too much space, so settled on the round version. (I'm sure many on here will laugh at it!!) But we tried.

The problem came last year when we realised you can't actually buy fuse in the UK very easily.

So my mate deicded to use catherine wheels..... I know, stupid thing to do, but he wanted to try some form of single ignition for them....

Which introduces this picture:




Basically, is there anyone on here that would be able to supply fuse to me (I'm not a registered pyro technician).... I am just an ordianry guy in need of a bit of fuse to make the launcher a bit safer this year.

Clicky for the video!!

[ProfHawking]

that looks amazingly creative, but quite overcomplicated?

i'd say have a go at making some BP. it doesn't have to be brilliant quality to make some black-match fuse, or even turn it into quickmatch with a bit of effort rolling paper.
Once you have blackmatch you should be able to fuse them up nice and easily.

[fishy1]

That did make me smile. Did the catherine wheels just set everything on fire towards the end, or was it times to start off slow and to get more amd more at the same time. ukvisco.com sells fuse with no questions asked. You certainly had an original idea using catherine wheels unwound as fuse.

I recently made a rocket stand as well, for 60 rockets. I used wood though, and no copper, the price of that would kill me. How much did you pay for it all?

Edited by fishy1, 01 November 2006 - 10:05 PM.

[pendulum]

I liked it when you taped a SAE to the rocket in case it was found! I've thought about attaching a letter or something to my rockets so the finder can read it and maybe one would email me to tell me where it landed!

[itchy]

ProfHawking: yes it is a bit 'ott'to say the least, but my mate wanted it made to his spec. His idea was for them top be launched in set. So he came up with the circular design, so that the fuses leading from the middle never crossed the path of the other. Hopefully the pic will show the rough idea of it.




fishy1:

The catherine wheels scared the surface of the mdf a little, but nothing to bad!




The main fire seen in the vid was actually from the fountain mounted on the back of the launcher!!:



The copper only set me back about £30, so wasn't too expensive really. I had a load of timber lying around, hence it's a bit of everything! But it does the job! I didn't mind spending out on it as I keep it mounted on my garage wall, makes a nice ornament and makes me smile from the meories alone!


pendulum:

I never got the little yellow man back. It's a long story, but we send these 'bendymen' all over the world for photo shoots. We were hoping this one would come back so we could assess the damage!!

Here's a token YMCA Bendymen pose:

[skywalker]

That looks the nutts havn't stoped smiling
Makes me want to go out a build one myself, love your work.

All the best

lukey

[Creepin_pyro]

I can't quite figure out why you didn't just use the row configuration, it looks like the circular design takes up a huge amount of space compared to a normal rack, but whatever floats yer boat!

Quickmatch is the best for setting rockets off all at once, but you will have a hard time buying it. The wasag fast burn fuse is probably the next best thing and can be bought from here:

http://www.hfmgroup....lies/fuses.html

You might also want to consider using 'flying fish' fuse which also burns quicker than standard visco. Have a look here:

http://www.xtremesurvival.co.uk/

Save your pinwheels!

[Spudgun]

That's made my day! Thanks. xtremesurvival.com is where I get my flying fish. Fast delivery and fairly good prices.....gotta love the bendymen...

[itchy]

Cheers for all the links people.

I have ordered myself a bit of everything, so will experiment and time the fuses accordingly, and hope to have a bit more of an organised launch this time!!

Will video it in action next weekend, and post a link up.