23 replies to this topic

[boney bob]

Hi ya i am new here and i have been in to pyro related things ever since i was about 14 i am 24 now.
I have a few questions i hope you guys dont mind me asking.
Apart from smoke pelets what else can i make with potassium nitrate?
I recently brought some potassium nitrate on ebay.
Also does the wet method of making smoke pelets work? mixing a little water and making a paste out of potassium nitrate and sugar then letting it dry and doing it that way.

I am also interested in making thermite but i am a bit concerned aobut the safty issues surrounding the aluminum powder is it safe to use aluminum powder? I have read online that aluminum powder can be a helath hazard not sure if its a myth or something but before i start buying the stuff to make it on ebay i would want to kind out first.

Last question how can i make a cherry b**b. I think they come from america but i have never actualy used/seen one only photos of them and i would love to make one.

[MMMMMM Pyro]

Last question how can i make a cherry b**b. I think they come from america but i have never actualy used/seen one only photos of them and i would love to make one.

These are the last things you should consider making, along with M-80's and the like. We prefer to discuss the finer points of pyrotechnics, stars, fountains etc. Bangers and similar do not take skill to make, and also carry with them the highest chance of blowing your fingers/face off.

With regards to the smoke, melting is deffinately better, but I should think that the wet method would yield better results than just mixing the KNO3 and sugar.

I hope I have shed some light on this topic, if you would care to talk further on this topic, please do feel free to I.M. me.

Stay Green,

Mike

[StephF]

A few comments :

Firstly don't even think of anything along the lines of the b**b word !!

In the United Kingdom , given the way that terrorism has been rearing it's ugly head, you could very easily find yourself staring down the muzzle of a Heckler & Koch MP5 machine pistol

The police take this type of thing very seriously and they can't tell at the start of things whether people are making a few pyro for garden fun or whether they are up to more nefarious acts!

Secondly , you really should not be even thinking about Thermite unless you are highly skilled in Pyrotechnic Chemistry !

3000 degrees Centigrade is mighty hot and you cannot extinguish it once started !

Lastly fine aluminium powder is an inhalation hazard and would cause damage to your lungs unless you wore suitable respiratory protection.

Metal dust in the eyes can be extremely painful and possibly damage or blind a person.

Just a few words of safety advice for you.

[MMMMMM Pyro]

Metal Dust hazards should not be a problem considering the minimum safety precautions include eye protection and repiratory protection.

In my very humble opinion, Thermit is extreemly boring and utterly pointless other than to demo Redox.

However if you must do it, you'll need at the very least Mg ribbon to get it going and that in itself is an utter annoyance to get lit. Stick with Smoke for now, or try some B.P.

Mike

[dr thrust]

hello and welcome to the forum, aluminium and any finely divided metal powder is very hazardous, aluminium powder can destroy the lungs and has been linked to alzheimers, and is reactive to nitrates and even water, acid ,read up before you use and always were a dust mask,rubber gloves, eye protection.

did you know the first actor to play the "tinman" in the wizard of oz died because they used aluminium powder to colour\ paint him, it destroyed his lungs! and he was replaced! so no myth.

better to melt the kno3 and sugar together as they are both hygroscopic and would take for ever to dry , i made some melted together and left some out i an old pan and it turned to mush after a few days!

dont forget you can make simple rockets from kno3 and sugar

[boney bob]

Hi ya i am new here and i have been in to pyro related things ever since i was about 14 i am 24 now.
I have a few questions i hope you guys dont mind me asking.
Apart from smoke pelets what else can i make with potassium nitrate?
I recently brought some potassium nitrate on ebay.
Also does the wet method of making smoke pelets work? mixing a little water and making a paste out of potassium nitrate and sugar then letting it dry and doing it that way.

I am also interested in making thermite but i am a bit concerned aobut the safty issues surrounding the aluminum powder is it safe to use aluminum powder? I have read online that aluminum powder can be a helath hazard not sure if its a myth or something but before i start buying the stuff to make it on ebay i would want to kind out first.

Last question how can i make a cherry b**b. I think they come from america but i have never actualy used/seen one only photos of them and i would love to make one.

Ok sorry for using the b word i didnt think. Is there anything other then smoke pelets i could make i am a begginer and i am sorry if i offended anyone.

I tried heating the potasium nitrate and sugar up and it combusted and there was smoke everywhere thats why i stuck to mixing casting sugar and potasium nitrate together i think the wet method might be best. I also been thinking of buying some fuse from the net to use to ignite the smoke pelets but dont know what type of fuse i would need.

[dr thrust]

heated it up how? make " candy rockets"

[Arthur Brown]

Many of the prettier pyro effects are made simply with a simple black powder and some additions to change the rate and colour.

Slowly acquire the ingredients for black powder, as you find and can afford them.

Simple stars are just balls of slow BP. Candle compound is BP with some coarse charcoal. Lift compound is moderately fast BP. So three ingredients and you can do rockets, fountains, candles, comets and mines. -Not a bad start!

Start with
KNO3 milled to fine dust
Sulphur as fine dust
Charcoal as airfloat (600mesh) then as 400, 200 100 50 and 25 mesh

Chose the (mix of) particle size for the effect you want.

Add some red gum or gum arabic to make stars stick together as a ball

Add some Strontium and Barium carbonate for red and green colours respectively. (blues are not easy)

Add some iron filings to put sparks in the fountains.



Ebay is probably the most expensive source, BUT while you are interested in bangs few people will open to you. There are some reasonable suppliers on this forum.

All of the US things like cherry B^^bs etc are likely to be unusually hazardous to make and could well attract the wrong attention from the police.

[overflow]

I tried heating the potasium nitrate and sugar up and it combusted and there was smoke everywhere thats why i stuck to mixing casting sugar and potasium nitrate together i think the wet method might be best. I also been thinking of buying some fuse from the net to use to ignite the smoke pelets but dont know what type of fuse i would need.

You need to heat it at a very LOW temperature, be patient.
Some people prefer to melt the sugar, lower the temperature and then ad the KNO3.

[Arthur Brown]

Smoke is hardly an achievement! You've done it and discovered that some things burn when you were not expecting it, learn from both and move on!

[boney bob]

Smoke is hardly an achievement! You've done it and discovered that some things burn when you were not expecting it, learn from both and move on!

Ok guys thank you for all your feedback i will try and do something better then make smoke with my kno3.

P.s how can you store visco fuse? i dont think i can get through 10 metres of it very fast.

Edited by boney bob, 04 December 2007 - 12:04 AM.

[marble]

[/list]did you know the first actor to play the "tinman" in the wizard of oz died because they used aluminium powder to colour\ paint him, it destroyed his lungs! and he was replaced! so no myth.[list=1]

He didn't die but came very close

[GZ22]

Please read up, study, think, rationalise and then take a safety-led approach to what you intend to do. That way you will minimise the chances of accidents. Please take the time to visit the link below- it's very sobering but very neccessary.

http://members.shaw....nsequences.html

[Asteroid]

I tried heating the potasium nitrate and sugar up and it combusted and there was smoke everywhere thats why i stuck to mixing casting sugar and potasium nitrate together i think the wet method might be best. I also been thinking of buying some fuse from the net to use to ignite the smoke pelets but dont know what type of fuse i would need.

I don't want to foster an unwelcoming environment here, but you really do need to search both google and this forum and do a little reading before you start posting. Potassium nitrate is a very common part of pyrotecnics and there isn't a lot you can't make from it.

Secondly , you really should not be even thinking about Thermite unless you are highly skilled in Pyrotechnic Chemistry !

Thermite really doesn't requitre that much skill and isn't particularly interested over some of the better beffects which is why most people tend not to waste their aluminium powder with it.

Basic pyrotechnics is very basic (but can still be dangerous). Once you have mastered smoke mix, I recommend you make some BP. You don't need a ball mill and can just use a pestle and mortar to grind this. put in a tube with one end sealed and another with a nozzle and you will have quite an impressive fountain.

If you can't make a smoke grenade without it bursting into flames then you need to consider whether pyrotechnics is the hobby for you. Unfortunately good things come to those who wait, and pyrotechnics is no exception. Search, read, read again, make, repeat.

[boney bob]

Please read up, study, think, rationalise and then take a safety-led approach to what you intend to do. That way you will minimise the chances of accidents. Please take the time to visit the link below- it's very sobering but very neccessary.

http://members.shaw....nsequences.html

That is really sick thank you for the waring that it was going to contain blood and gore.
I would not be that stupid to use black powder to light a firework.

Any person would have used the fuse then got a safe distance.

I did not wish to see such graphic images.

Thank you

all i want to make is a candy rocket for pete sake.I brought fuse and kno3 i also got candy. I am a carefull adult responsable adult.