259 replies to this topic

[Potassium chlorate]

I have posted these earlier in another thread, but I guess more people are looking for videos in the video thread. Remember that I'm not very experienced yet. I made my very first Bengal in August 2009 and my first shells in December that year. These four were the best on New Year's Eve and are not chronologically shot in the video but in the order I like the results, with the best one at the end.

[Peret]

Those were very fine! A little too much bright flash in the breaks, in my opinion, and number 3 blue stars were a bit washed out, but that's just fine tuning. Good job.

[Potassium chlorate]

The break is actually nothing but H3 in all of them. H3 on rice hulls in the 5"s and one of the 6" and H3 on cotton seed in the other 6".

As for the blue, that's Bleser Blue#1. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be aqua or "pure" blue, since different sites list it as both colours. I tested it as a loose powder on the ground, in a stargun etc first, of course, but it's always hard to tell what a blue star will look like >100 meters up in the sky.

[Peret]

Blues are a problem. As the Reverend said, "a good, deep, high temperature blue may be beyond our reach". I've had good results with Veline blue but been extremely disappointed with the various "organic" (no metal) blues I've tried. They start blue and then turn to dirty white. I've recently acquired a pound of Paris Green, so I'll see how that works out.

[Potassium chlorate]

Blues are a problem. As the Reverend said, "a good, deep, high temperature blue may be beyond our reach". I've had good results with Veline blue but been extremely disappointed with the various "organic" (no metal) blues I've tried. They start blue and then turn to dirty white. I've recently acquired a pound of Paris Green, so I'll see how that works out.

Bleser Blue#1 actually contains 8% Paris Green, together with 8% copper(II)oxide, but that is obviously not enough to give that really deep blue. Here are some blues to test with Paris Green: Pyrotechnic Formulas For The Best Blue Fireworks Stars

Unlike greens and reds blues are also very hard to judge as loose powders.

[Mumbles]

I hear the secret to really great Paris Green Blues was to combine it with yet another unobtanium chemical, hexachlorobenzene. Peret, remind me some time and I have some old commercial PG blues I could share. I just want to see what they really look like. I'd offer to send you some HCB if I still had any. I might be able to get a bit more this summer.

[Potassium chlorate]

Try HCE, if you can't find HCB. Worked pretty well in Chinese Blue#1.

In this case this one might be interesting:

potassium chlorate 68
copper oxychloride 12
HCB 10
rosin 6
dextrin 4

[sagoraMundy]

Hey those green stars--is that the Ba(Cl03)2/Shellac formula discussed elsewhere? Bound with alcohol? (Can get this color in a Bengal but I'm determined to shoot up some stars).

Thanx KCl03,
s

I have posted these earlier in another thread, but I guess more people are looking for videos in the video thread.

[Potassium chlorate]

No, this formula I put together myself by looking at some other formulas and adjusting them a bit:

barium chlorate 50%
potassium chlorate or potassium perchlorate 18%
parlon 12%
magnesium or magnalium 12%
red gum or shellac 8%

You could either bind it by dissolving the parlon in aceton or ethyl acetate or with water +5% dextrin or SGRS. If you bind with water as a solvent you must use magnalium. If you bind it with parlon, I recommend either cut stars or a roller. Rolling parlon bound stars by hand is slow and time-consuming.

[sagoraMundy]

Thanx for that formula PC--and for the in-depth instructions.

Woulda thanked you already but somehow I ain't getting email notifications of responses to threads I've posted to so I've gotta search them out.

Wonder what I'm failing to do? I do check the "receive email notifications of replies" option--but so far nothing. Is it cause I'm such a newbie here?

Anyway, thanx again for sharing your formula. That's the koolest green star I've ever seen on video.

[michaelli66]

[michaelli66]

[Peret]

Testing the mine component of a "Devil among the Tailors". I plan to make a number of these once I get it dialed in right. It's a 2 inch mine with whistles, hummers, reports and red stars. I figure the philosophy of a DATT is to lull the viewers with the pretties and then startle them with the mine, hence the noise-makers. I put about an 8 inch fuse on it so I could retire to a safe distance but didn't realise until I lit it, that it was fast visco. Consequently it went off in less than 3 seconds taking me and my camera person by surprise. It also had about twice as much black powder as it really needed. When I have one complete and working I'll film it at night from a safe distance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PFa4BRcDPA

[Vic]

Bit of a shock when you saw the fuse burn that fast, the delay in seeing it and then thinking what the f**k did not give you much time to turn on your heels.
Sure would be good ending to the Devil among the Tailors compared to the tame originals

Does anybody know what was in the original mines?

[Karl]

5/16" Salute Rocket.

Convolute wound tubes from Pyrotubes, using their tooling.

4hr milled BP with 60 mesh Pine charcoal screened in (Per 100g). 2g of standard 70/30 header.

Need to work on the delay but i'm pretty impressed with the results so far.