34 replies to this topic

[Rhodri]

Anyway, after all that - RegimentalPyro - did we help you?

[Pyromaster2003]

very impressive rocket spindle Matt. how do you change the pins then?

[Pyromaster2003]

o and btw, i used good old sodium chlorate in a saturated solution and put some tissue paper in, lit it and 'POOOF', burn almost instantly!i may make some more and get it on video burning.

[RegimentalPyro]

Anyway, after all that - RegimentalPyro - did we help you?

You certainly have, I used an old copy of "private eye" as it has that absorbant quality of newspaper, and is A4 so therfore just about the size of my wifes oven tray . More on her later .

Once dried the touch paper has a sandpapery feel to it and on close inspection small white crystals of KNO3 can be seen. [I should really score one of them digital cameras huh]

I cut strips of the paper and light one end. It burns along the strip in a smouldering manner, with small flashes of light. I'm left with a fine black ash. I think this one's a success.



That aside, what I find most useful about these questions is the way the thread tends to veer off at a tangent. I don't just get the answer to my question but I also get a broad grounding in other areas. In this case

a. What to store your chems in
b. How to finish/present
c. Fireworks are just as pretty unfired as fired due to the potential of their extrapolated enjoyment. - discuss

[Rhodri]

Good stuff. Are you a teacher per chance?

I like the "discuss".

How many words? Compare and contrast?

[adamw]

a] Discuss the storage of chemicals pertaining to fireworks manufacture and state the relevance they have to a hobbyist (10 marks)

b] Many regard the finishing of firework articles to be very important. Explore this theory and, where possible, account from your own experience. [25 marks]

c] "Fireworks are just as pretty unfired as fired due to the potential of their extrapolated enjoyment" - Explore, discuss and summarise this statement [30 marks]

Time allowed: 45 minutes

[Matt]

*matt rushes through the exam door* Am I too late?

[Rhodri]

Exams.....haven't done those for a while.

Shivers are already going down my spine.....

[BigG]

Exams.....haven't done those for a while.

Shivers are already going down my spine.....

Yes, I join you on that - I just had to take couple of paracetamol to stop the shakes. Adam, you should pay consideration for people health.

What can I tell you Rhodri - I think we are reasonably young - but being in this forum and suddenly I feel how the years rush by...

BigG

[RegimentalPyro]

Even the word "discuss" at the end of a sentence makes me panic. I can't look at the words "compare and contrast" even after 10 years of exam free summers...

[maxman]

Had some bad luck recently with poor blackmatch, so was thinking of going back to the good old days of touchpaper. It works fine on all fireworks except rockets, as the device is effectively upside down and has a small nozzle. I tried to prime the core with fine bp and then twist the touchpaper on, but all that happened was the BP slid out of the core when the touchpaper burned and my rocket just sat there.

How did Standard and other makers of the day reliably use touchpaper to pass fire to the rocket core?

[Mortartube]

Had some bad luck recently with poor blackmatch, so was thinking of going back to the good old days of touchpaper. It works fine on all fireworks except rockets, as the device is effectively upside down and has a small nozzle. I tried to prime the core with fine bp and then twist the touchpaper on, but all that happened was the BP slid out of the core when the touchpaper burned and my rocket just sat there.

How did Standard and other makers of the day  reliably use touchpaper to pass fire to the rocket core?

Standard etc used plastic igniter cord or raw match through the nozzle up into the propellant. The touchpaper served as a delay before lighting this internal fuse.

[maxman]

Is that like blackmatch / Visco? or something completely different?

[The_Djinn]

Plastic Igniter Cord or PIC as it is commonly known as is very simular to Visco.
It comes in different sizes and different speeds / burn rates.

Mark

[adamw]

Very similar apart from the price! But it is very reliable.