15 replies to this topic

[Bri]

Hi All,

Does anyone have any good suggestions on the best way to tie fireworks onto stakes.

The thought i have been having is to put the stakes into the ground to start off with and then use these stakes more than once so a easy method for tying / untying is best needed.

I appreciate this method is not ideal but due to limited space on the firing site i am thinking about going down this road as to prevent cross ignition (although protecting the fireworks from cross ignition is probably the best and safest option i was just wondering if there was another way)

Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated so i can weigh up the pro's and con's before settling on the best route.

Many thanks in advance.

[Arthur Brown]

I have a strong preference for being OUT of the area during firing so a stake for each item is needed. there is NO way I want to be tying the second round onto the stakes after the first round has fired.

Lots will depend on what sort of stake you have and what sort of firework you want to secure.

More info after the course on the 20th!

[teaboy]

Also, if you do have a cross-ignition, it's safest to have your fireworks pointing in the right direction and secured! It's also easier to stake things and tie things in the light...

Oh, cable ties!

[Daedalus]

I presume we are talking Cat 2/3 here (the limit of my experience).

I always stake out the entire display in advance, often with 2 cakes or candles per stake on the smaller stuff to keep the display area tight as I don't have much room after allowing for the 25m to the spectator distance. I fix the fireworks to the stake with gaffer tape as I don't have to worry about replacing any mid display. If you want to keep the display slick (especially in smaller areas) you don't have time or space to safely swap out the spent fireworks. With the exception of fallout from fountains there doesn't seem to be too much risk of cross ignition and even if there is, because the display is pre-staked, it will be a safe failure. If you can't keep adequate separation from fountains then a bit of foil as a fuse protector stops cross ignition and is easier to remove than the tape strip on the firework. If you are using rockets a rack is worth building as it allows the entire display to be pre-loaded - again increasing saftey as they are pointing in the right direction.

If you aren't already using portfires or a blowtorch for ignition the change to them. No faffing and the fuse is lit and you are out the way quickly - oh and buy at least twice the number of portfires you think you need as they never seem to last as long as you think they will.

The biggest risk in a small area is probably of tripping over stuff if the staking plan is badly laid out - I now put fireworks a lot closer together than I used to to give myself a bigger working area.

With this approach I haven't had anything go unexpectedly (just watch, my next display will probably cross ignite everything and be over in 30 seconds ). pre-staked is a lot slicker and safer - I would guess I fire a display in about 1/10 the time of the "remove one firework from the box ..." approach and with greater safety as I know if anything goes wrong it will go upwards.

Hope this helps.

[Mortartube]

The proper (and easiest, cheapest and quickest way when you are practiced), to affix items to stakes, is with a good thick sisal string and a clove hitch. in two or three places up the length of the firework for tall items such as Roman candles. Once you get the hang of it, it is quicker than cable ties.

[seymour]

Make sure you finish off the clove hitch with two half hitches. In the pyro world a lot of people seem to think that the clove hitch is the holy grail of knots. While it is indeed a good knot, it is only really strong when under constant unchanging strain, and even then anyone who is interested in keeping whatever is tied together from drifting apart, they would secure the clove hitch with two half hitches.

Having spent almost ten years as a sea scout, and now five or six getting some experience with fireworks and their manufacture, I am not quite as trusting of the humble clove hitch as some other pyros.

[Mortartube]

Quite right Seymour. I meant to add the two half hitch bit. Also if you can put the knot part of the clove hitch on a corner of a stake or the corner of a pack of dragon candles etc, it will be more secure.

[dogsbody]

I normally tend to use either woden or metal stakes (depends on the item and what I have at hand) and use pvc tape (at least 5-6 turns) never had a problem with this

[GZ22]

When I worked with Fantastic we used metal wire, which was wrapped around the device and the stake, snipped and then twisted multiple times before being folded over to one side. It was a method that worked very well.

[NickC]

When I worked with Fantastic we used metal wire, which was wrapped around the device and the stake, snipped and then twisted multiple times before being folded over to one side. It was a method that worked very well.

Agree - the most secure method would be a decent wooden stake and the two steel wire ties as a minimum depending on the size. Really if you are staking out do the whole display, make sure you have multiple walking routes and an escape route, but don't be going back and changing out fireworks during a display.

Above all be safe.

[Bri]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

What i was planning on doing was to stake out my opening Fireworks (Cat 3) then once they had gone off i have another firer doing the Cat 2 part of the display while i was Changing over the Cat 3 for the Finale.

Having read all your advice i think the way im going to do it now is to Stake them all out (albeit a bit closer together as orignally hoped for) so that if there was anything to go wrong they would be already in place as suggested by a few of yourselves. Safety first, the look of the Display second.

Thanks again for help and advice its very much appreciated

[portfire]

Hi Bri and welcome.

Just a quick on from a safety point. Don't forget you will be hand firing, so think about your own safety and the other firer, PPE will be a MUST

[Bri]

Hi Bri and welcome.

Just a quick on from a safety point. Don't forget you will be hand firing, so think about your own safety and the other firer, PPE will be a MUST

Thanks portfire and Hi,

PPE not a problem already got that sorted (work in construction so it was easy for me to get hold of )

Busy getting a few more stakes made up for me as well.

[Spyrotechnics]

if you have a Lavers wood yard near you they do some really good "pegs" - basically pre pointed wooden stakes - about 600mm long and about 45mm square, planed and tanalised and they work out good value if you buy their prebundled packs of 25

[Arthur Brown]

A stake for a cat 2 or 3 item MAY be as little as a tent peg! -say 12 - 20 inches of 1/4 steel bar. Here is where there is a professional judgement call scale of effect vs scale of stake.

Everything should be secure before it is dark then cover everything with thin plastic sheet (anything from clingfilm up!) to keep dampness out and cover the second half of the show with ordinary kitchen metal foil to prevent inadvertant ignition.

Be wary of wire ties as it is possible to crush tubes with some tying machines and a crushed candle explodes, and a crushed gerb may too.