82 replies to this topic

[Richard H]

Originally posted by bernie briden
I have to ask this one. Do they dub the(translate) show so that the characters have a British accent. I would pay incredible sums of money to see just one of those episodes. :bounce:

No, American accents all the way. A British dub would totally ruin it. I know I wouldn't watch it if they did!

[bernie]

IT WAS A JOKE MY FRIEND. NOT A VERY GOOD ONE I SUPPOSE. I MUST HAVE A CRAYON STUCK UP MY NOSE OR SUMTIN'.

[bernie]

I NEED TO GET AROUND MORE. TURNS OUT THERE ARE SOME FINE FOLKS ALL OVER. IF YOU GUYS LIKE THE SIMPSONS AND PYRO, THEN ALL OF YOU ARE TOP NOTCH IN MY BOOK.
WASN'T WINOKUR FROM/IN AUSTRALIA? AS IN PYROTECHNICA # 2
YOU BESTED ME ON THE B.U. REFERENCE MATT. I BET I LOST $40.00 TODAY AT WORK I WAS SO DISTRACTED. THE EPISODES HAVE A TENDENCY TO BOUNCE AROUND PRETTY GOOD. THE FAMILY SPENDS A LOT OF TIME JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT EPISODE THIS OR THAT QUOTE WAS FROM. MY SON ( I affectionetly call him RATBOY) IS THE TRUE MASTER. AT OUR HOUSE ANYWAY.
WHAT IS YOUR SPECIFIC INTEREST IN PYRO......SHELLS,WHEELS,ROCKETS OR ALL OF THE ABOVE? I'LL GO BACK AND CHECK OUT SOME OF YOUR POSTS BUT RIGHT NOW THE RATBOY NEEDS TO USE THE PHONE.

[Matt]

Im mainly into rockets at the moment, ive been making a lot of shells lately but ya cant really count em as shells cos they are too small. you can see what im on about on my website. I wrote up a how-to for them. Other than rockets and little shells i make a lot of dummy fireworks
it gives me something to do when im low on chems and i figure it should help me get used to the building tecnique. The most recent dummy i made was a 2 inch can shell, and im feeling confident with it so im going to make a 2 inch can shell with whirly to report inserts around the outside and stars and break in the core, i will put it on the top of a 23mm I.D 15cm L rocket engine to see how the shell performs. It saves me having to play around with lift/delay charges. I plan on doing this in the next 2 weeks sometime. Adios!

-Matt

[bernie]

Dummy shells are a great idea I think. I only say that because when I was messin' around w/ rockets I made my can. shells and filled them w/ popcorn. I fooled around w/ rockets just a bit early on but got distracted with some other aspect of pyro and never really got back to them. I intend too. I got a better take on things now. I can make a fair driver but need to add/experiment beyond the couple formulas I have more or less perfected. It's not really a big deal to come up w/ various drivers/effects , it's just a matter of spending the time getting the timing blah,blah.....
I have not really been as active in the hobby as I had been the the last several years. I intend to become a bit more involved with the Fla. club. Then work myself back into the hobby itself but have a little more discipline. It can become very consuming for me.
Your whirly w/ report are some of my favorites. I REALLY like whirlwinds. I only buy consumer cakes/ multishot items that include this effect. I made a turret type affair that rotates on an arbor press so I can make 3 at a time in succession. Not automated or anything like that. Just a stageing arrangement I guess you would call it. Set up for 3/4"(19-20mm) i.d. tourbillions.
What kind/color stars you gonna use? I am also curious how you make your clay plug in thoes whirly gizmos. Does your tube itself serve as the nozzle or do you make a conical plug for the exhaust? Depends on the burn rate and i.d. I suppose. Put any metal effects in your whirly comp?

[Matt]

I only use my charcoal comps as i am not old enough to find most of the necesary chems for colour comps. i can get a pretty good whitre but i choose my charcoal stars over them any day. I use kitty litter for majority of my plugs, if not i just use hot melt glue. For my whirly things i ram some clay, drill a hole tangent to the inner wall just above it, put a peice of black match in the hole then proceed to ram some meal powder into the tube untill i have the desired amount in it. Then i ram some clay ontop, drill a hole in the clay, put in some black powder, then a bit of tissue then hot mely glue ontop of that, they arent terribly load but it gives the right effect.

-Matt

[bernie]

You sure are an early riser. By this forums clock anyhow.
You can do an awlful lot w/ charcoal. The price is right on the ingredients as well.
A conical plug can help in some cases but it adds a little weight to the whirly and may make it perform differently. Your kitty litter seems to be working good. Do you use it in it's granulated form?
Hot melt is good for a lot of things pyro. Please be careful with it around things that have a very low ignition point. I might suggest that a thin cardboard disc that would slip either on top(easier) or one on the end would provide you w/ a better report. PVA(white glue) is sufficient. You can always secure it a bit more by putting a few turns of paper around the report end and pleating it over on the disc. The whole idea w/ the report is not to have a tube fall on your head. A report is a cool thing.
Where can I find your dummy shell description? Every thing is all out of whack since that goofy Yank came on

[Matt]

Yes i agree. Charcoal is a godsend. Yea i do the disk and white glue approach for report devices however when i put reports ontop of a device (ie my whirly things) i find that hot melt is just so much more simple and the tube is gonna fall on my head anyway because the wall thickness is quite generous on my whirly doovalackies. Yes the kitty litter is doing well, i grind it up to a powder in a coffee grinder prior to use, it aint the strongest but it does the job nicely for a lot of things. Im starting to wish i had a ball mill, im considering making one but i lack a motor, i could probably take one out of a coffee grinder as it can be plugged straight into a wall without any problems, but it would need a fan or something constantly cooling it as they arent the kind of motor to be left on for hours on end. I just realised i have run out of fuse damn, i might make some tommorow but im always too slack, anyway im starting to dribble so i will go and do what i do. Cya

-Matt

[bernie]

I just buy my fuse:arse:

Do you have a pretty good idea of how to put a ball mill together? Correct RPMs, gear ratios , wall configuration etc.
You can do a lot of things without a mill. They are darn handy to have though as you progress in the hobby. BE CERTAIN YOU PUT IT IN A "VERY" SAFE PLACE. Things do and will ALWAYS go wrong. Plan for it. I will give you suggestions if you ask.
The phrase made so popular by PGI - "Stay green" are certainly words to LIVE by. Until next time.........

[Matt]

I wish i could buy my own fuse, but i am unable to get anything here.I make everything. fuse, black powder, stars, tubes etc etc. Sparklers are the only thing even related to fireworks around here and they are useless, i have actually taken some sparklers and turned then into stars before. a nice effect but i found that the burned remains glow for a while so i stopped using them due to the fire risk. I have managed quite well without a ball mill for about 2 years now. one year was just reading about pyro before i started so i spose that doesn't count but i want a ball mill to try and get my black powder to burn quicker/ better. I have enough knowledge to build a ball mill, not too certain about the gearing, but im sure i can find out from a site (ie dan williams' site) not too sure what you mean by wall configurations tho, ya might have to clear me up on that one. This is nice having a convo about this subject for once. i love this forum

:yawn: ssssttteeeeellllaaaaaaaa!!!!
haha, always wanted to do that.

- Matt

[Edited on 12-5-2003 by Matt]

[Robbie414]

I have an old stone polisher or tumbler from when i was a kid. This seems to me to be an ideal solution? They are not too expensive and are specifically designed to run for weeks on end. My question is what do I use as the 'balls'? Has anyone else used a tumbler for this?

Rob

[Rhodri]

Hi Rob

I too have used, and still do for 'slower powders', a rock tumbler.

You're right, the motors are desinged for long use.

My tumbler is 2lb is size. I can easily make 100g of BP.

I use lead fishing weights - these can be obtained from - you guessed it - a fishing shop. Quite expensive ~ 79p each - I got about 15 of these - but they do work. Make sure that they're LEAD.

Also, use much common sense and saftey here - mill away from the house. Make sure the powder is ALWAYS damp. Don't add too much water as the tumbler may leak and you'll loose some of the water soluble KN03 and also run the risk of the oxisider dripping into the motor itself.

Using my tumbler I've made reasonably fast BP. For extra lift powders I still find that a larger ball mill is necessary although you can manaully 'grind' the tumbler powder further to get the same result.

The tumbler is perfect for producing large amounts of powder suitable for gerbs etc.

Hope this helps.

[BigG]

Maybe we should stop this branch of the forum? This has nothing to do with KNO3 anymore...

[Rhodri]

True. Shall I move it over to a new topic?

[bernie]

KNO3 IS 75% of bp.
Lead weights will work but they wear down pretty fast in my opinion. The addition of tin will harden them up. I've heard talk of stainless conical media. If your rock tumbler is a rubber lined metal barrel be sure that it is far away from home should there be an accident. If it goes it is now a grenade. Seen a demo or two. It ain't pretty fellas!