Zinginex

The Government make all these laws against "homemade" pyrotechnics and ban it's possession but there are all these websites around selling visco fuse for cheap and aluminium flake powder and potassium perchlorate. Too me it just looks really stupid and the government don't seem to be doing much about the websites. Also it's not even like the websites hide the fact its for pyrotechnic use as they say what it can be used for and the website only sells pyrotechnic chemicals/devices. It just seems so weird too me lol.

Hey I want to fire my first ever cake today for mothers day lol
It will only be two devices, a fountain and then a small starmine, but i just need a few questions answered.
I only have access to charcoal at the moment and I have some meal powder. I don't have a set of mesh screens yet so i can't measure the mesh of my charcoal but how coarse should the charcoal be to use in a fountain for nice orange "sparks"? I have a very fine metal sieve, like flour, and i sieved out all the fine charcoal and got left with big lumps and very coarse like flakes of charcoal that didn't get ground up. You can see the flakes with the naked eye. Is that too coarse or just right for fountains? My starmine is ready and I'm hoping it will work out well
Thanks

Sorry but in the pinned stars thread it is just oo big to search for this answer and i couldn't find it on first few pages anyway. But the question is can you cut D1 stars? I'm just gonna make some meal powder and add 20% 400 mesh al to them but do i have to press roll them or is it just a star where you can prepare it anyway you want?
Thanks

Just brainstorming more ideas...
I'm pretty sure most people here have thought of this before but i was wondering if it was possible to make some fancy burning blackmatch by adding some aluminium into the mix, say 10-20% of the final bp mix? Anybody done this before? Does it make the fuse burn very fast/too fast? Does it stop burning, hard to light or burn inconsistently? Can you use other metal powders like iron, magnesium or any other chemicals/metals that make a fancy looking flame when burnt? Does it make the blackmatch mix sensative or dangerous to use for fuse after the metal/chemical is added?
Thanks

Hey, i really am wanting to make a ball mill some time soon as the mortar and pestle just don't cut it. I have read up ALOT on ball mills and bearings and how they work but i'm 15 and i'm without bearings, or a motor. I'm pretty sure i'll find a good enough motor some time soon, when my mums washing machine breaks or something but i'm still left with the deal of having to make the rollers roll .

Theres a design where you secure the motor in place on one side of a wooden board and then on the other side you secure either rollers or castor wheels and then attach a belt, from the motor, around the milling jar, which is on the rollers/wheels. Turn the motor on and there you go the motor turns the belt, which turns the jar, which is on the wheels. Pretty simple. I think I'm capable of making that once i find a motor but i was hoping someone here would actualy tell me how hard it is to make a ball mill that rolls with bearings and somehow you connect the motor and cogs to the rollers

I've read up on bearings and i know about ball bearings and roller bearings and such but i have no idea how all you guys ,with ball mills out there, have got a roller inside the bearings. Have you bought like a set which has bearings and the right size roller/metal rod that fits inside the bearings? Where do you buy these "sets"? Do they come with their own perfect sized clamps? Is it just the right fit so once you've hammered the roller in it sticks there? How do you then connect cogs onto these rollers so the belt attaches to them and it drives the rollers? I am really hoping to be able to make one as i'm sure i will find it fun, as i enjoy the pride of homemade devices and making it itself, but i just need quite a bit of advice to start.
Thankyou