Burtgummer

Well, I'm back with some more questions!

Formy shells that I'm building, I have been using fast visco that burns at about 6 seconds per foot. However, I'd love to have instant ignition as I will be using electric firing. So, my only option is some form of quickmatch. I have made quickmatch using two strands of black match, but it did not burn really fast, maybe 1 second per foot. I have also made quickmatch using the masking tape method. That method burns much, much faster, and I would prefer to use it because of that fact and it is easy to make quickly. However, will the seal between the lift cup and the shell create too much of a pinch in the tape-quickmatch, preventing it from igniting the lift charge? I'd rather not test this and be left with an unfired shell, as I think we can all agree on. So, will that pinch area stop the quickmatch from launching the shell?

I was thinking of taking some visco and putting it between the lift cup and shell to open a gap, but I'd like any opinion on the matter first.

Thanks!

Hey everyone! I searched around but could not find any answers relating to my question. I've been making both spherical and cylindrical shells lately, but one thing has me concerned about my 3 finished cyclindrical shells. When I made them, I separated the very center of the shell from the outskirts of the shell (where stars are placed). Of course I filled the center section with granulated black powder and filled the gaps between the stars with black powder. However, the separator of the two sections of the shell is printer paper. It isnt extremely think and heavy duty, but it also isnt tissue paper. Now I can't stop wondering if my stars will ignite or not, because the paper might be too much of a barrier between the burst charge and the stars. Of course I can't open the shells back up to fix them now, but I'd like to know if anyone has done the same, and maybe I should change it before I make any more cylindrical shells.

Thanks!

Hey everyone, I'm pretty new to these forums, member-wise, and I love it. So many experienced pyrotechnicians!

Anyways, I've been making a few homemade shells each year for the 4th of July. This year I plan to make several more, in a more professional approach. I've been making Black Powder quite a bit to get my experience with it, and I think I've finaly achieved a nice burn rate.

Last year, I filled the lift cups as far as they could go with my BP. I then pasted them on the shells with more then the regular amount of craft paper. This created more of an explosion than a gentle push when the lift charge ignited. I dont have any videos of that BP unfortunately, but 3 out of the 4 shells got in the air and exploded (softly, as the break charge was mealpowder).

Anyways, my last 2 batches of BP seem to have a fast enough burn for lift powder. However, I dont have any real lift powder to compare it to, so I am not sure.

I have posted my youtube channel with 3 videos of different batches and granulations. The ingredients were all found at The Home Depot, so that gives you an idea of the purities. The KNO3 was from Grants stump remover, which I am told is pure KNO3. The sulfur is 90% pure, and the charcoal is 100% pure.

http://www.youtube.c...r/pyrotechnic44

So, the quesiton is: Is this black powder sufficient for lift? Will 4 grams be enough to lift a 32 gram shell?

Thanks!