Pyrotechnic Serpents
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Edited by Jack & Dorothy Drewes American Fireworks News THE BEST OF AFN III Edited by Jack & Dorothy Drewes Copyright ©1995 by Rex E. & S. P., Inc. Published by American Fireworks News HC67 - Box 30 Dingmans Ferry, PA 18328 All rights reserved. ISBN 0-929931-11-4 Printed in The United States of America 1st printing, April, 1995. 2nd printing, March, 1996 3rd printing, March, 1998 Warning: This publication contains descriptions and pictures of fireworks. The information contained herein is based on the authors' experiences using specific tools and ingredients under specific conditions not necessarily described in the articles. No warranties are made, given or implied. Readers are cautioned that they must form their own opinion as to the application of any information contained herein. 2 CONTENTS BASICS, SMALL DEVICES DISPLAY GOODS & OPERATIONS Getting a Pyro Education 7 The Basic Technician, #1, 2, 3 62 Fireworks and Me 8 Unexplained Explosion & Probability Lightning & Thunder Fountain 9 Theory 66 Construction Techniques of %" Roman Pyro Emitting Device 67 Candle Using Round Stars 10 Fireworks on a Budget 68 Bigger & Better Breaks with Small Ball Vis-A-Vis Fountains 70 Shells 11 Neon Blue & Recumbent Lances 71 Designing Portfires 12 Molecular Sieves as Cores 72 Fun with Jumping Jacks 14 Lance Development 73 Tischfeuerwerk 15 Illumination Breaks & Shimmering Bike Wheel Pyro 16 Curtains 73 Ground Bloom Flower Wheel 16 Pyro Surprises 74 Easy Sun 18 Push Sticks Aid Low Breaks 75 Class C Repeaters 19 Eight Experiments in Non-Commercial Exploding Insight" 19 Black Powder 76 Those Captivating Cones 20 Quote of the Month 76 Tip of the Month 25 Method of Conducting Pyrotechnic Pyrotechnic Serpents 26 Experiments 78 Glittering Report Tourbillions 29 Round Star Tips 80 Tourbillion Candle Construction 30 The Quest for Fast Powder 81 Glittering Sparklers 31 Match Warning 83 Smoke of a Different Color 32 Ball Mill Tip 83 Fire Balloons 33 Super Polverone 84 Micro Mines 34 Chlorine Donors 86 Enhancing Successive Happy News Make Your Own Dextrin 87 Effect 34 Primer for Making Cut Stars 88 Problems with Gold Sparkler Yellow Powder 91 Manufacturing, etc. 35 Pass the Grog 92 Timing Tips 37 Modeling Clay & The Pyro 93 Don't Throw Away Fax Tubes 93 ROCKETS & ACCESSORIES Sculpy Revisited 94 Table for Cutting Stars 94 Informal 8 oz. Rockets 38 Drying Stars & Grinding Chemicals 95 Those Damp Rockets 39 Pyro Hint 95 Rocket Tip 39 Brilliant Orange/Titanium Stars 96 Blender Rockets 40 Dragon Egg Warning 96 Priming Stars On Only One Side 41 Using Kerosene? 97 Another Look at Rockets 42 Using Kerosene in Fireworks 97 Shell Burst Rockets 45 Production of Benzoate Color Agents 98 More on Shell Burst Rockets 49 Charcoal 100 Screaming Banshee Rockets 50 Making Charcoal in Small Quantities 101 Cheap & Easy Rocket Gimmick 51 More About Charcoal 102 Quick Whistle Rockets 52 In Praise of Cupric Octoate 103 Line Rockets - How To Make Them 54 Building a Spiking Horse 104 Sticks for the Picking 60 Easily Made Round Shell Casings 106 Cross-Section of Chinese Rocket 61 Rice Hulls - Is There an Alternative 109 Tedium Reliever 109 Comments on Electrical Firing The Beautiful 4" Spider Web Shell 110 Circuits 152 Making Homemade Wheat Paste 113 Delay Circuit 153 Gold-Ferro Aluminum Flitter 114 More on Timer Circuits 153 Round Shell Construction Using Inner Simple Electric Matches 154 & Outer Shell Casings 114 Electric Matches & Squibs 155 Bright Star Compositions with High To Ground or Not To Ground 158 Magnalium Content 115 Understanding and Using Capacitive- Mag/55 Enhances Aerial Salutes 116 Discharge Electrical Firing Equipment 159 Microstar Bursts Without Microstars 118 Electric Ignition of Shock Tube Microjet Stars 119 Firing Systems 161 Crackle Stars 120 Electric Percussive Art Shooting Crackling Micro Stars 121 of Shock Tube 164 Aqueous Binding of Sodium Nitrate Whistle - Jetex Questions Answered 165 Stars 122 Cut Stars - Without Cutting 124 CHEMICALS & SENSITIVITY Long Lasting Paper Mortars 125 Visco Time Fuse Expedient 126 Why Protect Magnesium? 166 Shrink That Visco For Time 128 Protecting Magnesium II 167 Visco Time Fuse 130 Hates Potassium Permanganate 167 Are Your Ready Boxes Ready? 131 Safety Considerations 168 Cheap Tool Aids Lance Assembly 132 Simple Techniques for Testing Alternative Cores For Burst Charge 134 Unfamiliar Compositions 170 Mr. Cheapo & His Used Vermiculite 136 Red Phosphorus - Bride of Frankenstein 172 Another Core for Round Stars 136 Phosphorus Fireworks 174 Making Quickmatch 137 Lessons Learned in Flash Production 177 Splicing Piped Match 138 Measurement of Aerial Shell Velocity 178 Match Pipe Making Simplified 140 Stars Blown Blind 183 Make Your Own Black Match 142 Asks About Nickel Toxicity 184 Variations on Standard Quickmatch The Many Use of Pyro Wax 185 Manufacture 144 Quote of the Month 190 The Gabe Mort 145 More on Using Coarse Aluminum Neapolitan Ground Bombs 146 Turnings 190 Water Fireworks 148 Using Coarse Aluminum Turnings 191 Tidy Little Electrical Firing Box 150 Flash & That Gut Feeling 192 Comments on Electrical Firing Box 151 Nitro cartoons appear on pages 6, 80, 129, 143. PREFACE TO THE THIRD VOLUME Number Three of The Best of AFN series offers HOBBY FIREWORKS MAKERS the reader all the how-it-is-done articles that ap- HAVE VALUE peared in American Fireworks News between May, 1990 and April, 1995. It also includes a few There are many people in the U.S. who are un- rocket articles from Max Vander Horck's old employed and who need jobs to get the economy American Pyrotechnist. It gives us great personal going. This brings me back to a few years before satisfaction to be able to put these wonderful ar- my retirement when I had an all-aerial fireworks ticles inside one set of covers and make the great display at a lake in Connecticut. There I had the mass of fine fireworks literature available to our pleasure of meeting many men and women who many readers who have come onboard since considered themselves hobby fireworks makers. 1990. Of course, very few of these articles would be available except for the willingness of our After the introductions, some of them asked if writers to share their hard work and fireworks they could add their fireworks to those of mine insight with the rest of us. Over fifty writers con- that were to be fired in the show. After looking tributed to this volume. Without their contribu- over their fireworks, I gave them the OK tions, the fireworks hobby would still be stuck in the Weingart era. My crew and I set up the display according to my plan. They set up theirs (after checking with me) In addition to those fifty writers, we are indebted according to their plan. There was one to the newsletters of: Connecticut Pyrotechnics gentleman of Italian extraction who made rock- Association, New Hampshire Pyrotechnics As- ets. He and his wife set them up on pieces of sociation, Florida Pyrotechnic Arts Guild, and styrofoam sheets, from one end of the lake to the Fred Olsen's Lights in the Sky; all first published other. They were to be fired electrically, in series. some of the articles in this book. Just before it was time to start the display, I It is necessary to say just a word or two about the checked out all the shells, accompanied by a mem- fireworks hobby. Despite all the progress we've ber of their crew. These young people fired the made since Van started all this in 1969, we still display along with my crew. I sat down and come across hobbyists who won't read the litera- watched them do their thing. Every time they ture, who resist watching the videos, who don't were ready to fire shells made by the hobby belong to clubs or won't attend seminars at the makers, they would pass the word as to whose PGI convention. You get the feeling that they shell it was. I was very surprised at their ability. treat the hobby as a kind of intuitive thing, and However, the real payoff was when they fired the that they like to "fly by the seat of their pants". rockets on the lake. This had to be the most out- But as we pointed out in Best II, things happen standing crowd pleaser of the whole display! fast in high energy reactions. After the display I asked the man who made the rockets if he would make rockets for me. His We are learning all the time -just look at some of reply was that he did it only as a hobby. Van's early American Pyrotechnist newsletters and you'll see how our body of knowledge has Now this was a small group. Just think of all the expanded so greatly. We must take advantage of people in the U.S. who can make shells and other the information that is available. In this hobby, fireworks that could be sold to the big displayers. the consequences of ignorance are profound. This would put a lot of people to work. LJS Recently we received the following from Mr. Remember, each reader bears the responsibility Louis J. Semenza. Mr. Semenza was born to a for his own interpretation of these articles. fireworks family and worked in it all his life. Development is on-going. Today's knowledge is We're sure you will enjoy his insight. the basis for tomorrow's improvements. PREFACE TO THE THIRD VOLUME Number Three of The Best of AFN series offers HOBBY FIREWORKS MAKERS the reader all the how-it-is-done articles that ap- HAVE VALUE peared in American Fireworks News between May, 1990 and April, 1995.