A couple shells (testing)

[dynomike1]

Thanks Mum yours popped up after i hit enter,like i said i have 2 holes to fill and i can put salutes inside i just have to do a little heaver taping. I am still undecided exactly how i am going to do it. I have done this before on a 6", now i am going to try a 10". I am taking everyone's in put and looking to come up with a final plan.

[dynomike1]

Brad took my 12" tubes. Ok this is the way i build my SOS. I do a ring around the center instead of just filling the shell up. It dawned on me when Seymore said 26-3" that we were doing it 2 different ways. I refigured it now i can get 9.5-3" in there or 9 after taping. I may just send 3 or4 salutes up right behind it.

Edited November 21, 2016 by dynomike1

[Wiley]

Mike, my recommendation was based on the premise that you were set on building a ball shell, but of course, if you really want to do it right, you need a cylinder shell

 

With a shell that big, you have oodles of time before anything even comes close to hitting the ground. Pop the shell open a couple seconds early, and let those inserts spread out a good solid 3 seconds or so before they break. The effect will be much "bigger" than if the inserts are broken too early.

 

Here's a real shell of shells. Also be sure to watch the one immediately after it.

 

https://youtu.be/rvi6FPMFUv8?list=PLNbdr-ZCuUQNhW2FaWKUSZq1Dz-SoDSu6&t=593

Edited November 21, 2016 by Wiley

[Seymour]

I'm a bit confused about what we are doing differently.

 

The 26 3" shells in my 12" shell were lined along the hemispheres like very big stars, leaving the centre for burst only. There was not a lot of space in the central cavity, but I'm sure a few more 3" shells could fit if you just want to cram as much as you want in, but I figured that the shells took up a lot of space and I wanted all of the centre for burst, and I used grater granulated BP instead of using any filler.

 

However I put stars in between the shells

Wiley, those are indeed some lovely shell of shells!

[braddsn]

Seymour, I use the exact method you are talking about.

[dynomike1]

I think i see what you are doing. You are lining both halves with shells.I guess there is no definite way to make one. I just try not to get to many shells in there and keep it clean. The first one is kinda what i was thinking about Wiley, but mine will be a ball shell.

Edited November 21, 2016 by dynomike1

[Wiley]

That first one was a sun and planets, and really isn't feasible to replicate in a ball shell. A ball shell will throw its inserts out in a spherical pattern, whereas a cylinder will project its inserts out into rings. Just a different sort of effect.

 

Another thing that might be cool would be to time your sets of red, white, and blue inserts separately. Have 3 seconds on the red shells, 3.5ish seconds on the white, and 4ish seconds on the blue. Have the salute(s) go off at 7 seconds or so. I've done as much as 7 seconds on a 4" cylinder bottom shot, and could have stretched it by a couple seconds. As I said, a 10" gives you tons of airtime to play with.

[dynomike1]

Have 3 seconds on the red shells, 3.5ish seconds on the white, and 4ish seconds on the blue. Have the salute(s) go off at 7 seconds or so. I've done as much as 7 second

 

Now your thinking like me. Ball shell is my only option. I know you have put a lot of time into cylinders. On the other side of this you think i can get three rings out of a cylinder? I can get 2 out of a ball shell but not 3.

[Wiley]

Mike, of course you can get three rings out of a cylinder. Inserts in cylinders are installed against the wall of the shell, and are thus thrown mostly straight outward from where they are placed in the shell. Getting two or more distinct rings to display in the sky simply involves allowing enough time to elapse between sets of inserts. In that time, the next set of inserts will have traveled farther from the initial shell break before they open. This works until the inserts cease travelling outward and begin falling earthward. That can wreck symmetry.

 

I can't recommend starting with an 8" cylinder, but I think that size would be well-suited to create the sort of effect you're looking for (3 sets of different colored inserts, then some noise).

[dynomike1]

Well i was kinda thinking about 3 at the same time using just 1/2" stars. Maybe one ring at the bottom, one in the middle, and one at the top. I have some 3.5" X 4" tubes that i could use to start with. I am not as far on cylinders as you are.

[Wiley]

If those tubes are 4" OD, you can't quite fit 4 of them in a 10". You should be able to if they are the 3.5" OD ones. Even then, those would only be good for salutes.

[dynomike1]

I guess you miss understood the ring shell doesn't have anything to do with the 10". This something like what i am talking about. I think i will have to do it in a canister, to do a triple ring.

[Wiley]

So the ring shell is a separate shell entirely? Are you thinking of making a cylinder shell that displays as 3 concentric rings of comets/stars? That can certainly be done in a bigger cylinder, but there's I see no reason why it can't be done with a ball shell. Triple petal ball shells are three concentric spheres, so you'd be doing the same thing, but two-dimensionally.

[dynomike1]

But there again you would have 3 different sized rings. 6" is as big as i can go for lack of bigger guns. I only have 1-8" and 1-10". Other than the 8" palm tree and 10" SOS everything will be 6 or less. I might do a red white and blue single ring.

Edited November 22, 2016 by dynomike1

[Merlin]

Excellent! Jopetes data are some fine formulations. Still looks like it will be months before I can test anything here because of drought. Looks like it is snowing where you are. -Merlin

[dynomike1]

I think i found what i am trying to do.

[Wiley]

The blue ring was placed around the shell's equator, and the red and green rings were placed closer toward the "ends" of the shell. To fill it, you'd half-fill each of the hemis with meal-coated rice hulls, then place a ring of stars up against the wall of the shell. A good way to do this is to roll up as many stars as you will need in a piece of tissue paper to form a "snake" then place the snake(s) against the wall of the shell. Fill one hemi up to the brim with MCRH, and the other one just shy of full. Place another "snake" ring in the nearly-full hemi, then top it off and close it up however you like best. The ring at the equator will be thrown outward, but the other two rings will be thrown out and away, giving the effect seen in the video.

[dynomike1]

So your thinking a ball shell will work better than a canister. I could use a 5 of 6" Since you said that i can see it now. I didn't know if a canister would work or not. Seems like my canisters are blowing out the end anyway. Thanks

 

MIKE

Edited November 26, 2016 by dynomike1

[Wiley]

Mike, you might be able to do something like that with a cylinder, but the one in the video is definitely a ball shell.

[dynomike1]

I may try both. I'm still in the star making mode, till 12/1 then i will start building.

Edited November 27, 2016 by dynomike1

[August]

Another way is to hot glue the stars in a ring inside the hemis.

[Sparx88]

Yep, that's how I like to do it too. Then just fill them up with the mcrh. The stars will get full fire.

[dynomike1]

That's usually how i do it with 1 ring.

[Pirotecnia]

Beautiful shells!

[dynomike1]

Ok i think i have finalized my plan on the SOS. I will have 9 three in.with a glitter double petal, the 3" will break 2sec. later. Now i have another problem, i want to put 5-6 2.5" salutes up there with it, and i dont think i can get them up that high, also i want to break them a sec. behind the 3" break.I am using 2.5 because i have a rack of tubes that i am not really using, except for some comets and Serpents that will go up just in front of the shell. I thought some of the canister experts might have some input on this. I might be getting over my head again. The good part is if it doesn't work, we will be the only ones that know.