usapyro Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 My account post log shows activity back in 2012. Woah... Anything new? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Well, I almost died in a black powder fire, Passfire is almost shut down and Fireworking is the big hitter now. We all still make pyro and are 5 years older. How you been? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usapyro Posted June 17, 2017 Author Share Posted June 17, 2017 (edited) Ouch... How did that happen? Get burned badly? Been pretty good. Just got back into the hobby a little. Working on improving my skills at making rockets. I finally am getting powdered sugar rockets to serious height! Edited June 17, 2017 by usapyro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insutama Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 Im just getting back into the hobby also havent been on here in over a year. I just made some rocket fuel seems to work not so bad except i didnt granulate it i just mixed the BP with 3% mineral oil and 13% laqour thinner so its quite messy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usapyro Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 (edited) Im just getting back into the hobby also havent been on here in over a year. I just made some rocket fuel seems to work not so bad except i didnt granulate it i just mixed the BP with 3% mineral oil and 13% laqour thinner so its quite messy LoL... Why exactly did you add that? I mean... You can just ball mill in the mineral oil. I don't see the point of the Lacquer thinner. Edited June 25, 2017 by usapyro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insutama Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 haha that was just what i was messing around with at the time trying to make rocket fuel and i was unsure if i had done it right so it was on my mind when i wrote that post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insutama Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 So while im on the topic can someone let me know if its okay to not rice the BP mix im using for rocket fuel i mixed it with mineral oil and laqour thinner so there isnt much airbourn dust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usapyro Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 So while im on the topic can someone let me know if its okay to not rice the BP mix im using for rocket fuel i mixed it with mineral oil and laqour thinner so there isnt much airbourn dust I have never riced my BP mix for rocket fuel. Never saw the point in it. Only downside is it's makes things a little dusty and messy when ramming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 I use mineral oil and thinner in mine as well and the act of mixing it into the mill dust on a screen several times to distribute the oil leaves me with nice soft granules after drying with almost no airborne dust during pressing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usapyro Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 I use mineral oil and thinner in mine as well and the act of mixing it into the mill dust on a screen several times to distribute the oil leaves me with nice soft granules after drying with almost no airborne dust during pressing. How much burning speed do you lose? Around 20% or 30%? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 I'm using 75/15/10 with Paulownia charcoal so the 5% or so of thrust lost is not a problem. I use nozzleless rockets since the fuel would turn a nozzled rocket into a bomb on a stick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usapyro Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 I'm using 75/15/10 with Paulownia charcoal so the 5% or so of thrust lost is not a problem. I use nozzleless rockets since the fuel would turn a nozzled rocket into a bomb on a stick.For end-burners. You should go as hot as possible for the BP. Just adjust your nozzle size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insutama Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 all mine are core burners i have been playing around with nozzles and non nozzles seems like all the ones i use a nozzle on they just CATO ill have to try a waxed tube and see if this helps or maybe i should just stick with nozzle-less. how much mineral oil should i be adding to 100 grams BP i added 2 grams mixed in with 10 grams thinner i defiantly cut down in the airborne dust however when im making nozzle-less rockets it seems like the BP always breaks away at the nozzle area im wondering if its because i need more mineral oil ? i know im defiantly ramming it hard enough with a good rawhide mallet. What else could keep my bp mix from compressing into a hard compressed bp to the point were none breaks away and falls out when transporting them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Insutama, you should decrease the oil to 1%. Are you using the proper sized increments of fuel? Are you giving enough (8) solid blows with the mallet? Are you cleaning and polishing your spindle to keep the fuel from sticking and pulling away from the core during removal? Lot's of questions to ask! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insutama Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 thanks for the advice i am giving it just enough blows so that the tube doesn't break im making smaller rockets so i cant hit it with 8 solid blows or the tube buckles.actually no i have not polished my spindle or cleaned it for that matter it always looked nice and shinny so thought it was good. what should i clean the spindle with ?right now i am making some lift powder see if i have better luck with thathere is what i did75 grams KN0315 grams pine charcoal10 grams S3 grams dextrini have it in my ballmill now its been going for nearly 2 hrs i was gonna let it run for 4 hrs then spritz it slowly with enough water to make a shinny ball then rice it threw my biggest screen which is 10 mesh and then let it dry its been awhile since i have made lift powder so does that sound like im doing everything right ? im just in the mids of a 3d print of a horse comb so i can comb it out to dry on some kraft paper when done.Next project i wanted to make some faster BP for mainly burst in my small shells i was thinking of using the same 75 15 10 and 1% red gum and 4 hrs mill then spritz with 99% iso alcohol till i can make the shiny ball then corn threw the same 10 mesh screen would this work better for burst in small 2" shells ? im trying to stay away from flash powder as long as i can or at least till i have gotten my techniques perfected and know that my rockets wont CATO and know that my lift powder willl launce my shells high enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 (edited) I rub the spindle with paraffin wax after polishing it with an aluminum wheel polish (Mother's) and buff it with OOO steel wool between rockets and re-wax. I had a God-awful time with rockets when I first started in on them and almost gave up bu the guys on the forums talked me down and set me straight!I haven't used red gum for BP so can't offer any help there but I can recommend using dextrin in some to coat on rice hulls for lift. This saves a bunch of powder since an equal amount of the coated hulls can be used in lieu of straight BP. I don't mess with flash either if I can help it and have been using salicylate whistle as a burst enhancer. Edited June 27, 2017 by OldMarine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usapyro Posted June 27, 2017 Author Share Posted June 27, 2017 (edited) I don't mess with flash either if I can help it and have been using salicylate whistle as a burst enhancer. Eeek... Sally powder scares me. 7:3 does not. You can wave a flame across 7:3 and hit it with massive static discharge without issue. Sally whistle powder is just about as hazardous as KClO3/Al. A friend of mine with an Anvil who does metal working couldn't get 7:3 to go off on his anvil using a hammer... Edited June 27, 2017 by usapyro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insutama Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Ya im having a hard time with rockets also which really sucks because some work and some dont so i dont wanna make headers if im not 100 % sure they will fly.All my tooling is coreburners so should i start trying nozzleless rockets first and how long should i mill my rocket fuel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usapyro Posted June 27, 2017 Author Share Posted June 27, 2017 (edited) Ya im having a hard time with rockets also which really sucks because some work and some dont so i dont wanna make headers if im not 100 % sure they will fly.All my tooling is coreburners so should i start trying nozzleless rockets first and how long should i mill my rocket fuel? Nozzleless are super easy. Stuff goes up so fast with hot BP it's like a reverse mortar on a stick, lol... Quality end burners with fast BP and a solid tube can lift a good header too. Edited June 27, 2017 by usapyro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insutama Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 i just made a nozzless coreburner with some weaker rocket mix i cant really test it today its way to hot and dry outside were i live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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