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Here is a video of the fish glitter with the earlier delay techniques I mentined. It is a 19mm crossette cavity comet, ignited in the cavity end so the effect is a small gerb. A nice little garden friendly display 🙂 VID_20250418_222427.mp4

Great shell! One option, mentioned by Shimizu, is to use a finer mesh (more energetic) burst for the inner petal. For instance, if you use BP on rice hulls for the outer petal, you might try granulated BP in the inner petal. You could also just add more booster to the center of the shell. I made a 3” double petal recently… it turned out pretty well, but not perfect. Cut stars, so symmetry was imperfect. I used independence red in the inner petal too (it’s a good choice, nice and bright). 1.5” newspaper hemis for the inner petal, BP:hulls 5:1 throughout, and 3g slow flash in the middle. The petal size ratio was good, as the outer petal was blonde streamer (fast burning, smaller radius). With double petals, relative star burn time (and brightness) of inner and outer petals is a big factor. IMG_1973.mov

You use static guard, on yourself and work area. To " help " protect yourself from an accidental ignition. While mixing specific comps. You use spray adhesive on the inside of a very over square, machine wound core. To glue the TI to the outer wall, for a very specific effect.

If you're in the U.S. the majority of KP for sale is going to have anti cake in it. If it doesn't state otherwise. It is also usually the cheapest. Being of Chinese origin. High purity KP without anti cake. Usually goes for a premium, like Swedish or B&C.

ACA (anti caking agent) is a material added to a chemical which prevents it from caking. Caking in the sense, particular chemical while storing becomes rock hard & forms hard lumps as time passes due to property of that material.

OK..impressive. But he’s not gonna get -200 mesh copper out a scrap pile. I might order some. Been chasing a good blue for a min er two.

The HE section doesn't work, no one uses it, it has no future, it's a dead idea accessible to a narrow group, and no one will write there or find any content there. The site has a dead section where no one can access or read it anymore. It is only good for drawing attention to oneself from the authorities, because they certainly read it.

Try not to overthink it man. Just dot your i's and cross your t's with out overkilling it. Stay calm and focused. Respect and enjoy the process and you will be fine.

HE refers to High Explosive, please refer this link.

Fertiliser comes in different grades, some more suitabe than others. Buy a moderate amount and try some favourite recipes! If it works, that brand is OK. If it doesn't work work out what went wrong. Remember that the real era for canons and black powder was before the ingredients could be purified as they are now.

Toro method is suitable for SGRS. Most of japnese composition rely on SGRS as a binder. Dextrin can be used, but in toro method appropriate viscosity of toro is very important. Also temperature of star which is to be coated with next layer is important thing, stars are kept in a shadow for and hour or two before it is coated with next layer or prime, if temperature of star is high (just in case if just right after it is taken out of sunshine and shifted for coating) then it absorbs moisture faster from toro and becomes wet and may crumble sometimes or face difficulty in working. Solution of gum arabic tends to become acidic after time and not suitable for sensitive stars. You can make rolled stars in bulk without having a star roller and it can be easier to work with it regarding priming, bulk production etc. There are few tutorials /information available to roll stars manually without star roller.

Makes sense. When I tried dissolving the dextrin it turned into a big clump. All of my formulas use dextrin from Zopetes' star family. Thanks for all y'alls help.

Hi all. I never thought it would happen but it has! Three very nice polite officers one which was knowledgeable in chemistry and explosives came to visit this morning. No problems everything is stored safely away in appropriate containers no large amounts of any mixed together and definitely no thermite! Which was one of their original concerns??? A bit crazy as even the officers were aware any school kid could make it from tinfoil and rusty bolts lol. Only advice given was to inform local fire brigade of my hobby in the event of a fire and funny colors coming out might be misleading! Very polite knew their stuff and left without any issues. For those that don’t know I’m from the south east of England!

https://skidplant.com/potassium-chlorate-plant/ PILOT PLANT Capacity 5-Kg/day professional POTASSIUM CHLORATE PLANT the minimum. MINI PLANT Capacity 50-Kg/day. Noble Eco Systems’s Potassium chlorate manufacturing system consists of Electrolysers, a reactor, a cooler, Crystallizer, Centrifuge, Dryer, Inter-connecting piping. It is perfectly suitable for the production of potassium chlorate. If it can be re-transmitted from the crystallizer if necessary, the process is guaranteed to be good. Crystallizer, Centrifuge, Dryer, They are also available separately in many places. But these machines output a finished product. These are not designed for home production.

They use industrial equipment for that, we are an amateur forum. We cannot help you producing several kilos of chlorate on an industrial scale. Nobody usually builds anything larger than a 10 liter cell. For some people, a 500ml-1000ml small cell is perfectly fine. You can buy purpose-built machines for industrial production. No one builds their own equipment for professional production. Especially where chlorine gas is released and pH control required. This requires automated equipment. This system also clean and dry the product with minimal user interaction.

It is not worth working with an electrode of this size in a cell with a capacity of less than 10 liters. Amperage affects production speed. To transmit amperes, you need very thick wires. And then the electrode's performance is still not utilized here. From the 0-50A DC Power Supply Adjustable From 10l up to a 60l it will work. The realistic thing here would be a 20 liter cell that would produce very quickly. For a 10 liter cell, a 15A 5-7V power supply is more than enough. However, if the power supply is not adjustable and the cell overheats, the cell must be designed to be larger. Added to this is the problem that the lifespan of the electrodes is also significantly shortened. It is not advisable to rush the production process. I don't know what you saw on YouTube, but if it's ready within a week, that's a realistic time. It can be prepared in very fast cells in three days, but this is not the healthiest for the device. If someone wants to reduce this even further at home, then this hobby may not be for them. The finished product still needs to be cleaned, which is labor-intensive. It must be rinsed and recrystallized, then dried. I recrystallize it twice. This electrode is oversized for home production. We need a maximum of 2 MMO anodes sandwiched between 3 Titanium plates for a larger cell.

Remember that the cell, the electrodes and the power supply are interdependent on each other. You cannot drive a large current through small electrodes, you cannot drive a large current into a small cell or it will over heat. Do NOT operate a power supply close to it's max rated output or it will have a short life. With an electrode set as you picture, the current will require large diameter supply leads to avoid power losses due to heating. Review Solubility table - Wikipedia where you can find the solubilities of sodium and potassium, chlorides and chlorates. You can only eletrolyse the soluble salts. A good plan would possibly be to electrolyse sodium chloride, then precipitate out the chlorate as potassium chlorate by the addition of potassium chloride.

There is a quite nice blue star, "Photon Blue", that uses powdered elemental copper. It requires finely powdered copper, though.

Someone sent a donation without providing a login name or display name, and the email used for the donation isn't your forum email. If your name initials are BC using a charter.net email domain (and you just donated today), please PM me. Thanks. EDIT: And all sorted. Thank you for your donation, it's appreciated!

I gotta say, that comet was something! I've watched that vid more times than I'll admit. Thanks for sharing that. 👍👍

Lately, I’ve switched from lifting my 3” shells from a mortar to sending them up on 8 oz rockets. For the first time, I got a video of the side-view of one of these ball shell rockets and noticed some disturbance of the shell symmetry. The rocket wasn’t quite at apogee yet when it broke, which contributed, but it almost looks like the body of the rocket deflected the paths of some of the stars. The symmetry issue is less visible from the other camera angle, below the rocket, which would make sense. Has anyone else encountered this? Do you have to break the shell away from the rocket tube before it bursts? Maybe I’m overthinking it and the outer petal was just partially blind. The shell is an experimental double petal… they’re not quite there yet. Videos attached below. IMG_1976.mov IMG_1143.mov

It is dried well? Granules size varies according to purpose, do you ball mill your BP? Also just put a piece of visco or bm to save your hand getting burned when you lit.

Hello all, This is my first ariel shell success. I have finally done something right My decently hot, granulated BP is suitable for lifting my shells, as you see in the video The burst is BP layered with a sprinkle of flash for enhancement, and my "effect" is pieces of Visco cut up and placed on the walls of the shell. I also shot two others, one that did not have enough lift, and the other went cato in the pipe. I hope the video works. Here is the yt link-----

Thank you very much!! And thank you for encouraging everyone with your helpful attitude.

I've heard some reports that wood that had turned and become semi-rotten making extremely hot BP. It can definitely be turned into charcoal. How good that BP made from it will be is probably the more important question though. One that is impossible to answer based on the lack of information provided. Try it and find out.

No one will send chemicals and fuses from the USA to the EU. They only send tools like anodes, rock tumbler, rocket tooling. It's only worth buying something like this from a place that offers PayPal payment options, if the package isn't sent you'll get your money back. However, if the electrical device is 110V in the USA, it is 230V in the EU, and if the device does not support 110-220V, you will need a converter which supports at least the watt range that the device needs. Therefore, it is not recommended to buy electrical appliances from there. I once ordered a rock tumbler from there with Alumina ceramic grinding media, and stainless steel grinding media, and a EU compatible 220V to 110V EU USA converter from a big pyro shop. When I transferred the money via PayPal, the package was not sent, they said they did not receive the money, which was obviously not true, so PayPal later refunded the money. Everything that comes from outside the EU goes through customs checks. I have never heard of anyone successfully ordering potassium perchlorate from the USA or China to an EU country as a private individual. Here are some ideas on how to solve it:

He's probably not responding too you, because you are in the EU. And it's probably not legal for him to ship it to you. As far as price, if you buy it by the pound, it costs more. When you buy it by the drum. It's significantly cheaper.

Charcoal is almost exhausted as I have used most of it this year compared to previous years. As I do not use bought charcoal in my every fireworks so this calls for making of charcoal 6-7kg for the next few years. I have accumulated around 30kilogram of particular wood. Debarked them, cut them into small stick sizes and they are drying up batch by batch under the Sun. Summer is setting in and firing wood is also well dried. I will charr them when I get time and of course I am in mood. The paint can is completely burnt and got blackened due to extensive use. I dug a hole on the ground around of 1 foot depth and the circumference is reciprocal to the can so that the heat is not wasted. The paint can is 3/4th filled and takes around 45min-1hr depending upon the intensity of the fire to produce a flame at the vent hole. Not only that, after cooling off I check every stick(THEY ARE BRITTLE LIKE BISCUITS) by breaking them whether it is completely burnt. If any stick feels hard inside it again goes to can for re-charring. Thus I get 1st class grade charcoal, every time. All comments are welcome. Charcoal.mp4

Have you read the article "Corrosion Protection of Magnesium Without the Use of Chromates", published by Alenfelt in Pyrotechnica XVI in 1995? There at least an attempt was made to describe the superficial layer formed from Shimizu's method. The article also explains why nothing really compares to the chromate coating, since it produces a tight layer that also has a self-healing effect from trapped hexavalent chromium species. No other method can provide that feature!

I would venture a guess that AP corrosion would still be an issue as you alluded to. Ammonium salts are very good at dissolving magnesium oxides and hydroxides surface passivation, which is the root cause. I've been some investigations into dichromate treatment, and it seemed to indicate that it essentially intercalates into the passivation layer or oxidizes itself a new layer on the metal surface, and sort of cross links it together or incorporates itself making it stronger and less susceptible to attack. As a fair warning, that's all based on memory, and might be figment of my imagination. The surface is noticeably green however which is consistent with chromium (III) oxide. I'm not so sure if green stars would be out. Most barium compounds have a component proportion of calcium as an impurity. The nicest barium nitrate I've ever used is from Barium and Chemicals. It has an upper spec of 0.05% calcium. If it were at that limit, it'd be contributing essentially just as much calcium into the overall star as this alloy of Mg. I don't have any data on typical calcium proportions lot over lot unfortunately.

KNO3 fertilizer is probably relatively pure in most places, unless they're intentionally mixing something neutral in to keep people from using it as an oxidizer. There are a limited number of things you can add to fertilizers which won't affect plant growth through either soil pH change or nutrient imbalance since plants need roughly the same trace nutrient profile as humans. Doing some quick looking around, the chilean stuff dudadiesel sells is listed as 99.8%+. Haifa Multi-K GG (Greenhouse Grade) is listed with a min / max insoluble content of 350-700ppm and an upper moisture content of 0.2%. 10% solutions have a relatively wide pH range of 6-11 though (9 typical)... This is in contrast to the EU food additive range of 4.5-8.5. Random batches sitting at the upper end there might be part of why some people will have no issues with glitters and some people need to add boric acid. Likewise for possible less pure / lower range pH with magnalium. this is actually about the same for most nitrate fertilizers (they used to have a higher purity grade called TOP with a range from 6-8.5 but I can't find it for sale anymore).. pH and everything else are the same. FWIW pyrochemsource lists their potassium nitrate as this product, hammer-milled, and I haven't had problems using it for anything. Haifa Multi-K Reci can be found fairly commonly, it's meant for recirculating hydroponic systems where sodium buildup can't really be allowed and only contains 150-300ppm sodium, which is important for those applications as well as fireworks in cases when yellow color contamination in the KNO3 flame isn't acceptable. Everything else is the same as the GG listed above which makes me suspect it might just be a sodium tested version of the same product and the production process itself keeps sodium from being a major issue. They have another form which is likely also low sodium since it's designed for foliar application / liquid fertilizer called Multi-K pHast which is low-pH version (typical 4, minimum 3, maximum 6) with a maximum water content of 0.12%. I'm guessing they need to add some small amount of an acid to achieve this, but plants treat nearly every organic acid as a hormone, chlorides are massively detrimental to leaves, and it can't be anything toxic so who knows... If you're making a ton of aluminum glitter / other aluminum containing KNO3 comets at once it might actually be worth buying this since it's guaranteed to be at least slightly acidic. There used to be a Multi-K TOP which was probably pure enough to be reagent grade but they don't seem to make it anymore. Unless you need an even higher temp to remove waters of crystallization, you can get standalone food dehydrators that'll go up to 190F for less than $100 and just run the mess outside and not have to worry about destroying your expensive range with horrifying fumes (especially since the temperatures widely vary inside regular ovens unless they're expensive enough to adjust heat via current control to the heating elements rather than just turning them on and off at intervals. Another option might be the vacuum de-gassing systems for epoxy casting which can usually be had in the ~$100 range. I wouldn't dry Ba(ClO3)2 in a household oven if you paid me (I don't think it's particularly hygroscopic anyway), and I have no qualms making parlon-bound electric stars with it. I don't think most things need to be dried in the first place. The multitudes of formulas where they directly substitute Ba(NO3)2 for Sr(NO3)2 without adjusting for M.W. probably indicate the original strontium formulas just used it without heating high enough to produce the anhydrous form. Strontium nitrate tetrahydrate is ~6.3% heavier per mol than standard (anhydrous) barium nitrate which is fairly negligible. Anhydrous Sr(NO3)2 is ~19% lighter and would require formula modifications to avoid undershooting the oxidizer by quite a bit.

Been here just as long. And FW'ing 7-8 years. Have a pretty good selection of books on fireworking. That I actually bought/own, not downloaded pirated copies. Participated regularly in my local club for nearly a decade, WPA WWB and, Pgi conventions. Met with Jim W and Erik K in Steamboat springs, CO. Where they built and launched their Guinness World Record shell. Ive helped build shells with Mitch P. At WWB. Probably the most accomplished Maltese shell builder in the US. And, plenty of other accomplished builders. I'm not saying there is not some good information here on this site. Your singleing out a specific point, and ignoring the context. If this site is your sole source of information. And your only window to the hobbyist fireworks community, in the US. It's a very narrow scope, and not an accurate representation. Or an efficient way to gain accurate and useful information/knowledge.

Because you think to ask, you know the answer. The pussification of the country is almost complete.

Are you implying that I should help him, as well as you did, in your original post above. Talking down to or ridiculing people, is a pretty low bar you've set. Have anything more challenging, its not even worth getting out of my recliner for.

Name of composition: Golden wave Composition Type: Metallic firedust Creator: Pirotex (original from Shimizu) Color/Effect: Bright yellow comet with lush tail Preparation: Pump with water or 25% alcohol in water NaNO3 - 37%Aluminium (fine flake) - 47%S - 9%Boric acid powder - 1%Dextrin - 6% VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBfr19cZAG4

Trying to get a gradual color change from pole to pole shell. 5 segments, parallel to the equator with stars size 7,8,9,10,11 mm.

interesting observation......... dragons egg composition bismuth trioxide 37.5 copper oxide 37.5 magnalium 250# 25.0 nitrocellulose +10 above is very loud with several cracks ...........add +10%Ti(100um) and the effect is completely destroyed giving a fast burning comp with plenty of sparks but no loud pops etc

Please come and join us in a fundraiser to aid Mumbles in his recovery. Pyros from across the USA have selflessly donated lots of great pyro related items to an auction that everyone is encouraged to bid on. Chemicals, fuse, tooling, twine, paper, screens and a whole lot more! If you want to donate, you can do so on the site as well, just follow the prompts on the screen. MUMBLES FUNDRAISER *DISCLAIMER: Chemicals and fuse may not be shippable outside of the USA. All items are delivered free of charge to the lower 48 states unless otherwise listed. There is no promise that bulky items like paper can be shipped outside of the lower 48. This fundraiser is not in any way associated with APC or Passfire nor can the members that have volunteered to host the fundraiser be held responsible for non-delivery. Contact the seller directly with shipping questions. Any items donated that cannot be shipped must be picked up in person.*

3lb whitsle rockets are large and dangerous I know you have a press and blast shield yes?If your getting lawn darts from this size rockets I assume your way out from civilization.Maybe scale down start smaller unless you already have then that problem shouldnt be to hard to figure out.

Bliindreeper: I have noticed that many people say how great there stars are and all the cool colour they can get. But what about the people who have no access to (per)chlorates, PVC donors, most metals, antimony compounds, exotic oxidizers. We are limited to KNO3 as our oxidzer. Or maybe KMnO4 but who wants to use that? I have developed this forumula which seems to go fine without a prime but it wouldn't go bad if it had a thin BP prime. It rains with long lasting white sparks. Not the best but it is better than the old charcoal star (not saying chrysanthemum stars arn't nice ) KNO3 56 Sulfur - 7.5 Charcoal - 11.5 Dextrin - 5 Aluminium - 20 In short it is 75g meal powder with 5g dextrine and 20g Aluminium powder. The aluminium I use is -325 mesh spherical. I take the meal out of the mill and screen in the dextrin and aluminium. I would like to hear any other colours you have developed or know of. I have also found replacing the Al in that composition with zinc dust makes a nice green. Havn't made any stars witht he Zn just 10g piles of composition. I think it may be more than 20 parts zinc but I will try it out! I have made green, orange and white stars, I would like to expand my array of colours as most non-pyro-supplier-accesible-pyros do. I was after a blue which is shooting for the moon. Or maybe not, copper oxide (black) is very easily prepared with NaOH and copper sulfate, both common no-exotic chems. Mumbles has a nice page on the topic http://www.angelfire.com/empire/megapyro6/Chemistry/CuO.html Also most blue comps require red gum which aparently can be replaced with shellac in most compositions, or so I have heard. Lets assume it can. BTW shellac can be bought in hardware stores as flakes for a few dollars so that is easily accesible. With the blue colouring agent, CuO, KNO3 as our oxidzer and good ol' shellac we may be able to make something with a blue colour to it. A forum project perhaps? Well let me know what you think, or if you have any suggestions to the mix/starting point to work from. Maybe some metal powders will have to be added but you can make aluminium powder with a blender as blackhawk has brought to attention of the forum. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ frogfot: That is a very good idea. Though may I mention that here in Sweden shellac is same price as red gum (I'm on the edge to by 1,5 kg red gum). It would be great to hear about a substitute for this fuel binder. I read Crazy Swedes post on old forum about phenolic resins, any idea of a cheap source. Phenole + formaldehyde method seems to be promicing... I have experimented with chlorate stars (on ground). 12p KClO3 4p CaCO3 4p dextrine This thing gives a weak pink color. That is the closest thing to a colored comp I could get. Still dunno what prime this should use.. EDIT: Oh, heres a very interesting file on phenolic resins: http://polymers.msel.nist.gov/uploads/lin-gibson0403.pdf Preparation of Novolac (resin) is mentioned: formaldehyde/phenole ratio used is 0,7-0,85 catalyst is oxalic acid, 1-6 weight % ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hellworm: Just a random tip for those who test stars on the ground because they don't have a stargun. I test my stars in the air with a pair of foreceps. Foreceps are good because you have better control than with plires. Grab the star lightly with the foreceps, light it, and throw it high. It works quite well to see how the star looks like when it's moving. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Mumbles: This is the first time I've ever exceeded my bandwith. YAY, lol. Here a bit of a late christmas present, but the site should have some more salts. http://www.angelfire.com/empire/megapyro6/...stry/Synth.html Its no where near done, but the info is ammasing. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ nitric63: I've put thought into this type of thing before and thought of one interesting idea for improvised star formulas that I might test soon. This is to use sucralose(non-calorie sweetener) for makings stars. It is pretty much sugar that has had some OH's replaced with Cl's. I'm hoping it can serve as both a fuel and chlorine donor. Also considering sugar and sucralose also burn without two strong of a natural yellow/orange flame color like charcoal that that might help allow the salt's color to show better. I still don't have any coloring agents(well I can make copper carbonate and CuO I suppose). Still I think it will require chlorates as an oxidizer considering I've never heard of a blue comp that didn't use chlorates or perchlorates. Well at least chlorates can be manufactured by various methods. Oh, btw. I was a123x on the old forum. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hellworm: Where did you get the sucralose, and what is it sold as? I am in need of chlorine donors. I have the Perch and Barium Nitrate. I might make some nice green flares or torches. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Blackhawk: I may try to make some blue CuO stars with KMnO4 as ox, perhaps using Al as a fuel. About chlorine donors I powdered some PVC pipe which may work, but i also have CaCl that could work, it is unfortunately horribly hydroscopic so it may be a little tricky. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ nitric63: I said sucralose is a non-calorie sweetener. In other words a sugar substitute. You ought to be able to get it at a super market. Whether it will actually work as a chlorine donor I'm unsure but it's worth a try. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Mumbles: Splenda is what you want. Sucralose is a sucrose molecule with 4 hydroxyl groups replaced with a chlorine atom. I don't know the exact geometry, but I'd be it either goes 1,2,3,4 chlorosucrose, or 1,3,5,7 chlorosucrose. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Crazy_Swede: Nitric63, The sugar substitute with some added chlorine will most certainly not work as a chlorine donor. To be effective, a chlorine donor should contain at least 40 percent chlorine by weight! Blackhawk, You can’t add any calcium or sodium compound to a blue, green or red composition. It will totally ruin the colour! The exception is when you want to create some hue of yellow or orange. Besides, hygroscopic compounds have no place in pyrotechnics! Blindreeper, You ask what to do if you don’t have chlorates/perchlorates or chlorine donors. Well, my advice is to wait with the coloured effects until you have the right materials! While you wait, you can spend some real quality time exploring the truly amazing world of glitter effects! During my amateur years, I tried over 100 different glitter formulas to optimise the effect with the chemicals I had at hand at the time. Below, I describe one of the best that didn’t contain any strange materials (the formula adds to 110 weight percent): 51 KNO3 10 Ba(NO3)2 12 Charcoal (passed through 80-mesh sieve) 10 Atomised Al (not too fine) 8 S 8 Sb2S3 (antimony trisulphide) 6 Fe2O3 (red iron oxide) 5 Dextrin I moistened the composition in plastic bags, using about 10 additional percent of an ethanol/water solution (20% ethanol) that was saturated with boric acid to prevent corrosion of the aluminium. A hydraulic press was used to press 23 mm comets in a brass tool. Friends of mine have rolled this composition, using small granules of pasta as seeds, to make round stars with great success. When working as intended, the effect is a wonderful, long and thick tail of delayed white flashes. The star or comet must be shot or thrown. When burned on the ground, you will most of the times only end up with a big blob of dross. But, very cool glitter fountains can also be made if the slightly moistened composition is rammed in a tube on a spindle! It can be tricky to get it right! Some tips that might help you: The formula has to be adjusted to the specific materials you use. Especially the type of aluminium will alter the effect. Try different levels of charcoal as an initial optimising step. If you don’t have Sb2S3, try to raise the sulphur level up to 12-16 percent and balance with KNO3. If you don’t have Fe2O3, other delay additives can be used; for example different carbonates, but then at different levels. Don’t look upon this or any other formula as a rule! Read it as a suggestion and play around with all levels. Also remember that even small variations can bring about great changes. (I wouldn’t recommend going below 5 percent of dextrin though, since the star or comet would become too brittle!) A simpler way of experiencing the glitter effect is to start with your home made black powder. Add 10 additional percent of your Al powder and 6 percent dextrin. To this base mix, add sulphur in small increments until the effect starts to show when a lit star is thrown. If nothing happens, also add some charcoal to the base mix and try again. Finally, I would like to stress that a wet mixing is very important for achieving the right effect! Therefore, it's most important to use boric acid to prevent heat formation from the corrosion of the aluminium. Otherwise, you will risk spontaneous ignition! Good luck! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Dan: Lol that's the exact way I made silver glitter stars. I just added Al to bp and kept testing. I have a video of them firing. I just took some brown paper and put some BP and Al stars in and wrapped it up with some masking tape to make it. I also added some crackling stars from a crappy firework I had. Here's the link http://www.geocities.com/hvpbgg/StarMinehorizontal.mpg ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ nitric63: It's true that it is low on chlorine. However since I was intending to use it as both a fuel and chlorine donor there will be able to quite a bit more of it in the comp than what non-fuel chlorine donors are so that it will work. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Blindreeper: Crazy swede, the point of this is not to be like the rest and just wait until we get things to make stars its to imporvise. I know In Australia no one is going to pay $150 for 500g of KClO4. There are no pyro suppliers what so ever. Thats why I made this thread ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Blackhawk: Yes that is a big problem with Aus, there are plenty of chemical suppliers but they are for labs or industry and as such only have very high grade chemicals at very high grade prices. Probably the best thing for stars that is easily available and cheap is KNO3 but even that takes a little searching, unless you are a lucky bastard like Blindreeper Crazy Swede: I never said I was going to add Ca or Na compounds, I thought that the CaCl might be good for chlorine donation but it is just too hydroscopic. However would the PVC powder I have work? I know PVC is a commonly used chlorine donor but I don't know in what form, as a powdered plastic or perhaps something else. I was also thinking of using Ca or Na hypochlorites(sp) as the donor/oxidiser but they too are hydroscopic, although not nearly to the extent of the CaCl. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Blindreeper: I offered to give you some of it blackhawk I will slap some fake "Hydroponic Nutrient - Potassium Nitrate (Prills)" on the front for you ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Blackhawk: That may be an option Blindreeper, don't give it, sell it I don't mind paying for it, it is a crapload better than 25g KMnO4 bottles for $5 each! I'll consult my friend, as it would likely reside in his house anyway We'll talk on msn sometime. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Crazy_Swede: Blackhawk, PVC is usually added as a dry powder. The problem with grinding down PVC pipe is that the particles will be quite coarse and also, you have no control over what kinds of fillers and softeners the manufacturer has added. If some of the additives contain sodium or calcium, the PVC powder will be totally useless for producing coloured flames! By the way, if you’re aware of that you shouldn’t add calcium or sodium compounds to colour compositions, why are you then discussing calcium chloride (CaCl2*6H2O) and hypochlorites of calcium and sodium in this thread? Blindreeper, Well, it’s very difficult to make multicoloured stars without the proper ingredients, no matter how much you improvise! If chlorates or perchlorates are the problem, Clive Jennings-White wrote an article in Pyrotechnica XV about using only nitrates to make different colours. Here are some examples: RED 70 Strontium Nitrate 10 Hand Made Meal Powder 10 Sulphur 5 Shellac 5 PVC GREEN 80 Barium Nitrate 10 Sulphur 10 PVC BLUE 50 Guanidine Nitrate 20 Parlon 15 Copper (passing 200 mesh) 15 Magnesium (passing 50 mesh) (This composition is surprisingly cool burning despite its high metal content. This is because the smouldering burning behaviour of the guanidine nitrate.) With only potassium nitrate available as an oxidizer, it will be almost impossible to make other colours than dim purple, yellow, orange, red, very dim blue and yellowish green. I can't see why it would be worth the effort to make ugly stars when there are other effects to explore and master, like glitter, flitter and strobe. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ frogfot: Crazy Swede, what is the main things a pyro fuel should have? I mean, what makes it usable in colored compositions? Btw, powdered PVC would be probably worth to by, only 30$/1,5 kg +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It is true, friend Mumbles. Since then, I go trying this softly effect. And you I swear that I have done multiples tests for weeks. Months. Without success. The motive of opening here this new thread is because I am desperate. Forgive me, please. But not you do not close the thread, when see the pyro teachers think what.... All my tests(essays) with BP, charcoal, lampblack, metals (Ti- Fe/Ti) etc ... they have failed nowadays. Nobody says exactly what is the kamuro. ¿How to make KAMURO? ¿Is the same effect that Brocade? (threads golden/ silver to fall slowly) Nothing in the web. Nothing in the books... "When the flame of powder toucheth the soul of man it burneth exceeding deep" - attribute to Roger Bacon-

How the heck are you getting KNO3/SU rockets to fly with no core?! Are these very small bottle rockets or something?