NeighborJ Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 Yeah mortars are for sissy's, I only have a 2" ,3" and a 12"which I've never had occasion to use. The rockets don't get covered but I do sponge glue over the spiking because I don't coat the string until afterwards. My glue dries too fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 You should get some of Lloyd's tar and give it a try. I use it on Paul Moulder's hemp twine and it grabs great. Leaves your hands black as...uh...tar but worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeighborJ Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 I wonder if pipe dope would work? Blue block or Grip, I have lots of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 By golly,I bet Blue Block would grab like hell. I know it doesn't want to let your fingers go! Seems to grow upon contact and end up everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Got my new mill up and running this morning and have already milled what would have taken all day in my old mill. I was worried about having enough rocket fuel and burst powder by Friday but I'll have plenty by this afternoon.Thanks Caleb! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeighborJ Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 OM, does your cat like the new mill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Not as much as the old one. I may put some tape on the jar to keep her amused. It is sweet not having to deal with the clumping in the jar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otto Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 Not as much as the old one. I may put some tape on the jar to keep her amused. It is sweet not having to deal with the clumping in the jar! So what's the secret to keep stuff from clumping? Dry chems or a specific mill design? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 I got the modified Rebel mill from Caleb with the hexagonal, rubber lined jar. Even though I dried my nitrate before and still do, it still clumped in the ends of my pvc jar but not in this setup.I don't know why it doesn't clump but I'm happy to accept it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 Patrick,There isn't any spot on a rubber liner that doesn't flex during operation. Something might stick to a spot, but it gets broken loose quickly. Lloyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 Makes sense Lloyd, it's darned nice not having to stop halfway through a run to chisel the mix out of the jar opening and base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 There isn't any spot on a rubber liner that doesn't flex during operation. Something might stick to a spot, but it gets broken loose quickly. I to am willing to accept that explanation. But, what is the reason some people have large buildup on the media, while others only have jar buildup?B! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 If I don't dry my KNO3 before milling, it tends to stick to my media and form a large clump of nitrate and lead. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 Yep... Patrick said it right. Moisture content is the bane of ball milling. Even dry materials will compact in the corners of a rigid jar, but moist materials stick to the media and themselves, no matter the type of jar. Lloyd 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulphurstan Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 My digital weight scale died yesterday evening :angry: So I won't do a lot today... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memo Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 last couple of days have been busy wednesday built and spiked 50 shells 2-6inches, thursdays pasted the 50 . today lift and leader. we are ready, saturday we will gather wood for a bonfire, dig holes for the tubes. tired guy tonight. wife is haveing her birthday today so it is bbq night. ready for bed i am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coogan1997 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Same here! Last couple of days, pressed 12 1lb rockets and 12 4oz whistles. Built and spiked 15 headers last night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueComet24 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 I've been busy lately, but yesterday I found time to make 3 "sky bloom flowers", so called because they're constructed like a ground bloom flower (a 1×2.5" tube with a clay plug, a tangent nozzle, and filled with sorbitol/Fe2O3 rocket candy), but they fly! I also split bamboo into 6mm (¼") sticks 46-61cm (18-24") long for my 12.7mm (½") semi rockets. Bamboo works really well for guide sticks, as it splits nicely into squarish sticks and the concave side hugs the motor.Today I spent a while ramming 12.7mm semi motors, and ended up with 5 after using up my BP. I've now got a total of 9 with different bulkhead and ignition configurations to test. I'm excited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 The weather is going to be crummy here so I've dialed my plans back to some mines and fountains. I'll put my other stuff into my 4th of July collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueComet24 Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 Fired off my 9 test rockets among other things, and all of them, even the one with no bulkhead and instant full-core ignition, flew flawlessly, no CATOs whatsoever. It snowed a bit, which made for a pretty display, but quickly got rained on and turned to slush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 Y'know,I'm sitting here, reading this, and just realized that I haven't done any new pyro all this year! Lloyd 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maximusg Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Made some small starmines to test some D1 Glitter stars I have had laying around drying for ages since new years. The comp was made with 400 mesh spherical al and were cut to about 10mm. I like it, a decent amount of delayed sparkles. Gonna make some more comp and try rolling them. I especially like how inexpensive this mix is 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebkessinger Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Looks pretty sparky to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeighborJ Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Oh boy,I pulled a bonehead move today. I forgot to set my scale back to grams, so when i was measuring out a batch of BP for milling it was reading 100ths of a pound. I was only planning on making a batch of about 1333g but ended up with a 13.33lb batch. I should have noticed the enormouse volume of chems but i was paying attention to the ball game on the radio and mindlessly dumping my measured charcoal and sulfer into the mill jar. It wasnt until I realized the weight of the KNO3 that something was wrong. I guess its ok, my ball mill can handle up to 15lb of comp but i had just removed and washed half of the media so i could mill another chem. I had to add that fresh media back into the mill, oh well. I need to pay a little more attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Really? You can mill 15lb at a crack? How big IS your mill? I'd be careful, if your jar is larger than 8-10" diameter. There have been accidents with large mills, due to the forces generated when balls fall too far onto BP. Lloyd 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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