pyroman2498 Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 (edited) There is a video and build of a 16" can shell on Ned's site that was a mind blower for me , if I recall the BS was 12" but I don't exactly remember .. Edited January 23, 2016 by pyroman2498 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeee Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 16" case former is the next tool on the bucket list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueComet24 Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Wow, that's like a 24" ball by volume. You must have a big lathe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeee Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Finished turning and sanding and applied a coat of finish to the 12" hollow case former.The tool ended up weighing about 16 pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 In general, cylinder shells have about 50% more volume on average compared to their ball shell counter parts. Also 50% more awesomeness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 (edited) Couldn't do much today but went to the shed and resumed pouring lead media. My gas lead pot kept it warm in there and a borrowed 12 ball mold made it go much faster than my little 4 ball model. Lead pouring is definitely a winter sport. Edited January 23, 2016 by OldMarine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ubehage Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 I made 15 pieces of experimental "micro-salutes" in 8mm paper tubes with 5% Titatnium, each with 1/10th second interval.I will try them in a 5"-shell. But I realized that I need to make more rice hulls and lift before I can proceed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schroedinger Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Made a new sizing screen and framed it, also a lever type spiking horse and a tape slicer. Now for the nasty part, deburring the screen, and make the other tools look nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeee Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 (edited) Started working on the next job today.Nested balls for the Wasp machine.This will be a 6", 8" 10" and 12" wood balls that nest inside of each other. Edited January 25, 2016 by mikeee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starxplor Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 I got my respirator in the mail on Friday, sorry it is not 'today' as this thread title suggests... I did order my ball mill, hobfir from ebay, today, so I guess that counts too. Time now to become familiar with ctrl-r keyset again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stix Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Well don't worry starxplor that it's not 'today', I'm going to stretch mine out to "What pyro related activities have you been doing in the last few months that may be mildly interesting to the forum?" and for that, I think I can truly say "sorry" for pushing it just a bit . It's been fire season here and will be for the next few months so not a good idea to be testing any "true" pyrotechnic devices, so I've been working on a new design for a thrust meter/test rig for measuring the power of rocket motors. The electronics are done and part of the actual physical device is made and things are looking very positive - I'm hoping to get this finished in the next few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueComet24 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Today I enjoyed the nice weather and used some of my Alcoa 120 by making 50g of cut N1 stars. I had a gram or two left over from the little pieces that were too small to be stars, so I wet it into a paste and made a nice sparkler using a bottle rocket stick.I've never actually heard of people using a glitter star comp for sparklers. I've heard of glitter aluminum being used in sparklers, but not actually something like D1 or N1. This will be something new for me, so I'll be sure to wear fire-resistant PPE when I light it. I think I'll also hold the sparkler with some pliers, just to be extra safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AprenticeChemist Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 (edited) I attended some annual pyrotechnics training with the company I work for pyroshows. After I got home decided it was as any to rekindle my love for making my own and threw together a couple compositions I made some amazing Zn/S flash powder(my ratio burns a little faster than Bp usually) Also a failure at a new mixture of KNO3/SrNO3/Al/S only parts of it burned I think I needed more KNO3 and less Al however for creating my own mixture using eyeball volume measurements it wasn't too bad. I miss making me my own pyro but after reading on ATF website that making explosives and using them at home for personal use is legal and unregulated technically I might have be more inclined to get back into the hobby. Enjoy the video of the Zn/S Also I have no idea how to delete my accidental repost. trim.396A53C4-3C95-4EC0-9D3D-A8E10B6EE4E2.MOV Edited February 22, 2016 by AprenticeChemist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeee Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Finished another tool today, this is an "Air Base" for use with larger case formers. You roll the paper case onto the tool and then glue the end disc into the paper case. When ready to remove the paper case place the handle of the case former into the hole on top of the "Air Base" and insert a compressed air into the hole on the side of the housing. This fills the "Air Base" with air and then forces air into the handle and blows the paper case from the tool. I might install a small ball valve and air hose fitting on to the housing and this would leave both hands free to coax the paper case from the larger case formers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaverCork Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 After four months of engineering and testing, I achieved my first practical and useful detonation of Yellow Powder. The caving world now has a new and ultra safe blasting agent. It's no longer a novelty anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeee Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Turned some more wood balls for use with Wasp machines today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Ah! Matryoshka dolls (um.. BALLS!!). <G> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeee Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Lloyd, If I knew how many balls I would be turning this year I would have turned some molds and wouldhave started making fiberglass balls, or RIM molded balls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fulmen Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Today I'm making malachite (basic copper carbonate) by leaching copper scrap with ammonia/ammonium carbonate. It's an interesting process that yields a fine dense powder of definitive composition, and while slow it's far easier than a direct precipitation from sulfate/hydroxide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 (edited) Launched my first two rockets yesterday. Unfortunately my ex wife screwed up the video. I've got a great video of her watching the launch! Edited February 29, 2016 by OldMarine 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueComet24 Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 What size and type of rocket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 3 lb nozzled black powder. 7½"tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMat Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Today, I broke the piston in my BP press cup. The big disappointment is the fact I have around 300 grams of BP left to be corned. I cast the piston out of polyester resin... I think the next one will have some cut up fiberglass in it for reinforcement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I used "sharp sand" for mine.Lloyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nessalco Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I granulated 3 kilos of sumac BP, and primed some stars Lloyd would hate Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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