Tourbillon Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 (edited) Well I set out to make mines as my first fireworks making project. I have spent the last few months researching, making, and developing my stars, quickmatch, BP and lift. Finally got everything to a point I'm ready to build. What I'm missing is suggestions on finished star size. Anyone have suggestions on star size and count as a starter for mine shells? I'm working in small quantities and getting me in the ballpark would be appreciated. I'm starting with 1.75 mines and would like to eventually make 3's and 4's. Thank you. Edited June 6, 2017 by Tourbillon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Try nothing larger than about 3/16" o.d. (maybe 1/4", finished and primed) for mines that small. "Fullness" of the rising pattern is important, and the larger the diameter of the stars, the fewer you can get in that small of a mine. You won't do well with more than one tube-i.d. height of stars in there. So the size becomes important to the "count". LLoyd 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tourbillon Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 Gives me a starting point. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 You're welcome! I do this for a living. We can afford to waste some material, as just a 'cost of doing business' (not MUCH, though! <grin>). But it's particularly irksome for an amateur to have to discard or store a bunch of stars, just because they didn't meet expectations. Lloyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 (edited) Here's a great tutorial from Skylighter;http://blog.skylighter.com/fireworks/2010/06/making-1-75-inch-bag-piston-mines.html Edited June 7, 2017 by OldMarine 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Um... I don't get that link, at all. L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Ah... you corrected it! 3/8" stars are too large for that tiny mine. The plume will be there, but will be 'sparse' by commercial close-proximity fireworks standards. IMHO, 1/4" is as big as they should be (finished, with prime). But... that's only my opinion. ANY first-time mine-maker would probably be thrilled with the effect of 3/8" stars. Later in his career, maybe not-so-much. Lloyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tourbillon Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 If it's ok I'm just going to continue this thread as my first mine build. This is where I'm at for components: BP sample. Didn't measure it out. -20 mesh: 20170606_204150.mp4 Shimizu "Low Temp Red" rolled star - about 1/4": 20170606_204342.mp4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Tourbillion, I'm "washing dishes" this evening while taking breaks to read the forums. I'm getting ready to build the innards for a battery of 4" mines for Indepedence day to compliment the rocket headings and cylinder shells I've already assembled. I've only been active in the hobby a couple of years and still love the 1.75" stuff with a passion! I have almost 50 mines ready to go and the Excalibur tubes for each. All of mine are the piston type and aside from comets contain ¼" stars after priming. I cut most of them at 3/16" and after prime... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 'Sounds good, Tourbillion. Continue -- show us the mine being fired! They're a little slow-burning, and will 'droop' over the top. (quite a lot). A good mine should have all stars going out very near their apex. But it'll still be pretty! Lloyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMat Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 I usually keep the odd sized stars from around the edges of my patty when cutting and other various scrap for making mines. They are generally rather small in size (3/16-14"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 (edited) I bought a pump just for making 1.75" glitter comets. D1 and Lloyd's buttered popcorn glitters are very impressive for their size. I like a few of the Winokur glitters as well but I like the simpler ingredients if I'm making a bunch at once. I think you get more bang for your buck if you mix glitters in with color stars. It makes for a fuller presentation. I love the difference in size and presentation difference between comets and stars in consumer sized devices: Edited June 7, 2017 by OldMarine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braddsn Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 FWIW, IF you have the materials and the mortars, I came up with my own way to make mines, and they are pretty effective and work great. They are also very easy and quick to make. I take a pair of 3" shell hemispheres. I drill a hole through the center of each hemisphere (this is where I run the fuse through). I run a fuse through the center hole of each hemisphere, fill the hemis with stars, then tape them together with a 1.25" wide strip of foil tape, all the way around the equator (the seam where the hemispheres fit together). So essentially, you have a ball shell full of stars and no burst, and only taped at the equator with a fuse running through the center of the whole thing. Then, I add a lift baggie (I use 10g of lift for these) to the fuse coming out of one end of the ball. Then when you pick up the end of the fuse that you are going to light, the "ball-mine" will slide down against the lift baggie, then it's ready to load into the mortar. As the fuse burns it's way down to the lift bag, it will pass through the ball mine and ignite the stars. I did some testing and compared this method to the tried-and-true piston mine method. While the piston mine did perform slightly better, the trade-off with the ease of making the "ball mine" was certainly worth it to me, and I don't think my spectators noticed any difference. Oh and another bonus.... I was able to walk the area after the show and retrieve most of the hemispheres and re-use them for mines again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braddsn Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Oldmarine, I like the idea of a 1.75" pump. Now I want one! Where did you get yours if you don't mind me askin? Time to invest in a shop press!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 I bought the multi-pump from Caleb at Woody'shttp://www.woodysrocks.com/store/p82/Medium_Sized_Multi-pumps_%281.25"_-_1.75"%29.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tourbillon Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 I bought the multi-pump from Caleb at Woody'shttp://www.woodysrocks.com/store/p82/Medium_Sized_Multi-pumps_(1.25"_-_1.75"%29.htmlHow do I always get sold something from people who don't sell things. Lol. It's now on my "Get list". Thanks for the suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkie752 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Here is a video of a few 1.75" mines I made a few months ago. They were made with 3/8" stars and as Lloyd said earlier they were a little sparse but I enjoyed them since it was just for a test for the 5 " shells I was making. I used the piston style construction and lifted them with my 2Fa willow bp. I think I used 10 grams to lift them but I can't remember for sure.Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 I've always liked 4FA at about 10% of the component weight to lift mines. Pistons are also great for getting a nice column of stars. There's a whole world to play around with regarding piston vs. no piston or a bag, and mortar length to get a variety of effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tourbillon Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 Thank you for all the info. I'm going to ramp up production of stars this weekend. The stars in the test video were closer to 5/16 unprimed (had diffrent ideas while first making them). I'm going to stash those for later use and build up the rest of my cores to 1/4" primed. I'll be sure to post progress and video of the finished product when I reach the end of my slow and steady journey . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 (edited) I've been making toilet paper tube mines this past week and I like them. I pop an end disc in and then press the lift bag with a perforated disc into the tube, pour in my stars and crimp the top around the QM. Very fast and they look good as well! Edited June 26, 2017 by OldMarine 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvanblo Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Oldmarine, do you simply set that on the ground and light it? Or do you drop that in a mortar tube? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 I fire them from a consumer mortar. Perfect fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tourbillon Posted June 28, 2017 Author Share Posted June 28, 2017 (edited) I fire them from a consumer mortar. Perfect fit.Checked a tp tube last night. Fit looks good in a dr11 tube. I primed a few of those 5/16 stars I have. I don't have a star gun so I'm going to throw a TP mine together with the oversized stars as a test just to make sure they light before I make any more. Edited June 28, 2017 by Tourbillon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 I've shot leftover ½" stars from the little tubes and they've lit just fine. Of course I added some smaller stars in there as well to fill up the spaces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tourbillon Posted June 30, 2017 Author Share Posted June 30, 2017 (edited) First successful (I think) test using oversized stars. Used Lloyds suggestion of "one diameter height" for star loading, Mumbles "10% component weight" (7g of -6 +12 home made bp) for lift, And the OldMarine "TP tube" mine. It was daylight but powder and stars did what powder and stars are supposed to do. I'm going to make a few for this weekend and I'll post some night time video. Edited June 30, 2017 by Tourbillon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts