Darkonez Posted December 16, 2022 Share Posted December 16, 2022 Hi all Ive introduced myself the other day and been reading the tutorials/ debates. Ive been collecting materials and tooling and Im starting to get somewhere now, Ive made a few batches of BP and paper test looks good but need to do the 3inch Mortar test with a baseball. Here in the uk we have limited buying options but I thought Id ask to see if anyone here can recommend some upto date suppliers? Ive found a supplier for flash main ingredients here which I wont need for some time but struggling to find a 3 inch mortar! And could someone please confirm size and weight of ball used in testing as in uk we dont really use them and I can buy different sizes and weights. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMat Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 Seriously, I have forgotten that actual weight of a baseball, but I do remember that I use 15 g of powder for the lift charge (makes me think baseballs weigh around 150 g). If you can get around 8 seconds (or longer!) from boom to the thud of the ball hitting the ground, you are doing great! As far as lift charges for shells, a good starting point is 10% of the weight of the shell. This will go down as the shells get larger and maybe higher for real small shells (25-38mm). When you are first starting out, doing a baseball test of a new batch of BP will let you know how it performs compared to your last batch. Until you truly dial in your BP making process, you WILL get differences in the flight time from batch to batch and you should adjust how much you use for lift and, to a lesser degree break. If you get a considerably shorter flight time you may want to consider adding a booster to your break charge. You will find many posts on here about different types of break charge boosters. If your flight time is seriously short you may want to try running your BP through the mill again and re-granulating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richtee Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 A great 3” tube is the core of the wrapping film stuff...the stuff they use to stabilize pallets of stuff. Look around places that ship pallets of materials, you’ll find them. At least here in the US... dunno about the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Use a cricket ball. It's the UK equivalent to a baseball, near enough same size and weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulphurstan Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 (edited) Beginning to think to make shells fired from mortar instead of shells on top of a rocket (as I do for several years now)...I'm too thinking about how to make the baseball test, where to get the mortar ?etc!Regarding mortar, pyrogarage.pl has some fiberglass ones. You may have a look on their website.I haven't buy yet, but will probably order my 3 inch mortar there, unless somebody on the forum recommend a better source, or HDPE instead of fiberglass... Edited January 5, 2023 by Sulphurstan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbullzuiper Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 I bought all my fiberglass mortars on pyrogarage.pl. Excellent quality / price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnypyro Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 You can get eco-tubes (card) from Essex tube windings (https://essextubes.com/mortar-tubes/) or HDPE tubes from MLE (https://category4fireworks.co.uk/product/3-mortar-tube/) I have no connection with either of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMat Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 (edited) I started out using cardboard tubes, but they all failed after a number of shots. I even tried treating the I.D. of the tubes with waterglass (Sodium silicate solution) and though they lasted longer, again all failed eventually. HDPE tubes is definitely the way to go. There are a number of suppliers here in the States, and the prices are fairly reasonable, whether or not they will ship over to you and how much it will cost is something you will have to find out. http://www.platteriverfireworks.com/ is the place I have always used. A quick google search gave me these guys and they are located in Europe; https://www.pyroservice.eu/ Edited January 12, 2023 by MadMat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richtee Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 I started out using cardboard tubes, but they all failed after a number of shots. I even tried treating the I.D. of the tubes with waterglass (Sodium silicate solution) and though they lasted longer, again all failed eventually. HDPE tubes is definitely the way to go. There are a number of suppliers here in the States, and the prices are fairly reasonable, whether or not they will ship over to you and how much it will cost is something you will have to find out. http://www.platteriverfireworks.com/ is the place I have always used. A quick google search gave me these guys and they are located in Europe; https://www.pyroservice.eu/Yeah, they don’t last forever, but a good while if you take care of them. And the price is right if you scrounge them up from factories. Sometime they’ll even have a few foot of film left on them. Cuts the scatter of paper if one does fail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkonez Posted October 1 Author Share Posted October 1 Year and a half on and I’m still a newbie lol. Lost interest or lack of time for a bit but been looking to get going again. Are there any south east England members on the forum? Would be great to know someone else is technically minded in this part of the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmjlab Posted October 1 Share Posted October 1 Lost interest.....? That's blasphemy! (Jk) Wish I could help, but unfortunately, I don't know anyone. I'm sure someone will chime in here soon. Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted October 1 Share Posted October 1 There will be people around with knowledge, experience and some supplies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmjlab Posted October 1 Share Posted October 1 (edited) 8 hours ago, Darkonez said: Year and a half on and I’m still a newbie lol. Lost interest or lack of time for a bit but been looking to get going again. Are there any south east England members on the forum? Would be great to know someone else is technically minded in this part of the world. If you had a friend here in the U.S. that you trust, you could have them order tooling and supplies and have it shipped to you by them (obviously not chemicals though). Companies here in the U.S. often take the legally safer route of not shipping internationally, not because it's illegal, but because it's the safest and easiest way to avoid legal issues related to import / export rules, duties, tarrifs. Also, if a customer didn't receive said merchandise after purchase, the resulting claims and disputes would cost time, money, and headaches in general. So legally, at least on the U.S. side, a personal exchange of Pyro tooling should not be an issue. As for chems, I've not used any myself, but I recall seeing discussions of a couple places that sell in Europe. Good luck! Edited October 1 by cmjlab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkonez Posted October 1 Author Share Posted October 1 Thanks for the replies! I have a good stock of home made willow charcoal and a little of most ingredients. I made my own mill and tooling Just a case of getting motivated to get the test runs going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmjlab Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 Well if you have a mill and the smarts to use it, you are in a good space to learn a lot and make tools specific to your liking as you progress. That makes me slightly jealous. I wish I had the funds and smarts to get a mill and/or lathe to make my own tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnypyro Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 I'm based in the UK - Cambridge. I've been involved in pyro for about three years now staring on fountains and comets/star guns before moving on to bombettes. Making good progress this year. I have Acquire and EPP licences. No large shells for me - I don't have the room. Also, the legality is unclear as they are cat 4 items commercially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkonez Posted October 3 Author Share Posted October 3 On 10/2/2024 at 9:11 AM, johnnypyro said: I'm based in the UK - Cambridge. I've been involved in pyro for about three years now staring on fountains and comets/star guns before moving on to bombettes. Making good progress this year. I have Acquire and EPP licences. No large shells for me - I don't have the room. Also, the legality is unclear as they are cat 4 items commercially. May I ask the reason you used to apply for the EPP license. I have looked into it a few times and presume saying I need it for hobby fireworks wouldn’t cut it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnypyro Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 I got the Acquire licence first. I have a shotgun licence, which definitively helps (secure storage). The firearms officer came round and was really helpful as he'd never come across anyone wanting BP and flash for homemade fireworks. In the end, the licence is for "manufacture and experimentation of pyrotechnic articles". Max amount of BP is 100g, which is fine for lift as I'm using <1g per firing. It quickly became obvious that you're limited for colours with just KNO3. So I got EPP for K perchlorate and BaNO3. This application prompted a visit from the anti-terror police team and then fire and rescue. All very pleasant, and once they saw I was serious with the set up for BP/Flash, it wasn't a problem. Apparently, there are only a few hundred EPP active in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkonez Posted Saturday at 02:45 PM Author Share Posted Saturday at 02:45 PM Thank you for replying and sharing that! I may well pick your brains on the subject again when I get more organized and stick with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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