1291 replies to this topic

[gentrym76]

Hello, my name is Mark from Southwest Louisiana, USA. 44 years old.

Total greenhorn here. Hoping to be lead in the right direction for a new hobby in fireworks. I am a thirty year guitar player, and my hands are starting to limit my ability to play for any length of time. So I need a new hobby. Have always been interested in this, especially rockets.

Thanks in advance for all the info.

[rogeryermaw]

depending on what you're into, don't think this hobby will be super easy on your hands. spiking cylinders can be very physical work. but at least tarred string can hold it's place for a while if you have to let go! welcome aboard and look forward to what you discover.

Edited by rogeryermaw, 06 November 2020 - 08:27 AM.

[bwayne64]

Hi all, I'm Joe. Just signed up,been a lurker off and on. Getting ready to build a ball mill, and knew there were brains to pick here Cheers

[Chad101]

Thanks for allowing me to join!

Im a fireworks enthusiast at night and a software engineer by day who puts on 4 shows a year for the subdivision I reside in.

I was recently approved for my ATF license to purchase 1.3 product (it should be arriving in the mail any day now). Which probably wont save me much $$$ but itll drastically cut down on the setup time for future shows (e match, bigger cakes, etc).

Im looking network with others who share a similar passion for pyrotechnics and learn more about the industry. This is just a hobby, not a career for me.

[thunder6442]

Hello from Ohio

[SeaMonkey]

Greetings Thunder from Very Southern California.

 

I passed through Ohio in April '71 enroute to Defense Language Institute East Coast and again

in February '72 enroute to Alameda, California.  Beautiful country and nice People!

 

I got hooked on Big Guns, Fireballs and Loud Explosions plus the unique smells of burnt powder

while in the Navy.  The fascination with the Works of Fire just never goes away!

[entropy]

Howdy all! 

 

I am from the US and my interest in pyrotechnics has recently been re-sparked. As a kid I was obsessed with all this and tried all kinds of ill advised firework modifications, projects and experiments. Now that I'm an adult with a little bit of chemistry knowledge, a thirst for learning and a matured attitude about safety, I hope to finally explore this hobby in a fulfilling way. At the moment I am taking particular interest in exploring the possibilities of ground fireworks that could be considered S&S, because I've been really impressed with a couple of 500g fountains we've bought recently. Hope to be around and get to know the community!

[SharkWhisperer]

Howdy all! 

 

I am from the US and my interest in pyrotechnics has recently been re-sparked. As a kid I was obsessed with all this and tried all kinds of ill advised firework modifications, projects and experiments. Now that I'm an adult with a little bit of chemistry knowledge, a thirst for learning and a matured attitude about safety, I hope to finally explore this hobby in a fulfilling way. At the moment I am taking particular interest in exploring the possibilities of ground fireworks that could be considered S&S, because I've been really impressed with a couple of 500g fountains we've bought recently. Hope to be around and get to know the community!

Welcome! Your fountains will eclipse anything you've bought at a fireworks shop. 500g? Prolly 100g of clay or more. You'll do better. Plenty of folks here are willing to help you any way they can, so long as it's clear you're using that brain of yours and not cutting too many corners. Would suggest (same advice to all new pyros) to take the time and effort to learn to make reliably potent black powder (BP) because it's the basic foundation of pyrotechnics, and is needed for many, many projects. Tip: It all comes down to your charcoal, and when available, the good stuff is expensive. Made by yourself, it's pennies on the dollar, but takes a couple of hours to cook an mill to powder. Given that KNO₃ and sulfur from usual pyro sources in the US are top-notch, BP all boils down to how good your charcoal is, what type of wood, and how fine it's milled. Expect the possibility of hitting a snag from time-to-time in learning the art, but soon you'll be laughing at how easy it is and how silly your oversights may have been.

 

Gloves and glasses. Your hands and eyes are valuable. Other PPE gear needed too, but there are no substitutes for properly functioning (preserved/maintained) hands and eyeballs for enjoying many things in life, including the pyro hobby.

 

Welcome.

[Pdiddy123]

Hello, Love the site and i'm learning alot!

Edited by Pdiddy123, 03 January 2021 - 03:49 AM.

[Roggi]

Hey all. Great forum and lots of good information. Thanks

[Richtee]

Hey all. Great forum and lots of good information. Thanks

Welcome. And yes there’s lots of good. There’s some not so good. It tends to get shut down reasonably quick tho. Measure twice, cut once.

Edited by Richtee, 13 January 2021 - 03:35 PM.

[ricknickel]

Hello
My name is Rick and I live in Huntsville Alabama
I enjoy working on technology related projects like microelectronics, quadcopters, chemistry, Forging, robotics, 3D printing and many others.
I tend to study things to death before I do any practical work. One of my mottos is - There are some mistakes you can't learn from. 

A sampling of what I do can be found at 
https://www.facebook.../rick.nickel.9/
https://www.youtube.com/rnickel123

My homemade ball mill demo on my YouTube channel may be of interest to folks here...