TXpyro Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I've always been fascinated with dynamite plungers/blasting machines and I've wanted one for a while for setting off fireworks. The only problem is I'm not very good with electronics. I'd like it to be mechanical and I'm thinking of using an old motor attached to a plunger of some sort to generate the electrical current, volt, spark, or whatever it is that ignites the e-match. I just don't know how I would go about setting it up. I started off as a woodworker so I got the got the wood box figured out. I've also recently picked up welding. I just need some tips guys. Are there any women on this forum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThrownBiscuit Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I've looked into building one before but never got around to it. For the design I was looking at building it would need a dynamo that will generate the required voltage that has a shaft that can fit (or can be adapted to fit) a bicycle freewheel mechanism too for a chain to go to another a bicycle sprocket that is hooked up to a shaft with a pinion gear on the other end. The pinion gear that is matched to the rack that would be what the handle hooks up to. I wanted the freewheel mechanism so that it would not generate voltage while lifting the handle. Also required would be a bearing to mount the shaft to the interior of the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 4 hours ago, TXpyro said: I've always been fascinated with dynamite plungers/blasting machines and I've wanted one for a while for setting off fireworks. The only problem is I'm not very good with electronics. I'd like it to be mechanical and I'm thinking of using an old motor attached to a plunger of some sort to generate the electrical current, volt, spark, or whatever it is that ignites the e-match. I just don't know how I would go about setting it up. I started off as a woodworker so I got the got the wood box figured out. I've also recently picked up welding. I just need some tips guys. Are there any women on this forum? I'm not sure this would be the right place to look for a date! But as far as your main question, there's quite a bit of info on the yootoob. Such as Cody here: But there's a bunch of others too. I suppose one could make up something with an alternator, or maybe even a dc bicycle generator, depending on what voltage you need. I've never built a dynamo, but I think that's what was actually used, then they added capacitors and stuff to increase the voltage to set off many blasting caps at the same time. But if you're only thinking of lighting an ematch, I don't think much voltage is needed, then again, not a whole lot is needed for a real cap. The whole thing though could be easily faked using some fabbed up parts, a spring, battery, and a switch. Good luck, please post your results if you continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 The nice thing about a proper blasting machine is that it never needs new batteries, my machine still fires a cap at 100 metres after about 100 years. The downside is that they are heavy. Typically they are more like a magneto, the push down puts magnetic energy into the spinning generator against shorted lines, as the handle hits the bottom a contact breaks and the magnetic energy is converted into electrical potential. It's quite a high voltage because the original design was for several caps in several places and the wire may not have been high quality copper. Unless you have a very well equipped shop it's going to be hard to get the electrical and mechanical engineering right. With todays price for "modules from China" I can find a project box, buttons and a battery powered high voltage chip to make 200ish volts from a PP3 (or a couple of AA cells). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 (edited) See Also; www.youtube.com/watch?v=9as5wfHV6rk Note that a Blasting Machine actually fires at the bottom of the stroke when the rack bar hits a stop which OPENS the otherwise shorted lines out. Edited January 10 by Arthur added Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmjlab Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 They say women are smarter than men.... Some empirical evidence may be the missing feminine element in this forum; a forum for a hobby which carries (what many would describe as) unnecessary risk and requires (what many a spouse or significant other would consider) the excessive expenditure of "disposable income" plus some that's not (so disposable)! 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave321 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 7 hours ago, Arthur said: With todays price for "modules from China" I can find a project box, buttons and a battery powered high voltage chip to make 200ish volts from a PP3 (or a couple of AA cells). hi, arthur, what chip are you reffering to ? dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankRizzo Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 (edited) On 1/10/2024 at 11:24 AM, dave321 said: hi, arthur, what chip are you reffering to ? dave If you want to save yourself the shipping and prototyping charges, just buy a disposable camera with flash. The circuit board inside generates upwards of 300V from a single AA battery. Add a few more HV caps if you want more amps. Edit for clarification: There is no single chip that can do the boost by itself, rather they are a "boost module" circuit. The disposable camera flash circuit offers an inexpensive (possibly free) option for converting 1.5V into 300V+. Edited January 17 by FrankRizzo Had to clarify for the slow kid ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richtee Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 Well, there’s a world class non sequitur 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 There are several blasting machines on ebay.com -at eye watering prices for even a battered one. No modern seller knows what they do exactly nor how they work nor whether they work, nor how to repair one. Basically you will spend $1000 +P&P and then have to determine what you have and whether it works. I can see financial reasons why a DIY electric blaster would be more economic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHNO Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Take Field Phone or 24 V / 10 Ah ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 The electrical energy required is small, the resistance of the igniter is usually about 1 ohm the resistance of the cable may be 10 ohms or more a typical firing current may be 1 amp for half a second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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