Hints and tips for Australians

[greenlight]

I have some here that I brought fpr exactly that so I don't waste my willow on all the stars. I just made a batch of D1 glitter with the mallee charcoal that are drying now. Burn rate seems a bit slower than usual for the dry mixture.

[stix]

@rcp

 

Lloyd is correct. There is/was an Aussie guy on these forums who was selling a visco machine. If you do some more reading on this forum you'll find it.

 

Why on earth anyone thinks they need a visco machine if you're just starting out is beyond me. There are other ways to make your own for experimental purposes.

 

I don't know the exact laws regarding making pyrotechnics here in Oz, but one thing I'm sure of is if you were caught with a large amount of chemicals and equipment it may be viewed less favourable than if you could show that you were creating small pyrotechnics for your own learning purposes. Also making pyrotechnics devices and selling them may land you in more trouble than just making them.

[lloyd]

Thanks, Stix. It was beginning to sound like I was talking out a hole in the top of my head! <grin>

 

Lloyd

[rcp]

@rcp

 

Lloyd is correct. There is/was an Aussie guy on these forums who was selling a visco machine. If you do some more reading on this forum you'll find it.

 

Why on earth anyone thinks they need a visco machine if you're just starting out is beyond me. There are other ways to make your own for experimental purposes.

 

I don't know the exact laws regarding making pyrotechnics here in Oz, but one thing I'm sure of is if you were caught with a large amount of chemicals and equipment it may be viewed less favourable than if you could show that you were creating small pyrotechnics for your own learning purposes. Also making pyrotechnics devices and selling them may land you in more trouble than just making them.

I never said i wanted a visco making machine?! I do agree with you Stix why would you want one when you are staring out when you can simply source some visco which i have managed to do with the help of some others who have pm'ed me from this forum.

 

I agree with you again in that i don't want large equipment or a large amount of chemicals as it isn't necessary for me at the moment which is exactly why along with some other reasons i don't want to make any chemicals including charcoal @Lloyd. Especially since members have already helped me out with that side of things as well.

[lloyd]

But RCP,

 

Unless I misunderstand, you're also the one proposing to make fireworks IN your parents' home. That was you, right?

 

If that's the case, I urge you to give up the hobby entirely until you can find a place that's safe for others for you to do it. How you endanger yourself is none of my business. But how you might endanger others (even your own kin) is everybody's business!

 

Lloyd

[rcp]

I never said i was making fireworks in my parents home nor proposing to. I propose to store and make them in my back shed. I dont know why you are commenting on this again however i hope this helps you out.

[MrB]

He did start selling them B I know both memo and I got one but he seems to have dropped off the radar!!

 

It's the drop of radar that did it then. We were quite a few that expressed interest, and he just left it hanging. He sent out a few "test" units, but after that it just went dead.

 

As for strength it seems about the same as regular visco to me.

 

Makes sense, since that is pretty much what it is. But i had my hands on visco that had a paper layer between the 2 wraps of thread, giving it a bit more pull strength, and used it for connecting cakes together. A lot easier then making U bend fuses and connect them with. Ideally a home visco machine for me, would be able to feed the paper layer in to the darn thing, but all things considered, it's somehow more important to have a fuse option at all, over having the perfect fuse...

Visco is getting harder to get hold of over here, blackmatch / quickmatch, is a bit easier, still being sold by 1 retailer in the country, and timefuse is as restricted, or more, then visco.

I managed to stockpile a bunch but sooner or later i will run out.

 

 

Lloyd is correct. There is/was an Aussie guy on these forums who was selling a visco machine. If you do some more reading on this forum you'll find it.

 

Keyword here, WAS. He just quit updating the thread, and never got back to, as far as i know, any of those who expressed interest, outside the test machines he got out. If he still is working on it, great, but it sounds like it went from a hobby project, for fellow pyros, to something else. No idea how that will turn out. Last thing i remember was that he laser cut it from plywood, used a few 3D printed parts, and the brains was a arduino, controlling a couple of stepper motors.

Edited August 20, 2017 by MrB

[Chemicalpotential]

Good afternoon all !

I thought I might throw it out there for people who might find it interesting,

but we are about to start selling some rotary ball mills, that could be useful for various applications,

also on our website has many more useful chemicals if anyone is interested and I don't mean to spam a website,

www.chemicalpotenial.store

there is also an ebay store available too.

[AustralianPyromaniac]

Hey mate, this isn't really the section for advertising your business but I'm still interested in whats going to be sold. Where are you going to be located and when are you going to go online? I already have a ball mill but what chems are you going to be selling? I don't really care about the normal ones like KNO3 but am interested in the more exotic ones. Also, what's charcoals if any will you stock?

 

Regards, AP

Edited August 25, 2017 by AustralianPyromaniac

[AustralianPyromaniac]

My mistake. You wrote the website wrong so I couldn't acsses it but I figured it out. Will you be stocking anything Australian pyros can't get elsewhere? Such as Paris green, varying grades of metals such as Al &Ti, hardened lead milling media, ammonium perchlorate, barium chlorate etc... if you just sell things already available for the same price we can already get them it's unlikely we will use your store.

 

Regards, AP

Edited August 26, 2017 by AustralianPyromaniac

[AustralianPyromaniac]

Good afternoon all !

I thought I might throw it out there for people who might find it interesting,

but we are about to start selling some rotary ball mills, that could be useful for various applications,

also on our website has many more useful chemicals if anyone is interested and I don't mean to spam a website,

www.chemicalpotenial.store

there is also an ebay store available too.

[sarenace]

Hey guys new to the forum. I really didn't know where to post this, please tell me if this is inappropriate. I'm trying to find the learning materials for designing PVC sugar rockets for Australian sized pvc tubes. I've visited a few sites, but they are typically in inches and are designed for a type of PVC piping called schedule 40, which is unavailable in australia, as far as I can tell. I have absolutely no idea how to design a rocket that can actually fly and all my efforts so far have failed to take off. I'm fair;y sure my mistake is not knowing the math to design a proper sized rocket motor. I would be very appreciative of some help with my newfound hobby.

[lloyd]

Sarenace,

 

I don't know what the name of the metric-standard PVC is, but there are two types for cold water:

 

1) a fairly thin-walled grade designed for vents and zero-pressure drain service, and

2) a thick-walled version designed to handle relatively high water pressure (up to about 8.5kg/cm^2... ~8.2atmospheres, or 120lb/in^2)

 

In the USA, the thick-walled version for cold-water service is called schedule-40. Hot water types (CPVC) use a different size standard and different 'grade' designations

 

Tell us... what do your rockets do when they fail?

 

Lloyd

Edited September 1, 2017 by lloyd

[AustralianPyromaniac]

Thanks for that Loyd. Also, as Loyd said Sarance to be able to help you we need to know what type of failures your incurring.

 

Making rockets is more of an art than a science not really much math involved until your more advanced btw.

 

I can help by answering the Australian part of your question. When making rockets what your looking for is either class 12 or 18 PVC or if your wanting to make very "long burning" rockets then HDPE is your best bet. To get started in rocket making go to Bunnings a pick up some 15mm PVC pipe in a 1m length. This stuff is great for making small 1/2" rockets. Then go to the dowelling section and proceed to look like a complete moron while inserting the dowels into the PVC until you find the one with the best fit. If none of them fit well get the next size up and sand it down. You can also use 20mm PVC pipe or 19mm HDPE risers but I would recommend starting with the 15mm. All this stuff can be had from Bunnings so go look I'm not going to find you all the links.

 

So that's about as much help as you need. From here you can use YouTube or the APC as a guide both which have plenty of posts the will quickly make you into the expert builder. Another tip for the beginner is DRY YOUR KNO3 IN AN OVEN! No it isn't optional. I've seen many a rocket flounder because of this oversight so just do it first up.

 

If you can't find any of the information after looking feel free to post here and I can help out.

 

Regards, AP

Edited September 1, 2017 by AustralianPyromaniac

[lloyd]

Also, Sarenace,

 

If you're considering casting cooked, HOT sugar fuel, I recommend your looking up Jimmy Yawn's R-Candy method. It produces an almost putty-like material which stays mouldable for a time, even after it cools enough to handle bare-handed.

 

With that, you can properly 'stuff' and core your fuel grains without the chance of burns or heat damage to your tubes. Once it has rested a time, it becomes a solid, almost 'crystalline' material.

 

Lloyd

Edited September 2, 2017 by lloyd

[sarenace]

Gee thanks guys. You never know when posting to a technical forum whether a newbie question will be shot down due to idiocy or whether the experts will be accomodating. You guys have been welcoming.

 

My rockets suffer the problem that they ignite but do not generate enough thrust to fly; the pvc pipe just sits there shooting flame out the end.

 

I have no experience drying KNO3 in the oven and it sounds dangerous. Whats involved?

[sarenace]

Ok i've done some reading and i dont have access to the fructose needed for jimmy yawn's recipe. Im currently using sugar and a glucose syrup bought from woolies. I could get dextrose from a brewing shop though . . .

 

The suggestion is that I use 15mm class 12 PVC piping from bunnings to make 1/2 inch rockets. I think 1/2 an inch long sounds really small, could you clarify?

 

Also, i've been igniting the rockets by sticking a sparkler up their arse end. They therefore necessarily light from the bottom rather than the top. Im told that reduces performance as well.

[lloyd]

Sarenace,

 

Do you not have access to what is called "corn syrup"? It's a common kitchen commodity. In any case, it's an adjunct to help with the moulding consistency of Jimmy's formula, and not necessary -- desirable but not necessary. Fructose, though, is so 'universally available' to candy makers and good cooks, that I'm a little surprised you don't have it there.

 

The "1/2-inch" call-out is a "denomination" of rockets... approximately 1/2" inside-diameter, not 1/2" LONG! They are typically 5-8 inside-diameters long <G>.

 

It almost sounds to me as if you are making cored grains, but nozzle-less. You'll not ever get the thrust you need from candy fuel without a nozzle.

 

So far as ignition means... you DO have available everything necessary to make good black powder, so you can make ignition fuse in the form of 'black match'.

 

Drying KNO3 in an oven is completely safe! It is only an oxidizer, not a fuel, and not readily decomposed like would be ammonium nitrate.

 

Lloyd

[stix]

Sarenace, you probably should start a new thread under the "Rocketry" section.

 

Nevertheless, I have some advice.

 

Start with the 1/2 inch (12.5mm) size and then work up from there. it's much safer for you and others.

 

Forget about Fructose, it's much more hygroscopic (ie. absorbs moisture from the air) than dextrose. You can buy dextrose and lots of other sugars from:

http://www.melbournefooddepot.com/buy/dextrose-monohydrate-powder-1kg/F00188

 

From what I remember, In Australia, Dextrose powder is similar Glucose powder. The benefits of using dextrose is that it melts at a lower temp than sucrose (table sugar) around 145C compared to 186C.

 

You can purchase "Glucodin" from your local Chemist Warehouse, or try a $2 shop and ask for glucose powder, they should have it. Much cheaper than buying from a brewing shop.

 

I've bought "Queen" brand Glucose Syrup from Woolies, but I'm not really sure if it's the same as "Corn Syrup" but it does say it's derived from corn.

 

Start small, when you get that "working" ie. a successful rocket motor, then you can look at larger ones.

 

Cheers.

[AustralianPyromaniac]

All you guys are talking about the traditional melted R-Candy but for a beginner, I would always recommend starting with a dry comp. It does compromise power but it's easier to make and eliminates the risk of heating. Although it's not the greatest instructional made this Video by 'The King of Random' gives a look at the process. I have had success with such motors and its how I started. Regardless, this really isn't in the realm of "Hints and Tips for Australian Newbies" so for more advise Sarenace just start a new thread, if you're looking for answers specific to Australia such as where can I get blah then this is the place.

 

Regards, AP

Edited September 3, 2017 by AustralianPyromaniac

[sarenace]

"I would also like to quickly mention that posting in an unrelated thread to try and get your question answered is quite rude. We don't miss your questions so there really is no point and it ends up being quite counter productive. "

 

Fair enough mate. I'll stop asking about fuses and rcandy and stick to appropriate australian pvc sizes.

[AustralianPyromaniac]

"I would also like to quickly mention that posting in an unrelated thread to try and get your question answered is quite rude. We don't miss your questions so there really is no point and it ends up being quite counter productive. "

 

Fair enough mate. I'll stop asking about fuses and rcandy and stick to appropriate australian pvc sizes.

 

My apologies, I should have deleted that but I thought I would leave it so he may see it. I was referring to the actions of lincishome in posts such as these where he has just posted completely off topic requests to get his question on another thread answered quicker. Where are you located by the way mate?

[sarenace]

I'm located in newcastle, out near the lake.

[rocketmaster]

Hi everyone, first time poster, long time watcher haha.

 

Does anyone know where to get hardened lead balls in Aus?

 

I'm getting back into the hobby after about 10yrs off, moved to Aus from NZ and don't have the same kind of contacts here.

 

Otherwise I'm thinking about casting bullet lead, its rather expensive per kg, and all the gear to go with it! Looking like its going to cost the best part of $400 for everything I need to do 15kg of media and then all the time over the melting pot... YAY (I'll save that for next winter)

[stix]

. . . I need to do 15kg of media . . .

 

15 bloody kilos!!... Are you kidding - do you really need that much media? That would have to be a decent sized ball mill, and well built, to accommodate all that weight. Why the hell would you need something that large? Or did you mean for grinding 15 kilos of powder?

 

In any case, I may be able to help you out.

 

I happen to have 8 kilos of Type Metal which is hardened Lead, consisting of a mix of Lead, Tin and Antimony. I've wanted to do the same thing, ie. cast some balls, but have not got around to it.

 

I would be willing to divest 4 kilos if you are interested.

 

Cheers.