5 shot cake

[dagabu]

Winter time, it's cold. The next shoot isn't until May and you need a quick and easy fix. Hmmm, lets check the supplies. Yup, we have some stars, not enough to make a ball shell but a few mutts here and there.

 

Lets start with some tubes, about 3/8" ID, 10" long. These were part of a 100 shot cake that I grabbed last year.

http://www.pyrobin.com/files/doner%20tubes.jpg

 

Ugly little buggers.

 

http://www.pyrobin.com/files/doner%20tube%20ends.jpg

 

Ends are plugged with clay.

 

http://www.pyrobin.com/files/packed%20with%20clay.jpg

 

Now, grab a stick, chop sticks, skewers, pencils, whatever you have , spread some hot glue on them and stick all your tubes down. Make sure they are real tight together, this will be our cake body.

 

http://www.pyrobin.com/files/popsicle%20stick%20glue%20bar.jpg

 

Now lets drill some holes for the fuse.

 

http://www.pyrobin.com/files/drilling%20holes.jpg

 

Now lets put some 1" pieces of green safety fuse in the holes.

 

http://www.pyrobin.com/files/1%20inch%20fuses%20inserted.jpg

 

Here is a note of caution. If you don't seal the holes where the fuse penetrates the tube, you can easily spark off the next tube from sparks so we will use a 10% solution of Nitrocellulose Lacquer (with red dye) to seal all of the fuse holes.

 

http://www.pyrobin.com/files/10%20percent%20nc%20with%20red%20dye%20seals%20holes.jpg

 

Each tube is now fused but in order to get a good rhythm for the shots, we need to establish some timing. Green safety fuse (1/8") is really a standard and it burns at a rate of about 2 seconds per inch which will be perfect for our 1/2" OD tubes. If we were using 1" tubes, we would probably want to cut our fuses that go into the tubes different lengths and use quick match to get them all started.

 

The best part of safety fuse is all of the sparks it throws and how hot it burns. This way we can just lay up the fuse right across the others and tape them down. Can you say simple?!

 

http://www.pyrobin.com/files/gang%20fuse.jpg

 

The next step will be to determine the lift charge. I am going to use Mil Spec 7 for my lift charge though you can use 7FA, Meal D, Fines or crushed 4 or 2FA. I am going to use my LEE powder scoops for this job since they will drop exactly .6 grams every scoop.

 

http://www.pyrobin.com/files/charging%20with%20a%20lee%20.5cc%20scoop.jpg

 

OK, now lets load all of the tubes with our lift charge. Pick one end and work your way to the other end. With only five tubes, it is easy to keep track of which ones have been charged and which ones have not but as you get to 1- tubes and up, you will need a way to keep track of your progress. I use a small pair of Fiskers Scissors that I put in to the hole I just filled, that way I know that it is charged and the next open hole is ready for the lift.

 

I am going to use some home rolled strobe stars for this project. These mutts were made from strobe cores and sliced red parlon comp was used to build the stars. I grabbed the wrong bag, it was supposed to be the D1 glitter comp, oh well, gotta burn them somewhere!

 

http://www.pyrobin.com/files/strobe%20stars.jpg

 

I drop 2 stars in each tube to finish the loading of the cake.

 

I wanted this to be easy so a free standing base plate was a must and looking around I found a used floor tile that fit the bill.

 

http://www.pyrobin.com/files/dsc_9858.jpg

 

Tomorrow night we fire this sucker! Don't worry, I will post the video.

 

Here is a picture of the 45 shot beast ready for stars and gang fusing. Oh, I did clean the whole shop after this picture

 

http://www.pyrobin.com/files/45%20shot.jpg

 

D

[Ventsi]

Fantastic!!!!!I have a 25 3/4" shooter thats waiting to be made, this helped quite a bit!

Now if I could only find some place that sells tubes as long as those....

[dagabu]

Fantastic!!!!!I have a 25 3/4" shooter thats waiting to be made, this helped quite a bit!

Now if I could only find some place that sells tubes as long as those....

 

SELLS?

 

Put out a call for CA pyros that have an old cake they will give you. Believe me, all good pyros have tubes on hand.

 

D

[Eric70]

Dave,

 

Thank you for the tutorial, it is very helpful. Very good pictures, too.

 

Eric

[TheEskimo]

Very nice Daga. I wasn't planning anything for New Years, but I do have some leftover stars and BP.......And a lot of tubing. Hooray!

[Updup]

Epic! Also, if you want somthing cheaper then paper tube (Asumming you don't have any old cakes lying around) then you could buy a few 10' peices of 1/2" PVC pipe for about 2 bucks, and the smaller the pvc pipe the greater the PSI rating so it would be safe, and reuseable! < Yeah I dont think .6g of black powder is going to blow a 500 PSI tube up when it's super easy to shoot the star out.

 

Man, I really want to try this, but my TT stars are screwed up, as hard as they are to screw up, knowing me, I maneged, even priming them with 2mm or so of black powder wont light them.

 

EDIT: I double posted this cause it was loading slow, so I removed the repeated bit

Edited December 14, 2009 by Updup

[dagabu]

Epic! Also, if you want somthing cheaper then paper tube (Asumming you don't have any old cakes lying around) then you could buy a few 10' peices of 1/2" PVC pipe for about 2 bucks, and the smaller the pvc pipe the greater the PSI rating so it would be safe, and reuseable! < Yeah I dont think .6g of black powder is going to blow a 500 PSI tube up when it's super easy to shoot the star out.

 

Man, I really want to try this, but my TT stars are screwed up, as hard as they are to screw up, knowing me, I maneged, even priming them with 2mm or so of black powder wont light them.

 

EDIT: I double posted this cause it was loading slow, so I removed the repeated bit

 

I had a batch of palm tree that wouldn't light no matter what. I even crushed them and added meal D but still no lighting. Sorry man, I feel your pain.

 

Make a batch of D1 glitter stars, they work even if you wet them!

 

D

[Updup]

Make a batch of D1 glitter stars, they work even if you wet them!

D

 

Will do, as I'm getting 325 mesh AL in a few days, plus I get all the goodys from skylighters 50% off deal.

TBH it's the only time skylighter is KIND of fairly priced . I'm hoping that it will come tomarrow, then I'll have four days to let them dry, and I'm not going to make very big stars, we leave for Kentucky on the 21st hope I'll have made some if your "star gun cakes" by then.

 

Should I prime the D1?

Edited December 15, 2009 by Updup

[dagabu]

Will do, as I'm getting 325 mesh AL in a few days, plus I get all the goodys from skylighters 50% off deal.

TBH it's the only time skylighter is KIND of fairly priced . I'm hoping that it will come tomarrow, then I'll have four days to let them dry, and I'm not going to make very big stars, we leave for Kentucky on the 21st hope I'll have made some if your "star gun cakes" by then.

 

Should I prime the D1?

 

I am the wrong person to ask since I prime black powder!!

 

I like to control the burn of comets so I wrap them with 2 turns of aluminum tape and NC Lacquer the ends, then I dip them onto Meal D. For stars I use a hot prime with silicone followed by a layer of meal (right out of the ball mill, 75:15:10). I would suggest that you cut a bunch of D1 glitter stars to 1/4", let them dry for 2 days, spray lightly with water and dump them into a lidded container with fresh meal, and 5% dextrin, shake till they cant take any more and dry. They will be ready to shoot in three day from the time you cut them.

 

IMHO, I just hate the prices on Skylighter but that is where so many noobs get their start there that I think we should fight hard to save it.

 

Say Hi to Daisy and ole uncle Jeb for me

[Updup]

Alrighty, thanks. What you said made it seem like skylighter is in trouble, but at those prices, I think that he is fine .

[scarbelly]

You have to remember to think of it in economic terms. The number of people willing and able to pay higher prices is much less than the number willing and able to pay lower prices. This means that at a higher price, fewer people will buy from skylighter, while if they drop their prices, more people will buy from them. Therefore, higher prices could mean lower overall revenues (price * quantity bought = revenue) depending on the specific curve for pyrotechnic supplies/chemicals. It would be hard to tell whether or not they are making the maximum profit possible without a demand vs. price curve. Edited December 16, 2009 by scarbelly

[firetech]

I really have to say I've always been impressed with skylighter. Their quality is great and service is excellent. But the prices.................................

[Updup]

@ Scarbelly. Yeah, but they have the advantege of having alot of diffrent things, making people pay the higher price to make thing easier on themselfs. They are also the one "known" pyro site to people beggining the hobby.

 

As fart as sevice, this is my first order, and I am impressed with his ability to keep in contact with the buyer, anyone who ordered from him in the last week will know that he sent an email saying that many orders haven't been shiped due to an overwhelming amount of orders coming in. Guess this means I won't be able to make D1 in time to make some of these awesoem cakes before I leave for the holidays, and I won't be able to give the cousins any sky lanterns .

[Updup]

Okay another great thing to do with this cake, is load in firecrackers! With stars or not, it a good effect, also, you ca put in two per tube.

 

Anyway just thought I'd share that.

 

Also, if you ARE going to use firecrackers, DO NOT use PVC pipe.

[dagabu]

Okay another great thing to do with this cake, is load in firecrackers! With stars or not, it a good effect, also, you ca put in two per tube.

 

Anyway just thought I'd share that.

 

Also, if you ARE going to use firecrackers, DO NOT use PVC pipe.

 

The kids light firecrackers, I use miniature report inserts.

 

D

[scarbelly]

When does the definition change from a "firecracker" to a "salute" or "report"? Is there actually an official difference?

[firetech]

The difference is in the amount of composition. Firecrackers can legally contain only milligrams of flash. Anything larger requires a license.

[dagabu]

The difference is in the amount of composition. Firecrackers can legally contain only milligrams of flash. Anything larger requires a license.

 

Naw, just being a smart ass

[Mumbles]

Since you want to get technical, any home made firecrackers, 50mg or not, are still class B and still require a license. You've heard the phrase "innocent until proven guilty" I am sure, well it's "class B until proven class C" in regards to fireworks. You need extensive testing done on your product to get an EX number and be approved to call it class C.

[firetech]

I was speaking in terms of possession on a commercial scale. Not in terms of manufacture.

[berry1]

cool pro project just make shore if any one does it to make shore they drill it before they add the lifting charge im shore yous allready no that

[Updup]

Yes, in his TUT he drilled before adding lift, Implying everyone else to do the same.

 

Just a tip, I know your in college, but run your posts through spell check before you post... and FYI, the red sqiggles mean its NOT spelled correctly, you might be mixed up.

[dagabu]

cool pro project just make shore if any one does it to make shore they drill it before they add the lifting charge im shore yous allready no that

 

Did you read the steps? There are no energetic materials introduced until after it is fused, the fuse fits through the holes.

 

Berry, really man, take a step back son, establish your place here with some good questions, have a friend check your postings to make sure they are understandable.

[PyroPoss]

Cool But why take old already used tubes when u can make your own?

 

U Just need to make them a little bigger than your normal tubes, also to kill the time pasting paper and rolling it into tubes i have this idea of making a tube machine.

Got it all in my brain, just need to sketch it down.

[dagabu]

Cool But why take old already used tubes when u can make your own?

 

U Just need to make them a little bigger than your normal tubes, also to kill the time pasting paper and rolling it into tubes i have this idea of making a tube machine.

Got it all in my brain, just need to sketch it down.

 

If you make a tube machine and can make really nice ones, I will set you up in business.