Lampblack - uses, effects, compositions?

[jwitt]

Lampblack- searching the forum, I don't find much discussion of its uses and properties. I like to gather as much info as possible about the chemicals in my collection, so...

 

I have a pound of it, and that ought to last quite a while adding about 1% to a composition here and there. I'm kind of itching to use more in something.

 

QUESTIONS:

 

• What effects does it generally lend to compositions? Is it pretty much "dim orange sparks?" Are they a floaty firedust type thing? Does it behave differently in different comps?
• Is 1% a pretty typical amount to add to any charcoal streamer? Would an addition be noticeable in most streamer stars?
• Is there a high-percentage lampblack star out there? (relative to the 1% addition I've seen in one comp at least)

I had (apparent) success integrating 1% of it into a TT star the other day, just for the heck of it. Mixed 4g lampblack with "a bit" of denatured alcohol and added the still free-flowing powder to the already partially screened TT mix. Screened 2x more, and didn't notice any extra dust hanging on the 100# screen after the second time through.

 

 

Any info/discussion is appreciated!

[TrueBluePyro]

This is from 'A Method of Construction for a 12” Double-Petalled Chrysanthemum w/ pistil, By Jim Widmann'

 

'Lampblack: Lampblack compositions create a silken fire dust trail that can only be described as elegant. It’s sparks are exceptionally fine grained, very long lasting and of a deep orange hue. Compositions made with it tend to be slow burning and it has very modest light output. It is also one of the must disagreeable compounds that a pyrotechnist will ever handle. But a shell made with lampblack stars is one the most beautiful things in fireworks and even the worst color will appear vibrant in contrast.'

[jwitt]

[

 

Very nice sounding description by Widmann- it's easy to imagine compared to charcoal sparks.

 

I poked around the internet for an hour after digging in the garden all last evening, and found a few compositions with lampblack and KClO3. I don't remember who created them, but if I recall they were from one of the older pyrotechnics books.

 

Since it is stated to be a slow-burning fuel, I wonder if it would be best to include it in a fast burning charcoal streamer, replacing maybe 10% of the charcoal? That ought to create a bright star with a quick charcoal tail, with a dim orange "tracer" hanging in the sky as described by Widmann?

 

Might be a bunch of interesting combinations depending on how the eye reacts to a burst of initially bright stars followed by a dim long-lasting tail...hmm...

 

What about making a blue KClO4 star and adding some lampblack? Since it is a slow burning material, it ought to leave a tail and not be totally consumed in the hot star?

[PoorBoy]

Most of the comps i have seen discuss substituting half of the charcoal for lamp black more or less.

Below is the one formula that comes to mind that specificaly uses lampblack.

This formula and picture are on the skylighter tutorial "how to build two 8" tiger willow shells in 3 days."

 

Tiger Willow Star

Component Weight

BP Mill Dust 60 oz.

Homemade airfloat charcoal 36 oz.

Dextrin 8 oz.

Sulfur 4.2 oz.

Lampblack 5.7 oz.

Total dry weight 113.9 oz.

 

This is a formula I had found on sky lighter a long time ago and have always wanted to make it.

Below is a picture of one of these 8" shells.

 

EDIT: The formatting was lost.

 

http://www.skylighter.com/images/newsletter/94/willow-shell.jpg

Edited April 20, 2010 by PoorBoy

[mike_au]

http://www.skylighter.com/images/newsletter/94/willow-shell.jpg

 

That looks like a nice effect, but I think it is cheating a bit to use such a long exposure for a willow shell. It makes it look like the sparks last a lot longer than they do in real life.

 

Obviously they aren't very bright which can cause problems with short exposures so sometimes it is the only way to get a decent shot, but I think a video or a photo taken with a good camera where the aperture is wide open gives a better feel for what it actually looks like.

[Twotails]

I have used Lancaster's Gold star composition, and works very well.

13.5- potassium Perchlorate

13.5- Potassium Chlorate

15- Potassium Nitrate

49- Lampblack

6- Dextrin

3- Shellac 120 mesh

solvent is 33% alcohol

I have also used that same formula by susbstituting 9% NC as the binder(or just Very thick NC laqure), also i have used 9% red gum insted, and have even substituted 1/2 the lampblack for charcoal(one with regular hard wood charcoal, one with charcoal that was soaked in Strontium Nitrate)

 

I have also compleatly substituted the 15% charcoal in BP with lampblack, for use as stars, and as comets.

[Mumbles]

Adding it to a star wont automatically add a tail. In fact, lampblack is actually rather commonly used instead of charcoal in colored stars. Charcoal aids in ignition, and smooths the burn out. Lampblack I would imagine, does the same thing, as well as reducing the incandescent properties of charcoal due to dimmer sparks.

 

 

Below are a few I've collected over the years that are said to be quite good.

 

Dave Blesser Lampblack Streamer - From BAFN 2 pg 85

 

Potassium chlorate 33

Potassium nitrate 8

Charcoal dust 32

Lampblack 22

Dextrin 5

 

 

Long Hangtime Willow:

 

"Long Hangtime Willow"

 

Taken almost verbatim from a rec.pyro post by Mike Swisher. I've made crossettes with these a couple times, they should also be good in a spider shell.

 

53.6 Potassium Nitrate

23.0 Charcoal (Airfloat)

13.4 Sulfur

4.0 Lampblack

6.0 Dextrin

 

 

Preparation

 

"Sieve the saltpeter, sulfur and dextrin individually through 40-mesh. Discard anything that doesn't pass 40-mesh. Separately, sieve the charcoal through 40-mesh and discard anything that doesn't pass 40-mesh. Now add the lampblack to the mixed saltpeter, sulfur,and dextrine. Hand-mix and sieve the mixture through 40-mesh onto the charcoal.

 

The reason for this is that the lampblack is almost impossible to sieve by itself, and the other materials help it pass through the fine screen. Now blend all the ingredients by hand and sieve three times through 20-mesh."

 

Dampen with 6% water and pump. (works best to add the H2O to comp in a ziplock bag, knead well, let it rest 15 minutes, then knead well again )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure that a distinction between crossettes and split comets is

one always made in this manner. The South Italian word 'crucetti' (also

used by the Maltese) seems to apply to all exploding comets that form a

criss-cross pattern in the sky. Some people allege that a true

crossette must break into four pieces, each flying at right angles to

its neighbor from the center of the burst. Comets made with the

Wolter-style pump, if properly managed, will do this, but this is

Rich's fairly recent (c. 20-25 yrs ago?) invention. I have seen a

manuscript formulary from the 1950s detailing a type of shotless

crossette, but it showed a cylindrical shot hole. Certainly the use of

a shot, whether hand-tied or a Chinese firecracker (the latter possibly

the origin of the term 'mandarin shot') is the older way of obtaining

the effect.

 

My recollection is that Grucci always (in published material) used the

term 'split comet' whether the effect were charcoal or tremalon; I

think they regarded 'crossette,' like all the other Italian jargon, as

a private usage that would not be understood by their English speaking

customers. Other makers used the term crossette to describe the effect,

whatever the composition was. It is probably the case that the original

crossette was charcoal, and the idea of making it in some other type of

composition came later. I have heard traditionally schooled fireworks

men say, for example, that proper 'farfalle' are made with steel

filings, and that those made with titanium or ferro-titanium are

something else. Similarly, a 'saettine' is a particular type of shell

insert report made with a hand-rolled case and sawdust delay, whereas

other types of small insert reports, indistinguishable in effect, made

with hard cases and some sort of spun fuse are 'fusillading shots.' So,

by analogy, there may be some justification to reserving the word

'crossette' for a split comet made with a charcoal composition, and

calling similar comets made with other compositions 'split comets.'

 

A long-hanging effect can be achieved by adding lampblack to the

composition; coarse charcoal isn't necessary, and may detract from the

necessary density and solidity that thecomets must have in order to

time uniformly. Here is a composition that I have used with much

success:

 

Saltpetre - 20 lb.

Airfloat charcoal 8-1/2 lb.

Sulphur 5 lb.

Lampblack 1-1/2 lb.

Dextrine 2-1/4 lb.

 

53.69127517

22.81879195

13.42281879

4.026845638

6.040268456

 

 

Sieve the saltpetre, sulphur and dextrine individually through 40-mesh.

Discard anything that doesn't pass 40-mesh. Separately, sieve the

charcoal through 40-mesh and discard anything that doesn't pass

40-mesh. Now add the lampblack to the mixed saltpetre, sulphur,

dextrine, hand-mix and sieve the mixture through 40-mesh onto the

charcoal. The reason for this is that the lampblack is almost

impossible to sieve by itself, and the other materials help it pass

through the fine screen. Now blend all the ingredients by hand and

sieve three times through 20-mesh.

 

When pumping, I typically weigh out 100 oz. (6-1/4 lb) or 200 oz.

(12-1/2 lb) quantities of composition and dampen respectively with 6

oz. or 12 oz. of water (i.e., 6%). It needs to be well worked in, which

requires time, and one should not make the error of adding too much

water in one's impatience to get the composition properly damp. Press

as hard as you can without seizing the comet up in the pump. Dry well -

3-4 weeks at normal room temperature with dehumidification is my usual

time. That should give you plenty of opportunity to finish your

hand-rolled shots!

 

 

Clark Willow - From COPAE

 

Davis gives credit for the following "willow tree stars" to Clark:

 

Lampblack -- 3 lbs.

meal powder -- 4 lbs

antimony sulfide -- 1/2 lb

shellac -- 2 ounces disolved in alcohol

[jwitt]

"Tiger Willow" - looks like that one's going into my production queue. Pegging the shutter open doesn't give an accurate portrayal of an effect, but sure is purty!

 

"Lancaster Willow" - Why do I see formulas that require both KClO3 and KClO4? What is the purpose of the combination?

 

"Long Hangtime Willow"- Saying it would be good for a spider shell, I'm assuming this implies that it could be used in a hard-breaking ball shell- the star is, by nature, tough enough to withstand a hard break.

 

 

 

And finally...looks like I'll have to source a crossette pump for next year I love those lil buggers. Crossette mines are particularly cool looking.

 

Thanks yet again guys!

Edited April 22, 2010 by jwitt

[Arthur]

Lancaster gives several formulae for fountains, rains, and stars using various lampblacks for interesting shaped sparks and fire trails. Some of his comps were for devices THEN held in the hand or viewed very close up. When my dad bought fireworks for 5th Nov they were small -less than an ounce gross weight! And we watched them at say 2 - 4 feet! Todays fireworks are bigger brasher, and you miss some of the subtle effects.

[Mumbles]

The Nitrate/Perchlorate/Chlorate mixture always perplexed me as well. I look it up every time I see it, and sure enough it's on page 202 of vol 3. It mentiones that it is a modification of a "japanese" formula originally from Weingart's book. It's on pages 127-128. I've included the original formulas below

 

#1

Potassium Chlorate - 8

Lampblack - 12

KNO3 - 1

Dextrin - 1

 

#2

Potassium Chlorate - 4

Lampblack - 6

Gum Arabic - 0.5

 

A special preparation is given for the stars. It is rather involved actually. Feel free to look it up if you desire. It involves lots of wetting, mixing, and pressing steps.

 

It looks like Lancaster took both formulas, combined the two oxidizers and split it up equally. This would slow the burn down, but there is really no reason to mix all three. You could easily tune the burn with only chlorate and another oxidizer. The addition of shellac probably has two purposes. Firstly Weingart mentions to "add water in which the gum has been dissolved" On a quick reading or vague transcription it could be interpreted as add solvent in which gum has been dissolved. Alcohol is well known to make lampblack easier to work with and easier to wet.

[jwitt]

Off to make a kilo of "Swisher Long Hangtime Willow" for my first weekend project (just got back from fishin' and partyin' at the lake!)