warthog Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 I am wondering if these would be good to use as core to roll onto? These are taken out of those little plastic "Crackle Balls" they sell at Dean's for 99¢ a dozen during the 4th of July sales. As you can see I am running low on them, I use them for crackling pistils and for those they work quite well. What I wonder is if Ii need to prime them before rolling a composition onto them since these are "Ready to Go" out of the package, They clearly vary greatly in size as well so I would sort them some before using them as cores, what size core would be best since I want them to make the crackle at the end of the star's burn? If I do need to prime, what sort of prime would be best. Any ideas or help are appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seymour Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 (edited) These are taken out of those little plastic "Crackle Balls" they sell at Dean's for 99¢ a dozen during the 4th of July sales. As you can see I am running low on them, I use them for crackling pistils and for those they work quite well. What I wonder is if Ii need to prime them before rolling a composition onto them since these are "Ready to Go" out of the package, They clearly vary greatly in size as well so I would sort them some before using them as cores, what size core would be best since I want them to make the crackle at the end of the star's burn? If I do need to prime, what sort of prime would be best. Any ideas or help are appreciated. Based on how they work there is no need for additional priming. The size of your crackle core will be more of an artistic choice than anything. Do the different sizes behave very differently? Depending on if it's more delay, more crackle or more prime that's causing the size variation you might get different effects, but really timing is the reason you want to use all one size. I suggest screening out as narrow size ranges as you can practically do with the batch size and screens at your disposal, and use all the different sizes for different batches of stars. Edited December 11, 2011 by Seymour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 Thanks, I was thinking that I would screen them for precisely the reason you state, timing. I do want them all to break into crackling at about the same time. They don't behave differently at all for different sizes other than smaller ones don't crackle as long. They all make the same level of noise and they all pop equally. Now all I need to do is find some appropriate screens, which I am sure I will be able to do at McMaster Carr. They have everything of this sort and the prices cannot be beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlos Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Too much big. Try standart rape sees or mustard seeds after short boiling in hot water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seymour Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Too big, Really? Why? Karlos, larger cores are much easier to work with, and the aim here is to get a crackling core, not to roll stars in the best way possible (in which I'd contend that "coreless", made by granulating the mix is superior to seeds anyway). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firebird Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 (edited) Too big, Really? Why? Karlos, larger cores are much easier to work with, and the aim here is to get a crackling core, not to roll stars in the best way possible (in which I'd contend that "coreless", made by granulating the mix is superior to seeds anyway).[/quo No prime needed in my experience I would size them though. Mum pyro has some great sizing screens in all sizes I would get a small #1#,2#,3,#4 they are awesome for this and for color changing stars to insure consistent color changes I have used them many times and they work great. My only concern was / is WHAT are they made of and are they compatible with what your going to roll on them? I have dried mine outdoors because of this and have never had a reaction. I would exercise caution here. But they do work great. I use Molecular sieves now for most of my cores and have also use rape / millet too. out of those I prefer sieves I start off with a full cup in my roller and it seems to be a rather quick painless process. Just takes a little patience and time Edited December 11, 2011 by firebird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 I am also wondering how they are made, meaning what is in them. I don't want to roll something incompatible onto them. These would essentially be what would be the last color of a color changer so I would not think them too large. I think these are just an easy starting point for a star that wold end with a crackling effect. I will be cautious when I am able to try rolling onto these for sure. I am wanting to buy more of them first so I have a decent number of them of the size desired, right now I am down to my last little but of them. I am more after gathering some information here anyway. My star roller is still under construction and when it is done I had already planned on getting some of Mumpyro's screens. I have gotten to know him pretty well over on Passfire and so I wanted to also try and give him the business. I am really new to rolling stars so I am going to take it all as it comes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seymour Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 (edited) I would not feel comfortable rolling chlorate or Ammonium perchlorate mixes over "mystery" mixes. I'd also avoid those two classes of mixes because I think it's reasonable to expect the dragon eggs are primed with a black powder prime of some sort. It's also possible they've got a KP final prime, but that's less likely, and also less incompatible with things. Chlorate primes on non-chlorate effects (like all dragon eggs so far as I've come across) in commercial pyro would be news to me. Nitrate/Perchlorate based colours and streamers do not seem too much of an incompatibility problem with commercial dragon eggs to me. Edited December 12, 2011 by Seymour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
californiapyro Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 well why don't you just roll a thin layer of KP-based prime over the dragon eggs, then you know for sure what you're rolling onto. this seems like a lot of peace of mind for a little extra work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guntoteninfadel Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 I use them and love them, except all my rolled stars crackle. Kinda like too much of a good thing. They roll fine and the biggest pita part is getting them outof the little black balls. What is molecular sieve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Molecular Sieves:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_sieve http://www.rubbersealing.com/TCI/images/upload/Image/molecular%20sieve(3).jpg -dag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackthumb Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Try Tapioca......they are starch and get quite sticky when you dampen them.... I still start with granulated BP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 Tapioca and molecular sieves, rape and mustard seed, all these work great as star cores not doubt BUT, they don't crackle. I wanted to know if these little dragon eggs out of "Crackle Balls" would give me an easy way to end a rolled star with a crackle effect. I haven't rolled a single star yet. I want to but so far I simply haven't had time at the place I'm allowed to work to get it done. Crackling stars are just one of many type of star and when I get to them, will be among my favorites since I love a good crackle. If it works out that it is just easier to make the dragon egg cores on my own, then that is what I will do. These little things are a PITA to get out of the little plastic balls but the are really cheap and really easy compared to making them and yes, I have made my own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan999ification Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 (edited) it will be an easy way to end with a crackle but you may not get the volume you want from commercial eggs if you put them to high up,it would probably be easier to make your own than extract them not to mention the quality diference but then you get plenty of mini hemis perfect for mine inserts and the like.with all those eggs i would have to handroll a big spoon full in the garden if i couldn't set up/use a/my workshop dan. Edited December 27, 2011 by dan999ification Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 The higher the mass of the cores, the easier time you'll have rolling them in my experience. I've used rape seeds a lot in the past and the toughest part was getting the stars up to about 1/4" (about 6mm); after that things went fairly fast. WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VintageRacer Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 (edited) sorry for the mis-post... nothing to see here. Edited December 27, 2011 by VintageRacer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VintageRacer Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 As much as I'm against using anything commercial in my fireworks, I bought a case some time back for this very reason. They roll easily and I like the little snap you get at the end of a star. Another effect I really enjoy is the crackling comets or larger stars. Simply embed some of these "crackering ball" pieces in your BP or glitter based larger stars. You might also put some in the delay of a rocket for a nice little crackling delay effect. As mentioned, taking them apart is kind of a PITA and your left with what I believe is HDPE shell halves that you can tape together for something else, since there's no common glue in your local store that's going to glue them. What would they think if we sent back a few cases of empty crackering ball shells?? Then too you have a ton of little BR type fuses to create a use for...Can't tell you what the exact chemistry is, maybe one of the guru's here can. Use a safe coating as mentioned if you are concerned about your particular use of compositions. There's really no trade though for the experience of making some nice Bismuth DE's. That is once you test and figure out what mesh of metals you want to use, and how to cut or form them. For many these commercial DE's are probably the way to go if you want a little cwackle in life. DB Oh almost forgot one of the most fun things I do with them is scare the squirrels out of the yard or off the power lines. The wife and I get a laugh every time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Dan, The shell halves are great mounted to the top of 1/2" or 7/16" rockets. Run a single strand of quick match through the hole, fill with well primed star chips, add some flash and 7FA, use four strips of strapping tape over and across the shell onto the rocket body and cover with some Christmas paper. OK breaks and some color in the sky. -dag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peret Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 I used crackling ball dragons eggs as cores for charcoal stars this past year. I don't roll stars, so I dropped them one at a time into my half-filled star plate, topped it off with comp and pressed them the usual way. They worked ok, but the stars burned out before the eggs exploded. It was quite a nice effect in its own way, as the DEs made a sphere of twinkling cracks around the outside of the main burst, but it wasn't what I was expecting. I'm eyeballing the cherry-size spheres left over for possible small shell-of-shell inserts, or maybe in a cake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
californiapyro Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 this is a rocket made with commercial DEs as part of the delay. worked great http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjUC0hcyeUk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexpyro101 Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Too much big. Try standart rape sees or mustard seeds after short boiling in hot water. what does boiling the seeds in water help? uniform size, more weight? I've never heard of doing this before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seymour Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Seeds swell up when they soak the water up. You want them swollen before you use them as cores, otherwise the swelling can crack the stars. I've also heard of a few rare cases of seeds germinating in stars... though this seems rather unusual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Seeds swell up when they soak the water up. You want them swollen before you use them as cores, otherwise the swelling can crack the stars. I've also heard of a few rare cases of seeds germinating in stars... though this seems rather unusual. Bake them at 200°F for 30 minutes to kill the germ first, KNO3 is a terrific fertilizer. -dag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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