WSM Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Well, will the wonders of EBay never cease? Copper Powder inbound, -325 Mesh, 1 pound for a paltry $14.00 plus shipping to $19 so I guess that is decent enough for now. eBay! Is there anything it can't do?!!! Yes I'm being facetious WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 (edited) I was also able to shoot Octavio an email so I did. Never know when you have enough. One question though, is the paraffin to be powdered or added melted or what? OR is it to be used to coat the copper? I have beads of paraffin that I usually use to coat steel for fountains. I imagine if I froze some I could powder them... Edited January 26, 2012 by warthog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 (edited) I was also able to shoot Octavio an email so I did. Never know when you have enough. One question though, is the paraffin to be powdered or added melted or what? OR is it to be used to coat the copper? I have beads of paraffin that I usually use to coat steel for fountains. I imagine if I froze some I could powder them... I have another friend who filled a blender with ice and turned it on high and chopped the ice to slush. While it was still running he slowly poured in melted paraffin and ran it a while. After he did this he let the ice melt and filtered the powdered wax out and dried it. The powdered paraffin stayed powdered when dry and was easily mixed with other things as needed. WSM Edited January 27, 2012 by WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrojig Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I have another friend who filled a blender with ice and turned it on high and chopped the ice to slush. While it was still running he slowly poured in melted paraffin and ran it a while. After he did this he let the ice melt and filtered the powdered wax out and dried it. The powdered paraffin stayed powdered when dry and was easily mixed with other things as needed. WSM WOW ....! Thats pure genius!!! Oh the things that a kitchen blender is good for........, ( reducing charcoal , and other chems,)Not to mention a angry wife when she finds what youv'e been up to . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 WOW ....! Thats pure genius!!! Oh the things that a kitchen blender is good for........, ( reducing charcoal , and other chems,)Not to mention a angry wife when she finds what youv'e been up to . The trick is to keep a collection of "yard-sale blenders" in the workshop. If one dies you toss it and bring down the next one and keep going. I'd never take the Wife's kitchen blender out there (I like sleeping indoors too much to do that! ). WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 WOW ....! Thats pure genius!!! Oh the things that a kitchen blender is good for........, ( reducing charcoal , and other chems,)Not to mention a angry wife when she finds what youv'e been up to . I forgot to mention; like oldguy, I have one of those laboratory grade stainless steel blender hoppers (lucky eBay find). Now all I need is a commercial base unit to run it on . WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 (edited) I'm not married so I can do as I please with whatever blender or any other kitchen appliance I choose. Edited January 27, 2012 by warthog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I'm not married so I can do as I please with whatever blender or any other kitchen appliance I choose. That's okay, but once it sees the workshop I'd never bring it back to the kitchen... ! WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 The amount of tequila I put in a margarita can easily render anything I might grind in the blender inert and "potable".At least as potable as my margaritas are in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bacon Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 To make copper powder, have you tried adding zinc dust to a hot saturated solution of copper sulphate. It works a treat and gives off very fine powder, be careful though as it is a very exothermic reaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) To make copper powder, have you tried adding zinc dust to a hot saturated solution of copper sulphate. It works a treat and gives off very fine powder, be careful though as it is a very exothermic reaction. I love bacon. I even love smelling bacon cooking and using bacon grease to cook eggs etc in. I wish they made an air freshener in bacon scent. Sorry about all of that... How hot and how concentrated should the solution be? I would also like to know what happens to the Zinc in the reaction? Is whatever else is produced in the reaction worthwhile pyrotechics-wise? I had not know I could do this but it does seem to me that it is easier for me to buy it now. I like making Zinc stars and using it to color other things, it makes one of the more freaky shades of green IMO and I find I like that color a lot. I have somewhere near 15# of Zinc Dust ll hermetically sealed in little half pound bags with O2 absorbers and desiccants in the large plastic screw top vessel & the unopened bags I keep them in to guard against degradation. (I know I am a bit over cautious but I had the stuff around to do it and I was bored one days so...) Thanks for the info! Edited January 29, 2012 by warthog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) I love bacon. I even love smelling bacon cooking and using bacon grease to cook eggs etc in. I wish they made an air freshener in bacon scent. Sorry about all of that...How hot and how concentrated should the solution be?I would also like to know what happens to the Zinc in the reaction?Is whatever else is produced in the reaction worthwhile pyrotechics-wise?I had not know I could do this but it does seem to me that it is easier for me to buy it now. I like making Zinc stars and using it to color other things, it makes one of the more freaky shades of green IMO and I find I like that color a lot. I have somewhere near 15# of Zinc Dust ll hermetically sealed in little half pound bags with O2 absorbers and desiccants in thelarge plastic screw top vessel & the unopened bags I keep them in to guard against degradation. (I know I am a bit over cautious but I had the stuff around to do it and I was bored one days so...)Thanks for the info! Bacon cologne? Naw, the dog would pester you to no end... and he'd eat your room freshener, too... ! Zinc sulfate is used to kill ivy, and a number of other uses mentioned in the Merck Index (I can list them later if you want). WSM Edited January 29, 2012 by WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 I have no doggie. Nor do I have any cats or other vermin in my home. The air freshener would be safe. I have actually seen bacon scent cologne for sale n the web but if I want to smell like bacon I will just rub bacon grease behind my ears. I was more wondering if Zinc Sulfate had any sort of use pyrotechnically as I plainly stated. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) I have no doggie. Nor do I have any cats or other vermin in my home. The air freshener would be safe. I have actually seen bacon scent cologne for sale n the web but if I want to smell like bacon I will just rub bacon grease behind my ears. I was more wondering if Zinc Sulfate had any sort of use pyrotechnically as I plainly stated. LOL According to the Merck Index, the character of it doesn't lend itself very well to being a component of pyrotechnics. Unless someone does some research and creates a use for it, I don't see it showing up on Harry's shelves anytime soon. It has such lovely traites as being acid in solution, somewhat corrosive to skin and holds water of hydration until over 280oC. It is insoluble in alcohol so it may be separated from solution in that way, but so far there's no overriding reason to do so. You got me... WSM Edited January 29, 2012 by WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allrocketspsl Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) Anyone know where I can get a few pounds of the stuff without breaking the bank?? (in the USA) If not, anyone know what would be a suitable substitute for it?? From what I gather, shellac seems as close as I can figure but not really as close as it should be. I will give some shellac a go of course but I am hoping to find either a better substitute or some actual Copal Gum instead. I want to try a Blue Lance formula I found in Lancaster, 4th ed, page 239, Blue A. I have sought a really blue looking lance formula for a while now that will burn at the same rate as the other colors I have already gotten dialed in so this one looks promising to me. While I do welcome other formulae for blue lances, preferable using KClO3 rather than KCLO4 or anything else just because I have a ready source of really pure, good burning KClO3 and I like the colors I get from it. I also have a good system to prime such lances already and would rather not have to rework all of that as well. I hand roll my tubes, 4" usually, from 4"x4" pieces of 30# Kraft with a rounded spindle so I can roll the end closed easily. It is a method I found in the form of a "slideshow" by Doc Ferguson" with credit to the Kentucky Bluegrass club (see attached file though it is now in Keynote/Mac format). I appreciate the help. what paper have you used how many turns? Edited February 3, 2012 by allrocketspsl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 As I said in the other thread that you started, I used 30# recycled Kraft, cut into 4"x4" squares, then rolled onto a 5/16" steel rod spindle that I polished up really well so the glue and tubes wouldn't stick to them. I rounded one end of the spindle, this end is to become the bottom of the tube. Then I put glue along the far edge and the bottom of the paper square and rolled it into a simple tube first, then I slid it down over the rounded bottom of the spindle and rolled it against a table to seal the bottom of the tube. Next I slid the finished tube off of the spindle and set it aside to dry. I put a link into the other thread where you can find a slide show that will work on a PC, the one I attached is in a Mac format. The slide show shows how to set up the paper squares into a "book" which makes rolling a lot of tubes easy and fast to do. I was able to roll up the 250 tubes I needed for the set piece I made in a couple of hours once I got the hang of it. If you would like I can post a picture of the spindle I made for rolling lance tubes. It is pretty straight forward though and they do show it in the slideshow that I gave the link to in the other thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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