Dragon's Eggs-manufacturing?

[alexpyro101]

I've made dragon's eggs a few times and never really had much luck. I get a pretty quiet crackle effects, and poor granules. Any tips?

 

I'm wondering how to mix the chemicals, should I screen these chemicals together? I have heard to do so but for some reason it seems like a bad idea, I have been diaper milling it, but i don't get the best mixing from it.

 

Also what's the best way to form them, i have had bad luck with granulating them, should I just try and cut them? What difference does the finnished star;s size make on the effect (small granules vs. big) ?

 

I'm using this formula: 75 \sub carbonate, 15 mgal, 10 copper oxide, +5 al, bound with 10% nc laquer

 

I use very fine mgal, much finer than 200 mesh which i am assuming works better than coarser mesh, I could be wrong I'm not sure if I fully understand how the mix works.

 

Soon i hope to try usapyro's comp. Seems to cut back on the use of bismuth subcarbonate and i don't have to use nc laquer, which is great because I hate working with it, not to mention they are also loud as heck in his video.

 

Any help is appreciated!

 

 

[Anarchy08]

hi, recently wrote up my finding on dragon eggs here:http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/7339-dragon-eggs/page__p__96315__fromsearch__1?do=findComment&comment=96315

 

 

hope you find some usefull info there on comps.

1. screen the oxides together diaper rest

2. use a garlic press once your NC/comp has dried out enough to the point in which it flakes off faster then you can knead it back in, its ready to form. pressing the comp through the garlic p. and slicing off as you get the size your after. blowing air of the comp will aid drying to cleanly cut off eggs.

3. bigger stars may, comp depending go off all at once and not add much if anything to the reports, or crackle multiple times and be a more pleasing effect try a herb cutter to cut even 5mm cubes.

4. poor granules as in falling apart? not enough NC.

5. you have Bismuth subcarbonate, this is my fav chem but I am out do you mind PM source? or selling me some?

6. different MgAl size determines the delay and report noise , coarse mgal, long delay loud bang, fine mesh short delay reasonable report, mixture of both? best of both worlds? yet to try

Havant personally tried USA's comp but the vid did look pleasing

 

let us know your results im always after more info, cheers hope this helps

[alexpyro101]

hi, recently wrote up my finding on dragon eggs here:http://www.amateurpy...h__1#entry96315

 

 

hope you find some usefull info there on comps.

1. screen the oxides together diaper rest

2. use a garlic press once your NC/comp has dried out enough to the point in which it flakes off faster then you can knead it back in, its ready to form. pressing the comp through the garlic p. and slicing off as you get the size your after. blowing air of the comp will aid drying to cleanly cut off eggs.

3. bigger stars may, comp depending go off all at once and not add much if anything to the reports, or crackle multiple times and be a more pleasing effect try a herb cutter to cut even 5mm cubes.

4. poor granules as in falling apart? not enough NC.

5. you have Bismuth subcarbonate, this is my fav chem but I am out do you mind PM source? or selling me some?

6. different MgAl size determines the delay and report noise , coarse mgal, long delay loud bang, fine mesh short delay reasonable report, mixture of both? best of both worlds? yet to try

Havant personally tried USA's comp but the vid did look pleasing

 

let us know your results im always after more info, cheers hope this helps

 

thanks for the quick reply!

Hmmmmmm so i will try usapyro's comp with my 200 mesh mg/al, hopefully a better bang.

I get all my bismuth subcarbonate from skylighter, I haven't found a better source yet

 

link- Bismuth subcarbonate-skylighter

 

 

 

[DanielC]

Here try this one. It is the one I use for my crackling cores. Credit goes to Kyle Kepley.

.44 CopperII Oxide, black

.34 Bismuth Subcarbonate

.22 MgAl 200 mesh

 

Screen or hand mix then dampen with NC solution around 10-15%solids till it resembles bread dough. Then quickly make a very thin patty and press

through a 8 or 10 mesh screen if you have one. If you don't have the screens, cut it, but be quick about it. If you want to prime it is best to let the

granules fall from the screen straight into the prime. This comp dries very fast. It is best to have a dedicated screen for this.

Wear safety glasses when you test these guys. They Really pop.

Let me know how it works out for you.

[ExplosiveCoek]

What prime do you use DanielC, and what kind of binder?

 

Also, have you ever tried a different binder then NC?

[al93535]

Your original formula should work well. Most of the problems I have encountered when making crackling microstars is due to the processing.

 

Make sure to screen all the chemicals, 3 times through at least a 50 mesh screen. Most people never use enough nitrocellulose lacquer, you need plenty of it! To make it easier to granulate I advise adding 25% by volume of butyl acetate to your lacquer to extend working time.

 

Kneed the mix, let it dry up until it's too dry to granulate, then add more lacquer, this ensures you have enough, you want it to be sticky sticky!! Kneed untilmits not sticky anymore, and granulate it by pressing it through a kitchen sieve 14 or 16 mesh. Let them dry about 90%, so they are crispy but are pliable a little. Screen through a 8 mesh, then collect what mesh range you need.

 

Test a few with a torch. They should catch and begin to glow really fast, smolder for a very short time and explode loudly. If not, there are only a few reasons. You didn't add enough lacquer or your magnalium is off spec or bad. I've never seen the copper oxide or bismuth being the culprit, but hey, you never know. Adding the extra 5% aluminum does indeed make a much louder report!!!

 

I would first try regranulating your batch with more lacquer and test again.

 

I prime with a standard BP mix, 70/20/10 +4% dextrin. Don't get them too wet, just enough to adhere the prime. They don't need much at all.

[alexpyro101]

Here try this one. It is the one I use for my crackling cores. Credit goes to Kyle Kepley.

.44 CopperII Oxide, black

.34 Bismuth Subcarbonate

.22 MgAl 200 mesh

 

Screen or hand mix then dampen with NC solution around 10-15%solids till it resembles bread dough. Then quickly make a very thin patty and press

through a 8 or 10 mesh screen if you have one. If you don't have the screens, cut it, but be quick about it. If you want to prime it is best to let the

granules fall from the screen straight into the prime. This comp dries very fast. It is best to have a dedicated screen for this.

Wear safety glasses when you test these guys. They Really pop.

Let me know how it works out for you.

 

That's what I usually did, spread it and then press it through a screen, thx I'll be sure to try that comp.

 

[alexpyro101]

Your original formula should work well. Most of the problems I have encountered when making crackling microstars is due to the processing.

 

Make sure to screen all the chemicals, 3 times through at least a 50 mesh screen. Most people never use enough nitrocellulose lacquer, you need plenty of it! To make it easier to granulate I advise adding 25% by volume of butyl acetate to your lacquer to extend working time.

 

Kneed the mix, let it dry up until it's too dry to granulate, then add more lacquer, this ensures you have enough, you want it to be sticky sticky!! Kneed untilmits not sticky anymore, and granulate it by pressing it through a kitchen sieve 14 or 16 mesh. Let them dry about 90%, so they are crispy but are pliable a little. Screen through a 8 mesh, then collect what mesh range you need.

 

Test a few with a torch. They should catch and begin to glow really fast, smolder for a very short time and explode loudly. If not, there are only a few reasons. You didn't add enough lacquer or your magnalium is off spec or bad. I've never seen the copper oxide or bismuth being the culprit, but hey, you never know. Adding the extra 5% aluminum does indeed make a much louder report!!!

 

I would first try regranulating your batch with more lacquer and test again.

 

I prime with a standard BP mix, 70/20/10 +4% dextrin. Don't get them too wet, just enough to adhere the prime. They don't need much at all.

 

I'm thinking my problem is the mixing, and too fine of mg/al(it's probably around 300-400 mesh, ball milled it extra fine because i was having dragon's eggs issues). I hear with more coarse mg/al you get a longer delay and a louder report.

[alexpyro101]

What prime do you use DanielC, and what kind of binder?

 

Also, have you ever tried a different binder then NC?

 

nope, i'm probably gonna try a red gum bound mix that found on usapyro's post

 

 

 

[Mumbles]

In my experience using too fine of MgAl results in too short of a delay. Depending on what you want, traditionally dragon eggs should glow completely and crack just once. Too fine of metal speeds this up. Each granule "cracks" too soon, and shoots off burning fragments. This results in kind of a short duration of reports down to sizzling depending on how extreme it is. A coarser mesh of MgAl should help. I've had good luck with -100 mesh MgAl. I found I actually had to grade the metal by hand. If you order -100 mesh MgAl, it seems to contain a decent amount of particles passing 200 mesh. If you hand grade to -100+200 you should be close. A bit of -60+100 (again hand graded) should get you were you want it if necessary.

 

Al93535 knows what he's talking about. Don't skimp on the NC.

[DanielC]

I've seen a few comps posted using a different binder, but I've never tried them. NC is not as difficult to use as many people think.

The biggest thing is not getting the comp too wet when adding the NC solution and working quickly.

These resin binded comps may work fine, but I always believed the NC worked to some extent as a fuel as well as a binder. Also if

they are being used as star cores the NC is very good at sealing the deggs from water, nitrates, etc. leaching into them and ruining the effect.

The videos I've seen with the resin binded deggs were just lit on a flat surface. The prime is 70/20/10 Perc/100 mesh MgAl/red gum, but there is another

one on pyro guide with added silicon that works better.