usapyro Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 (edited) I was reading around and found that Lloyd Sponenburgh recommends as little as 2.5% moisture for dextrin bound glitters when pressed into comets at high pressure. What is the minimum practical for rammed comets? Eg, just taking a pvc tube and a hardwood dowel and ramming the comp like you would a BP rocket grain. I am thinking about 3% moisture should work and that is what I am going to try for D1. Probably is a little dependent upon the composition and it's charcoal content. I have realized something recently... My best water moistened glitters have always been made on the east side of the coastal mountain range(dry side) in winter in a 70f room, and not the west side. On the west side the humidity in winter is around 95%+ all of the time. I am not even joking... If I place a bentonite clay nozzle in the shed out of the rain it will disintegrate within a few days. If you spill water on the ground in the barn on the concrete it won't dry for a couple days. I am going to give water bound glitters another shot instead of this expensive PVB(Butvar) resin. Works, great, but expensive... $14.4/lb + Shipping if ordered in 5lb amounts.Butvar > http://talasonline.com/ Product > http://apps.webcreat...ProductID=17099 Pressed to high pressure with very little moisture I should be able to get the drying time down with a fan and slightly elevated temperatures. Winter temps being around 50f I should be fine with 70f. 95%+ Humidity is a glitter killer for those who live in what are basically subtropical rainforests... Edited November 4, 2012 by usapyro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Ramming is not going to compress the comet as well as a press. Even if you can approach the same pressures, you can't approximate dwell time. You very well might need in the ball park of 6-10% to get them to hold together well enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I use 4% water/IPA for pressed D1 tails, 6% for C6,C8 and TT. They still take a while to dry completely considering they`re not that damp to start with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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