Charley stored all the fireworks he made in a big chest-type magazine.

Right out in the middle of his backyard.

It was the middle of a nice July afternoon in 1996. And Charlie was in the mood to tell some secrets…

And I was a fireworks newbie itching to find out whatever I could from this old fireworks pro.

“I hate working with chlorate,” he said.

“I know people say it’s impossible to get a good green star without barium chlorate. Been hearin’ it all my life.

“You bleeve ‘em?”

“Of course,” I said, pretend-falling into his trap.

I watched over his shoulder as he lifted up the wooden cover of that big cinderblock chest, and started rustling around in a stack of old Goex boxes, marked with shorthand for different stars… “R/G,” Gr–>Sil,” B/R,” etc.

“That’s it…” he said, as he opened up a box, and reached inside.”

This really isn’t really about Charlie, by the way. Although I think you might wanna know the secrets he gave me that day.

But last night my ace warehouse detective, Lori, figured out a way to ship ‘em to you again. Hooo-ray!

So, I figgered you might put this green little tidbit I’m passing along to you to some good use.

Charlie held a little black square in his hand, “Now, I know it’s the middle of the afternoon but look at this green even in daylight. I call it the Emerald Green Illuminating Star.”

He lit the star and tossed it into the air by hand.

Damn! Even in daylight it really was the deepest, brightest green I had ever seen! I was impressed.

“Now, you know what, Harry? That’s a barium nitrate green, NOT barium chlorate.”

And the rest is history. Charlie shared his green formula and some others with me that afternoon. I carefully chicken-scrawled his formulas down on this piece of 30# virgin kraft, which I have carefully preserved.

Don’t worry if you can’t make ‘em out. We couldn’t either. But here they are as best we can make ‘em out, 15 years later.

I have only made the green, so beware of the others. In particular, the yellow and blue formulas look funny to me.

I have made the green many, many times and love it. It’s my standard green.

My favorite green star is to roll the Emerald Green on top of 1/8″ “silver spin” cores (but that’s another secret that I can’t let you have yet).

Tell me what you think of the blue and yellow formulas. The blue perchlorate parts may be 50 or 35-it’s not clear. And the yellow Cryolite is either 15 or 1.5-my bet’s 15.

Charlie’s green is so good, that I think, despite these questions, the other colors oughta be given a try, too. (And, oh yeah, ALL of the ingredients are available at the fireworks chemical page at Skylighter.com and can be shipped to you anytime you need ‘em.)

I’m sure they can be cut, rolled, or pumped.

What do you think, star makers? Please give me your comments below.

Harry Gilliam

By Harry Gilliam

Okay, I ran across this great game in the Washington Post (August 17, 2001). Click the link for a pdf of the article.

Without going into all the rules and gory details, the game is played by tossing a steel slug 60 feet towards a slanted mud bank in order to hit the center ring (the bull’s-eye). One of the ways you make points is by hitting a triangularly-shaped paper packet of so-called “gunpowder.” The packets are called “mechas.” More on those in a minute.

Who’d a thunk it?

It reminds me of horseshoes, kinda sorta. But mo-bettah, because something actually explodes when you hit it. And of course, as you will see in this video, because it is actually encouraged to play this wonderful sport while drinking.

(click the video to play)

Now, of course I will have to add Colombia to my short list of places to escape to once the laws and regulations start to finish their slow strangulation of our once-great country’s economy. Oops, there I go, ranting again. “Stop it, Harry!” Bad dog!

But let’s get right down to the nitty gritty, here.

First, some kindergarten pyro…

The “mechas,” the exploding Tejo targets, are said to contain “gunpowder.”

Now, gunpowder is just another name for our old fireworks friend, black powder. And black powder, my children, I can purty much guarantee you, will not explode when you lay a pack of it on a mud bank and sling a steel slug at it from 60 feet away.

Nosireebob. It will not.

The question, then, is what the hell IS inside a mecha? We all NEED to know that.

And that is what this contest is all about.

Fustest one to accurately determine two things about a mecha gets a free case of Sky Lanterns from Skylighter.

1. Since it ain’t gunpowder, what is the explosive comp? Which chemicals?
2. How are mechas made?

Just do your research, and answer both questions in the comments below.

The first person to answer both questions accurately wins the case of 36 Sky Lanterns.

IMPORTANTE!

You have to PROVE that your answer is correct. You can speculate and guess all you want. But guessing ain’t gonna land 36 Sky Lanterns on your humble doorstep. Nosireebob.

You will have to divulge your source for both the mecha pyro comp, and for the construction method. And show us all those sources.

The earliest comment/post on this blog who proves the answers, wins.

The judge for this contest will be Señor Harry Gilliam. All decisions by the judge are final.

CLUES:

When the mecha is hit, it often explodes and then burns.

It is not gunpowder (black powder). But calling them gunpowder would be a handy way to get around problems in shipping them… or in disguising their true composition.

The mecha’s explosive composition is a secret. That suggests to me that it may be really simple and/or that the mix may be illegal.

Check out other YouTube videos of Tejo and find close-ups of the mechas as they explode and burn. They don’t “act” like firecrackers.

Now, go get ‘em, and check back often to see what’s come up.

Introduction

At some point fairly early in every pyro career we realize we need to be able to make good black powder (BP) from scratch. BP is used in aerial fireworks shells as lift and burst powder. It is also used, in one way or another, in almost every other pyrotechnic device and component–mines, stars, black match, and the list goes on.

Black Powder Used as Aerial-Shell Lift Powder

Sources of commercially manufactured BP are becoming harder and harder to find. Most sporting-goods stores and gun shops have stopped carrying real black powder. Instead they deal in BP substitutes such as Pyrodex® and Hodgdon Triple-Seven®. These products won’t work as shell lift powder. And even when real commercial black powder is available, it is relatively expensive.

So, availability and expense are the primary motivators to develop an ability to make your own high quality black powder. Add to this the desire that lurks in the heart of every pyro to “do it yourself” rather than rely on commercial sources, and it is downright irresistible.

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate a simple technique by which anyone with access to a few tools and the appropriate chemicals can easily produce high-quality granulated black powder. For use as lift and burst in aerial shells, and for many other uses, BP produced by this method is as good as or better than the commercial product.

Quality Black Powder that is Easy to Make

Good quality granulated black powder simply is that powder which suits our needs in our fireworking hobby. The primary requirements are performance (power) and durability (hard enough grains) that compare favorably with commercial granulated black powder.

There are many ways to make black powder, and the project here has an overview of some of them. You’ll also find there a method to test black powder and compare it to certain standards.

But, we’ll be focusing on a simple, easy way to make high-quality BP that is not mentioned in that project…

Click here to learn this simple, easy way to make high-quality black powder.

This is Your Audience

This is a Big Honkin’ Fireworks Rocket

This is Your Audience on Fireworks Rockets!

Rockets

Obviously, in this introduction to rockets, we won’t be discussing military rockets, which have a long and rich history. Neither will we be discussing rockets designed for space exploration, which we’ll leave to NASA.

But leaving those aside, there is a wide variety of rocketry that folks can and do explore for purely recreational purposes. Such rockets include model rockets, amateur rockets, high-powered rockets, and fireworks rockets. The purpose of this article is to discuss fireworks rockets. However, in order to distinguish fireworks rockets from the other types, we will briefly mention and define each of these.

The following rocketry classifications and descriptions come from Wikipedia:

• Model rocketry: “A model rocket is a small rocket capable of being launched by anybody, to generally low altitudes (usually to around 100-500 m (300-1500 ft) for a 30 g (1 oz.) model) and recovered by a variety of means.”

Estes® rockets are an example of the types of rockets launched in model rocketry. Typically, only commercially manufactured rocket motors are used in model rocketry. However, one Skylighter project highlights the hobbyist manufacture of rocket motors for Estes® rockets.

Model Rocket

• “Amateur rocketry, sometimes known as amateur experimental rocketry or experimental rocketry is a hobby in which participants experiment with fuels and make their own rocket motors, launching a wide variety of types and sizes of rockets. Amateur rocketeers have been responsible for significant research into hybrid rocket motors, and have built and flown a variety of solid, liquid, and hybrid propellant motors.”

Skylighter sells many of the chemicals which are used in the manufacture of motors for amateur rockets.

Launch of an Amateur Rocket

• “High-power rocketry is a hobby similar to model rocketry, with the major difference being that higher impulse range (i.e., more powerful) motors are used. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) definition of a high-power rocket is one which has a total weight of more than 1500 grams and contains a motor or motors containing more than 62.5 grams of propellant or more than 160 Newton-seconds.”

Commercially manufactured motors are most frequently used in high-powered rocketry.

A High-Power Rocket Being Readied for Launch

• Fireworks Rockets
  In his 1947 book Pyrotechnics, George Weingart uses the term “Sky Rockets” to refer to fireworks rockets.
  
  From Wikipedia: “A skyrocket is a type of firework that uses a solid (fuel) rocket motor to rise quickly into the sky. At the apex of its ascent, it is usual for a variety of effects (stars, bangs, crackles, etc.) to be emitted. Skyrockets use various stabilization techniques to ensure the flight follows a predictable course, often a long stick attached to the side of the motor, but also including spin-stabilization or fins.”

Some fireworks rockets, which employ high-powered fuels such as whistle, strobe, or hybrid fuels, blur the distinction between fireworks rocketry and other types of recreational rocketry. In general, though, the presence of pyrotechnic effects intended for entertainment is the distinguishing characteristic of fireworks rockets.

Launch of a Large Fireworks Rocket by Dan Thames,
2-Inch Whistle Motor, 10-Inch Ball Shell Heading

Photo by Mark Stallings

Fireworks Rockets In-Depth

Except for the project on homemade Estes®-type rocket motors, mentioned above, the focus of this article and at Skylighter is on fireworks rockets. The description of fireworks rockets will be expanded upon in this section.

The purpose of fireworks rockets is entertainment. The rocket motor is often designed to provide an entertaining visual and/or audible effect, such as a long glittering or spark tail, or a loud ascending whistle.

Additionally, often the rocket motor is fitted with a “heading,” which creates a traditional fireworks display–for example, a loud report, a shell burst of stars, or a display of other types of fireworks inserts–at the end of the rocket’s powered flight.

Anatomy of a Fireworks Rocket

Cross Section of a Typical Fireworks Rocket

The diagram above shows the elements of a typical fireworks rocket. The top of the rocket is on the right, and the bottom of the rocket is on the left.

This rocket has three main components.

Continue Reading: Everything You Need to Know to Start Making Fireworks Rockets…

Bill Withrow was a member of the Pyrotechnics Guild International. When he died, his widow asked one of his pyro pals to come over and go through his effects. This note was among them.

Back in the stone age, when Skylighter had a printed catalog, we printed Bill’s note on the back cover.

I think it speaks eloquently for itself, for me, and many of us.

–Harry Gilliam

“4-ounce” rockets? What does that mean? Well, if you’re interested in the history of the term and some further background information on rockets in general, you can find it in the Introduction to Rockets article. But if you’re more interested in getting started, let’s go!

Specifically, in this project we are going to make a 4-ounce (1/2-inch ID), nozzled, cored, stick-stabilized, black-powder skyrocket with a bag-shell heading.

Here’s a diagram. You’ll see references to it throughout this project.

Black Powder Rocket Diagram

Half-inch rockets are small enough that they don’t use huge amounts of materials. They can be made quickly, and can be flown in many back yards.

But they are large enough to be really impressive, with that black-powder-rocket “whoosh”? as they launch. They can also carry a nice payload of stars or other garnitures into the air. Working with them will provide plenty of experimentation, experience, research and development, and plain old fire-working fun. This is one “Quarter Pounder” you won’t have to drive to McDonalds to get!

Continue Reading: 4-Ounce Black Powder Rockets…

Realgar & Orpiment

My old pal Bob Winokur has been doing some pyro-sleuthing and came up with a small stash of two pyro chemicals which are largely unobtanium now: Realgar and Orpiment, both arsenic compounds.

He was able to supply us with a little of each. You can order it below.

This has been an interesting process. Both of these chemicals are naturally occurring minerals. They are often found together, as you can see in the photo below:

The reddish crystals are realgar, and the yellow stuff is orpiment. They occur together and are very close to the same chemistry.

The powder we have was produced by first harvesting crystals of both chemicals and then grinding them into very fine powder. Suffice it to say, the whole process is mostly manual, expensive, and time consuming, and not much of it is available. To my knowledge, neither of these chemicals is produced synthetically in the US, if anywhere.

Realgar was most commonly used to produce white flames in fireworks before powdered metals such as aluminum, magnesium, and titanium became widely available. It was also used with potassium chlorate to make impact explosives. I have heard of crackling stars being made with it as well.

I do not suggest that you come to rely on either realgar or orpiment for any formulas that you want to make on a regular basis. They are both poisonous, of course, and I don’t know if we can or will continue to stock either chemical. Best to consider both of these as exotic pyro antiques, more a curiosity than a practical ingredient.

CAUTION: Both realgar and orpiment are sulfur compounds and will explode when mixed with chlorates. They are both arsenic compounds and highly poisonous. The resulting ash from burned pyro compositions is likely to contain water soluble arsenic oxide, which is considerably more toxic than either of the sulfides.

In addition to the information listed with each chemical on Skylighter.com, here is some historical info Dr. Winokur worked up on these two very old pyro chemicals.

You should treat the units of measure given in the tables below as parts by weight, unless otherwise noted. They do not necessarily add up to 100 in each column.

Continue Reading for Formulations Containing Orpiment & Realgar…

This nifty new project shows you two methods for making mines.

To make this project, you need:

• The supplies shown in the project below.
• Black powder, which you can make or buy locally. If you want to make your own, check out the Red Gum Black Powder project.
• Stars. This particular mine is small, and uses 3/8″ stars. The two projects for making Rubber Stars are perfect for these, but any small stars will work.

The mortars you use for your mines need to be securely anchored to the ground in some way. So, you might want to check out these two links on setting up mortars for a consumer fireworks display.

Have fun. This is a fun project to make a spectacular kind of firework that many people in your fireworks display audience have rarely, if ever seen. You’ll be a hero.

–Harry Gilliam

Making 1.75-Inch Bag & Piston Mines

By Ned Gorski

Introduction

In its simplest form, a fireworks mine is a device which shoots a spray of stars skyward from ground level. This dramatic low-level effect, complementing and contrasting with high aerial shells, can lend welcome variety to any fireworks display.

Mines can be used to augment the beats in music. Many mines spaced out across your firing area may be fired simultaneously in what is called a “mine front.” Or they can be fired in rapid sequence down the line from one side of the field to the other in what is called a “mine run.”

These mines are quick, easy and inexpensive to make. So, many of them can be made to provide more devices for a show–and homemade devices at that!

Mine “Front” of Blue Mines with Shells Above

The construction of these mines and the equipment used to fire them can vary considerably, and many different effects can be created. For example:

• Standard length mortar tubes will fire tall, narrow sprays of stars. Short mortars will create short, wide star-sprays.
• Fast burning stars will create vertical rays of light which burn out at the top. Slower burning stars will arc over, creating gracefully drooping spark displays.
• Other inserts besides stars may be used in mines. Small homemade devices or “repurposed” consumer fireworks devices such as hummers, bees, whirlwinds, and reports, as well as flying-fish-fuse, and go-getters may be used, either individually or in combinations with each other.

The mines we are about to work on are impressive fireworks devices, while still being in the “consumer fireworks” size range. So while they present plenty of opportunities for experimentation and creativity, they are also suitable for a basic, backyard fireworks display.

Continue Reading: Making 1.75-Inch Bag & Piston Mines…

If you don’t already have specific plans for them, you’re gonna love the next fireworks projects from Ned Gorski. They can all use your new Rubber Stars.

For Ned’s next act this week, he’s gonna show you how to make two different kindsa mines.

You know, “mines.” Think of a mine as an aerial shell full of stars that fires from the ground UP, vs. the other way around. Mines are fast, easy, and inexpensive to make. So, you can make a lot of them in time for your July 4th display.

Your audience will absolutely love them, and they make the perfect firework to be using your new Rainbow of Rubber Stars.

How about a mine “front” consisting of 30 mortar tubes, with ten different colors all fired at the same time? Or a color-changing palette of colors firing in sequence, one second apart, going from one side of the field to the other?

Slant your mine mortar tubes to the left and right, fire them at the same time and make them cross each other in the sky.

The possibilities are endless.

So watch your emails for this week’s brand new mines project.

If you’ve ever used mines in a fireworks display, tell us how you used them, and how they improved your display. Post a comment down below.

Introduction

The “rainbow” of star colors I’ll be discussing here builds on the methods detailed in the How to Make Screen-Sliced Brilliant-Red Rubber Stars project to expand your color palette of star choices.

Note: Be sure you learn and are familiar with that new way of making and priming stars before starting on this project!

The screen-sliced rubber stars production method has significant advantages for the small-scale hobbyist:

• A full range of great colors with a small collection of chemicals
• Simple and fast star-making process
• Fast drying stars, which are great for on-site pyro-device manufacture
• Very specific quantities of stars can be made, minimizing storage of excess stars
• Matching-color rising tails for shells and rockets can be made at the same time as the stars
• Metal particles may be added to the stars to create spark-trails behind the color-star heads

The introductory project focused on one basic star formula for “brilliant red” stars. At some point most fireworkers start to yearn for a wider variety of color stars and effects. They want to fill out the palette of potential star effects they have to choose from when making fireworks devices. Multiple colors and effects used in the same device, as seen in the photo below, can really make for interesting and beautiful fireworks.

A Pair of Amateur-Built “Stained Glass” (or “Kaleidoscope”) Shells
Photo by Tom Handel

So how do you make a rainbow of color stars to go with those charcoal stars and glitter stars, silver-spark tailed stars, or a nice white star? At the same time, can we get around the problems of using chemicals that are hard to obtain or require special drying?

The purpose of this project is to answer these questions with a set of well-balanced color star formulas that use easily available and relatively non-hygroscopic chemicals. These formulas are designed to work well with the screen-slicing method described in How to Make Screen-Sliced Brilliant-Red Rubber Stars.

Now if I were you, I’d be clamoring to get my paws on those formulas and itching to start getting my hands dirty right away. So, I’m going to give you the table of new formulas right up front. Your job for this project is to use these new formulas along with the screen-slicing process you learned in the red rubber stars project to make some of these beautifully colored stars and try them out.

However, when you’ve worn out your hands (or exhausted your pyro budget), come on back in here and read the two sections of this project that come after the star formula table below.

In the first one, “Pyrotechnic Color,” I’ll explain how these (and other) formulas work to create colored flames and how you can mix and modify them to create even more colors for your pyro palette.

Finally, in “Developing a System of Bright Stars using Carbonates,” I will show you how to approach a major pyro research project by explaining how I went about developing this one. In doing so, I’ll include many more useful color star formulas for you to try and experiment with.

Continue Reading: How to Make a Rainbow of Rubber Stars…