Skylighter Fireworks Making
Confessions of a Fireworks Man – Harry Gilliam of Skylighter, Inc.
Charlie’s Secret Green Stars
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.
Continue reading...The Explosive National Sport of Colombia
18 August 2011
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)
Continue reading...Make Black Powder: Quick, Cheap, Easy and High Quality
17 December 2010
.photo_caption { color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; } 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
Continue reading...Everything You Need to Know to Start Making Fireworks Rockets
5 October 2010
.newsletter_thirdLevelHeading { font-weight: bold; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; } .comlink { font-size:18px; font-weight:bold; } by Ned Gorski 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.
Continue reading...Why We Do Fireworks…
29 September 2010
“I often use the word “joy” when describing fireworks. It is a considered word, deliberate in choice. Not just amusement, entertainment, or astonishment, but joy. Our art makes us all into children again for awhile. We become one in our experience for the moment, lost in the sound and color and light. We see large [...]
Continue reading...4-Ounce Black Powder Rockets
20 August 2010
.photo_caption { color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; } “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 [...]
Continue reading...New Products Announcement
6 August 2010
.H2Heading { font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; } .photo_caption { color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; } #rsstojs { border-style:solid; border-width:1px; } 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: Orpiment and Realgar (from Peru) 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.
Continue reading...Making 1.75-Inch Bag & Piston Mines
10 June 2010
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Continue reading...What ARE you gonna do with all those Rubber Stars you’ll be making? Huh?
9 June 2010
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 [...]
Continue reading...How to Make a Rainbow of Rubber Stars
4 June 2010
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28 September 2011
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