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.

Make Black Powder: Quick, Cheap, Easy and High Quality is a post from: Confessions of a Fireworks Man

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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.

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…

Everything You Need to Know to Start Making Fireworks Rockets is a post from: Confessions of a Fireworks Man

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

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…

4-Ounce Black Powder Rockets is a post from: Confessions of a Fireworks Man

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…

New Products Announcement is a post from: Confessions of a Fireworks Man

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.

What ARE you gonna do with all those Rubber Stars you’ll be making? Huh? is a post from: Confessions of a Fireworks Man

“Garnitures.” Kind of an old-fashioned word, not heard very often in conversation. But, as used to describe the class of fireworks components we are about to look at, I’ll be darned if I can find a better word.

From “Traditional Cylinder Shell Construction, Part I” by A. Fulcanelli, found in Pyrotechnica IX:

Pumped-Star Garnitures Filling a Shell-Casing Hemisphere

And, from the dictionary, the root of the word “garniture” lies in the term “garnish,” which is defined as “to furnish with beautifying details.”

To furnish with beautifying details. Doesn’t that sound lovely? That’s exactly what we are asking of our various types of garnitures.

There are basically two “sub-assemblies” of a fireworks shell. The first assembly includes the shell leader-fuse, the lift powder, the time fuse, the shell casing, and the burst powder. That whole integrated construct, though, serves one purpose-that of getting the second assembly, the garnitures, up into the air and ignited. Without the garnitures, the shell wouldn’t really serve any purpose.

So garnitures refer to the contents of a shell, whether it is used as an aerial shell, a rocket heading, or as an insert in another shell. (In the case of a shell insert to be used inside a larger shell, I suppose the contents of that smaller shell could be referred to as “garnitures of garnitures,” or maybe garnitures squared.)

The contents of fireworks mines, and other ground devices-such as cakes, roman candles, and single-shot comets-would also be called garnitures.

Continue Reading: Stars and Shell Inserts…

Stars & Shell Inserts: Garnitures is a post from: Confessions of a Fireworks Man

But the very first batch of stars came out looking like they had contracted a king-hell case of warts. Looked like raspberries – all bumpy all around. Actually, there was an easy fix, but I didn’t have a clue about it at the time.

Over the next couple of days, I’d like to find out about YOUR problems in making stars.

Please take a few minutes and tell us all what sort of problems you have or had making stars. Or what has stopped you from being able to make stars. What kind of stars were you making? What went wrong? How was the process difficult or unsatisfactory for you? It’s star problems I’m especially looking for. How come?

I want to see if the problems you’re having can be solved by a radical new star making method that Ned came up with. And Monday, I have a great new article on stars for you from Ned.

Just add your comments on star making problems down below.

Thanks.

Harry

PS: The cure for star warts is to dampen them and keep rolling ‘em. Don’t add any more dry powder just yet—just spray them with water or water and alcohol. As you spritz ‘em, the warts soften, and they get rolled out flat. Once they’re perfectly round again, you can resume building them up with powder and water. The warts are caused by using too little water.

Star Warts is a post from: Confessions of a Fireworks Man

Because even if you really do already know how to make a smoke bomb, you can still have problems getting your colored smoke to work…problems you may not expect.

How to Make a Smoke Bomb the Failsafe Way—We Thought!

Skylighter has been offering organic powdered dye pre-mixed with the other necessary colored smoke chemicals for years. These premixed colored smoke components make it a lot faster and easier to make smoke grenades and make smoke bombs. We even got Ned Gorski to write an excellent and detailed project article on How to Make Smoke Bombs, complete with color photos, and even videos.

Skylighter sells that pre-mix as “colored smoke mix.” You buy a pound of the colored smoke mix, combine it with a pre-measured amount of just one other chemical, potassium chlorate, load it into a capped tube, and voila. You have a homemade smoke bomb, ready to light.

Usually.

Except, now people were having problems getting their colored smoke to light.

When this problem started to show up repeatedly, I finally decided to roll up my sleeves and look into it. What I found, though anything but earthshaking, is a good little lesson in simple pyrotechnic detective work.

And it is exactly the same kind of problem diagnosis and solution, which anyone who makes fireworks will eventually run into.

So, ride along with me a ways. It won’t take long, and there are a couple of good tips and tidbits that anyone can use.

What we try to do with our colored smoke bomb kits is make it really simple, fast, and idiot-proof to make a smoke bomb. But in trying to make it too simple, we may have overlooked the obvious.

Here was the problem: Customers were mixing the correct weights of the two-part colored smoke components (smoke mix and potassium chlorate) correctly—according to the instructions Skylighter provided. But when they tried to light the stuff it wouldn’t burn. Or it would light, and then go out.

Now when you light colored smoke it is supposed to smolder, not catch on fire.

The key is having exactly the right ratio of the potassium chlorate oxidizer to the smoke mix fuel. Screw the ratio up one way and your mix will burn too fast.

This is very important. If your mix actually burns, you won’t get the colored smoke you want. Just black, brown, or some other characteristic dark color of burning material.

Screw the ratio up the other way, and your colored smoke mix will not ignite at all.

Colored Smoke Detective Work

When we first heard about the problem with a single colored smoke color, we simply took some of our smoke mix here, mixed it properly with the potassium chlorate, and burned some outside.

Hmmm… there is some kind of problem. Perhaps the company, which formulates our colored smoke mixes, changed the brew in some way. They said not, but chemicals can be different, from batch to batch, or year to year. And unless you do time consuming and expensive testing of each batch you get, you might never know. So, we all tend to rely on good suppliers, brands, and model/spec numbers instead.

Making our smoke mixes does involve carefully weighing and blending at least 3 different chemicals.

It did visually appear that the blending/mixing was not as thorough.

But hundreds of pounds of these colored smoke mixes were already out on the street in customers’ hands. What to do?

We found that if we increased the amount of chlorate added to the smoke mix, that we could get it to burn. So that’s what we recommended to people who were having problems. We even sent out additional potassium chlorate at no charge, and replacement smoke bomb kits.

The problem reports continued nonetheless. Some people were not able to add additional chlorate and solve the problem. And then other colors started to have the same problem.

Hmmm… what else could be wrong?

A little background will help here. Because colored smoke dyes are “dirty” to work with, we recommended that folks use “bag mixing” to mix the chlorate and smoke mix.

Basically, this involves dumping the two parts into a big zip-lock, sealing it, and then mushing the contents around for a while until there’s a homogeneously colored powder inside with no lumps.

The theorem I developed was that for reasons unknown, either or both of the two-part smoke mixture had either increased in particle size and/or gotten “clumpy”—a scientific term describing what happens when a chemical gets a little bit of moisture in it.

Well, for sure the chlorate had. You could look at it and tell.

I ran some of our blue smoke through a 30-mesh kitchen strainer and found the same thing. More clumps. Maybe even larger particles.

So, here’s a lesson in pyro 101.

When we first started offering two-part colored smoke kits, it’s a fact that both the colored smoke fuel and the potassium chlorate were very fine (particle size), free flowing powders, something you almost always want in your fireworks chemicals.

And we had no reports of problems igniting the smokes.

Now, with lumpy, clumpy material, what has happened? Well think about it. It’s simple. The particle size of both parts has increased. When particle sizes are larger, surface area is decreased.

Since the pyrotechnic burn we want depends on many little particles of fuel and oxidizer being in close contact with each other AND since we know we had that balance exactly right when the two powders used to be fine powders that were free flowing, then the surface area is no longer adequate for the ratios we were using.

And that’s exactly why adding a little more potassium chlorate had solved the problem for some people. The large surface area problem meant that if we changed the ratio of oxidizer to smoke fuel, we could indeed get the smoke to light again.

But over time as BOTH fuel AND oxidizer got clumpier and clumpier, even that solution didn’t work.

Why? Because the mix was simply too coarse to take fire using the bag mix with the two chemical components we were providing.

The Tests

Experiments proved this out. Armed with the info above and my theorem that it was merely a particle size problem, I set out to solve the problem AND try to do it in a way that would involve the least hassle and expense for both Skylighter and our customers.

It took about two hours. Like most of my testing, I try to work with very small batches. This speeds up the process by reducing weighing, milling, and mixing. And reduces the cost of materials, a lot of which is often wasted doing the testing.

I was pressed for time; so I had the guys in the warehouse, first pre-measure a lot of little baggies of potassium chlorate and colored smoke mixes.

I took the box of this stuff home, realizing only later that the little white powder bags could have brought big smoke down on me, had I been stopped with them. (“No, no, no, ossifer. Those little white powder baggies aren’t what you think at all. Actually, if I mix the white stuff in with this colored stuff, and light it, you will get purple colored smoke! Wait, ossifer, I am not trying to burn the evidence. No, wait. Stop. Those things are too tight on my wrists. I wanna call my mama, ahhh lawyer!”)

First problem was finding someplace that wasn’t windy. I don’t do this stuff indoors in my shop any more, and smoke dyes are easily blown around by even stray puffs of wind.

I found a corner against a shed, out of the wind, and set up my scale, two coffee grinders, some mixing cups, a small kitchen strainer screen, and my trusty pyro notebook.

I aimed for a ratio of 14.2 grams of smoke mix to 5.2 grams of potassium chlorate. That’s the ratio we devised early on that would work with all of our smoke mixes, regardless of color. And we knew from history it used to work.

My test burn container for all experiments was a 9/16” ID x 1-1/2” long tube (called an M80 tube in some circles) with a cardboard plug in one end, the other end open.

FYI, colored smokes do not have to be confined to do their thing. I left one end of each test-tube open for the tests.

Experiment 1: I added the two chemicals together in a zip lock and sqwooshed ‘em together for ten minutes. The now infamous, bag mix method. Filled a test tube, inserted a piece of Visco and lit it. Failed to light. This mix would not even light when directly blasted with a blowtorch.

Experiment 2: I repeated the process in Experiment 1, but with an additional 10% potassium chlorate. Lit the fuse, and it too failed to ignite. Blowtorching the loose mix caused it to light, but it could not sustain the burn, and went out.

Experiment 3: Repeated #2 again adding +10% chlorate, but instead of bag mixing, screened the mix 3 times. Lit the fuse, and the smoke mix ignited, the burn was sustained, but with a “sputtering” burn, and an okay, but not rich blue smoke.

Experiment 4: Since the potassium chlorate was the lumpier of the two components, I used a coffee and spice grinder to grind the chlorate to a fine, fluffy powder, with about 20 seconds of pulse milling. Weighed the two components in the original 14.2/5.2 grams ratio. Screened the two components together 3 times. The mix burned correctly.

Experiment 5: Repeated #4, but I also blade milled the smoke mix for 20-30 seconds as well, before screen mixing together 3 times. The mix burned even better. Full rich blue smoke. The volume of smoke was the greatest of all the test burns.

Conclusion

The particle sizes of both components need to be as small as possible. If there is a problem getting the smoke mix to burn, then milling both components separately to a finer particle size, as well as using a better mixing method will likely solve the problem.

This will not solve all fireworks mix problems. But if you think particle size or clumping may be your problem, the method described above is a quick and simple test to find out.

Cost: Cost to solve the problem at Walmart–$34: 2 coffee mills, $14 each; one small wire strainer, $6. And everything is reusable later on in my fireworks shop.

More on cheap chemical milling using a coffee (blade) mill.

Tell Me What You Think: Was this Article Helpful to You or Not?

Just leave a comment below. Thanks.

- Harry

How to Make a Smoke Bomb the Failsafe Way—We Thought! is a post from: Confessions of a Fireworks Man

I’ve covered many safety issues involved in making fireworks in my introductory essay to Kyle Kelley’s The Pyrotechnist Survival Guide, Bill Ofca’s Fireworks Safety Manual, and Dr. Takeo Shimizu’s treatise on Preventing Accident.

Much physical suffering on our part and that of our loved ones can be avoided if we heed the advice in those pages. I like to go back and review them regularly to see how well my operations are conforming to those recommendations.

But there is another very significant kind of pain and suffering we and our families may have to endure unless we pay attention to a different set of precautions as we embark on this new fireworking hobby.

I’m going to go over what it takes to make fireworks legally, and I’ll even show you how to make a magazine inexpensively to use for legal storage of the fireworks you make.

The US Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) is charged with regulating explosives activities in the United States. Their regulations can be found in ATF Federal Explosives Law and Regulations, commonly called the Orange Book because of its orange cover.

Here is a link to a free online, PDF version of the Orange Book:

http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5400-7.pdf

The book can be obtained from the BATFE directly, also, and from Skylighter.

Individual states either defer to Federal explosives regulations or develop their own explosives laws.

Local governments such as counties, cities, and townships can adopt their own sets of laws governing explosives and their manufacture.

You might be saying right about now, “What am I getting myself into?”

The simple answer is that you’ve gotten yourself into a serious hobby and art form, one which can cause personal injury and property damage, and one in which the government takes an interest, unlike knitting or stamp-collecting.

“Well, the heck with them. I don’t care about their stupid laws,” you might reply.

Well, guess what. The various governments don’t care whether you and I consider the laws stupid. They care about the laws and they care about whether or not we are complying with them. You’d better believe it.

We could sit around for hours or even days, debating this law or that one, which one is just or unjust. But that won’t change the fact of the existence of both the law and the agency, which enforces it.

The question is not whether the law is just or not, or whether or not I agree with the law.

The question becomes a simple one: “Am I willing to suffer the consequences if I am caught breaking the law and prosecuted? Is my family willing to suffer those consequences along with me? Am I willing to ask them if they are willing to suffer those consequences.”

There have been many pyros who have been caught breaking the laws concerning the manufacture and storage of fireworks. They have suffered imprisonment, high attorney fees, exorbitant fines, broken marriages, and loss of property.

In the end a law is simple. “We the people declare this activity, done this way, to be illegal. If you are caught doing it you will suffer these consequences.”

A law states just that and only that. It simply states, such and such an action is illegal, and if you are caught doing it you may suffer this punishment.

So, the choice then becomes simple. “Am I willing to comply with the law, or break it and risk those consequences?”

And, there are several different ways to answer that question.

1) Yep, I’ll comply with the law and not take the risks involved in breaking it.

2) Nope, I’ll not comply with the law. I’m going to engage in this activity in an illegal manner, and I’m willing to risk those consequences. But, I’m not gonna tell my wife I’m taking that risk with our money and property, or give her the choice of whether or not she’s willing to take that risk.

3) Nope, I’ll not comply with the law, and I’m willing to risk those consequences, and I have discussed it with my wife and family and they are willing to back me up in this activity and risk those consequences, too.

But, comply or not, we need to take that action with an awareness of the consequences of our actions, and a willingness to face those consequences like “men”. (Most fireworkers are men, so I’m comfortable using that term. No disrespect to wimmen fireworkers, though.)

I said in my safety essay mentioned in the first paragraph above, “When we first get into this, we really don’t know how serious a pursuit it will become for us, do we? How much should we invest in tools and a workshop if it turns out to be only a passing curiosity? If we progress in the fireworks hobby, our investment in it and in the tools and facility used for it, progresses along with it. Our safety precautions usually end up tagging along a bit behind our activities. That is dangerous.”

Now, in that paragraph simply replace the word “safety” with the word “legal”, as in “our legal precautions usually end up tagging along a bit behind our activities.”

The danger in doing that is that we do indeed risk the sorts of “dangers” mentioned above: imprisonment, high attorney fees, exorbitant fines, broken marriages, and loss of property. As we make choices concerning our activities and whether or not they comply with those laws, it would be wise to become educated about the laws, the consequences of breaking them, and our responsibilities to ourselves and our loved ones.

Fortunately, US Federal law is pretty straightforward and simple when it comes to hobbyist fireworking.

Once again, from the ATF Orange Book:

Page 64, Paragraph 37. “When is a manufacturer’s license required?”

“Persons who manufacture explosives for their personal, non-business use are not required to have a manufacturer’s license. However, no person may ship, transport, cause to be transported, or receive explosive materials unless such person holds a license or permit.”

Page 68, Paragraph 72. “Who must comply with the storage requirements?”

“…all persons who store explosive materials must store them in conformity with the provisions of Subpart K of the regulations…”

Pages 47-53, Subpart K – Storage

This section details storage which is in conformity with the regulations and which will satisfy the BATFE’s requirements.

Because no license is required by the BATFE, this storage might never be known about by them or inspected by them. But if a person is caught storing explosives without such compliant storage, the BATFE then has the right to prosecute that person. And, typically, they do.

These are the cases you hear about in the news if the Feds are prosecuting somebody: they were storing explosives illegally, or they caught the person transporting explosives without a license or permit.

This is another important point. While a person can make explosives for their own personal use, provided that they store them in a compliant manner, they may not transport them legally unless they have an ATF license or permit. And, that’s even across town to the test-shooting site. When traveling to PGI (Pyrotechnics Guild International) or local-club events, often transportation-coverage for members is supplied through the club license and/or permit.

But, man, if you decide to transport your homemade fireworks without a license or permit, and you get stopped and searched for whatever reason, or if you have an accident and the explosives are involved in some destruction, God Help You, because the law won’t.

By the way, the US DOT (Department of Transportation) only regulates “in-commerce” transportation, and does not concern itself with the above mentioned regulations concerning the BATFE’s requirements to only transport explosives under a license or permit. At least, that’s the philosophy they appear to have been operating under so far.

Note: It’s useful to mention that all of this is my best understanding of the current situation under the law. Things can change, and the laws are always up for re-evaluation. I am not a lawyer, just a hobbyist trying to be as informed as possible about the multitude of laws surrounding us, and the numerous “alphabet soup” agencies charged with enforcing those laws. If in doubt, consult an attorney. But remember that unless they are fireworks or explosives specialists, often they can only offer their “best opinion” for you. Quite often the law is simply not all that clear, and is left to the individual “authority on site” to render a personal interpretation of it.

It is impossible for me to even try to address the myriad of local and state laws governing the manufacture of fireworks. Suffice it to say that the same sort of reasoning and responsibilities mentioned above with regard to federal laws, also pertain to state and local laws.

If you don’t research those laws and make informed choices regarding them, you might run afoul of a state or local Fire Marshal who simply does not have a sense of humor about all of this “hobbyist fireworking.”

So, if the Feds do not require us to obtain a license to make explosives for our personal use, as long as the restrictions on storage and transportation mentioned above are complied with, “Why Get One?”

Well, that’s an interesting subject.

We’ve mentioned the BATFE, DOT, State and Local agencies, and now another of those “acronym named” agencies comes into play. The CPSC.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission seems hell-bent on putting hobbyist fireworking and pyrotechnics supply houses out of business. Despite the BATFE’s declaration that no license is required for such activities, the CPSC has repeatedly forced pyro chemical suppliers to not sell more than very limited quantities of certain chemicals and supplies to unlicensed individuals.

On top of that, even though there is a perfectly valid and available “Type 50 – Manufacturer of Fireworks” license available from the BATFE, the CPSC has told the pyro supply houses that only a “Type 20 – Manufacturer of High Explosives” license is acceptable for purchases of certain items.

Go figure. I personally don’t mind trying to get informed about the law and trying to abide by it, but man, sometimes “they” sure don’t make it easy.

So, many pyro-enthusiasts are biting-the-bullet and getting their BATFE Type 20 licenses. A background check is required, and the resulting “Letter of Clearance” must be obtained. Compliant storage, as mentioned above and described in the following section, and a simple approved work-site, such as a picnic table, are necessary.

A form must be filled out and a relatively small fee must be paid. There’s an interview, fingerprinting, and a security check. And that’s about it. You don’t have to “qualify,” be tested, nor have any particular skills or background. The BATFE is not our enemy, and if we are willing to work with them, they definitely don’t view us as their enemy.

The license covers us for materials purchases, for transportation issues, and for general peace-of-mind. I personally consider it to be a good investment, if local and state laws will allow a license to be obtained.

As mentioned already, Subpart K – Storage, in the Orange book details the BATFE’s requirements for storage, regardless of whether we have a license.

Requirements for regular inspection, by the owner, of magazines to ensure that they have not been tampered with, are detailed. Housekeeping, smoking, repair, lighting, and various other issues are also addressed in this section.

Note: Interestingly, the requirements for keeping “Records and Reports” which are detailed on page 37, pertain only to “licensees and permittees.” The questions and answers regarding the requirements for “Recordkeeping,” back on page 67-68, address only licensees and permittees, as well. So while there may not be specific requirements for recordkeeping concerning the stored explosives for a non-licensed hobbyist, it’s probably a good idea to keep a log of the weights of the explosives taken in or out, or at least put in, so that the maximum weight of 50 pounds is never exceeded. A regular inventory of such explosives and their weights could also easily answer any potential questions concerning the weights and types of explosives stored in the magazine.

In general, most hobbyists install some form of a Type 4 storage magazine to comply with these requirements. A Type 4 magazine is a permanent magazine in which “low explosives” (as defined on Page 48) may be stored.

Among common fireworks components and devices, the only things, which cannot be stored legally in a Type 4 magazine, are loose “flash powders” and “bulk salutes.” Bulk salutes are flash devices stored all in one container or box together. If salutes are going to be stored in a Type 4 magazine, they must be mixed in a box with some color shells or similar. Loose flash powder may not be stored in a Type 4, period.

Other than that, a Type 4 is the storage most of us need, even if we are getting a Type 20 license (Manufacturer of High Explosives). In order to comply with CPSC’s requirements, if we explain to ATF why we want that license, and declare that we will not store loose flash powder or bulk-salutes in our Type 4 magazine), then typically the inspectors will tell us that we’re good-to-go with a Type 4.

Just remember, any explosives we manufacture and store must be stored in such a compliant magazine, whether or not we get a license.

Page 51 of the Orange book details the various requirements for the construction of Outdoor and Indoor Type 4 magazines.

Much less expensive than magazines made for just that purpose, metal shipping containers are commonly used to make outdoor Type 4 magazines They can be relatively inexpensively modified to meet the BATFE’s requirements. Page 54 has a table of distances to determine how far an outdoor magazine must be situated from inhabited buildings, highways, railways, and other magazines.

Remember the ATF places limits on the total, maximum weight of explosive material that may be stored in each type of magazine. If one wishes to install/construct an outdoor Type 4 magazine in their area, it’s useful to consult with others in your area who have done so, and with the BATFE to see what their specific recommendations and requirements are.

Many hobbyists install “Indoor” Type 4 magazines to have BATFE compliant storage for their activities. The requirements for these magazines are spelled out on Page 51.

Indoor Type 4 magazines may store a maximum of 50 pounds of actual explosive materials (does not include the weight of the containers, etc.) The magazine must be “fire-resistant and theft resistant.” “No indoor magazine is to be located in a residence or dwelling.”

An indoor magazine must be in a separate structure—not in a residence or dwelling. It appears that there is no minimum distance it must be separated from the residence of the hobbyist. The separate structure may be a garage or shed near a residence, but it may not be attached to it.

“Indoor magazines are to be constructed of masonry, metal-covered wood, fabricated metal, or a combination of these materials. The walls and floors are to be constructed of, or covered with, a non-sparking material. The doors must be metal or solid wood covered with metal.”

Covering any exposed metal to make it non-sparking can be as simple as painting it with a high-quality paint/coating such as epoxy-appliance-paint or rubberized truck-bed-lining/coating.

“Hinges and hasps are to be attached to doors by welding, riveting, or bolting (nuts on inside of door). Hinges and hasps must be installed so that they cannot be removed when the doors are closed and locked.”

“Locks. Each door is to be equipped with (i) two mortise locks; (ii) two padlocks fastened in separate hasps and staples; (iii) a combination of a mortise lock and padlock: (iv) a mortise lock that requires two keys to open; or (v) a three-point lock.”

From Wikipedia: A mortise lock is one that requires a pocket–the mortise–to be cut into the door or piece of furniture into which the lock is to be fitted. In most parts of the world, mortise locks are generally found on older buildings constructed before the advent of bored cylindrical locks, but they have recently become more common in commercial and up market residential construction in the United States.

“Padlocks must have at least five tumblers and a case-hardened shackle of at least 3/8-inch diameter. Padlocks must be protected with not less than 1/4-inch steel hoods constructed so as to prevent sawing or lever action on the locks, hasps, and staples.”

“Indoor magazines located in secure rooms that are locked as provided in this subparagraph may have each door locked with one steel padlock (which need not be protected by a steel hood) having at least five fumblers and a case-hardened shackle of at lease 3/8-inch diameter, if the door hinges and lock hasps are securely fastened to the magazine.”

So, if I have my indoor magazine in a shed, garage, or other building, which has a door, which locks with two mortise locks, the requirements for the lock on my magazine get drastically simplified.

“What the Hell??!!” I can just hear you saying right about now.

“How can I ever comply with all of this, only half of which I sorta understand?”

Well, it turns out it can be pretty simple, really.

An extremely simple indoor Type 4 magazine, which will satisfy these requirements, is a good-quality gun-safe, available at gun shops and sporting-goods stores. Make sure the locks meet the above requirements, and that the building is separated from your residence. Use epoxy appliance spray paint to cover any exposed metal on the inside of the magazine. Install some nice shelving in it. Drill some holes in the bottom and/or back of it to bolt it to the wall and/or floor to make it “theft-resistant.” And, there you have it, presto-chango, BATFE-compliant, Type 4, indoor storage.

Another option, which will come up if you search online for “lockable powder storage container,” is BATFE-compliant black powder storage boxes from sporting-goods outlets such as Cabela’s.

Here’s how you can convert a Ridgid Jobsite Storage Box, from Home Depot, into a legal Type 4 Indoor Storage magazine.

This is just one approach to creating an Indoor Type 4 magazine, compliant with the BATFE’s requirement that “all persons who store explosive materials must store them in conformity with the provisions of Subpart K of the regulations” contained in the Orange Book. (Page 68, Question 72)

Note: Please keep in mind that what follows is my interpretation of the specifications and regulations in the orange book, combined with the advice I have gotten from others. I’m no lawyer or ATF inspector. These regulations are always up to personal interpretation by the individual ATF inspectors in your area. If you have any questions about the below-listed points, it is best to clarify them with your local ATF office.

Let’s review the BATFE’s specifications for “compliant” storage.

Type 4, Indoor magazine:

• Is for storing “Low Explosives.” (no loose flash powder, no bulk salutes, no dynamite) (555.202 (b))
• May not be located in a residence or dwelling. (555.210 (b) Indoor (1))
• May only be used to store up to 50 pounds of explosives. (ditto)
• Need not be any “minimum distance” from residences or road. (555.206 only pertains to “Outdoor Magazines”
• Is to be fire-resistant and theft resistant. Need not be weather-resistant if the building in which it is stored provides protection from the weather. (555.210 (b) Indoor (1))
• Must be constructed of masonry, metal-covered wood, fabricated metal, or a combination of these materials. The walls and floor are to be constructed of, or covered with, a non-sparking material. The door/s must be metal or solid wood covered with metal. (555.210 (b) Indoor (2))
• Hinges and hasps are to be attached to doors by welding, riveting, or bolting (nuts on inside of door). Hinges and hasps must be installed so that they cannot be removed when the doors are closed and locked. (555.210 (b) Indoor (3))
• Each door is to be equipped with (i) two mortise locks; (ii) two padlocks fastened in separate hasps and staples; (iii) a combination of a mortise lock and padlock; (iv) a mortise lock that requires two keys to open; or (v) a three-point lock. (555.210 (b) Indoor (4))
• Padlocks must have at least five tumblers and casehardened shackle of at least 3/8-inch diameter. Padlocks must be protected with not less than 1/4-inch steel hoods constructed so as to prevent sawing or lever action on the locks, hasps, and staples. (ditto)
• Indoor magazines located in secure rooms that are locked as provided in the above specifications may have each door locked with one steel padlock (which need not be protected by a steel hood) (same lock specs as above) if the door hinges and lock hasp are securely fastened to the magazine. (ditto)
• There is to be no smoking, matches, open flames, or spark-producing devices within any room containing an indoor magazine. (555.212)
• The workspace used to manufacture fireworks must be at least 200 feet away from the magazine. Many hobbyist fireworkers maintain a pyro-shed, or a “work area” as simple as a portable table and tent-shelter, separated from the residence and storage magazine by a minimum of 200 feet.

I have a nice shed on my property. It is weatherproof. It is separated from my residence. I can create a “back room” in it, in which there are no spark-producing devices such as light switches, machines, or electrical outlets.

I can install two locks (a keyed entry lock and a deadbolt lock) on each of the doors leading back to the back room: the main entry door and the door to that room.

I can use the “front room” of the shed as a non-pyro workshop, as long as I keep the back room and magazine closed and secured during such operations.

So, given all of the above BATFE requirements and specifications, what sort of Type 4 indoor magazine could I put in the back room of my shed?

My pyro-buddy, Gary Smith recently sent me a picture of such a magazine design that he’s been working on. It got my “wheels turning.”

This is simply a Ridgid Jobsite Storage Box, typically used on construction sites for overnight storage of valuable tools and materials. I bought one of these boxes at my local Home Depot.

This box is constructed per the BATFE’s specifications, is coated completely with heavy orange paint, making it non-sparking, and is fire-resistant and theft-resistant, especially when it is bolted to the floor or wall.

It has two recessed areas for the kind of theft/tamper-resistant locking the BATFE specifies.

For the locks, Home Depot sells No. 17 Padlock Master Locks. They have 1” thick shackles, measured across the “points” of the octagonal cross-section. The shackles are “boron-carbide,” and the locks are specified as having stainless-steel rust protection.

The locks are specified on the package as having 1-inch of clearance between the shackle and the body of the lock when the locks are locked. The Ridgid job box instructions specify a Master No 5 lock, which has between 7/8 and 1 inch of such clearance.

So, it looks like these locks meet both the BATFE and Ridgid specifications. I’ll keep the lock-package inside the magazine in case a BATFE field inspector ever wants to go over the lock specifications to verify that they do indeed meet his/her interpretation of the agency’s requirements.

The locks are installed in the job box and held in place with u-bolts and nuts, which come with the box. When the door is closed, and the locks are locked, the body of the locks close around L-shaped bars, which project from the door. When the lock is unlocked, the lock-body slides out further in its little compartment and creates enough space for the L-Bar to slide into. (Trust me, it works just fine.)

When the door is closed and locked, the method of protecting the locks from tampering is as specified by the BATFE, including that the box is to be contained in a securely locked building.

Note: I whacked my projecting bars with a mini-sledge hammer to adjust them, so that the maximum length of the L part of the bars is engaged by the locks when they are locked.

I used a hand-held grinder, crowbar, sledgehammer, and wood block to remove the feet from the “bottom” of the box, which is now to be the “back” of the unit when it is installed as a magazine. Grinding the welds to cut them, and prying/pounding on them eventually got them off of the box.

Note: I have heard of serious incidents and accidents where someone using a grinding wheel or other grinder to sharpen tools or grind something else, has set off pyrotechnic compounds or fireworks which were stored nearby. Simply put, Do Not Grind Any Metal Near Pyrotechnics or Fireworks. Please!

I then figured out which way I wanted the door to open in the new box configuration. That then determined which end of the box would be the new “bottom” of it.

I used construction adhesive to reattach the feet to the new bottom, and to glue the swinging handle to the box, so that it would stay out of the way during installation. Placing the feet on the new bottom of the box, will keep the box up far enough off the floor to allow the door to swing freely without hitting the floor while opening and closing.

I allowed the glue to set up and dry completely before going on to the next steps.

I wanted some nice, wood shelves in the magazine, strong enough and far enough apart to support 5-gallon buckets of composition if needed.

I used some 3/4-inch-thick plywood, and some 1-inch X 1.5-inch wood scraps to create this shelving. All the wood is simply held in place with good-quality construction adhesive.

I ran a good bead of glue under the back edge of the shelves where they meet the back of the box to support them and prevent them from bowing under weight. Finally, I installed some wire-mesh “spice racks,” from the shelving department of Home Depot, on the inside of the door to provide some convenient storage for small items like one-pound cans of Goex black powder. These racks were installed so they fit between the wood shelves when the door is closed. The bolt-ends and nuts on the inside of the units were covered with clear caulking to make them non-sparking.

To install the magazine in the back room of the shed, I drilled four 1/2-inch holes in the back of the magazine, and used 1/2-inch lag-bolts and washers to secure the box to the plywood wall.

The heads of the bolts and washers were also covered with clear caulk to ensure they are non-sparking.

So, there you have it, one simple option for a legal magazine complying with the BATFE’s requirement for safe storage of explosives.

If an individual inspector ever disagrees with any of these design criteria, I’d be willing to explain the reasoning behind my “understandings,” and I’d be willing to be further educated on BATFE’s requirements and adjust my operation and magazine accordingly.

Happy fireworking, And stay safe and legal,

Ned

ngorski@skylighter.com

Fireworking Safety, the Law, and You is a post from: Confessions of a Fireworks Man

What’s All the Mystery about Making Roman Candle Fireworks?

I really like Roman candles. But even though Roman candles appear to be the simplest of fireworks devices, they are a real challenge to make so that they perform consistently. Especially if you use the traditional methods you’ll find in all the books.

I’m going to show you a secret method for making Roman candles that you haven’t seen before. I promise you absolutely will not find Roman candles made like these in any of the books (at least, not yet!). Best of all, you can use this new method to overcome all the Roman candle problems that traditional candle-making methods create.

Look. Where rubber hits the road is how well your fire works in a fireworks display, right? Well, read on and learn how Roman candles work, what goes wrong, and how to make Roman candles like nobody you know has ever seen.

Here’s a video of one of the first successful Roman candles I made using the method I’m about to teach you.

Notice now consistent the timing is between the shots. One star is coming down and going out, quickly followed by the next shot. That kind of consistency and effect is what I was going for. And that’s what is hardest to achieve using traditional Roman candle fireworks-making techniques.

With all the candles I’ve made using this new method, the timing between shots has been within one second of each other. If you talk with pyrotechnics folks who have made their own Roman candles, they’ll tell you how remarkable that is.

You see, anyone can learn how to make a Roman candle, but making them so that the timing and height of the shots is consistent, well that’s what you don’t see very often.
Of course, Roman candle fireworks are a great way to test the color, burn time, effect and ignitability of your new star compositions. And a single candle is just fun to light, sit back, and enjoy. You can gang multiple candles together, say 7 of them in a bundle, or set them up in a fanned rack to fill the sky from left to right with Roman candles’ shots.

So Why is a Roman Candle Firework Called Roman?

Despite the fact that we Gorskis prefer to call these devices “Polish Candles,” for some reason that name has not caught on yet. So, why were these devices called “Roman candles” to begin with?

It seems that as far back as the early 1800′s, both French and Italian authors were using the term “Roman candles” to describe such devices. Since Italy was one of the countries which greatly influenced the development of fireworks, it is not very surprising that one of its most prominent fireworks devices would have its name associated with its greatest city, and the name of its once-sprawling empire.

Exactly What Is a Roman Candle?

Traditionally, a Roman candle has been thought of as a single-tube fireworks device which fires multiple, consecutive shots of projectiles skyward, and which emits a fountain-like spray of sparks between shots.

Those projectiles can be individual firework stars, comets with various colors and effects, single crossette comets, mine-shots of multiple stars, combination star-and-report devices, or small aerial star shells.

But one comet fired skyward from a mortar is sometimes considered to be a single-shot Roman candle. And indeed, single-shot candles, arranged in fan-shaped mortar racks, have become common in many modern displays.

Consumer-firework Roman candles can be as small as 1/2-inch inside-diameter tubes, and large professional-display candles can be found with a tube ID as large as 3 inches.

I’d suppose if you asked someone, “What are the most common types of fireworks you can think of,” the response would be something like, “Firecrackers, sparklers, bottle-rockets, and Roman candles.”

Certainly Roman candles play a part in many of our childhood fireworks memories. Often they were held in our hands as they fired, but there have been so many mishaps resulting from malfunctioning candles that hand-held Roman candles are now discouraged.

I once made the mistake of thinking I could hold a one-inch display candle in my hand as it fired. The first shot propelled a star skyward, and the rest of the candle backward out of my hand to who-knew-where. I had to quickly find it and stabilize it with my foot as it finished firing. I still haven’t lived that down in my local fireworks guild. I don’t recommend you try any similar stunts.

With these larger Roman candles, it’s best to tape them to a stake and firmly secure them to the ground before ignition.

How Is a Roman Candle Constructed?

The most common, and traditional method of Roman-candle construction involves alternating layers of black-powder lift charge, cylindrical stars, and a slow-burning candle/delay composition, with the bottom of the tube plugged with a clay bulkhead.

If you imagine lighting the candle’s fuse, it will burn down until it ignites the first increment of the delay composition. That rammed increment burns slowly like a gerb (fountain), spraying sparks out of the end of the tube, which would normally be pointing skyward. Of course, when I say “normally be pointing skyward,” this “dog and Roman candle” video from YouTube pops into my mind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8mDAae7LEY. That one shot just about takes out the kid and the old man at the same time!

When the last part of that first increment of delay composition burns through to the first star, the prime on the star burns quickly and ignites its whole surface. That, in turn, lights the first layer of black-powder lift charge, which propels the star out of the tube. At the same time, the top of the second increment of candle composition is ignited, which begins a repeat of the whole process.

The Roman candle in the sketch is called a “four-ball” Roman candle, since it will sequentially shoot four stars out of the tube. “Ball” refers to the ascending ball of flame each star will produce.

Typically candles are made with pumped, cylindrical stars, which have flat bottoms and tops. The flat bottom holds the black-powder lift charge in place, and the flat top supports the delay composition nicely.

Why Do I Make Roman Candles?

In the past 20 years or so in this hobby, I’ve only tried to make Roman candles a few times, although they are among the most elementary of devices. Quite honestly, in those attempts I was never completely satisfied with the results.

And you know what’s funny? Even though I’d made 16-inch aerial fireworks shells and 36-inch diameter girandolas, I felt like I couldn’t make a consistently performing Roman candle that would live up to my expectations.

One reason I wanted to get good at producing nice little Roman candles is that they can be fired in any location suitable for the discharge of consumer fireworks. Big fireworks devices like big shells and girandolas require a big display site and a display permit. But it’s nice now and then to make a little rocket or Roman candle and be able to take it outside to shoot and see how it performs.

In his 1947 book “Pyrotechnics,” George Weingart has a section on rolling cases (tubes), for Roman candles. He also has instructions for making an individual, 3/8-inch ID, eight-ball Roman candle.

Weingart describes a simple machine for mass-producing consumer-fireworks candles. I have seen the remains of a similar machine at the Rozzi’s Famous Fireworks plant near Cincinnati, Ohio. My understanding is that the machine I saw was the very one Weingart based his sketches and descriptions on.

How to Make a Roman Candle

I’ve seen traditional Roman-candle-making instructions elsewhere, and they seldom differ significantly from the ones in Weingart.

A parallel tube is plugged at the bottom with a rammed increment of clay or with a glued-in section of wooden dowel. A scoop of black-powder lift charge is loosely put into the tube, followed by a star, which fits nicely into the tube. This is capped off with an increment of the candle-composition delay powder, which is rammed “with about six light blows of a small mallet” according to Weingart.

And this is where Roman-candle construction gets tricky. That increment of delay composition must be rammed solidly enough to get it really consolidated and locked into the tube. That is necessary in order to prevent fire from being prematurely blown down the tube past it when the star above that increment is shot out of the tube.

The delay charge must also be in the tube tightly enough that fire cannot creep between it and the inner tube wall as it burns, which would also prematurely ignite the star below it.

If you’ve ever rammed fountain composition in a paper tube, you know it takes a fair amount of force to solidly compact the powder, in order to produce the right effect when the fountain is lit.

But, when one is ramming Roman-candle delay composition, that increment sits on top of a loose star sitting on loosely granulated black-powder lift charge. This is an inherent conflict: not an ideal situation for getting a solidly compacted increment of delay composition.

And here’s what you see as a result–the most commonly seen Roman-candle failures–stars which fire from the tube in a rapid-fire, unevenly-paced manner; sometimes more than one star fires at once; or the paper tube ruptures because of the amount of pyrotechnic material, which ignites everything at once prematurely.

All of this results from not having a solid base on which to ram each increment of candle composition. That makes the construction of these simple devices a real challenge, especially in candles larger than about a half-inch ID. Larger diameter delay increments are harder to solidly compact sufficiently than smaller diameter ones.

There must be a better way.

Enter my pyro buddy, Gary Smith. Recently on Passfire.com Gary posted a video of a fairly complex Roman candle he’d made. The individual shots were color-to-report inserts, which are harder to make than simple stars.

But, what I noticed immediately was that his shots were very evenly spaced apart, and that there was a nice fountain of fire-dust spewing from the mouth of the tube between shots.

This was a very nicely constructed, consistently-performing Roman candle, that I knew from personal experience was hard to achieve. I simply had to know more.
Gary was kind enough to share with you and me the unique method he developed of achieving nicely compacted, traditional delay increments between the shots. And that is what produced the consistent effects, which so impressed me when I first saw his video.

Using Multiple Tubes to Make One Roman Candle

Huh? Say what?

I thought we’d already defined a Roman candle as a “single-tube fireworks device which fires multiple, consecutive shots of projectiles skyward.”

How can we use more than one tube to make a Roman candle?

Well, therein lies Gary’s trick, which hopefully will forever be known as the “Smith Method” of constructing candles.

Looking at the sketch of the Roman candle above once again, you’ll notice there is a recessed, empty space below the clay bulkhead in the paper tube. Putting the tube on a base, which has a ramming nipple, and then dropping loose clay into the tube and ramming it with a drift and mallet creates that void.

Way back in Skylighter Newsletter #89, I gave directions for mixing clay nozzle and bulkhead mixes. I also showed how to ram nozzles and bulkheads, and a photograph of a cutaway tube with a nozzle rammed in it.

Either of those clay mixes is usable for the clay plug at the bottom of a Roman candle. And the photo shows how a clay nozzle or bulkhead locks into a paper tube by slightly expanding the tube in that area.

I can just imagine Gary thinking, “How can I get each delay increment solidly locked into the paper tube the same way the clay plug is?”

And then the light went on in his head: “Cut the tube into sections, ram each delay increment solidly into its section, and then reassemble the tube sections into one solid case.”

I imagine a picture popping into his mind something like the sketch below.

Although the sketch shows a 4-ball candle, additional 2-inch middle sections can be added or removed to increase or decrease the number of shots.

Note: The top, 3-inch or longer tube section creates the first “mortar” out of which the first star is shot. Within certain limits, the length of a mortar determines how high the projectile goes. Technically, 3 inches is the shortest practical tube from which to shoot the first star. But with a tube that short, the first shot will not go as high as the shots that follow it. So, I actually prefer to use a top tube section that’s 5-inches long.

I have arrived at the specific dimensions for this particular Roman candle based on my particular stars and delay composition. To the left of each increment of the delay (candle) comp there is a 1/2-inch void just like the one to the left of the clay plug.

The nipple on the ramming base creates this 1/2-inch recess in each section. A tube section is slipped onto the ramming base. The proper amount of delay composition is loaded into the tube and then rammed with a drift and mallet.

This creates a very solid, securely positioned increment of delay composition, which prevents most types of Roman candle failures.

There it is, simple as that: the Smith secret to Roman candle construction.

Now, here’s how to make a Roman candle using this method to show all the steps involved.

Now, How to Make a Roman Candle

For this Roman candle, I’m going to alternate shots of D1 glitter stars with shots of Willow Diadem silver-streamer stars. First a glitter shot, then a silver streamer, then glitter, silver streamer, etc. The candle in the video at the beginning had only silver-streamer stars.

For the willow diadem stars, I’m still using the total amount of metal that is specified in the formula. But rather than using three different types of metal, I’m only using fine, spherical titanium, Skylighter #CH3010. This long-burning star leaves a nice, long silver tail behind it that “pops” as the bits of titanium catch fire and burn.

The dimensions in the sketch above are based on my primed 5/8-inch diameter, 5/8-inch long pumped stars, which I made the same way I made the gold-glitter comets in Fireworks Tips #111.

I prime the ends and sides of the stars so that fire is transferred as quickly as possible from the top to the bottom of the star. The final primed stars end up being a little under 3/4-inch diameter and about 3/4-inch long.

The star dimensions dictate that I use 3/4-inch ID parallel tubes for this project. Either the extra-strong, 1/8-inch wall Skylighter TU1066 tubes, or the standard, 1/4-inch wall Skylighter TU1065 tubes will work well in this project.

These long tubes work well because they can be marked, and all the Roman candle sections can be cut out of one length of tube. This makes it easy to reassemble the sections later on.

I want to make an 8-shot candle, so I mark and cut a tube as shown below. I write a number on each section, starting with #1 at the bottom of the tube.

The markings will enable me to reassemble the tube sections exactly as they came apart, which will increase the potential for me to arrive at a nice straight finished candle. I allow about 1/16-inch for each of the saw cuts.

In the drawing above, notice that there will be a star at each of the cuts. So I mark 8 cuts, plus the cut at the top of the candle. The bottom section will be 1.5-inches long and the top one will be 3-inches long.

Then I cut the tube into sections.

I use a little sandpaper to smooth the inside and outside edges of each end of the tube sections. Smooth ends make for smooth reassembly later on.

Now I put section #1 on the nipple of the ramming block with the bottom of the tube down.

I made the ramming base and nipple by drilling halfway through a piece of 3/4-inch thick plywood, and epoxying a length of 3/4-inch diameter aluminum rod into the hole. I got the rod from Home Depot (in the nuts-and-bolts aisle where they have a rack of metal rods and angles), and cut it with a hack saw just long enough that 1/2-inch of it projects from the plywood. I used a file to smooth the top end and edges.

I load 10 grams (one flat 1/2-tablespoon) of bulkhead-clay mix through a funnel into the tube. When loading the clay into the short tube through the funnel, I use a 1/2-inch wooden dowel to push the clay through the funnel and slightly compact it into the tube. This helps get all the clay through the funnel and down into the short tube, so it doesn’t spill out over the top.

I ram the clay plug with a 3/4-inch rammer from one of my sets of rocket tooling, and 8 moderate blows with the rawhide mallet. This results in a 1/2-inch thick plug in the tube section. A section of 3/4-inch wooden dowel could certainly be used as a rammer in this project, as shown in the article on making gerbs.

Note: I want to fully consolidate the clay and lock it into the tube without damaging or splitting the tube. This takes a bit of practice. With the softer, standard tubes, a slight bulge will form in the tube, which can be felt if one runs their fingers up and down the tube.

Now it’s time to ram the delay-composition increments into the other sections of the tube. I have played with a variety of delay compositions, from relatively fast-burning ones to those that are slower burning. I like to keep the delay increments about 1-inch long between the stars. This provides a nice, solid plug, which does not allow fire to pass prematurely around it.

So, the burning speed of those 1-inch increments determines how much time there is between shots of the Roman candle. With the stars I am using, I prefer the timing I get using the following candle delay composition (This is a classic star formula which can be found in various books).

Chrysanthemum 8 (from Shimizu) Delay Composition

Note: The weights have been rounded off, and this size batch will make enough composition for the 8-shot Roman candle I’m making.

I grind the potassium nitrate in a blade-type coffee mill fine enough to pass a 100-mesh screen. I do the same with the sulfur. The charcoal and dextrin are already that fine.

25-50% of the airfloat charcoal can be replaced with 80-mesh or even coarser charcoal for longer hanging sparks in the fountain plume between candle shots.

The chemicals are put in a sealed plastic tub and shaken to mix them. Then they are worked through a 20-mesh screen or kitchen colander 3 times to thoroughly mix them and break up any remaining clumps of chemical.

Using a spray bottle, I spritz the composition with water as it sits in a plastic tub on a scale, until 7 grams of water has been added. Between every couple of spritzes, I swirl the comp in the tub to spread the water around.

I work the water into the powder with gloved hands and then push the damp composition through the 20-mesh colander twice to really integrate the water.

Then, just as I did with the increment of the clay in tube section #1, I ram increments of the still-damp delay composition into the remaining tube sections. I always place each section with its bottom down on the ramming nipple. This creates that 1/2-inch void in the bottom of each section as shown in the sketch.

Sections #2 through #8 now get 10 grams of the composition rammed into them. Ramming that amount of comp yields delay increments that are 1-inch long in each section. Finally, I ram 5 grams of the composition in tube section #9, which produces a 1/2-inch long delay increment.

Then I allow the delay increments to dry overnight, using my drying box. They would dry in a few days if they were put in a warm location of the storage area.

Note: Often, directions for making candles specify ramming dry, granulated delay composition. At first I wondered if I should granulate and dry the comp, and I discussed this with Gary. His theory is that damp composition slightly wets the adhesive layer inside a paper tube, and when it dries it really glues the delay increment in place. Makes sense to me, and ramming it damp really creates a dense, hard plug of composition.

Once the tube sections and delay increments are dry, it’s time to assemble the sections of the Roman candle, with lift charges and stars installed as I go along.

One homemade jig really helps at this stage, and ensures the assembled Roman candle ends up perfectly straight. I took this tip from one of the photos of Gary’s process, and expanded upon it for my own purposes.

The jig is made up of two, 36-inch long pieces of 1-inch by 1-inch aluminum angle channel from the same section of Home Depot mentioned above. One of the pieces has two 1/4-inch diameter, 2-inch long carriage bolts and nuts installed in each end to act as feet to stabilize the channel during use.

I lay out the now-dry candle tube sections in numerical order on the jig. I also lay out my stars in the order in which I want them fired, along with a cup of FFg sporting-grade black powder from a gun shop.

Of course, with a bit of dialing in, I could also use my homemade black powde for the lift.

I’ll be using Elmer’s glue to assemble the candle and a 1/4-teaspoon kitchen scoop to measure the black powder lift charges.

I have cut out little disks of tissue paper the same diameter as the tube OD to go between the stars and the lift powder. The tissue prevents the black powder from migrating up past the star between the star and the inner wall of the tube. I want to keep all the lift powder down below the star to maximize the star’s propulsion out of the tube.

To assemble section #1, I stand it, bottom down, on my workbench, and drop 1/4-teaspoonful of the black powder into the top of that section through a little funnel. I place a tissue paper disk over the top of the tube and push a star and the tissue down into the tube, seating it firmly against the black powder. Then I apply a thin ring of Elmer’s glue around the top edge of that section.

I then push section #2, bottom down, onto the glued section #1, and wipe any excess glue off with a paper towel. Then, while I’m pressing those sections together, I pick them up and lay them into the trough of the alignment jig. Pushing them down on the jig ensures that they are perfectly aligned, and I push them together end-to-end to make sure the glue joint holds tight.

Then I carefully pick them up, continuing to press the sections together, and stand the assembly upright.

Again I load lift powder, tissue, and star, and run a ring of glue around the top of the tube. Then, I assemble section #3 in the same manner as #2.

I repeat this process until all nine sections have been assembled and I have the whole shebang resting in the jig.

I could just press the sections together end-to-end, make sure they’re sitting nice and straight on the jig, and let the glue dry. But, nooo, not me. I’m a bit more of a perfectionist than that.

Note: That’s kind of a funny revelation. When I was a kid, my Dad was always hollerin’ at me for not cleaning up his shop after using his tools, or for not finishing up a project I’d started. Now, with my pyro avocation, I’ve gotten very particular about cleanliness in my shop in order to prevent serious accidents. And I’ve also come to know that meticulous work habits are a sure way to achieve consistency with my artistic fireworks devices. We live and learn. Sorry, Dad, and thanks; I finally got it!

So, I go one more step to really clamp the candle sections tightly, end-to-end as the glue dries, and to ensure my candle ends up perfectly straight when it’s dry.

I lay another piece of the aluminum angle channel on top of the glued-up candle. (You were wondering what that extra piece was for in the pictures above, right?)

Then I take 12-inch pieces of masking tape and put bands of the tape, stretched tightly with the sticky-side-out, around the aluminum and candle sandwich. This really holds the glued tube sections nice and straight.

To really pull the tube sections tightly together as the glue dries, I install two 1/2-inch square, 4-inch long, pieces of steel bar, and two tightened strap clamps. Gently tightening the clamps snugs the tube sections together, but I don’t tighten them so much that the ends of the tubes are damaged.

Of course, long rubber bands or elastic bungee cords could be used in place of the strap clamps. Pieces of wood could also be used instead of the steel crossbars.

It takes 2-3 hours for the glue to dry sufficiently to allow the assembled candle to be removed from the jig. I remove the strap clamps and steel bars, tear the bands of masking tape, which remove easily because they were applied, sticky-side-out. Et voilà! A sturdy, straight Roman candle emerges.

A little 100-grit sandpaper quickly knocks any rough spots off the outside of the tube joints.

Well, let’s stick a piece of Visco fuse into this puppy, take ‘er outside, and fire it up. Right?

Hold on there, podnah. Not so quick. The candle tube, as it currently is, really is not that strong yet. End-to-end glue joints don’t have much structural integrity. If this particular Roman candle is going to survive the pressures when it fires, those joints will have to be reinforced a teensy bit.

Enter fiber-reinforced, gummed, kraft-paper tape. One of my favorite supplies is a tape that I get from Staples: 2.8-inch wide, fiberglass reinforced, paper packaging tape, Staples #468231. This stuff is light, thin, and really molds well to the tube once it’s wet.

Although I usually cut the tape to length with scissors because of the fiber-reinforcement, I use my manual tape dispenser as a wetting station to wet the tape. A sponge could also serve this purpose.

The glued-together candle is 18.5-inches long. I cut four 18-inch strips of the kraft tape to use to reinforce the tube. Each strip will run lengthwise on the tube, and will wrap around to cover about 3/4 of the tube circumference. Therefore, the four strips, staggered as they are applied, will create 3 complete layers of tape on the candle.

I run a strip of tape through the dispenser’s wetting station, and carefully apply it lengthwise on the Roman candle tube. Each strip has to be kept straight; the long edge of the tape needs to be parallel to the length of the tube. I get the first strip pasted down tight. Then, I butt the long edge of a new strip right up against the edge of the first piece of tape. Since each strip only wraps around 3/4 of the tube’s circumference, once it is pasted down, the second piece of tape will overlap the first one some. I repeat this process for all 4 pieces of tape. That way the gaps in the tape get staggered around the circumference of the tube.

In between each strip application, I burnish the previous strip down nice and smooth with a scrap of paper tube. When all the strips are on, I give the whole tube a nice hard burnishing to produce a flat, smooth application of all the tape.

Oh, yeah, that baby’s looking nice, and feeling strong now. After inserting a hooked piece of Visco fuse as shown in the candle cross-section sketch, I put on a wrapping of colorful paper, and tie the paper snug around the fuse. Now she’s ready to take out, tape to a stake in the ground, and light.

You might be thinking, “That was a lot of work to produce one, simple fireworks device, wasn’t it?”

Naah. Not really. There was probably about an hour’s worth of work in the construction of that one candle, all told. It may sound like a lot of time and effort, but once you get going on the project, it’s really not that complicated.

This new Smith Method of making Roman candles is such an improvement and can produce such nice consistent results for the hobbyist, that I just can’t help but be excited about it, especially after my past, less satisfying results.

When I carefully look at the videos of all the Roman candles I made using this new method, every initial delay after ignition was just about exactly 4 seconds, and every intermediate delay was within one second of 8-seconds long. It don’t get no better than that.

On top of that, I’m already imagining creative variations on the above theme: mine-shot candles, crossette-comet candles, color-to-report-insert candles, married-comet ones, matrix-comet projectiles, and crackling-microstar-comet varieties.

I hope to tackle those projects in the coming months.

Additionally, the Roman-candle competition at the PGI (Pyrotechnics Guild International) convention allows candles up to 2-inches ID. I do have some nice, stout 1.5-inch ID tubes, so I just may have to come up with some larger versions of these babies to take to Mason City, Iowa in August.

Have fun and Stay Green,
Ned
ngorski@skylighter.com

Gary Smith’s Secret to Making Roman Candles is a post from: Confessions of a Fireworks Man