Making a firework

[5614]

I just saw this really cool fireworks display out my bedroom window and I though:

 

How can I make my own firework? (hopefully from household stuff)

 

Ive put it under chemistry as im sure it involves mixing chemicals together! but how would i go about making one? (preferably a really cool one e.g. big and colourfull)

[boris_73]

heres a link to a fireworks website http://www.ukrocketry.co.uk/forum

[budullewraagh]

i'd use nitrates as the oxidizers, although permanganates and peroxides aren't so bad either. for colors, use salts, depending on what colors you want.

 

i can give you more advice if you give me more details

[Gilded]

YT is going to have a lot of fun answering this.

 

I would probably go with a mortar, that's launched from a cardboard tube. Probably black powder as a lifting charge... and 7 parts potassium perchlorate 3 parts aluminum powder + barium carbonate and some magnesium shreds added for the mortar itself.

[Ophiolite]

Can I just point out that fireworks are explosives (made with toxic chemicals) and explosives (and toxic chemicals) kill people. 5614 is a regular poster and it would be a shame to lose him. Be cautious, get advice (as you are doing here), and check the legal aspect too. It sounds like so much fun the government is sure to have made it illegal!

[5614]

thanks for the concern ophiolite... but i dont intend to kill myself!.. just a small rocket with a fuse long enough to allow me to run to the other end of my garden (i have a long over 100ft garden, so i think i will be safe at the other end!)

 

when you can launch a rocket, i cant see how adding firework style chemicals can be dangerous, of course, i could just go and buy one and find out the hard way! but that could be dangerous depending on whats inside it.

 

as bud asked for more details; i dont really mind, just a rocket which will shoot up high and blow up there! maybe just bright white... dont mind really, it would be good if it involved household stuff, but by the looks of things it wont be.

 

how do i get a firework to launch off the ground and then when it reachs higher altitudes THEN blow up... and not before!?

[Gilded]

"when you can launch a rocket, i cant see how adding firework style chemicals can be dangerous"

 

The launching tube (if even launched from a tube) can act as a pipe bomb. :<

 

"how do i get a firework to launch off the ground and then when it reachs higher altitudes THEN blow up... and not before!?"

 

Use a delay layer of, let's say, sawdust. Then check the known facts of the launch; for example, if a test rocket (with only the lifting charge) is at 100 feet altitude about two seconds after the ignition of the lifting charge, make a delay layer that contains 2 seconds worth of fuse. Also, construct the rocket/mortar carefully: You don't want the main charge to go off at the same moment the lifting charge goes off (this is more common with mortars than rockets).

[Aspirin]

Hmm......

If you really want rockets use a rocket motor (i know i know it what's the point of beeing an amateur pyro if you buy already made motors). Make a tube out of normal A4 format paper. Fix the motor in the tube you made with some tape. But before you do this remove a small paper plug which separates the BP from the outside world. Then fill the tube 1/2 with something like BP with a sprinkle of aluminium dust. Seal the other end of you tube with a "rocket nose" and make sure you seal it air tight.

 

It should explode at about 20 to 30 meters

Mine exploded at about 20 becouse the rocket's wings fell off

These are small explode only. Althoug this on may have some effect.

Becouse of the BP+Al core. I Only tested explode only rockets.

Fill them half with Zn+S mix and enjoy the show

 

 

Take care

LP

[YT2095]

YT is going to have a lot of fun answering this.

actualy I`m staying well out of this one, other than to point out any of the clearly Wrong info that may be given.

I`m of the opinion that you can`t be taught how to make them in text, it`s better and safer to be shown how.

 

as for making rockets, it`s NOT that easy and will probably take you a good while before a single success, use the proper motors as stated above.

[jsatan]

I'm not dissing any one here, but my first sugar rocket that I made worked!!!

I was shocked.

 

lol. all good fun.

just dont blow alway fingers, cant type with out them, lol.

[Aspirin]

ehh....

Sugar rockets never worked for me.

 

Zn+S

Now that's some rocket fuel

 

Take care

LP

[boris_73]

they have also worked for me that is if you are talking about sugar and potassium nitrate

[ed84c]

well as street was recently cordoned off, near my house, the bomb squad in, and a man arreested all because they were making fireworks.

 

Despite this I am in no way a responicple citizen so i suggest Coal Dust and KNO3 (ebay around £3 for 200g). Worked for me.

[Gilded]

"I`m of the opinion that you can`t be taught how to make them in text, it`s better and safer to be shown how."

 

I agree that pictures/video material helps when making this sort of stuff.

 

http://www.unitednuclear.com/exper.htm Here are some good firework making instructions (very nice instructions for aerial mortars). Be sure to agree to the agreement.

[YT2095]

anyone here ever taken 2 rocket payloads off, glued them to a peiece of wood with a hole in the middle, each rocket facing in the same direction (clockwise) and nailed it to a post with the 2 fuses twisted together?

 

it makes a GREAT Catherine Wheel

[ed84c]

can somebody explain to me about these 'motors' i keep hearing about them but am not sure what they are

[YT2095]

pre-made rocket engines, Estes are a well known brand and available from good Hobby stores.

 

there`s no stick, no fuse no payload, it`s just the raw engine/motor

[Gilded]

You mean actual rocket rocket motors or "rocket" motors? (Lol, this fever is starting to get me )

[YT2095]

it`s the raw propulsion motor/engine/device.

that which provides the thrust/lift and nothing else ::

[jsatan]

I didnt try the charcoal and kno3 because I heard it tends to cato.

Dont want that, lol.

[r1dermon]

it actually provides a delay and ejection charge as well. and they're fairly cheap, for an E9 motor with 9 Ns average thrust its 3 for 16 bucks, or so. here in the states that is. also, i have some composite aerotech motors in the G and F class. unfortunately, these cannot be shipped overseas or i'd gladly send a couple for 15 bucks a pop. they have ten second delays and use a composite propellent using ammonium perchlorate as an oxidiser. for more info check out

http://www.aerotech-rocketry.com

making rockets isnt so hard. as long as you can do a swing test. get an 8' length of string and tie it around the rocket at its balance point. then swing it around. if it dips its nose and wiggles around, then its unstable and you will need to add some noseweight. but if it stays horizontal then its fine and will fly straight up. E9-0's can be purchased with no delay, so as soon as the motor burns out, there is a flammable compound in the top of the motor which ignites and generates a good size flame. these are used to ignite second stages on two or three stage rockets. these are what should be used in converting a model rocket to a firework. i'd suggest a rather small diameter rocket that is recommended for an E9. if you can get ahold of some pyrodex, it works fine. go to a scrap yard and see if they have any magnesium or aluminum turnings lying around, grind them up a little until they're about the size of a BB. and then mix them with the pyrodex. here's the tricky part. if you fill the rocket with this mixture, 1st of all, it might be too heavy for that motor, second of all, it will all pile up on the top of the motor at the rear of the rocket, which means the rocket will be unstable and will fly everywhere once it leaves the rail. to fix this take a plastic baggie and fill THAT with the pyrodex mixture, then seal it and try to glue it to the top of the rocket, just below where the nose cone goes. i find that using some quickmatch works good, but you can use a fast burning visco fuse to ignite the bag. if you punch a hole in the bag and insert the fuse(be carefull not to make the hole too large) you can then run the fuse down to the motor and tac it to the top with some superglue. also, i find that the best reports are caused when the rockets nose cone is glued onto the top. a SHOWER of sparks will rain down once the rocket motor burns out. be careful though, if that rocket is light enough, an E9 can easily send it to 1000' or beyond. my estes eliminator rocket had an apogee beeping altimeter in it on an E9 and it reached 1560' at 4.6oz and no wind. not too shabby.

 

i've made a catherine wheel with a steel pipe, two pvc pipes and caps, a nail and two F20-7W composite motors. they burn for about 3 seconds. with this setup it is advisable to grind the edges of the pipe where the nail is inserted so that they are smooth, and also lubricate the nail with some 80W oil. use nothing but JB weld or some other EXTREMELY strong glue(2 ton epoxy will also work, just remember to sand the joints before applying the glue) i then inserted the motors into the PVC tubes and friction fit them with masking tape. then i superglued the aft end to the pvc pipe. the whole pipe was 10" long and each side was 5". composite motors are weird to light, they are core burners, unlike estes motors which are end burners, which means the igniters need to be inserted all the way up the motor. these motors are also a little tougher to light. so to get them to light on time isnt that easy. but if you set it up right, then it should work. these motors must've spun that pole a couple thousand rpms. the nail was glowing red and smoke started pouring from the telephone pole where it was mounted. the best thing about rocket motors is they have a delay grain with tracking smoke, so after the burnout it lets off a TON of smoke. it was a giant smoke ring. pretty cool stuff. if anyone wants to check out a G motor, PM me, i've got several G80-10T motors on hand, the most powerful motor that will be sold to anyone in america that is not TRA or NAR certified.

[Von Klemmung]

My first rockets involved a Parker Ballpoint cartridge.

 

These things make a dandy former for both the chamber and the nozzle of a rather shabby, but workable PEEWEE rocket motor.

 

I wet some brown bag paper with 1:1 dilute white glue, rolled it on the cartridges, scrunched down the paper around the thin part of the cartridge and wrapped some elastic band around that.

 

Then I removed the paper casings and put them aside to dry.

 

When dry, I filled the casings with some quick'n easy black powder (green meal / polverone, no fancy stuff) wetted with just a wee splash of water.

 

If the powder gets wet, it's too much. Add powder!

 

I cored the motors with a nail while wet. Then I let them dry once more.

 

Coring: I ran a nail into the powder from the thin end of the casing, forming a hollow space.

 

Finally, I closed the ends with a wad of tissue paper and some glue.

 

Just fitted with a fuse, these babies flew sorta OK. Next time I try them out, I'll be using some REAL SCHWARZENPULVER!