The price for BP is $4.62 per lb and for flash powder its $10.90 per lb. when the materiels(sp) are purchased from pyrostuff but which should I make if I were to only make one?? Is the flash powder that much better as to constitute more than double the price of the BP?

One word: Yes. Buy the chem's for the flash.

If you have the extra money to spend, go ahead and get the flash powder chemicals.

Black powder salutes require a little more effort to make, but if well made, a black powder salute is as loud as just about any flash powder salute (yes, im talking about 7/3).

is there any way to increase the "bang for the buck" in making flash powder, like if I made it with 65/35 would that make it any louder or would it just cost more expensive aluminium?

It depends on how much of each chemical you buy.

If you want to make the most flash powder for your buck, buy some sulfer. Its a cheap, powerful fuel, and adding 10-15 percent sulfer to your flash powder will make more flash powder, while also increasing its power without drastically slowing the burn rate down.

so... if I ball milled everything to 600 mesh and used 65% KClO4, 15% S, and 20% Al, would that be ok, or should anything be at a higher concentration?

I would go with 70/20/10 KClO4, aluminum, and sulfer if you want the fastest burning ratio.

50/25/25 is also a very powerful flash powder, but will require a little more confinement than other flash powders for the loudest noise. A tube at lease 3/32 should be used with this flash powder.

so is 50/25/25 as more/less/equal in power to 70/30 flash powder?

Equal to or more powerful, but you have to use a thicker case. 1/8 thick walls will beat 7/3 anyday.

whats the best place to get some good casings? unitednuclear, cannonfuse, pyrostuff, or what?

Cannonfuses tubes are too thin for what you are doing I think. Unitednuclears are good, but they are expensive. I'd go with pyrotek.org's tubes, a dozen 1/2" ID x 3/4"OD x 24" length for about $10.00. That'll make about 144 m-80's at 2" a piece, not a bad price. Plus they have the 1/8" wall thickness.

Edit: Pyroteks are also parallel wound instead of spiral like cannonfuse's.

[This message has been edited by creepinghorseman (edited 08-04-2003).]

i roll my own .. much better

quote:Originally posted by warweed12:

i roll my own .. much better

Hmm, how many rolls of kraft paper or grocery bag do u use to make a 3/4 OD around a 1/2 inch dowel to make a tube? thanks.

one roll is probably enough to make about 500 very thick m-80's maybe more.

i have always wondered what kraft paper is any one care to explain ?? i use somthing we locals call gum tap it is paper with a adhesive side that when wet it becomes sticking like wallpaper

craft paper is thicker cardboard paper, like thick lunch paper bags.

quote:Originally posted by creepinghorseman:

I'd go with pyrotek.org's tubes, a dozen 1/2" ID x 3/4"OD x 24" length for about $10.00. That'll make about 144 m-80's at 2" a piece, not a bad price. Plus they have the 1/8" wall thickness.

Edit: Pyroteks are also parallel wound instead of spiral like cannonfuse's.

[This message has been edited by creepinghorseman (edited 08-04-2003).]

those tubes are ment for rocketry. i guess you could use them for salutes if you really wanted to, but then youd have to deal with cutting them to the right size(and the cut would have to be pretty clean and even if you wanted them to look authentic), and makeing endplugs for them.

oh ok then i know the stuff your talking about ....



this is how i make my m-80s

http://www.members.shaw.ca/pyro_extremist/howtos/m80tubes.htm

http://www.members.shaw.ca/pyro_extremist/pyrotechcoms/photogal/chemicals0007.htm

the roll on the bottom is what i use

[This message has been edited by warweed12 (edited 08-04-2003).]

just a few questions...

would the "Convolute" be better than the regular tubing from pyrotek.org?

would the quarter inch wall thickness double the bang or is it a parabolic type thing or is there some thing, like the square of some shit etc. etc.?

how thick is the kraft paper from pyrotek.org (appx.) and is it worth it to just buy some for the variable wall thickness/less cost/ability to use it to make end-caps?

are the 7/8" balls from canonfuse any good?

and the last question... is this (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2650345158&category=10323) a good deal?

that should be it for now, and thanks for all the help/input/putting up with new people

[This message has been edited by TheBigCHeeze (edited 08-04-2003).]

[This message has been edited by TheBigCHeeze (edited 08-04-2003).]

That is what I have and it works great. But right fucking now I am pissed because I payed way more than that. Fuck United Nuclear.

No actually fuck me. It was my decision to buy it... At least it was my mom's money.



[This message has been edited by deadsexy (edited 08-04-2003).]

quote:Originally posted by TheBigCHeeze:

just a few questions...

would the "Convolute" be better than the regular tubing from pyrotek.org?

would the quarter inch wall thickness double the bang or is it a parabolic type thing or is there some thing, like the square of some shit etc. etc.?

how thick is the kraft paper from pyrotek.org (appx.) and is it worth it to just buy some for the variable wall thickness/less cost/ability to use it to make end-caps?

are the 7/8" balls from canonfuse any good?

and the last question... is this (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2650345158&category=10323) a good deal?

that should be it for now, and thanks for all the help/input/putting up with new people

[This message has been edited by TheBigCHeeze (edited 08-04-2003).]

[This message has been edited by TheBigCHeeze (edited 08-04-2003).]

Convolute = spiral wound

Parallel = what it says.

Parallel tubes are stronger but will generally cost more, it still wont't be much, so I'd probably get them.

1/4" is pretty thick, as long as you have good plugs it should make the sound louder. Don't bother buying kraft paper from pyrotek, you can get it at any hardware store and you won't have to pay shipping. The ball casings from cannonfuse are pretty small and would make potentially dangerous plastic shrapnel, I'd go with cardboard tubes.

That's a pretty good price for that scale, a hell of a lot cheaper than from UN (something I didn't discover until it was too late, I learned a good lesson in comparison shopping there )

i have a feeling that united nuclear is ran out of a bunch of desert rat's basement, they seem like a scam.

Thanks for all the help EP

Is selling radioactive material without permit legal, if so it shouldn't be...

You can compare black powder and flash powder in one area or another, but as far as which is overall best, you can't make that judgement. They both have their own uses.

quote:Originally posted by TheBigCHeeze:

is there any way to increase the "bang for the buck" in making flash powder, like if I made it with 65/35 would that make it any louder or would it just cost more expensive aluminium?

Use Magnesium powder instead of AL.

quote:Originally posted by AirRaidSiren:

Use Magnesium powder instead of AL.

Magnesium costs a hell of alot more then Al when you start getting to higher mesh's with pyro suppliers (hazmat). And firstarters are expensive.