I've seen many crappy home made fire works on various sites and most of them start with "how to make M-80's". It's obvious however that they don't really know what an M-80 is.

The M-80 was developed for the military, not as weapon, but as a training and disinformation device. It's purpose was to simulate gun fire. Military specs determined the dimension and that the fuse be placed on a side, rather than an end.

They never contained dynamite, nor can they be compared to it. M-80's use the same thing about every other firecracker does to make it go boom, flash powder. They just hold much more of it, 3g worth as compared to less than one gram to be legal, and not considered a "destructive device" by the ATF.

M-80's were banned from commercial sales to individuals due to there extreme danger. Flash powder is not the stablest of things, the more there is confined in one tube, the more of a chance there is for it to go off. They also do possess the power to remove small appendages and large chunks of skin. With this info along with the knowledge that our young'ns were playing with these, Uncle Sam decided we should no longer have them.

The M-80's you see in stores are not the real thing, nor are M-90's nor M-1000's any more powerful. I personally know people that have had this misconception. It's a good marketing strategy, but all legal fireworks have a limit to the amount of powder they can contain.

I hope this sets the record straight, I did read some of this a while back, but I forgot where. If I happen across it again, I'll post it. This article also went on to show that even cops don't know what the hell they are talking about in this area. Supposedly they held a person thinking he had illegal fireworks or something for having firecrackers stamped as M-100's. Being a higher number than, 80, they thought what he had was more powerful than a real M-80. M-80's of course being illegal, so then were this guys M-100's.

Is this an M-100?



My friend got it from Mexico. (see the crappy clay)



You see that I have replaced the fuze with a solar ignighter. The reason was, that the original fuze looked like cotton soaked in crap. The fuze was too unreliable and cheap.


[This message has been edited by Rat_Bastard (edited 01-26-2002).]

Interesting. I never knew the part about the military training and whatnot.

I've taken the new "M-80's" apart. They don't have flash powder in them anymore, just a pinch of black powder. I've dissasembled "M-60's" as well, and they contain a regular Black Cat style firecracker entombed in a little tube full of clay. Glorified firecrackers that cost ten times more, really.

I like my M-80's better. I make them out of empty nitrous oxide cartridges...

~Zero the Inestimable

How do the M-80s relate to the british Thunderflash? The Thunderflash is a paper tube with black powder and a match head igniter, designed to replicate the sound of a frag grenade. We use them as well.

~Snake

P.S: I am NOT refering to the Thunderflash missile... (duh!)

wow, NO2 containers. how big are those?

and by the way, the legal limit for flash powder in a firecracker is JUST 50 mg! thats so little! its nutrageous. i think theyre allowed to put more if its black powder.

Yes, but black powder is generally less powerful.

Nitrous oxide cartridges are essentially the same as CO2 cartridges, but they're a little shorter. Mine are also powedercoated blue for some reason.

~Zero the Inestimable

I'm not sure snakeyes. Your best bet would be to take one apart and weigh the charge.

What you have Rat Bastard is an actual home-lab-made illegal firecracker that is sold as an M-80. If you can find them in the US at a fireworks store, illegally of course, that's about what they look like.

Blah,Blah,Blah we heard this before they were made to simulate gun fire in the millatary's training.Hey any one know how to make the mexican M-80 called thunder king a green fire ball no bigger than the tip of your pinky finger comes out of a lady finger shaped thing and blows up in the sky with the power of a M-80

Mexican M80s are garbage! Is it true that they are just rocket engines with end caps and a fuse?

no

A friend of mine once gave me a huge bloody bunger(We call firecrackers 'bungers' in .Au) about 2 years ago. This thing was about 15cm tall and about 6cm in diameter. It was wrapped in many layers of red paper. The inner tube was about 2.5cm in diameter with a wall thickness of 2.5mm, and still being 15cm tall. This bastard had a dual strand of paper&BP wick about 6cm long, so I wasn't about to light the cunt. I disassembled it. There was a 3cm clay plug on the top and bottom. The rest was filled with stacks of greyish flash powder(Dunno what mixture, sorry). I used it to make little rockets. Much safer. Would've been fuck to pay if I lit it off with the red paper increasing the report, especially since I live down the road from the major police station for this area.
Anyone want to have a guess how loud it'd be. (Let's see, 2 * <pi> * 2cm * 10cm worth of flash powder. You figure it out.)

this was a post started by The Real *bows head in rememberance* that i think should be archived and saved for refferance to such a wonderful man and if any man or woman decides to post negitive of this god may his post be banished from this site


*bows his head and posts*

Damn, I am kicking myself because I didn't backup his old post's when I had the chance (old post's get wiped out).

Real and Unstable has some pretty good shit going.

Damn, i cant belive it back then Rat-Bastard didnt even know what an M-80 was.

CTR

And he was 16 or 17.

Remember, everyone started at the bottom of the barrel and worked their way up the ladder of knowledge. Some people start at 7, some people start at 37. Some people learn at a slow rate and some at a fast rate. But in the beginning we were all the same.

*Says this remembering when he believed that putting burning cotton balls on top of chemical fertilizer would blow up 500 feet.*

So one day someone here will be as memorable as The Real and the new members and beginners who ask what M-80's and flash powder are will hear the legends of Rat and Zero. In the meantime let's concentrate on the task at hand, learning as much as we can before it's too late.

Oh yeah, I remember these posts from when I was a forum sponge and back then I didnt know how important they were, it just kind of sneaks up on you and when it happens you realize what's lost. But it will always be in memory.

Ahh, back in the day.
In less than a year I went form Kewl moron, to moderator.

Fast learner eh?

I think you guys are going a bit over the top about the whole "legendary" thing.

I learned most of what I know before I even started to post here.

You guys make it sound like this is your only place for knowledge, dont get me wrong its great stuff but mind expansion needs to come from multiple angles

.........

I am pretty sure that I have read this on a pyrotechnic website a long time ago. I have heard alot about this Real guy, why doesn't someone invite him back? Maybe send donations because he can't get a decent job with his record and all? Anyways I too think that *bows head in rememberance* is a little..uummm..pushing it but I wasn't around then so I can't really say anything...

[This message has been edited by 6C (edited 10-15-2002).]

Yeah Rat, thats kinda funny, well you learned from the best.

CTR

Zero,

If I'm not mistaken, the no2 cartidges are made out of aluminum or something like that. So wouldnt that be a little dangerous? I say this assuming that you use flash powder in your m80s. So I was just thinking that the metal might conduct static electricity a little more which might lead to premature detonation. If I'm mistaken, please tell me because I'd like to make mine with co2 cartridges rather than cardboard.

Azure Blue

This is an old post from almost a year old, since then rat and zero are much smarter, no its not dangerous just make a long fuse.

CTR

They are usually made from steel. Anyways, I wouldnt worry about the static electricity ignting the powder, but it might happen so handle it with care. Flash powder isnt as unstable as most people say it is. We just say that crap to new people so they do not be be stupid. It scares them away from it until they are more familar with pyrotechnic devices.

yeah i guess your right i am kind of pushing it ... it's just that for the little bit i was here to enjoy his company maybe even one of the best people that totse has had to the concern of pyrotechnics is gone and i just thought it was an aful shame and if i could contact him i would but i am unsure if he is even aloud back online or what i do not even know if he is not in prison or jail or w/e they could have pulled him back in ....