Articles
(Future Articles are in Black, Uploaded Articles are Links in Blue.)
(When you open an Article, notice the "printer-friendly version" button in the upper-right corner of the page. Feel free to print a project so that you can take it to the shop to refer to as you work.)
(This is obviously an evolving section. If you want info on a subject not uploaded yet, just ask about it in the Forum. Someone will have some experience to share on the subject.)
Tips for Using this Site
Pyro-Poetry
Introduction to Fireworking
Fireworking 101: Beginner's Comprehensive Course in Fireworking
Fireworking 201: Intermediate Course in Fireworking
Fireworking 301: Advanced-Intermediate Course in Fireworking
Fireworking 401
Safety and Legality (You know, these articles make great Bathroom Reading Material)
Fireworks Types, What do we want to make? The following device type sections are organized, with individual device projects, below:
- Novelty Items
- Ground Devices
- Mid-Level Devices
- Rockets
- Aerial Shells
Beginner Fireworking, Turbo-Pyro
Formulas
Basic Processes
Chemicals
- Basic Fireworking Chemicals, and sources for them
- Making Charcoal; Small Scale, Simple Backyard Charcoal Cooking
- NitroCellulose Lacquer (N/C), commercial and homemade
- Copper Benzoate Manufacture, By Lee Bussy
- Phenolic Resin Applications
- Homemade Magnalium
- Phenolic-Resin/Hexamine Bound Comets and Stars
- Substituting phenolic resin for redgum in a composition
- Treating Metals with Potassium Dichromate
- Potassium Nitrate, Tech-Grade, Anti-Cake or No Anti-Cake
- Chlorine Donor Chemicals, by Charley Wilson
- Tests for the Presence of Chlorates and Perchlorates
- Chlorates and Sulfur, Concerns
- Making Wheat Paste from Flour, By Nate B.
- Metal Particle Shapes and Sizes
- Cheap Silica Gel Dessicant
- Great Cat Litter for Nozzles
- Stearic Acid Clarification, Stearine versus Stearin
- Common Resins and Binders, Soluble In.....
- Potassium Perchlorate Impurity Study
- Nitro-Cellulose Data
Tools
- Mallets, and a Ramming Post
- Punches, to make holes in paper discs and shell casings
- Cork Borer
- Pull-Saw and Hand Miter-Box, for cutting tubes
- Razor-Anvil Cutter, for cutting fuses
- Screens, Their Usage, Types, and Manufacture
- Measuring Spoons and Cups
- Paper Dispensers, and rolls of paper
- Plastic Tubs
- Precision Measuring; calipers and micrometers
- Atomizer-Spray-Bottle, for rolling stars
- Star-Sizing Screens, for consistent sizing of rolled stars
- Gummed Paper-Tape Dispensers
- TS4000 Propane Torch
- Gamma-Seal Lids for buckets
- Nifty Tools for Cutting Paper Tubes
- Homemade Star Plate, by Paul G.
- Powder Measure Scoops
- Duralov Paper Roll Dispenser/Cutter
Machines
Black Powder, the foundation of fireworks, simple and complex
Fuse
Novelty Items
Ground Devices
Stars and Garnitures
Mid-Level Devices
Rockets, Girandolas, Tourbillions
- Rockets Introduction
- Rough Guide to Rocket Increment Sizes
- Force Needed to Achieve Loading Pressure
- Consistent Pressure Rocket Press Chart Creator, from Bob Svenson
- Paper Tube Burst Strength Tests
- Keeping Spindle Tip Centered in Tube During Pressing
- Rocket Tooling
- New Bulkhead-Hole-Forming Rammer
- Tube Supports
- Rocket Motors
- Tube-Buster-Salutes, for a Bottom-Shot and Less Fallout
- Rocket Sticks
- Rocket Headings
- Rocket-Motor, Cylinder-Shell-Heading, Alignment Jig
- Donut Comets to adapt headings to rocket motors
- Quick and easy rocket nosecones
- Attaching Ball-Shell Headings to Rocket Motors
- Precision Rocket Heading Timing, from Shawn Ashbaugh
- Gorgeous Rocket, Gold-Glitter Rising Tail, Graceful Horsetail Heading
- Rocket Launch Racks, by Tom Rebenklau
- Folding Rocket Rack
- Rocket-Design, Scientifically
- Dave Forster's Tube-Waxing Method
- Reducing CATO's in Pyrotechnic Rockets, by Dave Forster
- Tube-Waxing Methods
- Great Cat Litter for Nozzles
- Rockets Lifting 6" Ball Shell Headings
- Tourbillions, Buzz-Bombs, Helicopters
- Paint-Stick Monocopters, by Dave Gustafson
- Thai Rockets, Part 1, by Paul Moulder
- Girandolas
Aerial Fireworks Shells
- Mortars and Racks, firing fireworks shells safely
- Steel Mortars Safety Considerations
- Making large HDPE mortars
- Reinforcing Fiberglass Mortars with Carbon Fiber, and Epoxy
- Aerial Shells Introduction
- Shell Weights per Type and Size
- Shell Lift-Charge Amounts
- Shell Display-Heights, and Time-Fuse Delays
- Simple Plastic Shells
- Paper Ball Shells
- Festival-Ball-Size Paper Ball Shells, with rising comet tail
- Making Ball Shell Lift Cups, by SparkyMyrl
- Peanut Shells, Part 1
- Flag-and-Parachute Shell
- Salutes, made with Black Powder, Dark or Titanium-Spark
- Binary-Mixing Flash in Salutes
- Blue Aluminum Binary-Mixed Salutes
- TPA Burster Compound
- Making Ball Shell Casings
- Shell Lift-Charge Mine Shot
- Closing a Large Ball Shell Using Strap-Clamps
- Large Ball Shells
- Large Shell Construction, Using Multi-Part Casings
- Rising Comets on Shells
- Double-Petal Shells
- Orienting Shells
- Ascending Separating Stars Rising Shell Effects
- Ring-Shell
- Six-Inch Ball-Shell Shell-of-Shells, by Stewart Irsik
- 6" Horsetail Ball Shell, Japanese Style
- Pattern Shells
- Fitting Cylindrical Inserts, Like Comets, in Ball Shells
- Cylinder Shell Insert Size Calculator, from ChrisH
- Simple star/insert calculator, from Soap
- "Escher's Parasol" Shell
- Adding a Bottom Shot to a Ball Shell, by Rocketman Tom
- Saturn Shell
- "Kaleidoscope" Shell
- Daytime Shells; Adding-Machine Tape, Toilet Paper
- Farfalle Shells
- Lampare
- Field-Expedient Lampare
- Memorial Shell, to carry a person's ashes aloft
- Dense-Packed Willow Diadem Shell/Heading
- Cylinder Shells
- 5" Comets-to-Reports, with Bottom-Shot, Shell, by DWC
- 5" Farfalle Shell
- 4" Horsetail Shells
- Bottom-Shot and Report Construction
- Comet-to-Report Shell Inserts
- Ned's Assembly of that DWC Shell
- Lifting and Leadering the DWC Shell
- "Big Hoss" 16" Sun-and-Planets Cylinder Shell, by Tom Niesen
- Star/Comet Calculator for Designing Cylinder Shells, from Joe M
- Paul Moulder's Cylinder Shell Building Tips and Videos
- Maltese Shell Construction Tips, by Paul Moulder
- Maltese-style-shells-ned's-exploration
- Maltese multi-break shells, ned's exploration
- Maltese-Style 11-Timed Spider Shell, by ned
- Stutata Shell Inserts, by Italteen3
- 5" Rinfasciatured 13-timed Ti Spider Shell
- 5" Rinfasciatured 9-Timed Ti Spider Shell
- Making Strong, Large Bottom Shots, by Tom Niesen
- Illustrated Exploration of Fulcanelli 1
- Illustrated Personal Exploration of Fulcanelli 2
Fireworks Displays; Planning and Setting-Up
- Electric Firing, Planning and Systems
Class C (1.4g) Fireworks
- Using 1.4g Fireworks safely and creatively
Recommended Reading
Photographing and Videoing Fireworks
My Favorite Quote