56 replies to this topic

[pyrotrev]

The coarse stuff would probably be OK in big fountains and droopy comets- I've used 10...30 mesh Ti before and it's OK as long as you can propel it high enough!!!

[Valec]

@BrightStar: Have you already tried some formulas with the FeTi? I think about buying some from the guy, is the FeTi worth the price?

And what about the FeSi sold by him, is it any good, maybe for prime formulas?

[BrightStar]

@BrightStar: Have you already tried some formulas with the FeTi? I think about buying some from the guy, is the FeTi worth the price?

And what about the FeSi sold by him, is it any good, maybe for prime formulas?

Well, it burns a bright golden straw yellow, much yellower and whiter than iron for example. It's not quite as dramatic as titanium sponge in fountains and some finer 100-mesh stuff would be better for stars and smaller comets. I've just this morning made up some interesting gerbs with the Fe-Ti - I'll post the video in the fountains section when I test them.

The price seemed quite reasonable for a small quantity - I paid about £9 including postage for 500g. No idea about the Fe-Si - let me know if you try it!

Edited by BrightStar, 03 March 2007 - 12:27 PM.

[pyromaniac303]

Well, it burns a bright golden straw yellow, much yellower and whiter than iron for example. It's not quite as dramatic as titanium sponge in fountains and some finer 100-mesh stuff would be better for stars and smaller comets. I've just this morning made up some interesting gerbs with the Fe-Ti - I'll post the video in the fountains section when I test them.

The price seemed quite reasonable for a small quantity - I paid about £9 including postage for 500g. No idea about the Fe-Si - let me know if you try it!

I ordered some from the seller and I recieved a bag of what looks like gold pebbles did you have to break up the FeTi into smaller pieces? They range from the size of coarse grit, to larger than my thumbnail!

Maybe I have the bottom of the barrel which might need breaking up, but so far have not been able to grind it with a mortar and pestle, and Im sure titanium would powder my milling media rather than vice versa.

Anyone else had this?

[BrightStar]

I ordered some from the seller and I recieved a bag of what looks like gold pebbles did you have to break up the FeTi into smaller pieces? They range from the size of coarse grit, to larger than my thumbnail!

No, my 500g batch of Fe-Ti was exactly as described and illustrated. It was very grey and certainly not gold. There was nothing larger than a couple of millimeters and the majority was finer than 20-mesh.

Perhaps you could e-mail the supplier and ask him what has happened to the mix. Do you even have the right metal? He previously described it as 'like sand' which would broadly correlate with what I received. Maybe I was just lucky, but what you have seems very different from what I received...

Edited by BrightStar, 05 March 2007 - 07:39 PM.

[pyromaniac303]

This is the stuff, in comparison to a 2p coin. There is a small amount of fine powder in the bottom of the bag which looks usable but 98% looks like this.

Oh and sorry the camera quality is awful

Edited by pyromaniac303, 05 March 2007 - 08:08 PM.

[pyrotrev]

I bought some too, and just about 10% will pass 5 mesh - all the rest is festering great lumps, though a dull grey colour - the bronze appearance might be oxidation.

[pyromaniac303]

After a few minutes of hard work with an old pair of pliers, I ended up with a couple of grams of useable powder. It seems quite brittle and prone to cracking but leaves indentations in the pliers, so it must retain some of the hardness from the Ti.

I think with a good hammer and maybe a seperation plate of thin steel it wouldn't be too hard to crush. The pieces are sharp when they break (a bit like the way flint breaks) so the charcoal powdering method in a tarpaulin bag would probably just make holes in the bag.

[karlfoxman]

Me and a friend used a large coffee grinder, it turned it into fine mesh good for comets and stars in about 1 min! Do this outside and with some ppe as the pieces if thrown from the grinder are sharp and will easily blind you should something go wrong, also the process will make sparks so keep away from comps and anything flammable!

[BigBang]

All the Fe/Ti powders ive ever had, have been a silvery-grey colour, and they normally come in flat pieces, a bit like large flakes, but i guess that it can come in different forms. That pic by Pyromaniac303 doesnt look like any FeTi ive ever seen. Not sure what that is!

Thats the problem with buying from unreliable sellers, you never know (for sure) what your going to get.

[Caramanos2000]

Looks like iron ore.

[pyrotrev]

I;ve exchanged emails with Jared, the guy who sells this stuff, he said he had both powdered and lumpy types, but the former had all gone, hence he was selling the latter and hoped it was OK. Suggested to him that the most useful sizes were maybe 30....120 mesh and he could probably shift a fair amount if he made that available.

Me and a friend used a large coffee grinder, it turned it into fine mesh good for comets and stars in about 1 min! Do this outside and with some ppe as the pieces if thrown from the grinder are sharp and will easily blind you should something go wrong, also the process will make sparks so keep away from comps and anything flammable!

You must have one hell of a coffee grinder Karl! I tried it in mine and although I managed to make some powder, it's taken5mm off the end of my blades - time for a new grinder I think

Edited by pyrotrev, 31 March 2007 - 10:42 PM.