61 replies to this topic

[nickpatts]

tryed making some blackmatch the other day,now dry,got some pleasing results,for those of you who dont want to make dextrin, it can be purchased online from http://www.the-home-...uk/itm01233.htm ?1.49 per 500g,ive got enough to last me ages,

[phildunford]

I have put up a couple of pages on my website

<a href='http://www.thegreenman.me.uk' target='_blank'>The Green Man</a>

about making quickmatch if anyone would like a look...

Edited by phildunford, 16 September 2003 - 03:02 PM.

[BigG]

Phildunford - how come your black match does not get consumed as it burns?

BigG

[PanMaster]

so what, mine doesn't either, it burns instantaneously and then slowly burns the inside afterwards

[BigG]

so what, mine doesn't either, it burns instantaneously and then slowly burns the inside afterwards

So What?!?!? Hmmmm.

Just wandered if it works well in Saettines.

BigG

[phildunford]

Don't honestly know big g...

Could be because I use cotton string rather than wick - does get consumed if it's in a pipe, but I guess that's burning hotter/ more completely.

Does not seem to cause any problem in practical use.

[hewettn]

Tried my first attempt at black match, Mixed up 20g BP with spray starch to form a thick ketchup solution. Soaked cotton string in solution and then pulled string through a simular sized hole to remove excess. This dryed a couple of hours later. Tested burns with a spray of tiny sparks but fizzles out re light and continues again, having looked at the string the center is till white should i make up a more wetter solution and let it soak longer, so the mix penetrates to string better or am i just having too thin a layer/coating on the string when pulling through the hole ?

Thanks

[Pazza]

when you say similar do you mean that the hole was about the same diameter as the string? because the hole that you are pulling the string through should be one and a half to two times the diameter of the string

[BigG]

Tried my first attempt at black match, Mixed up 20g BP with spray starch to form a thick ketchup solution. Soaked  cotton string in solution and then pulled string through a simular sized hole to remove excess. This dryed a couple of hours later. Tested burns with a spray of tiny sparks but fizzles out re light and continues again, having looked at the string the center is till white should i make up a more wetter solution and let it soak longer, so the mix penetrates to string better or am i just having too thin a layer/coating on the string when pulling through the hole ?

Thanks

Okay – opening myself to flames let me offer a procedure that will improve your black match incredibly.

First, black match that burns only on the outside is a very poor match. Such a fuse will work fine for fountains, quickmatch or in star-guns, where the fuse in not confined - but it will fail in devices that require choking the area around the fuse. For example: Saettines. Also, when bent and handled, the outer coating will break and the fuse will become useless.

Soaking a cotton string longer in the slurry will not work either simply because both sulphur and charcoal are not solvable. As such, the inner part of the string might get some potassium nitrate solution, but not the sulphur and charcoal.

The procedure is very similar to the one proposed by Tim Pirgrin in his book. Instead of using cotton string use 4-12 strings of single thread cotton. Those can be bought in shops selling knitting supplies (the look of admiration I get from all the old ladies when I step into such a shop is admirable

Line the single threads one by the other and tie them at the end. Now pulling the end slowly through the slurry you should have all of them coated with the BP. At the end pull them through a tight hole. This will “unite” all the string together into a single string that is held by the slurry. Pull them between nails or a drying frame. At this stage the string will still behave like a string and will not be stiff at all, but after drying up you will have it will stiff up. This match will burn through very well and will also work if bent and some coating give away, as the inner part of the strings will also coated.

I asked a member of my club to pull one of my black matches from storage and photo it burn. I hope to post the result by tomorrow. Note that I make my matches in a different way to the one mentioned here – but I did use this system before and if yields good results.

BigG

[hewettn]

Thanks BigG so the final hole size simular to string size not larger?

Nigel

[BigG]

Thanks BigG so the final hole size simular to string size not larger?

Nigel

slightly larger then all the threads put together. This will give you a nice extra coating from all sides.

BigG

[hewettn]

Here was the 1st result:

1st Burn

Working on multithreaded core now.....

[zanes]

*insert banner ad here*

my site, hhtp://www.zanes.tk has a basic page on black match construction. What do you think?

[BigG]

Okay

So, after lecturing everyone how a good fuse should burn on the inside as well as the outside, I asked a friend back home to pull one of my fuses from storage and photograph it being tested in our testing chamber. He sent me back a replay “I tested a black match from the last batch you made before you left… Not very good."

Ye, you guessed it. It did not consume fully on the inside, although it is still better then some other examples I’ve seen.

I’m not the kind to spoil the fun of the forum members, so you can download the creation from
http://www.BigGPyro.com/movies/bm.avi

Sorry for the size. I did not have time to compress this.

Now, for those who are not sure what exactly they are looking at, a quick explanation. The black match is pulled through two sheets of cardboard with a small hole drilled in each one. The hole is just big enough for the match to go through. The match must burn:
1) In a consistent manner.
2) Without leaving an internal core
3) Through the cardboard holes in a good fashion.

Enjoy!

[Phoenix]

That discussion about gums has reminded me of something I've been wondering about. I know I have read somewhere that Gum Arabic makes a "better" black match than dextrin, but is more hygroscopic so not suitable for use in damp climates. I was wondering if using it would make my match more robust, either less liable to flake when bent and/or or stiffer, and whether or not its increased sensitivity to moisture would be a problem in the UK's climate. Can someone who has used it tell me how it compares to dextrin? Is it worth the higher price? Thanks.