20 replies to this topic

[Arthur Brown]

Is there a good source of Iron Filings? Can I mill steel wool, can I buy iron or steel filings easily?

[seymour]

I believe both Inoxia and Cooperman sell various Iron/Steel powders for a very reasonable price, about £5 per kilo if I remember correctly.

[MDH]

Steel wool is inadiquate for fountains and comets. Cast-iron powder is what the chinese employ, it is both cheap and produces a neat effect.

[Creepin_pyro]

Look for high carbon content cast-iron - makes lovely branching sparks. Not all iron filings are created equal : )

[Bonny]

Car brake turnings are a cheap and easy to find source. Just go to any car repair shop/garage and I'm sure they'll give you some. You can then sieve to whatever size you want. Due to the oil usually present some people use them as is. I washed mine in methylated spirits IIRC correctly and then coated in linseed oil.

[pyrotechnist]

Steel wool produces beautiful sparks. I have used it personally and it seemed to work fine though it is hard to cut down to an appropriate size and then you have the clumping together problems with the powder.

[bigtonyicu]

Steel wool produces beautiful sparks. I have used it personally and it seemed to work fine though it is hard to cut down to an appropriate size and then you have the clumping together problems with the powder.

Good someone has tried steel wool, something I might have to run through my hammer mill (once it's done). Steel wool should be a good candidate, it need a high tensile strength so it should have a descent amount of carbon.

[Arthur Brown]

Well 12 hrs in a mill with steel media and my steel wool has clumped together as one matted mess. Barely a single piece of fines.

Now to find method two!

[Bonny]

Well 12 hrs in a mill with steel media and my steel wool has clumped together as one matted mess. Barely a single piece of fines.

Now to find method two!

Maybe you could try chopping it up with a shear of some sort then coffee milling. You could also try a blender full of alcohol or some liquid that won't rust the steel wool as it gets chopped up.

Another source could be cast iron machine shop shavings. They would probably grind up ok in a coffee mill, although it would be hell on the blades.

[pyrotechnist]

I just cut the steel wool up with scissors so it was coarse. The coarse particles seem to work well for me. Has anyone seen videos of steel wool being spun around when lit? if you haven't search you tube for steel wool and check some of the videos out. This stuff makes beautiful long branching sparks.

Off topic: I wonder if you can create some sort of wheel if you connect a driver to a string with steel wool below so when the driver lights the steel wool lights and turns rapidly creating a large shower of sparks.

[portfire]

Has anyone seen videos of steel wool being spun around when lit? if you haven't search you tube for steel wool and check some of the videos out. This stuff makes beautiful long branching sparks.

Yes Indeed!! Search for 'Fire Wire'. Although, I would advise anyone wanting to try this, PPE is a MUST!!

It does look fantastic BTW

Edited by portfire, 12 September 2008 - 07:10 PM.

[wjames]

when i was younger, i reguarly used to attach large amounts of steel wool ( quite dense ) to a metre or two of steel rope ( washing line type )

after having lit it, a quick spin round the head.....and you would get a GREAT shower of sparks....i used to wear a noddy suit when doing this.....for safety.


as for grinding the stuff down....


blender idea is pretty good....BUT....i remember some saying the saw strange results after FREEZING steel wool.....worth a shot ?

[pyrotechnist]

Hmmm the freezing sounds interesting as it will stiffen the strands of steel making it easier to crumble up in the blender. Wouldn't freezing steel wool though cause it to rust?

[wjames]

not if you put it in a plastic bag, and remove as much of the air as possible......it will actually rust SLOWER frozen(dry).....but in reality, it may show signs of rust due to condensation forming........

if you want to do it the easy way....find a OLD C02 fire extinguisher.....you know the rest...stick the wool in a bucket...fire the C02 at it.....next thing you have very cold steel wool !


most chemical reactions are slower when the elements are cold....and faster when they are hot !!!

[MDH]

What you want is to coat it with linseed oil immediately upon removing it from the frozen area, then "coffee grinding" it or whatever your preferred solution is.

Personally steel wool never worked for me in the past but it seems to have worked for others - perhaps I could try making a powder out of it, or finding a way to heat it via the dark aluminum method and make it more reactive in an inert area.

Edited by MDH, 12 September 2008 - 10:30 PM.