60 replies to this topic

[alany]

Yeah I know how to make one, but I am curious about the consolidation of the star composition, do you press on them a bit with the pinned plate before you eject them, or do you just push the composition into the holes by hand then scrape off the excess?

Seems like it wouldn't scale down very well, say to micro stars, for which Rich Wolter has a picture of a microstar plate on his site. I think I'd prefer the noodle cutter method for making microstars.

For bigger stars I'd prefer a gang pump or just rolling them. Rolling is *so* much faster when you want to make a huge batch, but I must admit I am not an expert at rolling. I have problems keeping them all the same size, I guess I should make some sizing plates and arrange my roller to bump.

[adamw]

Star plate: Fill holes with comp by smearing damp comp onto plate. 'Drag' off excess and push out with male piece (no - not *your* tool!). If you are lucky they wont all stick. Like I said, I'm not fond of them. I could pump twice as many by hand than if I had to mess around with a plate.

[sasman]

Im about to order some Tooling from the USA..The one i'm tempted to go with is Wolter Pyro tools ..Rather than Skylighter or Thunder and lightening tools..Has any one used any of the Wolter tooling? ....Also im a bit confused over what size Rocket Tooling To get...
What size do i need 2oz 4oz 8oz 1 lb Rocket?Also What size Stinger 1,2 or 3 Lb?.
Any suggestions ...
What does the Term 2 oz ,4 oz ,1lb mean ?
Cheers
sasman

[Richard H]

This weight refers to the mass of the propellant in each motor. I'm planning on placing an order with Rich myself shortly.

Obviously, the size of payload dictates the size of motor tooling. I'm sure Rich will be able to give you some good advice.

[alany]

The weight refers to the mass of a lead ball that fits the ID (or is it OD, I can't rememeber?) of the rocket motor casing. It is an ancient naming system that I personally hate. Kentish covers it well, but it goes like this:

name ID

2 oz 3/8"
4 oz 1/2"
8 oz 5/8"
1 lb 3/4"
2 lb 7/8"
3 lb 1"
4 lb 1 1/4"
6 lb 1 1/2"

A "1 lb" stinger motor is 3/4" (or 19 mm) ID, and 2 1/2" - 3" long, it weighs a bit less than 50 g once charged, about 18-20 g of propellant the rest is the casing and nozzle, etc. A conventional core burning BP "1 lb" rocket is 7 1/2" long and weighs a whole lot less than 1 lb.

The 4 oz rocket is a good size for lifting reasonable payloads, it is also the ideal starting size for saxons, drivers and tourbillion devices. The standard casings are usually 10 times their ID in length, or 5" for a 1/2" ID tube.

[Richard H]

I stand corrected

[Rip Rap]

The weight refers to the mass of a lead ball that fits the ID (or is it OD, I can't rememeber?) of the rocket motor casing

It is the mass of a lead ball that fits the bore of the "sleeve" or casing, into which the rocket cases were placed to stop the rocket cases from bursting during manufacture - so it would be the OD.
These sleeves or casings were used in the original military manufacture of BP rockets, when the case was rammed solid (ie no central core) then an awl was forced into the grain to create the core.
This military manufacture explains why this naming system came about. The military used the same method to categorize cannons - ie a 2 pounder cannon had a bore, that a 2lb sphere of lead would fit!

[Mortartube]

Just to confuse things further, The American system takes a lead ball that fits the ID of the case, whilst the British system takes a lead ball that fits the ramming sleeve as in Rip Rap's description. I'd rather have a British 1lb rocket than an American one as it's considerably bigger.

[ash]

Just to confuse things further, The American system takes a lead ball that fits the ID of the case, whilst the British system takes a lead ball that fits the ramming sleeve as in Rip Rap's description. I'd rather have a British 1lb rocket than an American one as it's considerably bigger

Surely their 1Lb'er is larger if they measure the ID and we measure the OD.

[pyrotechnist]

Hi which plate puncher set do i buy from

http://www.chronos.l...2_2e#aSDY032_2e ?

Which one of them do i buy for punching plates?

[Phoenix]

For cutting end discs for shells etc, you want their "10 Pc Wad Punch Set."

[maxman]

Has anyone ever seen this page? http://www.thecalder...rg/pyrotooling/ I contacted the guy (Greg Boyd) for a quote on a 1lb BP spindle set and a 1lb Stinger set.

His 1st reply was:
The 1 # bp rocket kit would be $90.00 us , and the stinger would be $50.00 . Carriage included . It's only about $5.00 to post them.
Greg

Which I thought was a bit odd since carriage to the UK is obviously more than that .
I'd also seen the price of $60 and mentioned it.

2nd reply was:
Paypal to pyrofx is fine .
I didn't know that that old page was still there . I'll honor the 60 price and 5 to post it .
Greg

Maybe I'm worrying for nothing and was hoping any of you guys could put my mind to rest, but the outcome was that I sent $120 for both sets inc P&P.(12 days ago)

The 3rd reply was:
just in time , I'm off to the post office now . Air mail 4-7 days . Inbound from Dorset has been taking around 5 days.

Greg

He seems to be a regular poster on rec pyro. I guess I should have done my research before hand. I wouldn't like to slag the guy off if he's completely genuine
but have had a bad feeling all the way over this.

Is it early days for airmail? or am I onto a looser here? Also the paypay account had been set up a couple of years ago and had only had one transaction pass through it in all that time!!!

Thanks

Maxman

[maxman]

Panic Over!!! Just thought I'd let you guys know that my spindles turned up fine this morning and look GREAT!!!
I just panicked, but trust a true pyro not to let you down.

So if anyone is interested the above site is highly recommended and airmail is taking about two weeks at the moment.

Now down to business!

[nickpatts]

after you confirmed you had received the items got me tempted, I just placed an order with greg for the 3/4 bp rocket set $65+$23 postage.

See how long this takes

Nick

Edited by nickpatts, 25 June 2004 - 08:31 AM.

[maxman]

Yeah, mine took 2 weeks and they seem good value for money. I got a stinger set too. Just need my tubes now.