drtoivowillmann

Dear Fiend:

Here 3 basic formulas:

REPORTS: 72 % Potassiom Perchlorate 28 % Black Aluminum (or 2, 5 parts to 1 part).
Not sensible version: a) 70 % Potassium Perclorate + 8 % Black Aluminum 20 % Black Aluminum + 2 % graphite powder
Charge a) and separately into your report, close it, then shake your report: ready !

SHELL BURSTING:
STRONG: 50 % Potassium Perchlorate 25 % Black Aluminum, 25 % Magnalium (or 2:1:1);
MORE "FRIENDLY": 55% Potassium Nitrate, 25 % Bright Aluminum, very, very fine, 20 % sulphur, add 1% of Boric Acid

Satisfied ?

Greetings from Brazil:

Dr. Toivo Willmann

Alright, yes flash powder is and should be a sensitive topic, but I haven't really seen anybody hit the subject that directly on this forum, so I feel that I should start up the questions and answers.
Alright, first off, I know that flash powders are to be used only in small amounts, perhaps larger amounts in mortors, but what are good formulas for specific flashes?
I have found several, but I think I'll ask if I can share them online before I actually do?
until my next response,
-mini


by the way, I was reading a post about BP growing white stuff, and you guys referring to it as 'mould'. Do you guys really spell 'mold' that way? I was confused, and thought it was pronounced "mowld". Hmm. That's all I wanted to say...

Dear Friend:

Forget chlorowax. Best is C-PVC: some is made in France with the name of LUCALOR. I t is non-toxic and contains more than 67 % of chlorine: best blue and purple are produced, even coloured strobes it makes easily. Look out for it, you will be happy, when you obtain it.

Yours truly, greetings from Brazil:

Dr. Toivo Willmann

Dear Pyro-Friend:

Calculate, whatever you press, upon the base of the surface of your product, where you apply pression: s = 3,14 x r2.

cilindrical stars : about 300 Kg / cm2
spollets for shells, rockets, charged with moistened powder: about 400 Kg x cm2
rockets, charged with dry powder: about 600 Kg x cm2 (if youy apply more, generally paper case does not resist any more.)

Yours truly;
greetings from Brazil:

Dr. Toivo Willmann

Dear Friends:

I use them only in our fireworks factory (Fogos Confiança Ltda., Brazil). In reality all people herebey copied me and use them instead of Red Gum (Acaroides).
It needs about 20 % more of oxigen than Red Gum, in order to replace it. It ignites more easily and burns more hotly.
Best is Phemole Novolaca, made of phenole + Hexamethylenetrammine with less than 1% of free Phenole (if there where more, you cannot make round stars within your star pan, also called star mill).

It's best in formulas with Pechlorate + Magnalium and gives the purest colours. Also it is soluble in alcohol, I bind always with water and Arabic Gum, like I did formerly (20 years ago) with Red Gum.

Greetings from Brazil:

Toivo

The problem is very likely the prime and not the stars. A very hot prime containing thermitic mixtures or silicon should ignite just about anything. The problem is that the prime is not catching alight. It is not uncommon in commercial practice to lightly coat stars with overfueled or overoxidized greenmix when the prime is still damp. Highly smooth prime surfaces can prevent flame from impanting hot particles of dross into the composition. Uneven, granulated meal powder and overfueled greenmix might be needed.

And yes - binding with acetone to make "rubber" stars can sometimes cause them to be harder to ignite (though, I must stress not hard enough to resist strong thermitic primes). You can try binding it with water, but wouldn't that introduce another inhibitor into the picture?

Many friends will send to you their single-layer primes. Some will work, other not.
Takeo Shimizu uses primes of 7 or even more layers upon his coloured stars. And that guy is not crazy, but knows exactly, why.

I (I am a professional) have developped a 3-layer prime.

First a little bit of prime-theory:

* Compositions based on Magnalium need quite high temperatures to ignite.
* Compositions based on Potassium Perchlorate ignite slowly, so your prime has to maintain heat for some instances.
* Compositions based on Magnalium and P. Perchlorate have quite low Critical Speeds in the very moment they ignite. So your stars should slow down, before being
ignited. This means that your prime must be also a delay composition.
* Modern shell break, using flash powder. So a single spark must be sufficient,to ignite your prime.

It is very hard to fulfill all theese criteria in a single composition. Therefore I use 3.

1 Kg of coloured round star core + 200 g layer "A" + 400 g layer "B" + 400 g layer "C".
Prime like making your round stars. Use (best destilled) water, adding 10 % of acetone to it.

Here the exact formulas:

Layer "A":
46 % Barium Nitrate (not too micronized)
22 % Potassium Nitrate (not too micronized)
14 % Magnalium
14 % Red Gum (Acaroides)
3 % White Arabic Gum (not Kodorfan)
1 % (basic) Magnesium Carbonate

Layer "B"
1st version:
50 % Potassium Nitrate (well micronized)
22 % charcoal
15 % Dark Aluminum
8 % sulphur
4 % Dextrine
1 % Boric Acid

2nd version:
raise charcoal up to 24 %
exchange Dark Aluminum by 13 % of finest Atomized Aluminum

Layer "C":
99 % Meal Poder (75/15/10 or 70/18/12)
1 % White Arabic Gum

That's all.
Greetings from Brazil:

Toivo