Homemade bottle rockets

A while back my friend asked an easy way to make a bottle rocket .....so this Instructable was born

• Make sure to wear the proper protective gear such as some kind of glasses for eye protection, safety glasses would be best .....

*some sort of breathing protection would also be advised

• gloves help as well so you don't burn yourself

Check the video for a picture of me dressed like a ninja with homemade safety wear and my first three rocket launches

I tried embedding it but alas, photo bucket is lame. so you get a crappy long link ....YAY

http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f136/goawayndstay/?action=view&current=ceec0f6c.pbr

PS. if you like it ....rate it up .....don't flake !

Step 1: What You Will Need

1. Post its
2.A Hammer
3. a small bit of fuse
4.a small mixing bowl
5.A mortar and pestle
6.needle nose pliers
7. duct or scotch tape
8. wooden skewers
9.A Pencil
10. A nail
11. Black Powder
12.kitty litter

• Pictures of these will be listed in order below

Comments

[pixelinstructable]

Re: Insane_Pyro_Genius! remark from 2008
This grinding process can be dangerous.
If the KNO3 is dry it can ignite while grinding with a surprising flash and a lot of heat. So always wear gloves, safety glasses, and safety clothing.
Back in 1947 when I was a child,between 8-11, in NYC I made rockets using a modified black powder recepe. The fuses were made with cotton string soaked in KNO3 dissolved in water at room temperature and then the fuse cord was rolled in finely divided magnesium and sulfer and air dried. The fuses worked but were not very reliable time wise, between 15 and 60 sec/inch. Never bothered to fine tune the fuses as I was more interested in flying rockets and testing rocket fuel.

[yinyumi]

Where can we buy all the materials that does not require buying from the internet??

[airgunguy123]

what would the sealent do

[Rhayel72]

i think sand would do the trick...

[WendyLD3]

what is a good tested black powder sub

[highvoltageguy]

finnally a new picture (me)

[Proud American Pyro]

Can you use something like flash powder instead of black powder?

[Eric T]

You could use flash powder in the tip then it should explode at the end of the burn.

[norge]

Flash powder burns way too fast, just gonna explode once the fuse reaches the powder ;) so the answer is no, you can't use flash as "rocket fuel".

[spark master]

wax the pencil then use glue after the first 1.5 wraps . Use removable tape to hold in lace til dried remove that less waste and lighter. Use exterior wood glue it dries hard and waterproof, you can coat the entire outer tube when done and wrap a paper label over the stick (which is glued on as well) . Mount a nail of correct size through a board and then you can pour stuff in from the top and tamp away knowing you will have right hole right length (trial and error will get you the right length, but then you have it)

[codycnnn04]

How did you know that the nail would be a big enough nozzle for the right amount of thrust for the rocket, without detonating the rocket or being to little thrust?
Thnx.
I I
\--/

[celticrush97]

what other powders can you use and wheir can you find them?

[ab02s]

Use small straw instead of post it and you will get a nice smoke trail and is easier than taping the paper into a cylinder. Awsome otherwise!

[lucius108]

no man it needs to be solid after compression and i dont think dirt will do the trick

[wizkid7]

Could dirt be used as a substitute for kitty litter?

[lucius108]

no man it needs to be solid after compression and i dont think dirt will do the trick

[sikkmate]

sweet i just have a quick question is black powder just gun powder like out of bullets??? and does the skewer go flying with the rocket wen it lights

[airsoftjunke]

black powder is "old school" and was used in muzzle loading riffles(think lewis and clark). the gun powder in new age ammo is smokeless and less explosive but burns quicker building up gases to propel the projectile to its target. bottom line: they are two different things.

[tigerboy]

dumb question, will adding kitty litter in the middle and make a large nozzle and then add more powder and cap it...make it a single stage with a explosion at the end?

[YoungPyro19]

Is this it?==> http://www.amazon.com/Pyrotechnics-George-W-Weingart/dp/0820601128/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275929469&sr=1-4

[tigerboy]

will FFFg be fine enough.

[tigerboy]

Would fine sand work?

[Beaters]

Cutting off the sharp end eliminates sharp sticks falling from sky!

[Purple Guy]

 Good point.......get it :P

[Purple Guy]

 Could you use a potassium nitrate and sugar rocket mix instead of the black powder? I would think so but I'm not and expert at pyrotechnics :)

[roflmaourface]

every thing is possible but the Black Powder....damn uk anti-fun regulations :(

[Purple Guy]

 I agree with you there mate! you can't buy any decent supplies for pyrotechnics in shops and only a few sites will sell decent stuff and the P&P on that is terrible :(

[chemguy]

No, it is there to direct the hot gases and flames from the rocket to provide thrust. It's a nozzle.

[chemguy]

nice pencil lolol

[luvit]

i filled a paper towel tube with black powder & have a yardstick for my skewer. i'm gonna go light it now.

[fire_drakon117]

i wanna video

[mo5]

u r a beast

[max_bakerman]

what exactly does the litter do?

[trojanx]

it works as a substitute for the clay found in most rocket type fireworks

[cfisher2727]

where do u get the black powder

[trojanx]

depends if you live in a state that allows the sale of black powder or not
if it is not illegal then some firework stores stock it

[imthatguy1125]

 where did you get your fuse

[trojanx]

it is legal in some states to buy fuse most likely from any firework store will carry some sort of fuse if you cant find it near you check your local laws it may be illegal to make sell or use these where you live. IF its not illegal there are instructables on how to make a fuse.

[Sk8erCk4Life]

Is this a bottle rocket that goes up in the air because I bought like 100 of them and they only shot sparks out the top and didn't go up in the air? So you can use charcoal instead of gunpowder?

[trojanx]

bottle rockets always go up in the air you must have bought roman candles or sparklers...