Step 7: Finished aerial shell
The shell is now finished. It is a good idea to attach label in case you keep the shell over a longer time, so you will know what type of shell it is, which stars, amount of lift etc.
The shell can now be fired, but please note that this is obiously the most dangerous part of it all, so proper safety gear must be used.
First of all your eyes, fingers and ears are the most important thing to protect.
Wear safety goggles/face shield, fireproof gloves and ear plugs/earmuffs during firing (as a minimum!)
When firing, you can either use a mortar stand to hold your mortar tube if you have one, or you can bury the mortar tube in the ground about 2/3. Next the shell is loaded to the tube with the quick match or shooting wire sticking out - the shell should fall freely, without any help to make it reach the bottom. Also please take care of your surroundings: The shell should be fired a long distance away from people, houses and flammable objects. Run a good long distance after igniting the fuse. If you want to film the shell, it is recommended to be at least two persons: one will be filming, the other will ignite the fuse.
If the shell should somehow fail to lift properly and explode on the ground, you will be glad you did wear safety gear.
Sometimes a "flower pot" happens (mainly if the shell is not sealed well around the time fuse, or if the spolette is not rammed solid enough), which is simply the shell explodes in the mortar, shooting stars into the sky. The mortar may or may not fracture when this happens, but this is where burying the mortar comes in handy: the surroundings of the mortar will arbsorb most of the shock, and the fragments may not fly very far.
The shell was fired in front of a small audience (consisting of my family) I excuse the annoying voices/laughs/whatever.
Hope you enjoyed this instructable, which is my first one.
To find out more about pyrotechnics go to:
PyroGuide.com
-pudidotdk
The shell can now be fired, but please note that this is obiously the most dangerous part of it all, so proper safety gear must be used.
First of all your eyes, fingers and ears are the most important thing to protect.
Wear safety goggles/face shield, fireproof gloves and ear plugs/earmuffs during firing (as a minimum!)
When firing, you can either use a mortar stand to hold your mortar tube if you have one, or you can bury the mortar tube in the ground about 2/3. Next the shell is loaded to the tube with the quick match or shooting wire sticking out - the shell should fall freely, without any help to make it reach the bottom. Also please take care of your surroundings: The shell should be fired a long distance away from people, houses and flammable objects. Run a good long distance after igniting the fuse. If you want to film the shell, it is recommended to be at least two persons: one will be filming, the other will ignite the fuse.
If the shell should somehow fail to lift properly and explode on the ground, you will be glad you did wear safety gear.
Sometimes a "flower pot" happens (mainly if the shell is not sealed well around the time fuse, or if the spolette is not rammed solid enough), which is simply the shell explodes in the mortar, shooting stars into the sky. The mortar may or may not fracture when this happens, but this is where burying the mortar comes in handy: the surroundings of the mortar will arbsorb most of the shock, and the fragments may not fly very far.
The shell was fired in front of a small audience (consisting of my family) I excuse the annoying voices/laughs/whatever.
Hope you enjoyed this instructable, which is my first one.
To find out more about pyrotechnics go to:
PyroGuide.com
-pudidotdk
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rayrayell14 says:
Feb 27, 2011. 9:09 AMReply
this is pretty awesome im gonna try and make it wit my cuzins and my little 8 year old sister
Chikote says:
Jun 29, 2010. 10:32 AMReply
Just perfect!!! Congratz! Amazing job u did here!! :)
11
popscott3 says:
Jun 29, 2010. 7:43 AMReply
That is the coolest! I have always wonderd how fireworks work. And the vid was AWSOME!
hossmonkey says:
Jun 27, 2010. 8:43 AMReply
That is the "bomb"! " :-)
5
teslafan100 says:
Mar 15, 2010. 6:20 PMReply
that was AWESOME!!!!!1
stimps says:
Jul 9, 2008. 6:20 PMReply
Wow, how thorough! I've seen a lot of very bad and not safety-concious firework lessons, and yours is truly superb. Great job (and thanks for the film)!
1
ndinitz says:
Jul 8, 2009. 2:17 PMReply
I second the motion.Pr
Proud American Pyro says:
Jun 23, 2009. 6:57 PMReply
That was a great instructable! Very nicely put together.
16
Mattrox says:
May 30, 2008. 1:46 AMReplyAWESOME cant wait to shot that at my neighbor (he is so annoying wana get rid of him) Joking
Moreno says:
Apr 24, 2008. 12:09 PMReply
Nice instructable !!!!! Are you active on apcforum.net????
stihl88 says:
Sep 14, 2007. 5:19 AMReply
Absoluitly fantastic Instructables and very nice to see you set it off at the end. Maybe you might consider adding the method of pumping your stars out. Well Done!!! 10/10
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