When mixing, crushing or handling fine powders for pyrotechnical use it is often convenient to work on a piece of paper to help gather, confine or pour the mixture; but often there are hastles including spillages, which is definitely not wanted.

To produce a better, albeit simple, way to manage fine powders I came up with this: The quickest way to limit those annoying hastles while keeping it readily disposable, quick to make and cheap to produce.

I introduce the Pyrotechnic Powder Pourer.

Step 1: Getting Started

All that is required for this is a piece of A4 paper.

Firstly we need to get just half; a full piece works just as well but is slightly less manageable and has no real benefits over half a piece.

To do this we just need to fold the piece in half, unfold, and then cut along the folded line.

Step 2: Folding Sequence and Back Stop

The main part about the pourer is the folding, it gives stability, a means of stopping those pesky run-aways and makes pouring a breeze.

Fold your half a piece of paper in half again length ways, and then bring up a corner and fold it at a 45° up to approximately half way. Fold this back and forth, and then unfold everything.

To turn the back triangle into an upwards facing back-stop we need to invert the folds to produce three valley folds along with the one mountain fold. To do this, fold the back triangle into the middle, one half at a time until the slip is inside the folded paper.

Step 3: Pouring Spout

To finish off we just need to make it a bit easier to pour.

This is easily done by just creating two mountain folds that meet at the pouring end to create a sturdy, angled point for your media / powder to slide out of. Start by folding one arm of the paper outwards as indicated, then repeat for the other side, again folding outwards.

Step 4: Usage

To use this just lay flat with the pouring end still folded for stability, pour powder or media onto the piece and then fold the whole thing together again to concentrate the powder at the bottom of the backing piece.

Pour just by angling and gently tapping the back to get an even, controlled flow.

Enjoy! :D