Aerial Shell for Pyrotechnic Display

Intro: Aerial Shell for Pyrotechnic Display

This is for those of us who cant wait for standerd shells to dry, its easy and fun. its made from newspaper, white glue, superglue, a ball (or object that will fit your needs), and a hair dryer.(It also recycles old news paper)

STEP 1: Prep

white glue, white glue solution (75/25 water/glue), super glue, object wraped in plastic wrap, news paper, razor, scissors, Q-tip, hot air hair dryer.

STEP 2: Construction

mix glue and water to 75% water (by volume) to 25% glue. cut newspaper into strips 1/2 inch to 1 inch wide by 3 to 4 inches long, dip in glue solution.

STEP 3: Construction

Wrap damp news paper strips around object, alternating between wet, dry, pure glue, dry, and wet. untill you reach 1/4 inch thickness.

STEP 4: Construction

Finish by appling a few layers of dry paper and glue untill its smoothe and compact. paint if desierd with thinned food dye., i will dye mine when i fill it with my stars. I always dye my shell the same color as the stars inside (ie: copper cloride stars get painted blue-green) Dry with blowdryer then seal with super glue or other quick drying glue. dry it for a good 5 minutes with hair dryer on hot.

STEP 5: Cut It Open

cut through the paper with the razor, and separate carfully, the inside will be wet. smooth out the paper and coat with super glue or other quick drying glue. let it dry over night or dry it with the hair dryer. drill/cut hole, or use hole left over from the plastic wrap hanging out. AGAIN make sure it fits your tube! it would suck to do all this work, then have to re-make the shell. fill the shell with stars, or ****another pyro mix **** insert fuse, and seal with ALEX PLUS Acrylic Latex Caulk Plus Silicone, or tape (masking tape or ductape.) if its to small, wrap twine around it to build up layers, but its not reccomended to do so.

**** Spitfire black powder stars****
As follows, use as fill, or in place of stars:
By Volume, not weight:
5 tsp potassium nitrate
2 tsp sulfur
1/4 tsp dextrin
5 tsp Lamp black (WILL work with other forms of carbon, but i have not tested them)
make sure abouve is made into a fine powder, wet with 2 tsp water and enough alchohol to make it form one large clump, knead untill uniform. crumble into random bits all about the same size (or push through a screen of your chooseing) let dry. this will produce fine gold sparks if powderd super fine (powderd sugar like) fill ball no more than 3/4ths full. you can add diffrent metals before you mix,magnisium and copper dust look nice. this will fill about one ball, additional stars can be added although i like it with out.

STEP 6: Your Done! (almost!)

Place your lift charge in prepared tube, and launch!

if you did it right, it will launch, if not you will get a unwanted gerb, or a dud.

I will not be blamed of the construction of this is device if its not allowed in your area, nor will i be held responsable for and damages resulting from, or to this device or yourself.

I used a superball for the mold of the shell.

if i have any updates i will edit this. if you have any requests, ideas, or questions send me a message.


Good luck, and remember, Dont play dumb, keep your thumbs!

Comments

[Aron313]

howd you make the lift charge.

[ejay_99]

is the description incomplete?

[jaymanx]

just burn the fuzz off of a tennis ball then cut it in half

[lemonie]

Hi

The image you've shown looks far too thick - you want something thinner and 'crispier' than this. You're also lacking the details to turn the two halves into a shell - is this as far as you've got at the moment?

L

[pyrofirelighter]

once you've got the two halfves and filled them, just put them together and glue and kraft paper it, i guess

[lemonie]

See <strong>tudgeanator</strong>:<br/><a href="https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-Aerial-Shell-Hemispheres/">https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-Aerial-Shell-Hemispheres/</a><br/><br/>L<br/>

[tudgeanator]

How thick should I make my shell? Because you have to paste the shell after you have made it, sooo what thickness should I make the shell on the ball, and then what thickness should I paste it? If I wanted to make a '3 inch' shell what would its actual final diameter be, because the inside diameter of a 3 inch mortar is exactly 3 inches! Thanks in advance

[lemonie]

You want it tough and 'crispy', probably 1/8" - but look around for real values. Inner diameter should probably be 23/4" - unless you can make it very perfectly spherical you'll need the outer diameter to be a bit less than the 3" tube.

L

[tudgeanator]

Thanks, so i'll form it round a 2 3/4 ball, at about 1/8 of an inch thick, cheers

[lemonie]

Well, best wishes, the material does make a difference too - should be fairly stiff when it's done. L

[tudgeanator]

Thanks alot for your help, i have now made my first few shells using a different method which seems to work very well. I made an 'ible on how to do it so check it out!

[Twotails]

This is as far as i have gotten, im waiting on my supplies from skylighter, and the shells not the best but it works, remember this is about a shell you can make in about an hour, the one in the photo i did make too thick. you can easly peel off the layers(on the inside) or a thinner shell. i also made this shell for one reason and one reason only, my flare-burst star mix ( a solid ping pong ball size star) i fill the cavity with micro stars and primer. its not a scatted burst, but more of a "Pulsing" strobe effect. when i get done i'll add more information, "recipes" and pictures. plus i was makeing this late at night and decided to submit this and re work it later. i've made better shell, but there more time consuming. if you want a detailed description of the process used to make it, you can contact me via PM or Email, i have not the time to fix it now.

[lemonie]

I'll look forward to the rest of it! L

[explosivemaker]

....might want to get a license/etc. before making your own fireworks, especially aerial ones....

[Twotails]

Currently the AFT dosent care if you make them for personel use, some restrictions apply to certain circumstances. read the current edition of the BAFT for more information, or call your local officer.

[explosivemaker]

.....its actually BATF (alcohol, tobacco, firearms)......around here pretty much everything is illegal except sparklers.....if it explodes, leaves the ground, or moves at all, you technically aren't supposed to have it.....I have made smoke bombs, which aren't illegal here....but until if and when I get a license, I am going to stick to non-exploding (homemade) stuff.... ....although around the 4th of july, you can hear mortars going off pretty late at night.....the cops don't seem to care that much.....

[Twotails]

Thats in your area, as i said it depends oncertain circumstances, in my area almost ALL fed-legal fireworks are ok. and "its actually BATF (alcohol, tobacco, firearms)" wrong, its listed AFT, (www.atf.gov) (and is Bureau of Alchohol, Tobacco, anf Firearms). and i`ve never asked, nor sudgested you make this. its always a good idea to to check with your local Authorities before makeing and device, even as small it might be as a smoke bomb, your local fire marshall might have enforced a ban on smoke devices, for they (sometimes ) generate enough heat to start fires, ect

[explosivemaker]

....feel free to put the letters in what ever order you want but the correct order is BATF or ATF.....

[Twotails]

I ment ATF, i suffer from Dyslexia.