gun powder firecrackers?

MisterSteve124 · Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:39 pm

Well my plan was originally to just take a small dowel rod and drill a hole in it to hollow it out. Then fill it with gun powder and add a use and I would have easy made firecrackers. But then I got thinking and I know most firecrackers are made of flash powder and that is a lot higher velocity explosive. So do you guys think that it will work with gun powder? I don't need it to shatter the wood just more of act like a firecracker.

beebs111 · Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:47 pm

i dont know if you are familiar with the difference between a high order explosive and a low order explosive, black powder is a low order explosive, which means it just burns quickly instead of detonating. in order to get a firecracker-like noise, you will have to contain teh BP within something that will contain the pressure for a long time, on all sides. this is the same concept as is behind a pipe bomb, except on a lower scale. your best bet to make a firecracker out of BP is to fill a 12 gram CO2 cartrige with it and stick a fuse through the hole, and then seal it with JB weld. if you have access to sparkelers you could also wrap them with duct or electrical tape and leave one sticking out to cotain the burn, same concept as the BP. itll make a pretty good sized boom

MisterSteve124 · Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:59 pm

Yeah I'm not looking for a big sized boom and 100+ feet of metal shrapnel. I am aware that bp is a low order explosive. Thats why I asked but are you telling me if I jam that tight with bp and jb weld it shut with a fuse it wont make a pop or a boom?

Fnord · Sat Apr 28, 2007 1:16 pm

Isnt this discussion against the forum rules?
Anyways, loosely packed powder should burn faster. The powder they put in firecrackers doesnt seem to be flash powder, as it burns much too slowly.
The power from whistling bottle rockets will explode(detonate?) on its own, without any housing.
If you dont want to use a co2 cartridge you could just make pvc or abs containers. pvc shrapnel is less likely to kill you.

MisterSteve124 · Sat Apr 28, 2007 1:45 pm

No its not:
"Discussion of solid propellants, explosive devices or incendiary projectiles fired specifically from a spud cannon is prohibited"

I'll just try it out and show you guys the results.

SpudBlaster15 · Sat Apr 28, 2007 1:49 pm

Don't completely fill the container with black powder, this will cause the container to fail long before all of the powder fas burned, severely reducing the noise output. Packing the powder will most likely turn the firecracker into a rocket, as this reduces the burn rate considerably.

While your design will work, don't expect the noise output to be anywhere close to that of a firecracker made using flash powder. The only means of getting black powder to produce a good report is to use very heavy confinement (thick cardboard tubes bound with string, or metal casings).

beebs111 · Sat Apr 28, 2007 1:59 pm

there is only shrapnel up to maybe 15 feet, and is about as loud as an M-80, as long as you dont hold it in your hand and put a desent sized fuse on it, you should b fine

MisterSteve124 · Sat Apr 28, 2007 2:46 pm

Ok I'll just do this and work my way up. My neighbor has already called the cops on me once for illegal fireworks. Even though these are technically not illegal, right lol?

Fnord · Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:22 pm

Co2 shrapnel can go WAY farther than 15 feet, man. I've had small pieces get buried 6" into dirt before. Get hit in the head or neck with that and you're dead.

MisterSteve124 · Sun Apr 29, 2007 5:39 pm

Thats what I thought. those c02 tanks are pretty thick. I did it today with some paper rolled tubes and it worked great. It was a little louder than a black cat firecracker. Before I did that I got some epoxy putty and poured gun powder in the middle stuck a fuse in it and folded it so it closed. Now its rock hard but I'm afraid to light that cause I think it will be too loud. The tubes were really easy to make I just rolled some regular paper around a pencil and put some super glue on it every couple inches and they were pretty solid.

beebs111 · Mon Apr 30, 2007 9:44 pm

well i lit one with a 2" fuse, (4 seconds) and ran, maybe i just lucked out, but i figured it just didn't do anything.............

Mon Apr 30, 2007 9:53 pm

Against forum rules? No

Against US federal laws? Yes... laws overrule forum rules.

Various websites used to have instructions on how to make fun simple salutes (what you are wanting to build) and they received cease and desist orders to take the instructions down.

Since this website serves primarily the US, and is hosted in the US, I feel that this does not belong here (because this spud cannon hobby needs NO legal attention).

I won't remove this post unless I have to however I will lock it. Sorry.