Fragile Mortals!

Can't really afford a hotlips heatsink. Only alternative was to look for something else which can be milled into shape. Got the grand idea of using aluminum because of the ease of milling. First thoughts went to my bicycle's crank arms which were thick enough(0.75 in) and had a roundish part at the end which is just about the size of a 3D mag. Eventually discovered that the only I had available was too small.

One day walking arround campus, I saw a discarded door closer thingy. It was a heavy, rectangular block of Al with whatever mechanics inside to close the door .I thought that it was the perfect find. I am sure that the Al was at least 1/2 in thick. The weight of it said all I wanted to hear.

I had the thing for about a week before deciding to get a screwdriver and discovering if I had gold or a dud. Just to be on the 'safe' side, I asked an associate (not educated, but, more mechanically experienced than me) if it was safe and he said yes. I believed him. The screwdriver was worn, so I decided to open the side where I got the most leverage first. One central screw came out along with some really stink oil. The other 4 screws were holding down a metal plate to one end of the block . Of those 4, three came out with much force. The 4th was damaged and was giving me much trouble to extract.

Strangly, the plate was raised off the main body slightly and this gave me the oppertunity to pry off the top. I thought it was working when the plate began to give then...POP! OW! THUD! and CLANG! The plate,(about an ounce in weight) shot off of the body, colided with my knuckle, flew past my head and hit the roof directly above me before finding itself about 15 feet away on the floor across the room. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif I lost about 4 drops of blood before pinching the wound shut(2sec?). Lost about 2 more drops before the bleeding stopped. The nurse cleaned the wound and bandaged a 'palet stick' (splint) to my finger so I wouldn't bend the joint to re-open the wound. How embarrasing! Now, it looks like I have a broken finger and worse, I wouldn't be able to do any hard cycling since one of my breaking fingers are out of comisssion for about a week.

The worst part I discovered when I was cleaning up my mess. The metal plate had stamped on it, in plain view: DANGER DO NOT OPEN! Gosh! I feel so stupid! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif So close to a serious accident just because I didn't take the time to read the obvious. Wasn't all that bad though. The aluminum is >1/4 in thick and can be used for a heatsink eventually.

Have any of you ever done anything stupid like this before? (please don't tell me that I am the only one /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif.) ( I also almost blew a hole in my skull with a starlight experiment gone wrong, but that is another story. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif)

I opened a seat belt retractor to fix it (wouldn't lock out), spring went boing all over the place.

I was sawing something once, and the saw slipped and cut a considerable ways into my thumb. I hate when that happens.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

You don't EVEN want to hear about my youthful exploits with FFFFg and "reaction containment"!!

Blew out the web of my hand once with Black Powder in a single shot 12 gauge.

Nearly burned a screwdriver in two (coulda been bad!).

You ain't the only one Bud!

black powder pipebombs?

[ QUOTE ]
JackBlades said:
You don't EVEN want to hear about my youthful exploits with FFFFg and "reaction containment"!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes ..... been there, done that .... more times than I care to admit.

Mike

I haven't had any hair on the backs of my hands since I was 12 years old. Sometimes I think it is only by the grace of God that I still have all my fingers.


Peter

[ QUOTE ]
snakebite said:
black powder pipebombs?

[ QUOTE ]
JackBlades said:
You don't EVEN want to hear about my youthful exploits with FFFFg and "reaction containment"!!

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

Worst "damage" I ever did was turn a 30-gal galvanized steel trash can inside out. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

Oh, and we used to take Coleman propane containers out to the desert, set 'em next to a small campfire, and hit 'em with a .22 from 50yds away. WHOOSH!

I have always been interested in chemical reactions that can produce flames of various color and/or intensity. when I was about ten I got few serious burns on my palm when I tried to mix aluminium powder with some catalysator. I put the mix in the empty matches box. One match sticking out supposed to ignit it all. I forgot that all the box is covered with remaining aluminium and it started to burn instantly. It was wery white flame and very hot too.

As a kid I woke my father up very early one Saturday AM when enjoying the "garbage burner" in our new residence. I wadded up old newspapers and soaked them in lacquer thinner (mineral spirits were too whimpy) before putting them into the burner. I'd hold the cover open a couple inches, throw in a lit match, and run. Kaboom! The hinged cover would fly open...and my mad dad flew down the basement stairs with a burning glare on his face. Shoulda waited until after six AM.

Changed spelling: garbage makes more sense than gargage...I think.

[ QUOTE ]
cosco said:
I have always been interested in chemical reactions that can produce flames of various color and/or intensity. when I was about ten I got few serious burns on my palm when I tried to mix aluminium powder with some catalysator. I put the mix in the empty matches box. One match sticking out supposed to ignit it all. I forgot that all the box is covered with remaining aluminium and it started to burn instantly. It was wery white flame and very hot too.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yow!

I studied pyrotechnics a long time ago, and I still sorta remember the ingredients used to produce some of the colors -

Strontium ---> Red (Used in red road flares)
Sodium---> Orange
Copper --->Greenish blue
Iron--->Gold (as in Gold Sparklers)
Barium --->Green (I think)
Cadmium --->Deep blue if I recall, but very toxic to handle.
Aluminum --->Brilliant white
Magnesium--->Brilliant white

There are other colors out there that I don't remember at the moment.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

[ QUOTE ]
PhotonWrangler said:

Yow!

I studied pyrotechnics a long time ago, and I still sorta remember the ingredients used to produce some of the colors -

Strontium ---> Red (Used in red road flares)
Sodium---> Orange
Copper --->Greenish blue
Iron--->Gold (as in Gold Sparklers)
Barium --->Green (I think)
Cadmium --->Deep blue if I recall, but very toxic to handle.
Aluminum --->Brilliant white
Magnesium--->Brilliant white

There are other colors out there that I don't remember at the moment.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

You got most of them right. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Strontium makes red ( a very easy color to produce, along with green. This is why red and green are the most common colors seen in Chinese fireworks. That and the formulas are cheap ). Strontium carbonate and strontium nitrate are common.

Sodium actually makes a yellow flame ( a poor one though, a deeply saturated "lemon" yellow is a very elusive color in pyrotechnics ). Common baking soda is often used in the manufacture of yellow "stars". It is quite hygroscopic though, so sodium oxalate is often used instead.

Calcium is what you want for orange, most commonly calcium carbonate is used.

Copper is used for blue, most commonly black copper oxide, or copper oxychloride. A good blue is tough to make.

Barium for green, a very easy color to make. Most comonly barium carbonate and barium nitrate are used.

Never heard of cadmium in commercial fireworks production. Not suprising because of the toxicity.

Aluminum, Magnesium/Aluminum alloy 50/50, Titanium, and to a lesser extent magnesium, are all commonly used to produce sparks and increase the brilliance of modern fireworks.

There are even a couple of formula systems that use compatable chemicals that allow for additive color mixing, much like you would do with paints. Take some of the powder that makes blue and add a little red to get purple, etc. A true purple is the toughest color to manufacture in pyro BTW.

Colored flames and compositions are a fascinating thing to study. I was really into it in the past, but having children has caused me to pretty much give it up. Little time, and lots of potential trouble for young inquisitive minds. Maybe when they're older...


Peter

[ QUOTE ]
LitFuse said:

You got most of them right. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Strontium makes red ( a very easy color to produce, along with green. This is why red and green are the most common colors seen in Chinese fireworks. That and the formulas are cheap ). Strontium carbonate and strontium nitrate are common.

Sodium actually makes a yellow flame ( a poor one though, a deeply saturated "lemon" yellow is a very elusive color in pyrotecnics ). Common baking soda is often used in the manufacture of yellow "stars". It is quite hygroscopic though, so sodium oxalate is often used instead.

Calcium is what you want for orange, most commonly calcium carbonate is used.

Copper is used for blue, most commonly black copper oxide, or copper oxychloride. A good blue is tough to make.

Barium for green, a very easy color to make. Most comonly barium carbonate and barium nitrate are used.

Never heard of cadmium in commercial fireworks production. Not suprising because of the toxicity.

Aluminum, Magnesium/Aluminum alloy 50/50, Titanium, and to a lesser extent magnesium, are all commonly used to produce sparks and increase the brilliance of modern fireworks.

There are even a couple of formula systems that use compatable chemicals that allow for additive color mixing, much like you would do with paints. Take some of the powder that makes blue and add a little red to get purple, etc. A true purple is the toughest color to manufacture in pyro BTW.

Colored flames and compositions are a fascinating thing to study. I was really into it in the past, but having children has caused me to pretty much give it up. Little time, and lots of potential trouble for young inquisitive minds. Maybe when they're older...


Peter

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey, thanks for the details and the memory refresh, Peter! Did you used to be a shooter or manufacturer?

Yes, I do remember that yellow is a difficult one to achieve. Sodium looks yellowish-orange to my eyes (the Lucalox "streetlight" color). Anyway, it was all great fun, learning how to paint the night sky with brilliant colored light. And I've never handled cadmium directly - too toxic - so I can only report what I remember reading about it years ago.

I was wondering about additive color mixing and those formulas. I'm guessing that the purple that I've seen at shows was a mixture of red and blue, much the same color of purple that I've seen when an RGB LED illumites it's R and B chips.

And I'm not going to post anything here about the "rest" of the formulas (the oxidizers, etc). I don't want to give anyone ideas that might wind up causing themselves harm. Suffice it to say that I'm familiar with them...
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

yup...

[ QUOTE ]
PhotonWrangler said:
Hey, thanks for the details and the memory refresh, Peter! Did you used to be a shooter or manufacturer?



[/ QUOTE ]

I still shoot shows a couple times a year, and have been doing so for about 10 years.

I've never been a manufacturer engaged in the trade (what's left of it anyway). I do find it quite ironic that we celebrate our Independence Day with fireworks made in communist China (mostly by child labor to boot).

I'm more of a hobbyist/tinkerer I guess. I've always been fascinated by fireworks and was fortunate enough to be able to turn my fascination into a pseudo-hobby. I belong to a industry/enthusiast organization than run the gamut in modern pyro. I am very fortunate to have a good friend who is one of only a couple hundred people in this country who still make their living in the full time manufacture of domestic fireworks. Like many other skilled tradesmen in America, they are a dying breed. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif Luckily for him, he has a pretty cushy contract with "The Mouse". /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

"Fireworks make people happy"! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Peter

[ QUOTE ]
LitFuse said:

I still shoot shows a couple times a year, and have been doing so for about 10 years.


[/ QUOTE ]

I've thought about doing this on and off for years, but other things keep getting in the way. Life has a way of doing that.

[ QUOTE ]

I've never been a manufacturer engaged in the trade (what's left of it anyway). I do find it quite ironic that we celebrate our Independence Day with fireworks made in communist China (mostly by child labor to boot).


[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, very ironic. At least the chemistry is much safer than it used to be during the old *****ate days. Not that it can ever be entirely safe though. I still hear of manufacturing accidents now and then.

[ QUOTE ]
...I belong to a industry/enthusiast organization than run the gamut in modern pyro.

[/ QUOTE ]
Can you send me their name via PM? I might want to look into this.

[ QUOTE ]
I am very fortunate to have a good friend who is one of only a couple hundred people in this country who still make their living in the full time manufacture of domestic fireworks. Like many other skilled tradesmen in America, they are a dying breed. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif Luckily for him, he has a pretty cushy contract with "The Mouse". /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Gotcha. Pixie dust and fireworks, two of their staples. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I used to make bombs out of duct-taped perfume bottles and the red phosphorus from kitchen matches. A squib made from part of the filament from a broken light bulb, some telephone wire, and a 69V lantern battery made up the ignitor assembly.

Usually, I'd just blow them up inside a dipsty-dumpster, but once, I put one in a tree stump that was used as a planter. After I blew it up, let's just say there weren't any more flowers in that stump. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
The blast sounded like a shotgun being discharged, and had several people running - some to their houses, and one out to me to see if I was alright. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

I made one bomb with red phosphorus in a duct-taped perfume bottle that used part of a light bulb filament, a photocell, and a battery as its ignitor assembly; and fired it by shooting at the photocell with a Metrologic ML-800 HeNe laser.

Oh, and then there were the "spoke guns", made from motorcycle spokes, red phosphorus from kitchen matches, and balls of solder to serve as projectiles. A quick twist with pliers would discharge them, as would heating the business-end with the flame from a disposable cigerette lighter.

The only significant burn I received occurred while I was on a Boy Scout camping trip, and a box of "strike anywhere" matches spontaneously ignited in my left front pants pocket. Now that really hurt. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif

[ QUOTE ]
The_LED_Museum said:
The only significant burn I received occurred while I was on a Boy Scout camping trip, and a box of "strike anywhere" matches spontaneously lit in my left front pants pocket.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ouch. That's gotta hurt! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

Sounds like you've had a very, ah, "inventive" past! Was the photocell a CdS (slow to react) or a silicon (fast)?

[ QUOTE ]
PhotonWrangler said:
Ouch. That's gotta hurt! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
It hurt like a mother{vulgar term for one who initiates intercourse}.
Felt like a nest of yellowjackets got in there, and would not stop stinging. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif


[ QUOTE ]
PhotonWrangler said:
Sounds like you've had a very, ah, "inventive" past! Was the photocell a CdS (slow to react) or a silicon (fast)?

[/ QUOTE ]
I believe the photocell was CdS. This was in the early 1980s, so CdS photocells were not too expensive, unlike silicon photocells. It would have been a one-use thing anyway; the filament current was probably quite a bit higher than the photocell would normally be asked to pass.
Could have been silicon, but I think it was CdS.