bomb44.txt

        INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING .44 REMINGTON MAGNUM-SIZED BOMBS

The following instructions will lead you through the steps necessary to
manufacture small pyrotechnic devices.  These devices are NOT TOYS, and
are EXTREMELY DANGEROUS to manufacture and use.

Furthermore, there are many laws on the books at both the Federal and
State levels which make the manufacture of such devices a FELONY, and many
laws also cover the INTENT to manufacture these devices, making that a
FELONY as well.

Therefore, this material is presented only to show you what is possible
with a few simple materials and a little bit of time.  DO NOT ACTUALLY
MAKE ANY OF THESE DEVICES!  That being said, let's get down to the brass
tacks of what's involved here.  First a few lists:

Tools/Containers:
      hot glue gun (around $10-$15 at any hardware store)
      powder measure (calibrated for black powder by volume)
      powder funnel (to load the powder measure)
      wire cutters or scissors (wire cutters work best)
      machine shop goggles (wrap-around type)
      ceramic coffee cup (very clean, and very dry)

Materials/Supplies:
      .44 Remington Magnum brass (spent primer still in place)
      Pyrodex P powder (black powder is NOT recommended!)
      hot glue sticks
      green cannon hobby fuze
      3x5 index card (for hot glue testing)
      paint or spray paint (optional)

SETUP AND PREPARATION

Put your safety glasses on.  Never handle any explosives or explosive
components without first protecting your eyes.  Modern machine-shop-
quality goggles have amazing protective capabilities when used properly,
and I would not be able to read this screen today had I not regularly worn
these things while messing with explosives.  It's also nice to have fresh,
clean, clear (unsmoked) goggles.  It lets you really see what you are
doing easily.

Extinguish any cigarettes or other open flames (candles, stove) before
proceeding any further.  This is REALLY important!

Lay out a clean work area, covered with sheets of newspaper or something
else (such as an old sheet) to protect the surface you're working on.

Plug in the hot glue gun, and place it somewhere safe while it warms up.

If the brass casings you have do NOT have primers installed, it will be
necessary for you to first squirt a small droplet of hot glue into the
hole where the primer normally seats.  Make sure the primer hole is
completely sealed so that no powder can spill out, and so that the devices
remain water-tight.

The brass cases should be reasonably clean.  Leftover powder residue (from
their normal firing in a gun) is usually not a problem, but excessive
contaminants such as gun grease or dirt may adversely affect the quality
of the product you are making.

Pour approximately 1/4 cup of gun powder into the coffee cup [this is
enough to make a lot of these little devices!], and put away the rest of
the powder, closing the cap and storing it away from your work area.  Keep
the amount of exposed powder you have lying around as small as possible,
in case of any kind of accidental ignition.

INITIAL TESTING AND ADJUSTMENT (VERY IMPORTANT!)

To ensure that your hot glue gun is not too hot for the powder you are
using, take a small amount of powder (about a pinch of it or so) and put
it in a small pile on an index card in the middle of your work area. 
Temporarily put away the coffee cup of extra powder, just in case the glue
gun sets off the small pile of powder.  When the glue gun has reached full
operating temperature (approximately 10-15 minutes), place the hot nozzle
against the powder and hold it for a full minute or two.  If nothing
happens, carefully squirt a blob of the hot glue onto the small pile of
powder.  Using the back of a metal spoon, press the melted hot glue firmly
into the powder until you hear individual grains of powder crunching and
mixing with the glue.  As long as there is no ignition (I have never seen
Pyrodex ignite like this, but black powder might be prone to such
detonation), then the glue gun is safe to use.  Wait until the glue on the
spoon cools, then just scrape the blob off with a knife, flushing it down
the toilet or otherwise wetting it before disposal.

To adjust your powder load, set the powder measure to approximately 20-22
grains (by volume in a CVA powder measure), and load a single casing with
powder.  The case should be approximately 65-70% full.  Any more powder
than this causes the explosive force DECREASE, as you cannot seal the
casing as effectively.  Adjust the setting on the powder measure to obtain
this approximate 65-70% fill capacity for the cases you are using.  I find
that the dotted crimp around the case that marks the seating point for the
bullet is a good level to fill to.  When you have adjusted your measure to
the desired fill level, lock down the measure set screw, and pour all the
powder back into the coffee cup.

When you have your powder setting adjusted properly, the glue gun is warm,
and your work area is clean and neat, it's time to begin production.

PRODUCTION

Lay out five (5) brass cases, base down, open end up.  Using the wire
cutters, snip off five (5) sections of fuze wire approximately 4" long. 
I work on five cases at a time, because it gives me the best rate of speed
and keeps the clutter to a minimum on my work area.  If you feel unsure or
unhandy with any of this, start with working on a single casing at a time
first, then work up to "mass production."

Load each of the cases with the measured powder charge, setting them
carefully back down so as not to spill powder.  Set the cases down far
enough apart that you can pick each one up individually without fear of
knocking the others over.

One at a time you will now fuze and seal the casings.  This is the most
critical and technique-oriented part of the procedure.  You want to have
a good solid glue plug installed, plus the fuze must reach all the way
through the glue plug and make solid contact with the charge.  Experiment
with your technique, and come out with whatever method results in the most
consistent loads for you.  This is how I do it:

Put one end of a section of fuze firmly into the powder.  Press it into
the powder at least 1/4 of an inch, or even all the way through the powder
until it bumps against the base of the casing.

Put the nozzle of the glue gun into the open end of the case, pushing the
fuze aside gently.  Slowly squirt molten glue into the casing, and begin
slowly turning the case in your fingers, pushing the fuze around as you
spread the glue evenly onto the loose powder around the fuze.  Do not
twirl the case so fast that you drag a glue blob around, because this will
disturb the powder charge.

As the case fills with molten glue, retract the nozzle and continue
rotating the case and filling it until it is slightly more than full.  The
amount of extra glue can be experimented with, and will typically be
sucked back into the case as you do the next step.

Put the glue gun down.  Holding the case in one hand and the fuze in the
other, slowly twist the fuze in circles, swirling the still-melted glue
around and allowing it to settle down against the powder.  Do not pull on
the fuze!  Keep the fuze pressed firmly into the powder as you twist it. 
This procedure also "burps" the case, bringing any extra air that might
have got trapped between the glue and the powder up to the surface. 
Within a few twists you may see a bubble appear.  Keep twisting and
pressing in the fuze until this bubble surfaces and pops.  This is where
the extra glue comes in.  You may need to add another tiny blob of glue to
bring the top of the glue to the level of the case rim.

As each case is completed, set it aside to cool.  Placing the cases in
front of a desk fan (don't put a fan anywhere near where you're handling
loose powder!) helps the cooling process significantly.

FINAL PRODUCTION

When you have made all the devices and they have had a chance to COOL
COMPLETELY, you may proceed to the painting stage, or skip over it
entirely, at your discretion.  Painting the devices only makes them look
a lot cooler, not to mention giving them a less sinister appearance than
a bunch of brass cases with fuzes sticking out of them!

My preferred method of painting is to dip each device into thick one-coat
enamel paint, usually white or light gray, and then set them out on a
foil-covered plastic fast-food tray.  Wait for one hour for the paint to
get slightly tacky and the excess to run off and pool up around each
device.  After an hour or so, transfer each device to another foil-coated
tray, where they will finish their drying.  At this point, I like to take
various colored spraypaints and spatter the devices randomly with colors. 
The more brighter and cheerier the colors, the less threatening the
devices will appear to a casual bystander.

But on the other hand, you might take it in mind to paint them all bright
firecracker red, just so you know exactly what they are!  Have fun with
it.

CLEANUP

Put away unused powder from the coffee cup only.  Mop up any spilled
powder with a wet paper towel -- DO NOT USE A VACUUM CLEANER!  THEY HAVE
ELECTRIC MOTORS WHICH MAKE SPARKS!

IGNITION AND USE

These little devices (and they really are quite small when you see what
they end up being able to do!) are a load of fun to have around on camping
trips, 4th of July and New Years holidays, boating trips, and for general
pranking around.

HOWEVER, REMEMBER THAT SINCE THE CASES ARE MADE OF METAL (BRASS), THEY
WILL FLY OFF AT SPEEDS SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE BODILY INJURY OR DEATH.  DON'T
TRY AND HOLD ONE OF THESE THINGS IN YOUR HAND WHEN YOU LIGHT IT!  ALWAYS
MAKE SURE YOU ARE CLEAR OF THE AREA AND HIDING BEHIND SOMETHING SOLID
BEFORE THE DEVICE GOES OFF!

An interesting feature of these devices [if they are made properly and you
employ good-quality waterproof green fuze wire] is that they may be tossed
into water after they have been lit.  You can try this out in your
swimming pool, or even in the ocean.  Just make sure the core of the fuze
is properly burning [you can tell this by the sparkling that happens when
the core burns], and fling the device into the water.  It makes a very
impressive "THUMP!" sound.  If the water is shallow enough (just a few
inches), you may even get a plume of water spraying into the air. 
Throwing these devices into a deep swimming pool and then standing next to
it and watching them go off is probably the SAFEST way to set them off and
actually watch them in action.

SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS

Know that you are working here with METAL-CASED explosives, and when metal
cases fragment and fly off, even small particles can do considerable harm. 
The entire base of the .44 Remington Magnum cartridge is almost guaranteed
to remain intact, and upon detonation will eject "backwards" with
velocities approaching that of some handgun rounds.  It can break glass,
go through pieces of wood, go through clothing, rip open skin, etc.  It
can also ricochet off of hard surfaces and continue with a redirected path
of destruction.

For safe noisemaking fun (like around the 4th of July), these devices are
best if the entire case is buried, so that the top of the case is just a
little ways under the ground.  If you grip the upper part of the case
(where the fuze comes out) and press it firmly into soft soil, or bury it
in sand, this tends to contain the shrapnel.  No guarantees, however,
since sometimes, depending on how good the glue seal was, the top part of
the device (the brass and the glue plug) blows off and flies off very
rapidly.  DO NOT get in the way of this sort of thing!

While this is not a particularly RECOMMENDED practice as far as safety
goes, one can also launch these devices from a slingshot.  Put the device
into the pouch, then either light it yourself (difficult), or ask a friend
to light it.  As soon as the fuze catches, fire the slingshot and send it
flying.  If you wait and time the fuze just right, you can have it burst
high up in the air, which causes a far more significant sound "footprint"
(i.e., more people hear it).
