                                Article Seven

                        How To Make Reliable, Safe Fuses

The following was taken from the file SHURMAN.TXT.  Here, The TazIranian
Devil attempts to tell you how to make a fuse.  Check it out:
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      Fuses

      Supplies Required:

      Potassium Nitrate
      White Sugar
      Soft cotton string
      Soap

   1. In a small bowl, fill it up with soapy hot water and let the cotton
      soak into this solution for about 10 minutes.
   2. In a second glass, fill it was two parts hot soap water and mix one
      part Potassium nitrate with one part sugar.
   3. Let it soak for about 1 hour and take out the string and let it dry
      and its done.
   4. These fuses ain't as good as you will  probably think but they will
      work.   If you want to get a good fuse and don't want to make these
      type,  just go to the grocery store and get  sparklers for birthday
      parties.  These are cheap and much safer and reliable.      
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Well, at least he admits that these fuses don't work well!  In truth, I have
tried this method and it was a big disappointment.  Here is my recipe for
a very reliable and safe fuse... and it's much easier to make then the one 
above!

Materials Needed:

   - A cup or jar 
   - Potassium Nitrate
   - Soft Cotton String

1.  Put some Potassium Nitrate into the cup.
2.  Add a little hot water to the cup and then dissolve the Potassium 
    Nitrate.
3.  Try not to add too much hot water to the cup, since we want the 
    concentration of Potassium Nitrate in the cup to be as high as possible.
4.  When all of the Potassium Nitrate is dissolved (or there is just a few
    crystals left on the bottom) submerse your soft cotton string in the
    solution.  Leave it submersed for an hour or so.
5.  After an hour or so, take the string out and let it HANG DRY!  Don't 
    put it on anything, have it hang from something.
6.  When dry, cut a piece off with scissors and light it.  It will take a
    couple seconds for it to catch, but once it catces it will burn 
    continuously.
7.  The best thing about this fuse is that it burns slowly, allowing you to
    get away from the stuff you are igniting.  But it doesn't burn too slow
    that it goes out.  

If you really want to make a superb fuse, add some finely ground charcoal
to the Potassium Nitrate solution.  Not too much, just enough.  It won't
mix too well, but try to get some of it into the solution and then add your
string.  Or you can sprinkle some charcoal dust on the string after you
take it out of the solution just before you hang dry it.  Either way, the
added Charcoal will provie extra feul for the Potassium Nitrate to oxidize
(burn up).  If you add the charcoal, I have found that the fuse burns better,
and it doesn't go out very easily when the wind blows on it (more reliable 
then a match!).

