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From: kwd@netcom.com (Kurt W. Dekker)
Subject: Re: Good for starters
Message-ID: <kwdCowozF.ALC@netcom.com>
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Date: Wed, 27 Apr 1994 07:04:27 GMT
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Robert C Rich Jr (ek640@cleveland.Freenet.Edu) wrote:

:    As i read thread after thread about stuff that will blow 
: your house up if you mess it up, i was wondering if anyone out
: there has a suggestion for the beginning pyro.  I just want 
: something that's relatively stable, pretty easy to make, and
: will make a good bit of noise.  My first experiment was with 
: a 3" black pipe nipple filled with Pyrodex, and capped.  But
: once i saw what the endcaps did to the wall in the barn i 
: touched it off in...never again.

Someone here on rec.pyrotechnics mentioned burying a single-end-capped
pipe with a fuze hole in the ground (fuze already installed), muzzle end
up.  Once it was well buried and the ground (dirt or sand) was firmly
packed around the buried pipe (I guess the muzzle should probably be flush
with the ground level for maximum safety), pour in a little bit of
pyrodex.  Then drop in a section of wood dowel, preferably something that
fits rather tightly in the pipe inner diameter.  You could wrap the dowel
in paper towel to help the gas seal.  When lit, the blast should blow the
dowel up into the air, which is why it's important to be wood, because
wood will probably turn into matchwood under that kind of stress, leaving
nothing dangerous to fall back down upon your head (or the heads of others
nearby watching your antics). 

Obviously, as you bury the unloaded pipe, you're in no danger.  Once you
pour pyrodex into the pipe, DON'T stand over the open end!  Gingerly lower
the dowel into place, and should there be an accidental detonation at any
point along here, have eye and ear protection installed, and that should
take care of any problems, such as flying wood particles and unburnt
powder blast.  If the pipe bursts, it will be underground near the cap
end.  Since the pyrodex is only in the enclosed pipe for a few seconds
(between the time you pour it in and the time it goes off from the fuze),
your window of exposure to danger is relatively small. 

Depending on the pipe diameter, amount of powder, length of pipe, length
of dowel, etc., the blast from these devices can be incredibly
spectacular.  I would recommend starting with 1/2" x 6" pipe, and a short
dowel (3" or so) tamped in firmly against about a thimbleful of pyrodex. 
This will make a blast far too loud for any residential neighborhood, yet
still far on the conservative side of what this device is capable of. 

Oh yeah:  and bring a shovel to help extricate your launch pipe from the
ground, since it will earnestly attempt to reach China on each launch!  :)

Kurt
--
Dedicated to the relentless pursuit of hedonism.  kwd@netcom.com
