[Illustration: Fig. 117. Fig. 118. Fig. 119. Fig. 121. Fig. 122. Fig.
123. Fig. 124.]
PYROTECHNY;
OR,
THE ART OF
MAKING FIREWORKS,
AT LITTLE COST,
AND WITH
COMPLETE SAFETY AND CLEANLINESS.
WITH
_ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS OF FORMS AND DIAGRAMS FOR
MANUFACTURE AND EXHIBITION_.
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
LONDON:
WARD, LOCK, AND TYLER, WARWICK HOUSE PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
CONTENTS.
PAGES
PREFATORY REMARKS 1–10
General Requisites 11–14
Rockets, with Heads of Brilliant, Tailed, and Coloured Stars
and Golden Rains 15–60
Roman Candles, with Brilliant, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Red
Stars 61–74
Gerbes and Jets of Brilliant, Chinese, and Common Fires 74–93
Wheels of Various Devices, Horizontal and Vertical 93–108
Lances, White and Coloured 109–118
Coloured Lights for Illuminating Wheels, or Set-Pieces, or any
larger kind of Firework 119–128
Tourbillons, Plain and Brilliant 128–140
Bengal White and Coloured Fires 140–158
Chinese Flyers or Saxons 158–172
Mines of Serpents and Crackers 172–183
Five-Pointed Star 183–188
Exhibition Pieces 188–197
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
INDEX.
PAGE
PREFATORY REMARKS 1
GENERAL REQUISITES 11
Scales and Weights 11
Pestle and Mortar 13
Sieves 14
ROCKETS 14
Definition of a Rocket 15
Outline Description 17
Spindle 18
Cases 18
Rolling Cases 20
Rocket Choking 22
Block and Spindle 23
Composition 26
Rocket Ramming 29
„ Priming 32
„ Pot 33
„ Cones 34
„ Stars 35
„ Stick 36
„ Stars 38
Golden Rain 39
Brilliant Stars 40
Tailed Stars 42
Coloured Stars 43
Quick-Match 45
Crimson Stars 46
Rose-Coloured Stars 50
Green Stars 50
Pale Rose-Coloured Stars 52
„ Green Stars 52
Golden-Yellow Stars 53
Blue Stars 53
Purple Stars 54
Golden Rains 56
Funnel and Wire 58
Portfires 59
ROMAN CANDLES 61
White Roman Candle Stars 63
Yellow „ „ „ 63
Greek „ „ „ 64
Composition 66
Roman Candle Cases 67
Charges for Roman Candles 68
Arrangement of Stars 71
Preparation of Touch-Paper 71
Quick-Match 71
Chemicals 73
GERBES AND JETS OF BRILLIANT, CHINESE, AND COMMON FIRES 74
Chinese and Brilliant Stars 75
Rolling Cases 77
Chinese Fire 78
Cases 82
Priming 83
Prince of Wales’ Feathers 84
Bouquet of Chinese Fire 84
Brilliant Fire 86
„ „ Composition 89
Common Sparkling Fires 90
Brilliant Fire—Effective Combination 91
„ Wheel 92
WHEELS OF VARIOUS DEVICES, HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL 93
2-oz. Wheel 95
Composition 96
White Fire 97
Common Single Triangle Wheel 99
Double Triangle Wheel 103
Vertical Wheel 103
Six Case Wheel 104
Horizontal „ 106
Capricious Wheel 107
Cases 108
LANCES, WHITE AND COLOURED 109
Composition for White Lances 110
„ „ Yellow 111
„ „ Green 112
„ „ Red 113
„ „ Rose-Coloured 113
„ „ Violet 114
„ „ Lilac 115
Sieves 115
V. R. Design 116
Arrangement of Colours 118
COLOURED LIGHTS 119
White Lights for Decoration 120
Yellow „ 121
Green „ 121
Red „ 122
Purple „ 123
Distinction between Coloured Lights and Coloured Fires 124
Fixing 125
Arrangement of Pieces 128
TOURBILLONS, PLAIN AND BRILLIANT 128
Cases 130
Composition for plain Tourbillons 132
„ „ Brilliant Tourbillons 132
Ramming 134
Regulation of Flight 136
Cradle 138
BENGAL WHITE AND COLOURED FIRES 140
Cases 142
Common Bengal Lights 143
White Fire 144
Yellow „ 145
Green „ 146
Purple „ 148
Red „ 149
Encasings 152
To Fire 153
Combination 154
For Theatrical purposes 156
CHINESE FLYERS OR SAXONS 158
Single Saxon Flyers 158
Cases 159
Composition 161
To Fire 163
Combination 163
Double Saxon 164
Cases „ 164
Saxon Wheel 167
How to Light 169
Fixed Piece 169
Saxon Square 170
Exhibition Piece 171
Double Saxon 172
SERPENT MINES 172
Size 173
Mortars 174
Filling 175
Lighting 175
Composition 177
Spur-Fire 177
To Fire from Mortar 179
CRACKER MINES 180
Mortars 181
FIVE-POINTED STAR 183
Composition 184
To Fill the Case 185
To Fix 186
EXHIBITION PIECES 188
Large Vertical Wheel 188
Double Triangle Wheel 189
Framework 190
Lattice-work Piece 191
To prepare for Firing 192
Double Triangle Piece 193
Suggestions 196
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.
ROCKETS:— FIGURE PAGE
Rocket 1 17
Diagram for Case 2 19
Rolling Board 3 21
Choking Knot 7 22
Block and Spindle 9 23
Scoop 16 30
Pot-Former 18 33
Rocket Pot 19 33
Cone-Former 20 34
Pot with Conical Top 21 35
Spatula 30 41
Quick-match and Pill Box 31 45
Plan for Cutting Cases 32 57
„ „ „ 33 57
GERBES AND JETS OF BRILLIANT, CHINESE AND COMMON FIRES:—
Chinese Fire Case 41 76
„ „ 42 77
Plan for Rolling 43 77
Block with Iron Ring 47 82
Prince of Wales’ Feather 48 83
„ „ „ 49 84
Bouquet of Chinese Fire 50 84
Chinese Fire Piece 51 85
Brilliant Fire Case 52 88
„ „ „ 53 88
„ „ „ 54 89
Five-Pointed Star 54 91
Brilliant Wheel 55 92
WHEELS OF VARIOUS DEVICES, HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL:—
2-oz. Wheel-Case 56 95
„ „ „ 57 95
Covered Case 58 98
Framework for Single Triangle Wheel 59 99
„ „ „ „ 60 99
„ „ „ „ 61 99
Single Triangle Wheel 62 100
Quick-match 63 101
Wheel-Case 64 101
Doable Triangle Wheel 65 103
Six case Wheel 66 104
„ „ 67 105
Horizontal Wheel 68 106
Capricious „ 69 107
LANCES, WHITE AND COLOURED:—
V. R. Design 73 116
COLOURED LIGHTS:—
Mode of Fastening 74 124
„ „ 75 125
TOURBILLONS:—
Tourbillon Case 80 130
„ „ 81 131
SAXONS:—
Saxon Case 92 159
„ „ 92a 159
Double „ 96 164
„ „ 97 165
FIVE-POINTED STAR:—
Five-Pointed Star Case 112 183
Drift 113 184
Frame for Five-Pointed Star 114 186
EXHIBITION PIECES:—
Spindle for Wheels 116 188
Lattice-Work Piece 120 191
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS IN SEPARATE PLATES, ON TINTED PAPER.
FIGURE PLATE
ROCKETS 1
Round-Ended Drift 4 1
Choking Piece 5 1
„ „ and Drift 6 1
Apparatus for Choking Cases 8 1
Mallet 10 1
Steel Spindle and Nipple 11 1
Rocket-Case on Nipple 12 1
Drift 13 1
„ 14 1
„ 15 1
„ 16 1
Former 17 1
Size of 1-oz. Case 23 1
„ 2 „ 24 1
„ 4 „ 25 1
„ 8 „ 26 1
Finished Rocket tied to Stick 27 1
Rocket-Post with Rocket suspended 28 1
Ring for Rocket 29 1
Funnel for Golden Rain Composition 34 2
The Rain Rammer 35 2
Case 36 2
The Tubular Mould 37 2
The Star Rammer 38 2
Finished Star 39 2
The Settle 40 2
Wooden Block with Metal Nipple and Point for 2-oz. Case 44 2
Nipple and Point for 1-oz. Case 45 2
„ „ for Small Fixed Case 46 2
Spindle for Wheels 70 3
Iron made to keep Wheels well away from Post during
their Revolution 71 3
Post for Wheels 72 3
A A Front View of Large Vertical Wheel, Illuminated
with Revolving Colours; B B Revolving pieces of Wood
to which the Colours are Attached 76 3
Side View of that represented at A A, fig. 76 77 3
Improved position of Wheel-Cases at the Ends A A, fig.
76 78 3
Framework of Vertical Wheel showing the position of
Coloured Lights 79 3
Block to receive the Tourbillon while it is being Bored 82 4
Block with Settle 83 4
Tourbillon 84 4
Revolving Cradle 85 4
Metal Tourbillon Scale 86 4
Brass Cross 87 5
Frame for Firing 88 5
Former for Coloured Fire Cases 90 5
Iron Fork to support Coloured Fires 91 5
Chinese Flyer 93 5
Instrument for filling Tourbillon Holes 94 6
Saxon Wooden Centre 95 6
Double Saxon 98 6
Saxon Square 99 6
„ Wheel 100 7
Three Single Saxon Piece 101 7
Exhibition Piece 102 8
Wooden Centre of a Double Saxon 103 8
Settle Proper for Making Saxons 104 7
Powder Parcel for Mortar 105 9
Serpent, with Quick-match attached 106 9
Bundle of Serpents 107 9
Pasteboard Mortar showing Contents 108 9
Iron Mortar 109 9
Bag and Serpents 110 10
Cracker Mines 111 10
Frame of Large Vertical Wheel 115 10
Framework of Exhibition Piece 117 11
Exhibition Piece, Fired 118 11
„ „ „ 119 11
Lattice-Work Piece 121 11
„ „ Fired 122 11
Mounted Framework 123 11
Exhibition Piece 124 11
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
PYROTECHNY.
BY PRACTICUS.
PREFATORY REMARKS.
The art of Pyrotechny has, like almost every other art in these days of
experiment and research, undergone many processes of change and
improvement. In fact, that part of the art which relates especially to
the preparation of coloured fires may be regarded as entirely new; for
not only has the danger which arose from the spontaneously-combustible
nature of some of the old compositions for this purpose been obviated
and removed, but many new colours have also been introduced (principally
by the foreign artists), and the pyrotechnist is thus enabled to produce
new combinations and contrasts, which twenty years ago were altogether
unknown.
But, notwithstanding all this improvement and progress, it is a
remarkable fact that no work has been published in England upon this
subject since the year 1830. We have not even kept pace with
neighbouring nations in this respect, for an excellent work has appeared
through the French press, entitled, “M. Chertier sur les Feux
d’Artifice” (the book, however, is now out of print, I believe), and
there is also a very capital manual of the art in German, “Martin
Websky’s Lustfeuerwerkerei.”
It is true that articles have appeared from time to time in
encyclopædias and books of that class, but these for the most part have
been copied out of one into another, and of all that I have been able to
see the best are so condensed as to be to those uninitiated in the art
simply unintelligible and useless, and to the initiated often very
confusing. Moreover, the professional pyrotechnists have thrown no small
mystery over their work, and have done a great deal to further the idea
that the awful Promethean rites to which they have been admitted are not
to be thrown open to ordinary mortals, and I cannot help thinking that
they have thus thwarted the very interests which it was to their
advantage to forward. Let any one only enquire of professional
photographers whether the practice of their art by amateurs has injured
their business, and has not rather increased the demand upon them; and I
see no reason why the same should not be the case with Pyrotechny,
though not, of course, to the same extent, because its study is never
likely to become so popular.
The fact, then, that no work in English upon this subject has appeared
during the last thirty years will, I trust, be regarded as a sufficient
apology for the present publication. From its perusal, however, there
will be derived nothing new to those who have already acquired a
proficiency in the practice of firework-making, and, for aught I know,
the professional pyrotechnist may even be puzzled by the absence of
technical terms. But, on the other hand, I would have it understood that
I am not writing with the purpose of describing for the benefit of
little boys the mode of making squibs and crackers, nor am I going to
tire my readers’ patience, nor to consume my own time, by drawing up an
historical account of the pyrotechnic art in its successive stages; nor
is it my intention to enter into abstract and abstruse discussions upon
the mathematical proportions proper for the artist’s tools and
apparatus; nor to trace, as has been so frequently done, the true and
lineal pedigree of gunpowder. My object is simply this:—to furnish, for
those who are unacquainted with the subject, such information as shall
put them in the way of providing at any time for family parties, or
school treats, an exhibition of fireworks, capable of affording an
hour’s real amusement to any number of people. I say to any number of
people, because it costs no more to exhibit such a display to one
hundred than to ten, and because I believe that it is difficult to find
the person who would rather not see a good exhibition of fireworks, or
who would stigmatise the hour spent in looking at them as “slow.” It is
evident that the public demand for exhibitions of this kind is greater
and more widely spread than it was, and is still on the increase; and
the only wonder is that, under these circumstances, no more practical
system of Pyrotechny should have appeared through the press. I am not
saying that this work will supply the want that many have experienced,
for it will be entirely elementary; but I hope at some future time to
bring out a more advanced and extensive work, should I discover that
anything worth calling an interest in my subject is abroad. This work,
however, will be thoroughly practical, and that with the special object
of showing how exhibitions may be provided at a little cost.
Now, there are three things which have been generally alleged and
admitted as sufficient reasons against the practice of Pyrotechny; these
are, danger, dirt, and expense. Upon each of these three subjects I will
state what experience has taught me to be the truth.
First, as to danger. The explosion of firework factories from time to
time has given a high colour to the risk which the public considers
inseparable from any such manufacture. Some time ago I had the curiosity
to inquire as far as I could into the cause of these large explosions,
and in no one instance could I discover that the accident arose from
anything but carelessness on the part of workmen or some wilful and
unwarrantable defiance of danger; and I am quite convinced that danger
depends far more upon the operator himself than upon the materials used
in his work. A barrel of gunpowder is not the thing one would choose for
a seat while smoking a cigar or toasting a muffin; but be it remembered
that there is no more danger to be apprehended from this barrel of
gunpowder, when properly handled, than from a barrel of beer. And then,
gunpowder is a material which the amateur will need only in very small
quantities, being used far less than is generally supposed, and being
only employed to give projective force or to make reports. Meal-powder,
which is gunpowder in the state of dust and not in grains, is
extensively used, but is in itself perfectly safe. Of course one can set
fire to the one as easily as to the other, but why need it be dangerous
on this account? There is nothing easier than to make the practice of
Pyrotechny dangerous, but, at the same time, it is not only possible,
but very easy, to manufacture fireworks without danger.
Now, as to the dirtiness of the work. It is generally believed that the
making of fireworks renders cleanliness in the operator impossible, and
is destructive of clothes on that account. Now, I maintain that
cleanliness and dirt, as well as safety and danger, are mainly dependent
upon the person, and not upon his work. He can fairly be called dirty
only if he is never clean, or if he makes himself unnecessarily dirty.
And so with the pyrotechnist. While handling such things as charcoal he
does not expect his hands to be white, but he need not handle charcoal
as if with the purpose of making his hands black. Every one must have
observed how some people, in whatever they are engaged, in whatever they
undertake, will do their work cleanly and neatly, while others can do
nothing without “making a mess.” I myself have made the principal part
of several exhibitions of fireworks, have mixed all the compositions,
have done everything, in fact, except the actual ramming of the
compositions into the cases, in my own sitting-room, which, I flatter
myself, is as clean and tidy a room as one need wish to live in; and
were it not for the presence of the boxes in which I keep my tools, &c.,
&c., no one, ten minutes after my work is over, would know what I had
been about. This, however, I have only done for want of accommodation,
for I would much prefer working in some outhouse or room given up to the
purpose where my apparatus would be less out of place as furniture, and
where, instead of having to get out all my things afresh every time, I
could resume my work exactly at the point where I had left it, for by
this means a great saving of time would be effected. I would also
strongly recommend to the beginner the use of an apron, and some holland
sleeves to fasten tightly round the wrist and extend above the elbow,
for many of the compositions employed are of a subtle and dusty nature,
and will penetrate the clothes until the operator becomes accustomed to
use them in such a way as shall not make them troublesome in this
respect. I know, however, on the best possible authority—viz., that of
experience—that fireworks can be made without detriment to clothes and
without violation of cleanliness.
Expense now, in the third place, remains to be considered. It is,
perhaps, not generally borne in mind that the reason why fireworks are
expensive to purchase is that they take time to manufacture. The brown
paper of which the cases are made, and the compositions with which they
are filled, are of little value as compared with the time of the workmen
employed. Now one supposes that if firework-making is adopted as an
amusement, there is sufficient spare time for its practice. But the
amateur must not suppose that he can become proficient without some
small outlay at the first; his tools and apparatus will cost him
something, but when once procured they will enable him to make twenty
exhibitions as well as one. And he will do well to bear in mind that if
he will purchase such things of the persons whom I am about to recommend
he will incur no unnecessary expense. He should also know what to order;
and he will find that if he confine himself, as far as possible, to the
manufacture of one useful size of each kind of firework, he will greatly
diminish the number of tools necessary for making and filling his cases.
Much expense will also be avoided by his purchasing the necessary
chemicals, not in the smallest quantities procurable, this being the
most uneconomical mode of purchase. I have avoided the employment of any
of those costly preparations which have of late become known to the
pyrotechnist, and are employed principally in the compositions for
producing coloured fires; not, however, from any wish to ignore their
excellence, but because I have been able to produce without them effects
with which I have always been satisfied.
I shall now append a list of those fireworks the manufacture of which it
is my intention to describe, and which in combination will be found to
produce all the effects that the amateur need desire:—
Rockets, with heads of brilliant, tailed, and coloured stars, and golden
rains.
Roman candles, with brilliant, blue, green, yellow, and red stars.
Gerbes and jets of brilliant, Chinese, and common fires.
Wheels of various devices, horizontal and vertical, plain and
illuminated.
Bengal white and coloured slow fires for illumination.
Lances, white and coloured, for making up devices, such as names,
crests, mottoes, wreaths, &c., &c.
Tourbillons, plain and brilliant.
Chinese flyers of different kinds.
Mines of serpents and crackers.
Brilliant suns, single and double, fixed and revolving.
Portfires for lighting exhibition pieces, &c.
The pieces which I have enumerated above will furnish all the necessary
elements of an excellent display. And I have no hesitation in saying
that by careful attention to my directions all these pieces may be
successfully made. I shall recommend nothing but what has been found to
succeed constantly in my hands, and may, I am sure, be made to answer in
the hands of others. I entirely disclaim, however, any attempt to
describe the modes of manufacture adopted by the professional
pyrotechnists. I know nothing of the secrets of their trade, nor have I
any desire to acquaint myself with them; I only know that my own system
of working never plays me false, however different it may be from
theirs.
There are, however, a few things which I strongly recommend the amateur
not to attempt to make, for the reason that their manufacture entails a
considerable amount of tedious and uninteresting work, and they may be
bought ready made of the professional pyrotechnists at a cost to which
no one need object. They are such things as quick-match, mine serpents,
and crackers, and pin wheels, if indeed these are necessary.
I will now proceed to give an idea of the relative numbers in which the
several pieces may be employed to form a good exhibition. This will, of
course, be but a mere sketch or outline, intended to show how things,
very simple in themselves, may be rendered very effective in
combination:—
10 rockets: 3 of these with heads of brilliant stars, 3 with tailed
stars, 2 with coloured stars, and 2 with golden rains.
10 Roman candles: 6 of these to throw brilliant stars, and 4 coloured
stars.
12 wheel-cases: 3 to make a single triangle wheel, 4 to turn an
illuminated vertical wheel, and 5 to turn a horizontal mine wheel.
3 tourbillons: 2 plain and 1 brilliant.
A Prince of Wales feather, consisting of 3 brilliant jets.
A bouquet of Chinese gerbes.
2 white Bengal fires, 2 green, and 2 red fires.
2 cracker and 2 serpent mines.
And for a finale, some small device executed in lances, which shall
change into a 5 or 8 pointed brilliant star or sun, accompanied with
Roman candles, and a mine, either of serpents or crackers.
This is the kind of exhibition which my papers are intended to enable
the amateur to make. The above list will be found to contain no lack of
variety, which, in my opinion, is the great point to be kept in view.
In order that the reader of these papers may find no difficulty or
hindrance in the way of his putting my directions into practice, I shall
state farther on, where all the materials, chemicals, tools, &c., &c.,
which he will require, can be purchased ready for use, of a kind and
quality that I recommend, and at a reasonable price.
But before concluding this part, I would impress upon the amateur the
advantages to be derived from adopting a fixed plan of operations in
preparing for his exhibition. If he would do his work well, he must
learn to do it with the greatest economy of time, and labour, and
material. He should first decide of what pieces his exhibition is to
consist; next he should get all his cases made, and remember that these
are not to be used until they are thoroughly dry, and that the more
gradually and naturally they are allowed to dry the better they will be
for his purpose. He should commence the filling of one kind of piece,
and finish all of that species up to a certain point, before he begins
upon any other kind. He should calculate the quantity of composition
necessary for them, and not mix it until the cases are ready to receive
it, and he has time to fill them. A very little practice will enable him
to judge correctly the quantity necessary; but let him not hurry over
this part of his work, for a very slight inaccuracy in reckoning the
quantities of the several ingredients may spoil a large batch of
composition. The old proverb, “The more haste the less speed,” is at
least as true in the practice of firework-making as in any other work.
By mixing up no more composition than he really requires, he will both
avoid waste and have no odds and ends of combustible mixture to take
care of. He may perhaps think this piece of advice very unnecessary, but
he will soon arrive at the conclusion that it is well worth his
attention. Let him also bear in mind that he will require to get out as
many tools for the making of one rocket as of ten, and that when he has
them to his hand he cannot do better than finish the ten.
It is not, of course, to be expected that the amateur will at first fall
naturally into the most easy and convenient methods of working, but
every additional hour’s practice will furnish some new experience, and
he will soon discover that those operations, which at one time he
considered the most troublesome and difficult, can be successfully
performed in some very simple manner. He must never go to work under the
idea that there is but one way of carrying out his plans; the exercise
of a little thought on his part will generally unfold to him ways and
means of accomplishing his object satisfactorily and with ease. It is
always best for each operator to establish his own mode of working, and
not always to attempt to carry out details of manipulation which he sees
described, under the impression that what is thus recommended is _the_
way.
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
PYROTECHNY.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
I must beg of you, kind reader, the privilege of addressing you no
longer in the third but in the second person. By speaking to you,
instead of about you, I shall avoid much circumlocution, and in words,
at least, identify your interests with my own.
Since “generals” take the precedence of “particulars,” before entering
upon any description of the details of _rocket_ apparatus or
manufacture, I must introduce you to certain friends without which you
will find it difficult to get on in your work, and with which I trust
you will shortly be on excellent terms, for you will require their aid
in almost every branch of pyrotechny. The tools peculiarly employed in
each separate process of the art will be spoken of in dealing with that
process, and in their own place; but a short account of the things that
are _generally_ requisite will be more in place here than in any other
part of this work.
SCALES AND WEIGHTS.
1. In the first place, some are indispensable. The scales that I use are
of a very common make, with copper pans capable of holding about four
ounces of nitre. These I have always found very convenient, and they are
by no means expensive to buy; but I should think there is hardly a house
where such a pair would not be found ready to hand. I use also, for
purposes in which more delicacy and exactness is required, a pair of
grain scales such as are employed by the apothecary. It is very
important, particularly in the preparation of coloured fire
compositions, to be very exact in weighing out those ingredients which
enter sparingly into the formulas, for a little more or less of these
will often change entirely the character of the composition.
And now let me say a few words upon the subject of _weights_. The old
books on pyrotechny did their best to confuse their readers in many
ways, but in none more successfully than the following:—They insisted on
giving their formulas in _weight_. For instance, they would tell you to
mix together 3½ oz. of one ingredient, 2 dwt. of another, 1 scruple of
another.
Now the ordinary way in making up such a receipt would be by employing
one weight out of three distinct tables, for the ounce usually employed
in commerce is the avoirdupois ounce; the pennyweight is only found in a
table used for weighing precious metals and precious stones; the scruple
only in a table used by a compounder of medicines. Now I intend to avoid
all confusion of this kind by the simple plan of giving my formulas in
_parts_ and not in weights. For instance, in writing down the formula
for gunpowder, I should put it in the following manner:—
Nitre 70 parts.
Sulphur 15 „
Charcoal 15 „
So that, whether you take it in grains or in tons, the formula is
equally intelligible, and you get at one glance a true idea of the
relative proportions of the ingredients. But, although I mean to keep
weights out of my formulas, we cannot dispense with them in our work.
Now, if you would save yourself much trouble and inconvenience, procure,
in addition to your ordinary grain weights, a 2-oz., a 1-oz. and a ½ oz.
_troy_ weight. This ounce contains precisely the same number of grains
as eight of your apothecary’s drachms and as twenty-four of your
apothecary’s scruples—that is 480 gr., whereas the avoirdupois ounce
contains only 437½ gr. And by this means you will avoid much confusion
and save much time in your calculations; because you will have all your
smaller weights convenient aliquot parts of the greater; and, if I
mistake not, you will find these extra weights very handy for other than
pyrotechnic purposes.
Next, I wish to caution you against an injudicious employment of the
pestle and mortar. These auxiliaries are not intended for any other
purpose but the reduction to powder of lumps, crystals, &c.; they are
never properly used for _incorporating_ ingredients. _Large_ quantities
of pyrotechnic compositions are always _mixed_ in a sieve; _small_
quantities are best mixed by stirring them about with a spatula upon a
piece of paper. A pestle and mortar is a species of apparatus which I
rarely use, for I procure my various salts, &c., in the form in which
they are ready for use, and I strongly recommend you to do the same,
feeling that you will soon be convinced of the convenience of such a
plan. Remember, too, to keep your powdered ingredients in well-corked or
stoppered bottles, for the reason that some of them are very
deliquescent, and are utterly unfit for pyrotechnic purposes except when
perfectly dry. The four following things, however—nitre, sulphur,
charcoal, and meal-powder—which are not subject to injury from a slight
exposure to the air, and which will be required in larger quantities
than other things, I always keep in tin canisters, such as are made to
hold a pound of coffee. A piece of sheet copper about six inches long,
bent into the form of a shallow boat or scoop, will be found useful in
taking these things out of their canisters to be put into the scales and
weighed.
SIEVES.
2. Now with regard to SIEVES: you will require two of these, with
brass-wire bottoms; one of the fineness of twenty meshes to the inch for
_mixing_, which, for distinction’s sake, I will call _the mixer_; the
other of forty or fifty meshes to the inch for _sifting_, and to which I
shall refer as the _sifter_. These sieves are made with a receiver and a
top, so that by their means you can sift or mix any compositions,
however subtle or dusty may be their nature, without the slightest
inconvenience or annoyance. I may as well here mention that I use the
20-mesh mixer for _sifting_ the _coarse_ charcoal employed in my rocket
compositions, but all other sifting is done by the 40-mesh sifter. The
size of those which I use is about six inches in diameter, and I think
you will find this large enough for every purpose, as you will not be
likely to want to mix or sift any very large batches of composition at a
time. These sieves, made of any size or design that you please, may be
procured of Mr. Darby, 98, Regent Street, Lambeth, London, at whose shop
you will also find many other handy little articles, such as horn or
copper scoops, spatulas, &c.
[Illustration: Fig. 34. Fig. 35. Fig. 37. Fig. 38. Fig. 39. Fig. 40.
Fig. 44. Fig. 45. Fig. 46.]
MANUFACTURING.
ROCKETS.
3. Having now cleared our way of these necessary preliminaries, we may
at once proceed to speak of the manufacture of ROCKETS; first, of what a
rocket is, and then of how it is made. There is nothing like starting
with a good distinct notion of what we have to make before we set to
work to make it. It is said of a person who was asked by his friend to
give him a logical definition of a house, that he at once replied that
“_it was a thing with a chimney_;” which definition, being equally
applicable to a moderator lamp and a steam-engine, can hardly be
considered exhaustive in the case of a house; and, in like manner, if we
start with the idea that a rocket is _a thing that goes up in the air_,
we shall not have any very tangible model of rocket excellence before us
as a guide in our work. It is, however, very true that some rockets
which we see can only be properly and faithfully described as things
which go up in the air, for they no more deserve the name of a rocket
than does a child’s kite or a cock-sparrow, either of which would come
equally well under the above definition. But let us see whether we can
arrive at something a little more accurate. A rocket we will define as
_a species of firework which, when properly fastened to a stick of a
certain size and weight suspended with its mouth downwards, and ignited,
ascends into the air by the force of its own combustion, rises
majestically to its proper height, throwing out, from the beginning to
the end of its course, a rich and uniform tail of sparks, and at the
extreme range of its flight giving birth to a cluster of stars, or
shower of fiery rains, or other decorations, as they are called, which
should burn long enough to be well seen, and not disappear almost at the
moment of their appearance_. This is what every rocket should be when
fired; and let me beg of you not to stop short of attaining this
excellence, for perseverance will give you experience, and with the aid
of these two you need despair of nothing. When I had been puzzled and
misled by all the books and information on the subject that I could
procure, and had met with nothing but failure in all my attempts, I set
myself to work to make my own experiments in a new direction, on the
supposition that I understood, to a certain extent, the principle on
which success depended. And well do I remember my delight at seeing a
rocket of my own production scramble up into the air in a very
undignified and disorderly manner, and there perform certain nervous
evolutions which I will defy any pen to describe or pencil to depict.
But although its performance was erratic and laughable, I had conquered;
the key from that moment was in my own hands; and soon, after careful
consideration and a few more experiments, I managed to produce a rocket
of which I saw no reason to be ashamed.
I have stated above what appearance a good rocket should present to the
eyes of a spectator when fired; I am now about to state what appearance
it should present to its manufacturer before being fired—in fact, what
it is that he has to make. _It is a strong cylindrical case, made of
pasted brown paper and imperial board, contracted near one of its ends
in order to form a narrow aperture, and filled with a certain
composition in such a manner that a long narrow cavity is left in its
centre, extending almost throughout its whole length._ This is what I
shall call the rocket, for the ascending power lies solely in this part;
the head, being an after-addition, will be spoken of it in its proper
place, and not allowed to interfere here. In the annexed woodcut A A
represents the exterior diameter of the case; B B, the interior diameter
of the same; C C, the long cavity extending from the mouth up the centre
of the composition, which cavity is called the “soul” of the rocket; D D
D, the composition with which the remainder of the case is filled. The
lower of the two C’s represents the mouth, or “choke” as it is called,
at which all the combustion that goes on in the rocket has to find its
vent. When a light is applied to the mouth of the rocket, the whole
surface of the soul of the rocket is set on fire at once, and on this
depends its power of ascent; for so large a quantity of fire having to
make its escape through so narrow an aperture and meeting with
considerable resistance from the external air, makes the rocket recoil
in a direction opposite to that of its mouth, until all the combustible
material which it contains is consumed. This is a broad outline of the
principle upon which rockets ascend. It will be unnecessary for me to
dive deeper into theories here, for I am sure that you will be anxious
for me to come to practical details without further delay.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1.
]
Among other things in my prefatory remarks I stated that firework-making
need not be an expensive recreation, but you must bear in mind that
nothing is easier than to make it expensive, and that we must adopt some
strictly economical system of operation. Since rockets are the most
scientific of all fireworks, and the apparatus necessary for making them
is more costly than that for making any other kind of firework, we must
do all that we can to bring their manufacture within reach of the
amateur. There are many books, and I dare say many persons, that will
tell you that you cannot hope to produce a good rocket unless you have a
mould proper for the purpose made either of gun-metal or of some hard
wood. I believe that I am right in telling you that such a piece of
apparatus varies in cost from 3_l._ to 10_l._, but I also know that I am
right in assuring you that a rocket, in every respect equal to many that
are rammed in a mould, may be produced without this expensive luxury. I
can only say that I _never_ use a mould, and my belief is that the
workmen employed by professional pyrotechnists are, for the most part,
only too glad to dispense with its use, for it is of importance to them
to ram the greatest possible number of rockets in a given time, and if
they were to be delayed by having to unscrew and screw a mould before
and after filling each case, half their time and its value would be lost
to them. I use, and recommend you also to use, a simple steel spindle
let firmly into a wooden block, and if your cases are made strongly
enough you will be able to produce all that your ambition will picture
to you by means of this inexpensive apparatus, and without the help of
the mould.
But before we speak of the size and proportions of this spindle it will,
of course, be necessary for us to determine the size of the rocket which
we intend to produce. Now, the rocket that I recommend you to make, as
being the most generally useful and economical, is that which the
professionals call the _¼lb. rocket_. You will bear in mind that this
name is not intended to signify that the rocket when finished will weigh
a quarter of a pound, but that its interior diameter is equal to the
exterior diameter of a leaden ball weighing 4oz. You will find, I am
sure, that the capabilities of this size of rocket, when properly made,
will satisfy you for all ordinary purposes, and, taking this for
granted, I shall now proceed to speak of this particular size only, in
order to prevent the possibility of confusion.
ROCKET-CASES.
4. The first thing that you have to do is to make the case. Do not hurry
over this part of the process, for more depends upon it than is
generally supposed. It is made in the following manner:—Procure some
imperial board (which is a kind of thin pasteboard made of two sheets of
brown paper pasted and pressed together); also some stout Kentish brown
paper of such a substance as will weigh 70-lb. per ream. Now fold a
sheet of the imperial board down the middle of its length, thus:—
Cut it along this fold, then divide each of these halves crossways into
five equal parts and cut them apart. Each sheet will thus furnish enough
board for ten ¼lb. rocket-cases. This board is only made in one size.
Now take a sheet of the 70-lb. brown paper, divide it into halves at its
natural fold, and then divide each of these halves crossways into four
strips. One of these, together with one of the strips of imperial board,
will be sufficient to make one case. I have given you above the
directions for cutting your paper and board without waste; you will,
however, find it more convenient to buy them ready cut up; it will save
you time and trouble, and will occupy much less space among your stores.
They can be procured of Mr. W. H. Darby, 98, Regent Street, Lambeth,
London, and he will supply them ready cut if you only state for what
purpose they are intended.
[Illustration:
2
]
The “former,” on which the board and the paper are to be rolled, is
simply a piece of brass tubing, about 12 in. long, and ¾in. in diameter.
This you had better procure of the person whose name I shall mention
presently, when I speak of apparatus, and to whom I recommend you as a
maker of all pyrotechnic _tools_, except such things as the sieves, &c.,
above mentioned.
I must not speak about the pasting and rolling of the cases until I have
said a few words upon the subject of the paste itself. It is a great
mistake to have your paste made thick; you will gain nothing by doing
so, and you will find it very troublesome to use. It should be made of
such a consistency as will admit of its being spread very readily upon
the brown paper, &c., and by being tolerably fluid will saturate it much
more thoroughly; and this, after all, is what you want to do, for the
hardness of the finished cases depends far more upon the complete
saturation of the paper than upon the thickness of the paste between its
layers. The brush, which you will find convenient, is one about 2in. in
diameter, and can be procured of Mr. Darby. Into each pint of paste,
while boiling, put a large teaspoonful of powdered alum; this will have
the effect of keeping your paste sweet and free from mouldiness for
weeks, and will also prevent it from becoming watery, which it would
otherwise do in a few days.
I will now suppose you to have your paper, imperial board, paste, and
brush ready to hand. You will next require some kind of slab on which to
paste and roll your cases. For this purpose I use one of the largest
common roofing slates that can be procured: its size is 24 by 12in. This
makes a cheap and very serviceable pasting slab if its surface be only
moderately smooth.
Now we come to the actual rolling of the cases. First paste all over one
side of one of the strips of 70-lb. brown paper; then take one of the
strips of imperial board, and fold one end of it once round the brass
tubular “former.” Hold this, thus folded, with your left hand, and paste
over all the rest of the upper side of the strip with your right. Then
roll it up, as straightly and as tightly as you can, till all but about
3 inches of it is wound upon the “former.” Upon these projecting 3
inches lay the end of the strip of brown paper, with its pasted side
upwards, and then roll it till both board and paper are neatly and
closely wound round the “former.” You will find at first a little
difficulty in getting the strips to roll up straight, but a little
practice will overcome this. You will now require what is called a
“rolling board,” that is, a piece of common smooth deal board about 20
inches by 8 in size, with a wooden handle screwed on its upper side at
one end (see fig. 3). Then with the left hand take hold of the end of
the “former,” which projects out of the case, loosely, so as to allow it
to revolve in the hand, and with the right hand roll case and “former”
from one end of the slate slab to the other between it and the rolling
board, pressing upon the latter, and using it as a carpenter does his
“trying plane;” and by this means the same effect will be produced upon
your newly-made case as is produced upon linen, &c., by a mangle. These
directions read, no doubt, as if they belonged to some very complicated
operation; but let me assure you that it is one far easier to perform
than to describe. Some modification of this plan will in all probability
suggest itself to your mind as an improvement upon it; for there are few
people who do not after a few trials fall into some method of working
which, besides answering their purpose, has the additional merit of
being peculiar to themselves. I may as well mention here that the
quickest way of making cases is to paste all your strips of paper and
board before you begin to roll any of them, taking care not to paste
that part of each strip of board which is to make the first turn round
your “former.”
[Illustration:
3.
]
[Illustration:
7
]
In the next place, when you have made as many cases as you require, the
operation of “choking,” or forming their mouth and neck, remains to be
done, and is to be accomplished in the following manner:—Procure some
strong close string about one-eighth of an inch in diameter; take about
one yard of this, and tie one end of it to a ring or nail which has been
driven very tightly about 3 feet from the ground into a wall, beam, or
tree, and the other end of this string tie firmly round a stout piece of
stick or ruler about 18 inches long. Now take the round-ended drift
(fig. 4), and insert this into one end of your cases till its rounded
end appears about an inch from the other end, leaving, in fact, an inch
at one end of the case unoccupied by the drift. Then take the little
“choking piece” (fig. 5), and insert its metal point into the hollow end
of the drift. This operation is illustrated at fig. 6. Now rub your
string well over with yellow soap; the more thoroughly this is done the
better. Then pass the stick or ruler between your legs in such a manner
that by leaning backwards you can make the string very tight; but before
tightening it give the soaped part of the string one turn round the part
of the case marked _e e_ (fig. 6), then by leaning backwards you will
contract that part of the case until you leave an aperture only large
enough to admit the point of the “choking piece.” As soon as this is
done tie some string tightly round the neck thus formed, to prevent its
becoming larger. The best knot for this purpose is the one given at fig.
7. Then, when you have drawn out your choking piece and drift, the
proper name of which latter is “_the setting-down piece_,” your case
must be put by to dry thoroughly before use. The apparatus given at fig.
8 is very convenient for choking cases quickly, and is given in case you
should think it worth while to make such a thing. Any boy with a fair
notion of carpentering would find no difficulty in making it. It is
simply a string passed over a small wheel and fastened to a pedal which
works on a hinge close to the ground. A glance at the diagram will show
you that by putting your foot upon the pedal _f_ the string may be drawn
very tight. The case is choked at the point marked F. No choking can be
done except while the cases are wet.
[Illustration:
9
]
Now, supposing that you can do nothing else until your cases are dry, I
will, meantime, introduce you to some of your tools. Fig. 9 represents
the block and spindle over which your rockets are to be rammed. The case
of the rocket is forced, mouth downwards, over this spindle by inserting
into it the setting-down piece (fig. 4), which you have used before, and
giving the handle of this some blows with the mallet (fig. 10). This
operation has the effect of enlarging the choke to its proper size, and
of making the mouth of the case very smooth and hard. The diagram (fig.
11), represents the steel spindle and nipple in its proper size. The
part marked _g g_ is driven into the wooden block which forms its foot.
Fig. 12 represents the rocket-case driven down upon the nipple when
ready to be filled with its composition. Figs. 13, 14, 15, are three
drifts of different lengths, pierced so as to admit the steel spindle,
and to be used for driving the composition into the cases round the
spindle. They are used in the following manner:—A ladleful of the
composition is put into the case, and then driven down with the longest
of these drifts by the mallet; then another ladleful driven with the
same. Then a shorter drift is taken for the next few ladlefuls; then the
shortest, till the case is full up to the top of the spindle. Then the
unpierced drift (fig. 15) is used to ram in some composition solid, and
to drive some clay upon the top of this. This operation will be
described much more minutely in its proper place. Fig. 17 represents the
“former” on which the cases are rolled.
These tools may be procured at a very reasonable price of Mr. Newman, 4,
Augustus Street, Regent’s Park, London.
Having made you slightly acquainted with the various tools and apparatus
to be used in making and filling rocket-cases, it will now be necessary
for me to say a few words about their size and proportion, for much will
depend upon accuracy in this particular. I have given you a sketch of
four drifts to be used in loading your cases with composition. The
longest of these I shall call _the first_; and the shortest, which is
the solid one, _the fourth_; this being the order in which you will have
to use them. The measurements that I am now about to give have reference
only to _the straight part_ of the drifts, not taking their handles into
consideration. The length of the first drift is 6 inches; second, 4½;
third 3¼; fourth 2¾. The first three of these drifts are pierced or
hollow, in order to admit the steel spindle over which the rocket is
rammed. The first should be pierced to the length of 4 inches; second,
2½; third 1½.
Taking the exterior diameter of ¼ lb. rocket to be about 1 inch—and this
measurement is near enough for our purpose—the former on which the cases
are rolled should be ¾ of an inch in diameter, and the drifts about ¼ of
an inch in diameter. The “former” should always be slightly larger in
diameter than the drifts, because the paper that is rolled upon it is
thoroughly wetted with the paste, and in drying will shrink a little;
and, therefore, if your drifts be of the same size with your former, you
will find considerable difficulty in getting them in and out of your
cases; they ought to be a good easy fit. Twelve inches you will find a
convenient length for your former.
In case you should wish to prepare rockets of other sizes, and in order
that you may readily see the relative magnitude of cases of such sizes
as are generally used in the art of pyrotechny, I here append a
table:—Those which are called
1-oz. cases are about ½ inch bore.
2-oz. „ „ ⅝ „
¼ lb. „ „ ¾ „
½ lb. „ „ 1 „
In following the directions which I gave in my last paper for cutting up
your imperial board and 70-lb. brown paper for rocket-cases, you will
find that the case produced will not be a very stout one. Although I
have made an excellent rocket in a case of such a thickness, you will,
perhaps, find it advisable to use more paper and board, and prepare a
thicker case. For this purpose cut your board in the manner that I have
described before for your 70-lb. brown paper—that is, into _eight_ equal
strips—and then cut each of your sheets of brown paper _lengthwise into
four_ equal strips. By this plan you will be able to make very stout
cases, which will not be at all liable to injury during ramming; and
thus one sheet of board, with two of brown paper, will furnish eight ¼
lb. rocket-cases. You must bear in mind when choking them to contract
the aperture till it is considerably smaller than you will eventually
require it to be. The setting-down piece (fig. 4) has two uses: it is
employed first in choking the case, and afterwards in driving or setting
it down, when choked, over the steel spindle. The reason for driving the
case thus down till the mouth is brought close to the nipple at the foot
of the spindle is that the choke or aperture may thus be left of the
proper size. This proper size is about two-fifths of the inner diameter
of the case; and the aperture left immediately after choking should not
be much more than one-fifth of the same inner diameter. The operation of
“setting down” the cases is performed best, in my opinion, when they are
perfectly dry and immediately before they are filled.
ROCKET COMPOSITION.
5. Now supposing your cases to be thoroughly dry and ready to be
charged, the next thing that we must consider is the composition with
which they are to be filled. Judging from the effect produced by rockets
prepared by different makers, I should imagine that the formulas for
their compositions are of almost endless variety. Some seem to prefer a
very quick composition, which will raise the rocket to a great elevation
in a very short time; others, one which will produce a large and rich
tail of sparks not ascending so fast or so high. In my opinion, the mean
between these two extremes is decidedly preferable: that which I aim at
in rocket manufacture is to produce a very high, but not a very rapid,
ascent; and when this my object has been properly gained, I have never
had any fault to find with the tail of sparks which is thrown out. I may
say, without any exaggeration, that I have experimented upon several
hundreds of different compositions, varying first one ingredient and
then another, increasing or decreasing them by very gradual steps, until
I have come to the conclusion that the two following are the only ones
worth retaining. But it must be remembered that it is not enough to have
a good formula or two in order to be successful, for much will depend
upon _the manner in which_, and _the care with which_, these are made
up:—
No. 1.
Nitre 16 parts.
Sulphur 4 „
Charcoal 8 to 9 „
This, I believe, is a very old formula, and, provided the charcoal be
properly prepared, may be found very useful and effective. I used this
receipt for a long time, and thought it incapable of improvement, until,
from a wish to try the effect of the addition of a little meal-powder, I
came by chance upon the following, which I do not think can be
surpassed:—
No. 2.
Nitre 16 parts.
Sulphur 3 „
Meal-powder 4 „
Charcoal 8 „
Now let me tell you that the success of rocket compositions depends upon
two things—the intimate union of their ingredients, and the fineness or
coarseness of the charcoal. Such charcoal as you can procure at a
chemist’s ready pounded will be of no use whatever to you, for it is in
far too fine a state of subdivision. You will require a much coarser
charcoal for the most part, and one not of the same coarseness or
fineness throughout. If you could make a mixture containing charcoal of
three different degrees of fineness—the first moderately fine, the next
in pieces of the size of grains of ordinary sporting gunpowder, and the
third of the size of large poppy seeds—and take equal parts of each of
these three you will find that you have a mixture very serviceable for
rocket purposes. But you can procure of Mr. Darby, whom I have mentioned
before, a mixed charcoal which will save you the trouble of sifting. I
recommend you, however, to use no charcoal that will not pass readily
through your 20-mesh mixer, for your object is not to have your charcoal
in large pieces, but to have a certain proportion of it coarser than the
rest. You will find that the larger your proportion of coarse charcoal
is, the slower your composition will be, and, within certain limits, the
more fine charcoal you employ, the quicker it will be. Now, as the
sparks produced by coarse charcoal remain visible in the air much longer
and are much larger, than those produced by fine charcoal, I think it
advisable to employ a good proportion of the coarse and in order to make
up the strength that the composition loses by this plan, I take a
smaller proportion of sulphur, as you will see by comparing formulas
Nos. 1 and 2, and at the same time add a certain quantity of
meal-powder. All these ingredients may be procured of Mr. Darby. The
mode of mixing them is as follows:—Weigh out your quantities of nitre,
sulphur, and meal-powder, mix them well together, and pass them through
your 40-mesh sifter. This you will have no difficulty in doing, because
the condition in which you purchase them is one of fine powder; your
meal-powder especially cannot be too finely sifted for this purpose. You
will find it a great convenience to add to this mixture a few drops of
methylated spirits of wine or gin—a very slight quantity will suffice to
render it less dusty—but you must bear in mind that whenever either of
these liquids is employed, the composition will be sure to rust the
steel spindle around which it is driven, unless you take the precaution
of rubbing it over with a little oil or grease after using and before
putting it away. Next add your charcoal. Stir the whole together, and
pass the mixture two or three times through your 20-mesh mixer; by this
means it will be thoroughly incorporated and fit for use.
ROCKET RAMMING.
6. Now we come to the actual ramming of the rockets; and, unless you
intend to be a great nuisance to your friends and neighbours, you had
better not dream of performing this operation indoors, it being
productive of much noise and jarring; and you will find that they will
not take much interest in your pyrotechnic progress when they have been
annoyed and deafened by your frantic efforts for their amusement. You
had better choose, therefore, some place either out-of-doors, or in an
outhouse, where you are not likely to be interrupted or interfered with;
the outhouse, of course, will be preferable, because there you will not
be exposed to wind and weather, the former of which, especially, is
often a source of considerable inconvenience when working out-of-doors.
But whatever place you decide upon, you must have a very solid block of
some kind, which is better made either of wood or stone, and must be set
upon, or let into, solid ground. I should think that you will find no
difficulty in meeting with one, made of either of these materials, in
any carpenter’s or builder’s yard; odd pieces of stone and timber which
would answer your purpose may generally be procured for a few pence. The
stone block which I use is about 12 + 8 + 8 inches. On your block I
recommend you to put nothing but the wooden block into which your
spindle is fixed. The composition which you are using should never be
placed upon it, because it is sure to become to some extent unmixed by
the concussion caused by the blows of your mallet, for the particles of
any coarse ingredient which it contains will find their way to the
surface. You will find it advisable to have your block, and the table on
which your tools and composition are placed, of such a height from the
ground that, in working, you need not stoop or put yourself into any
uncomfortable attitude.
Next we have to consider what is the most convenient receptacle for your
composition while your cases are being filled with it. I use a copper
scoop capable of holding about 8 ounces of composition, made something
like an open coal-scuttle in form, which I have always found very
convenient, and which is represented in the annexed woodcut (fig. 17).
[Illustration:
Fig. 17.
]
You will next require a small ladle made of thin copper or brass, of
such a size that it will take up just as much composition as you should
put into your case at a time, and will admit of being passed into the
case. By means of this you will be able to drive in the composition very
uniformly, for by giving a certain number of blows of a certain power to
each ladleful, you can be sure of an equal compression throughout the
length of the case. Such a ladle Mr. Newman will supply with your rocket
tools, of the right size for filling ¼ lb. cases.
I will now suppose you to be ready at the ramming-block, with all your
tools about you, your composition ready, and your case driven firmly
down over your spindle. I strongly recommend a slight moistening of the
composition as directed above before you begin to ram it. Now, taking
the longest of the drifts (fig. 13) in your left hand, insert into the
case when the first ladleful of composition has been put in. You are not
to suppose that by “a ladleful” I mean as much composition as can be
heaped up upon the ladle or scoop, but as much as will lie within it
after you have passed the drift over its surface, and have levelled the
composition to the height of its sides. To this first ladleful of
composition give _fourteen_ blows with the mallet: it is not necessary
to exert much force in this operation, for the weight of the mallet will
be nearly enough to do the work for you; and you will find that after
each stroke the mallet will recoil with the blow to a point almost high
enough to be the starting-point for the next stroke. Having given the
proper number of blows, take another ladleful of composition, and when
you have put it into the case, drive it down in the same manner as the
former one with the same number of blows. Then for your third ladleful
take the longest drift but one, which must be used for this and the
following ladleful, giving to each of them _sixteen_ blows. Then take
the shortest hollow drift, and use this for as many ladlefuls as will
make the composition rise to the top of the steel spindle, giving
eighteen blows to each of them. Then by inserting the short, solid
drift, you will be able to measure the distance between the top of the
spindle and the top of the case. When you have taken this measurement,
make a mark, on _the outside_ of the case, which will show you how high
the spindle rises on the inside. By adopting this plan, or any other
that may occur to you as simple, you will always be able to ram the same
quantity of solid composition above the spindle. This is really an
important matter, and one on which depends mainly the beauty of your
rocket’s performance when it reaches its greatest elevation in the air.
There are great varieties of opinion as to what should be the quantity
of composition rammed solid above the spindle, and it is a much more
common matter to find too little than too much composition used for this
purpose. The effect of using too little is, that the rocket does not
fairly arrive at its turn before its stars or other decorations are
thrown out. This, in my opinion, is a considerable fault; for it robs
the rocket of a great deal of the elegance of its flight, and gives one
the idea that it is in a hurry to get its work over. Nothing but actual
experience and observation will enable any one to decide which he
considers the proper quantity of solid composition. I consider the best
length for this part of the rocket to be that of _the exterior diameter
of the case_—that is, an inch or rather more for rockets of the ¼lb.
size. Larger rockets, I have always found, do not require quite so much
in proportion; smaller rockets rather more. You should give twenty blows
with the mallet to each ladleful of this solid composition. I am well
aware that this number of blows sounds like a great deal of hard work,
but you may rest assured that these twenty blows, given as I have
directed above, will occupy only five or six seconds of time, at the
cost of very little exertion.
Having now completed the ramming of the composition into your case, you
will next require some common potter’s clay in dry powder; this can be
procured of Mr. Darby in a condition proper for use. Take
half-a-ladleful of it, and ram it down very hard upon the top of the
composition with the solid drift. This clay when thus compressed will
form an end to your rocket nearly as hard as stone—not so hard, however,
but that you can bore a hole through it about ⁵⁄₁₆ths of an inch in
diameter, which will allow of the necessary connexion between the rammed
composition and the stars or other contents of the head of your rocket.
In the next place I will speak of the
PRIMING.
7. This may be done in two ways; for exhibition purposes I should merely
put into the mouth of the rocket some meal-powder-paste made as
follows:—Make a rather soft, but not too liquid paste, by moistening
meal-powder with gum-water made of the strength of 2-oz. of gum-arabic
to a pint of water. With the flattened end of a stick rub some of this
paste into the cup formed at the choked end of the rocket, taking care
that none of it _is left in the choke_ or narrow aperture at which the
fire from the rocket has to find vent; for, if any should remain there,
the rocket when fired is almost certain to burst. Any of the paste that
happens to be forced into this aperture may easily be taken out
afterwards by means of a piece of wire or stout pin.
Your rocket is now finished as far as its ascending power is concerned.
ROCKET POT.
[Illustration:
Fig. 18.—Pot-former.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 19.—Rocket pot.
]
8. I will tell you my method of making the head, or _pot_ as it is
termed, of the rocket. You must have a piece of hard wood turned of a
shape like that indicated in the following woodcut (fig. 18). The
straight part of this should be about 4 inches long, and a shade larger
in diameter than the exterior of your rocket-case—that is, about 1⅛ inch
in diameter, if you adopt the method of cutting up your imperial board
and 70-lb. brown paper given in _this_ chapter. Now take some moderately
thick brown paper, and cut it into strips about 5 inches in width and 8
in length; each of these strips will be long enough to go twice round
the _pot-former_ described above. When you have pasted as much of each
strip as will not lie actually against the former, roll it up straightly
and pinch in one end; you will thus have made a cylinder of paper (fig.
19) closed at one end, the other end of which will fit nicely over the
clay end of your rocket. This is the pot of the rocket, which is to
contain your stars, rains, &c.
ROCKET CONES.
[Illustration:
Fig. 20.—Cone-former.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 21.—Paper for Cone.
]
9. You will next require a turned wooden former on which you can make
paper cones of such a size at their base that they can be neatly pasted
on to the top of your pots—that is, the base of these cones should have
the same diameter as the pots. Although such conical caps are by no
means necessary, yet they are a very great assistance to the rocket in
its ascent, enabling it to rise with much less resistance through the
air. The cone-former is represented in the annexed woodcut (fig. 20). To
make these cones upon it, cut out as many circular pieces of brown paper
as you require, the semi-diameter of which must be slightly greater than
the height of the cones that you have to make. Then cut or tear these
circles into halves and paste them on one side. Now place the first
half-circle upon the former, pasted side outwards, taking care that the
apex of the cone beat the point marked A in fig. 21. Then fold the brown
paper neatly round the cone-former, and when you have made it to sit as
closely to it as possible, proceed in the same manner with the other
half-circle, putting it upon the first, pasted side inwards. The paper
cones thus made must next be covered with one thickness of thin paper
cut large enough to extend ½ an inch or rather more beyond the open end
of the cone, and this projecting part, when notched all round with your
scissors, can be pasted down round the top of the rocket pot. When this
is done the pot will present the appearance of annexed illustration
(fig. 22).
[Illustration:
Fig. 22.—Pot, with Conical Cap.
]
ROCKET STARS.
10. When all the pasting that has been necessary in making the pots is
thoroughly dry, the filling them with stars is all that remains to be
done for the completion of the rocket. You will find that the ¼lb.
rocket will carry an ounce of stars well. After weighing out your stars,
then, into parcels of this weight, empty one of these parcels into each
pot. You will next require some sort of powder to strew among the stars
which shall have the effect of igniting them and at the same time of
bursting the pot. I have always found meal-powder by itself to be too
rapid in its explosion to convey the fire to all the stars; many of them
are blown out of the pot, never taking fire at all. The mixture which I
should recommend you to use is the following:—
Meal-powder 6 parts.
Fine charcoal 1 part.
Charcoal added to the meal-powder in the above proportion will render
its combustion slow enough to light all the stars, without being too
slow to burst the pot. Of this mixture take a ladleful (I mean the ladle
which you use in filling your cases), and put it with the stars into the
pot, which must now be securely glued over the clay end of the
rocket-case.
ROCKET-STICK.
11. Lastly the rocket-_stick_ remains to be considered. This appendage
is used for the purpose of keeping the mouth of the rocket _downwards_,
so that if it move at all its motion must be an upward one. The rule for
telling whether the stick be of the proper weight or not is the
following:—After having tied it on to the rocket in the manner indicated
in the page of illustrations, ascertain whether it will balance if laid
across the finger about 2 inches from the mouth of the rocket. If the
stick forms an exact counterpoise to the rocket at this point, it will
answer your purpose very well. The length of the stick which I use for
¼lb. rockets is 4 feet, and its size about ⅜ × ½ inch. The best wood for
these sticks is American pine. It is very light, and should be free from
knots. You will be able to procure them much cheaper of Mr. Darby, and
much more uniform in their make, than of any carpenter. In some old
treatises upon pyrotechny you will find recommended a tapering
rocket-stick, to the _large_ end of which the rocket is tied. I have
never found any advantage which these sticks possess over those that are
of one size throughout; and I think I may say that no professional
pyrotechnist uses tapering rocket-sticks. On the annexed page of
woodcuts (figs. 23 to 26) I have given you a sketch of the rings which I
use, through which the rocket-stick must be passed, and from which the
rocket is to be fired. These rings should be screwed into an upright
post (fig. 27) standing 5 feet out of the ground; the upper ring near
the top of the post, the lower about 3 feet from the ground. There is
also a sketch (fig. 28) to show you how the rocket is to be suspended on
this post.
I have stated above that there are _two_ ways of priming rockets; the
one used for exhibition purposes I have already described. Rockets thus
primed are fired by applying a lighted portfire to their mouth. The
other method I have found very convenient when making trials either of
rockets or of stars, for it enables you to get some distance from the
rocket-post before the rocket rises, and consequently to gain a much
better view of the object of your experiment. It is done in the
following manner:—Paste or tie a piece of touch-paper round the mouth of
the rocket which shall project an inch or rather more beyond the mouth.
Then take a piece of uncased quick-match about 2½ inches long, and put
it into the soul of the rocket, leaving so much of it outside the choke
as can be twisted into the projecting part of the touch-paper. If this
is done so as to leave a short twist of touch-paper beyond that part
which contains the quick-match, you will gain a short interval of time
between the moment of lighting the rocket and that of its ascent.
You can procure of Mr. Darby the cases _ready made_, and, in fact,
anything employed in firework manufacture; but I strongly recommend you
to learn to make the cases yourself, as you will then be not only much
more independent, but also much more economical in your work.
Let me recapitulate a little, and add a few hints to remind you of
certain points important in rocket manufacture.
Do not hurry over any part of the work, either the making the cases or
the composition, or the ramming of the rockets.
In moistening your composition with spirits of wine or gin, be careful
to add very little of the liquid, and to stir the composition about
_very thoroughly_ until all the moisture that is present is very equally
diffused.
Remember that the addition of nitre or meal-powder to your composition
will render it more rapid in combustion; the addition of sulphur or
charcoal more slow. By this means you can vary the strength of your
rocket composition to any degree which proves successful or satisfactory
in your hands.
By no means forget to bore a hole through the clay at the end of your
rocket, and thus to form the communication with your stars.
Never allow your steel spindle to become rusty. Every coat of rust that
you have to scour off from it diminishes the size of the spindle.
Remember that the work that is done neatest is always done best.
ROCKET STARS (How to Make).
12. By following a few simple directions for the manufacturing of these,
you will be able to vary almost to any extent the heads of your rockets,
and to produce combinations according to your taste and fancy.
The stars that are used as decorations to the different species of
fireworks are of various kinds, sizes and shapes, according to the
purpose for which they are intended.
1st. The ordinary rocket stars, which are called “brilliant” or
“bright,” are made in small cubes. Their composition is moistened with
gum-water, and while moist flattened to the thickness required. It is
then scored or cut across with a knife, and allowed to dry. When dry it
can be easily broken up into cubes at the places where it was divided by
the knife. _Tailed_ stars are also made in the same way and of the same
size.
2nd. Roman candle stars are small cylinders of composition made of a
size proportioned to that of the case out of which they are to be
thrown.
3rd. _Coloured_ rocket stars are made by driving the coloured
composition, slightly moistened, into small cases, which go under the
name of _pill-box cases_. If the star is to consist of one colour only,
these pill-boxes are open at both ends, and a piece of quick-match is
placed between the composition and the inside of the pill-box, and
allowed to project about half-an-inch beyond each end of it. When fired,
these stars burn at both ends at the same time, and so produce a great
amount of fire in proportion to their size.
If it is required to make stars consisting of more than one colour (in
which case they are called “changeable stars”), the pill-boxes are left
open at one end only. The composition is thereby prevented from burning
at more than one of its surfaces at a time. These stars generally
contain _two_ colours; the pill-boxes are half-filled with one coloured
composition and the remaining space filled with another. These
changeable stars burn much longer than the others, and therefore produce
a more beautiful effect; but being larger they require to be used in
larger rockets, the _half-pound_ size being the smallest that is adapted
for this purpose.
GOLDEN RAIN.
13. There is another and exceedingly beautiful decoration for rocket
heads which is called golden rain. This is by no means a difficult thing
to make. Some small paper cases are made, about 2 inches long and of the
size of goosequills; these are filled with a sparkling composition and
primed with wetted gunpowder. They are placed, mouth downwards, in the
head of the rocket, and arranged in such a manner that they may _all_ be
ignited. At the bursting of the rocket, they will describe a series of
beautiful ringlets of sparkling fire.
I have now enumerated as many different kinds of stars, &c., as will
provide you with the means of producing any amount of variety. I now
come to the details of the manufacture of these decorations. We will
begin with the ordinary
BRILLIANT STARS.
14. First, let me impress upon you the necessity of seeing that _all
ingredients used in star compositions are in as fine a powder as
possible_. You cannot have them too fine or too well incorporated and
mixed. The following is the formula which I employ for the
COMMON BRILLIANT STARS.
Nitre 16 parts
Sulphur 8 „
Sulphuret of antimony 4 „
Meal-powder 3 „
Let all these ingredients be in fine powder, and, having carefully
weighed out the quantities, mix them thoroughly. Next, take some
gum-water of the strength previously mentioned—viz., two ounces of
gum-arabic dissolved in a pint of warm water. Spread your star
composition upon a piece of zinc plate or slate, and add to it a little
of the gum-water at a time, taking care to stir the composition about
_well_ till all the moisture is equally diffused through the whole. It
is not necessary that this composition should be made _wet_, but only
something like brown sugar in moistness, so that it will _bind well_
when pressed together. When you think this is sufficiently done, roll or
press the composition into a flat shape like a thick pancake, and make
it as square, or, at all events, as rectangular, as possible. Its
thickness should be about _a quarter of an inch_. You will find a large
spatula a very convenient tool in this operation, both for flattening
the cake of composition and for getting it into a convenient shape. Now
take your spatula, and with it score the composition across both ways,
so that you have it divided into a number of little cubes, fig. 30.
It may then be set aside to dry in a warm place; it will be forty-eight
hours before it is fit for use in summer, and about a week in winter.
When dry you will have no trouble in separating the cubes at the marks
left by the spatula.
[Illustration:
Fig. 30.
]
I may as well, however, introduce you to a simple piece of apparatus
which will enable you to perform this operation much more comfortably
and cleanly. I have a small wooden tray made of mahogany, six inches
square, and three-quarters of an inch deep, _inside measurements_. Into
this I place a flat piece of wood, which fits very easily into the tray,
and is half-an-inch thick. This acts as a _movable false bottom_. It
will be readily seen that when this false bottom is in the tray, placed
upon the other bottom, _the tray will be filled up so as to leave a
depth of a quarter of an inch only unoccupied_. This space I fill with
the moistened star composition, having first rubbed the surface of the
false bottom with soap to prevent any adhesion taking place between the
composition and the wood. Having now pressed into the tray as much
composition as will fill it to the height of its sides, I score it with
the spatula as directed above. A large hole is made in the _natural_
bottom of the tray, so that I can, by putting my fingers through it,
raise the false bottom covered with stars out of the tray. I then place
a piece of cardboard or zinc on the top of the stars and turn the false
bottom upside down. The stars will be found to separate from the wood
very easily, and may be left to dry on the zinc. The tray is then ready
for another batch of stars.
The advantages of this plan are, that there is no trouble in getting the
composition into a uniform, convenient shape and thickness; that the
composition requires much less gum-water; and that, consequently, the
process is a quicker and a cleaner one.
TAILED STARS.
15. The same plan may be adopted also for the making of _tailed_ stars,
with a slight variation which I now proceed to describe. These stars are
not moistened with plain gum-water, but with a mixture of gum-water and
linseed-oil. The gum-water should be of the strength given above, and
should be made _quite hot_ by placing the bottle which contains it in a
jug of boiling water. When it is sufficiently hot, _to every 8 ounces of
gum-water add 1 ounce of linseed-oil_. Shake the bottle till these are
thoroughly mixed, _and no oil can be seen_. Use the moistening fluid,
_while_ hot, in the same manner as directed above for brilliant stars.
The following is the composition for
TAILED STARS.
Nitre 16 parts.
Meal-powder 12 „
Antimony (sulphuret) 8 „
Fine charcoal 4½ „
Sulphur 4 „
If the above directions are carefully followed out, you will have some
stars which are exceedingly beautiful in their effect, and by no means
difficult to make. At its first appearance the star has nothing
remarkable in it but the rapidity of its combustion. When this, however,
is over, a kind of boiling lava is formed which remains red hot for a
long time, and which, in its descent to the earth, takes the appearance
of a glowing drop of golden fire, followed by a tail of sparks,
remaining visible till it reaches the ground. I think the proportion of
linseed-oil given above will not bear being altered without detriment to
the performance of the stars. _If less oil is used, the stars assume
their tailed form sooner, and disappear sooner; if more_, they will
reach the earth before their principal and characteristic beauty is
seen.
Both “brilliant” and “tailed stars” may be made in cubes whose sides are
about a quarter of an inch. On account of the presence of the oil,
“tailed stars” take a longer time to dry than “brilliant.” An advantage
which they possess, besides that of superior beauty, is that they are
much more sure of ignition than brilliant stars.
I may as well mention here that a tray for forming the stars, such as I
have described above, and of the size given above, will contain about 8
or 9 ounces of composition at a time.
COLOURED STARS.
16. We now come to the very important subject of _coloured_ stars. These
require considerable care in their preparation, the beauty of their
performance depending entirely upon the _uniform fineness, the intimate
union, and the dryness of their ingredients_. If you wish to make these
coloured stars with any degree of satisfaction to yourself, keep the
various preparations which enter into their composition _always ready
for use_—that is, _in fine dry powder_, preserved in well-corked or
stoppered bottles. There is one chemical salt which requires especial
care in keeping, on account of its deliquescent properties—that is, of
its tendency to attract moisture from the air; and unless this salt,
which is _the nitrate of strontia_, be thoroughly free from moisture
when used, it will produce no effect at all, except a needless waste of
chemicals. I must therefore tell you that the formulas which I am about
to give you will fail most entirely in your hands, unless you are very
particular in this matter of dryness. Over and over again have I been
led to condemn formulas for coloured stars and fires as useless or
imperfect, for the sole reason that I did not then know how their
ingredients were to be handled, and what care was necessary for the
production of their intended effect.
In the first place I strongly recommend you to attempt to make no
coloured stars _for rockets, except such as are made in the pill-box
cases_, of which I have spoken before. These pill-boxes are made in the
following manner:—Procure a piece of _straight_ iron rod, 12 inches
long, and from three-eighths to half-an-inch in size; the usual size for
this “former” is about seven-sixteenths of an inch. Now cut some
cartridge paper into strips about 8 inches wide, and from 9 to 10 inches
long; paste these strips all over, and roll them round the iron rod
closely and neatly. When this is done, remove the case thus formed from
the rod without tearing or breaking it, and set it aside to dry. When
dry it will be very hard and stiff. It can then be cut, by means of a
very sharp knife, into little lengths of half-an-inch each. These
lengths are the open pill-boxes, into which your composition is to be
rammed for _coloured rocket stars_.
In order to accomplish the filling of these cases with the least amount
of trouble, procure a piece of stick, of a convenient length, and of
such a size round that it will pass _easily_ into the pill-boxes. Next
take a small piece of quick-match, about 1½ inch long, and pass it
through the pill-box in such a manner that it may project beyond each
end about half-an-inch (see Fig. 31). You will be able to steady the
pill-box while filling it by holding it by these two ends of
quick-match. The composition pressed into these boxes is always slightly
moistened; and by this means, when once dry, will not be liable to be
shaken out again. In making, however, any trials of your coloured star
compositions _for your own satisfaction_ before making a large batch of
stars, you had better press the composition in _dry_; by this means you
will be able to see at once what their performance is worth.
[Illustration:
Fig. 31.
]
The fluid that I employ for moistening these coloured compositions is a
solution of shellac in methylated spirits of wine. As shellac enters
into the composition of many of these colours, it will not be necessary
to make your solution a strong one. It should be of the thickness of the
ordinary spirit varnishes, such as photographers use for coating their
negative pictures. The exact strength is not a matter of any great
importance, as long as you do not make the solution too rich in shellac;
for by doing this you will impair the purity of your colour to some
extent.
Remember that you must make these compositions _wet_. A very slight
moistening is sufficient to make them _bind_ well when pressed into
their cases.
The first colour of which I shall speak will be the red, or crimson. It
is in the preparation of this colour that you must be most careful about
_dryness_.
CRIMSON STARS.
17. The composition which follows is, in my opinion, the best for
CRIMSON STARS.
Chlorate of potash 24 parts
Nitrate of strontia 32 „
Calomel 12 „
Sulphur 6 „
Shellac 6 „
Sulphide of copper 2 „
Charcoal (fine) 2 „
This composition gives a magnificent deep crimson when burnt _at night_.
Do not be disappointed, if, in your experiments _in the day-time_, the
colour should not appear very deep.
Remember that there are two kinds of colours in pyrotechny, and that
beyond a certain point it is impossible to amalgamate their respective
qualities. The first of these two kinds is the colour _which has a
considerable depth of tint, but which has not much reflective or
illuminative power_. The other kind is that _which has a very decided,
but not so deep, tint, and which is capable of surrounding itself with a
luminous atmosphere of colour during its combustion—in fact, which has
great brilliancy and power of illuminating objects_. Now the _last_ of
these two kinds is the proper one to be employed for star purposes. We
should never desire to produce a shower of dead-looking stars, however
intense their colour might be. It is also an ascertained fact that the
colour of stars always _appears deeper when seen from a distance_. Do
not then be disappointed, I repeat, if the colour appears somewhat weak
when you are making a trial of your composition _just under your eyes in
the day-time_.
Now, with regard to the crimson star composition above, remember that I
only say that it is one that succeeds _in my hands_. You may, perhaps,
think it too rapid in its combustion, in which case you can increase the
proportion of calomel, or decrease that of the chlorate of potash. The
calomel has the effect of deepening the colour, but at the same time of
retarding the combustion, and of weakening the illuminative power. The
shellac must be in as fine a powder as possible; it has the effect of
producing a rich, thick flame, and also of rendering more sulphur
unnecessary. It also enables the composition, after having been wetted
with the above fluid, to harden into a mass tolerably impervious to
moisture. The sulphide of copper is used for the purpose of giving a
very slight bluish tint to the flame, and thereby of neutralising any
yellow that might impair the purity of the crimson, arising from
impurity of the chemicals.
You should keep all these ingredients ready powdered, dried, and sifted
through your 40-mesh sifter; and then, when you require stars, you will
having nothing to do but to weigh out the proportions given in the
formula, and mix them on paper with a spatula. The more you handle the
nitrate of strontia, or any composition containing it, the moister it
will become, and the less effect it will produce. Therefore do not think
of mixing the ingredients till you are ready to make your stars, and
have a convenient, dry, warm place in which to stow them when made.
You can procure the things mentioned in the above receipt, and, in fact,
those required for all the coloured compositions, of Mr. Darby, 98,
Regent Street, Lambeth.
But, in case you may think it desirable to prepare and dry your nitrate
of strontia yourself, I give you the following directions—
Procure a common earthenware pipkin, or, still better, a glazed iron
frying-pan of a convenient size. Into this place your nitrate of
strontia in rough crystals. One or two pounds will be sufficient to
prepare at a time. Place the vessel on a clear fire, but do not make it
too hot. There is not the slightest danger of explosion, as this salt
cannot be induced to burn except in combination with other things. You
must now boil, or rather stew, the crystals in their own water of
crystallisation. The heat will soon cause them to run into a thick pulpy
mass. When in this state, they must be _constantly stirred_, or upon the
evaporation of the moisture they will resume a crystalline form. This
you wish particularly to avoid, as your object is to get this mass into
_powder_. Continue then to stir it with a stick or flat piece of wood
until the moisture is driven off by the heat, and the salt remains in
the condition of a white dry sand. A few trials will enable you to
perform this operation in such a manner that after it the strontia will
be ready at once for use. If, however, enough stirring did not take
place, you will find some fused lumps among your dry preparations; these
must be pounded in a mortar, and afterwards dried.
The operation described above is very simple, and does not take long to
perform. No strontia can be used for coloured stars or fires
_unprepared_. If, after keeping the dried nitrate of strontia for some
time, you find that it is again becoming moist, it may be re-dried,
either in the vessel used above, or in an open dish placed in a
well-heated oven. This operation is proper also for the preparation of
the nitrate of baryta.
For the solution of shellac you will find the following plan a
convenient one:—Make a very strong solution of the resin in methylated
spirit of wine, which shall be as thick as treacle. As you require your
thinner solution for moistening coloured star compositions, dilute a
portion of the thicker solution with the methylated spirit to the
strength required.
The sulphur used in all coloured compositions should be as free as
possible from acid; otherwise, when mixed with chlorate of potash, it
may be dangerous. If you have any doubt about it, wash the sulphur in a
solution of common potash in water, and dry it gradually. The acid will
be entirely neutralised by this plan. Never think of pounding sulphur
and chlorate of potash together; they form a detonating compound which
will explode with friction or percussion.
The compositions that I here give for colours are _perfectly safe_ when
made as I direct. I have made coloured stars from them, and placed these
stars at the side of a fireplace till they have become so hot that I
could not bear them in my hands, and I have subjected them to several
tests, all of which they have stood well; and I think I may safely
recommend them to you as not at all liable to spontaneous combustion or
possessed of any dangerous quality. I must tell you, however, that _they
may be heated till they explode_, but it is _quite unnecessary and very
foolish_ to expose them to any high temperature at all. In drying them,
a good plan is to put them in front of a fire in a flat tin box, which
will prevent any chance of their being ignited, and will at the same
time keep them in a thoroughly dry atmosphere till they become perfectly
hard. The box may be placed about two feet from the fire, so that it
becomes moderately warm.
In filling the pill-boxes with composition, put a piece of quick-match
through them, as directed above, and hold them by the two projecting
ends of match. Let a short groove be cut in the side of the stick with
which you press in the composition, large enough to allow it to pass the
quick-match without injuring it.
ROSE-COLOURED STARS.
18. I now give you a composition for producing
ROSE-COLOURED STARS.
No. 2.
Chlorate of potash 20 parts.
Carbonate of strontia 8 „
Calomel 10 „
Shellac 2 „
Sulphur 3 „
Charcoal (fine) 1 part
The advantage of this composition is that it is not at all liable to
suffer from damp in winter. The carbonate of strontia is a salt not
deliquescent like the nitrate, and is, moreover, always to be had in a
state of fine powder. The colour procured by the above formula is not so
deep as that which the first composition will produce; but it is
especially beautiful when contrasted with an intense blue. If its
combustion should be thought too rapid, less of the chlorate of potash
may be employed. It is to be moistened with the solution of shellac.
GREEN STARS.
19. Our next colour will be the green. I have especially observed that
stars of this colour always appear far more intense when burning at a
distance than when close to the spectator. The colour produced by the
nitrate of baryta is never very deep where any great rapidity of
combustion is required. It is, however, an exceedingly pretty tint, and
is seen to its greatest advantage when used in contrast with a rich red.
I employ the following formula for
GREEN ROCKET STARS.
No. 3.
Chlorate of potash 20 parts.
Nitrate of baryta 40 „
Calomel 10 „
Sulphur 8 „
Shellac 3 „
Charcoal (fine) 1 part.
Sulphide of copper 1 „
The composition made according to this formula will produce a colour
which leaves nothing to be desired, if the several ingredients be only
_in fine powder, dry, and pure_. It is not affected by moisture nearly
so much as any composition containing nitrate of strontia. The shellac
employed should be as fine as possible. And here let me remark that the
reduction of shellac to powder is a process of itself; no
coarsely-powdered shellac will answer your purpose. Mr. Darby will
supply you with it in _fine_ powder quite as cheaply as you can get it
done elsewhere. Composition No. 3 is to be moistened with the solution
of shellac. The sulphide of copper you may have some difficulty in
procuring. You are sure, however, to meet with it at the shop of Messrs.
Bolton and Co., 146, Holborn-Bars, London, but you must ask for the
_fused_ sulphide of copper, for there is a _precipitated_ sulphide also,
which is of no use to you. Do not use any of it that will not pass
through your 40-mesh sifter. I add this ingredient rather as an
improvement than as necessary to the composition. You may substitute for
it, if you please, the preparation of copper which I am about to
recommend in the composition for blue stars. If composition No. 3 should
be thought too fierce, try the addition of a little more calomel.
PALE ROSE-COLOURED STARS.
20. The next formulas that I shall give are two which I have
occasionally used and found effective. Their merit is that they possess
a very intense illuminative power; their colour, however, is not so
intense as that of those which I have already given. They have also the
advantage of being very readily ignited, but care must be taken not to
expose them to a high temperature in drying. The following are their
formulas:—
PALE ROSE-COLOURED STARS.
No. 4.
Nitrate of strontia 8 parts.
Chlorate of potash 4 „
Sulphur 3 „
Sulphuret of antimony 2 „
Take especial care that the nitrate of strontia used in this formula be
very dry.
21. PALE-GREEN STARS.
PALE-GREEN STARS.
No. 5.
Nitrate of baryta 16 parts.
Chlorate of potash 8 „
Sulphur 6 „
Antimony 3 „
The compositions made from both these formulas give a pale colour when
seen close; but when falling from a rocket, and viewed at a distance,
produce a very charming effect, particularly when contrasted one against
the other. They must be moistened with the solution of shellac.
GOLDEN-YELLOW STARS.
22. The next colour that we will deal with is the yellow. The
composition for this colour is a very satisfactory one, on account of
its having no tendency to deterioration from damp. There are many
formulas used for this colour directing the use of the nitrate of soda.
This salt is, if anything, more difficult to keep dry than the nitrate
of strontia. I therefore have abandoned it for another preparation,
which I believe to be _as effective_ and thoroughly permanent. I
recommend the following for
GOLDEN-YELLOW STARS.
No. 6.
Chlorate of potash 20 parts.
Nitrate of baryta 30 „
Oxalate of soda 15 „
Sulphur 8 „
Shellac 4 „
If it be thought advisable to give the stars made from this formula a
tailed appearance, add one part of fine charcoal. The composition is to
be moistened with the shellac solution. The stars form a beautiful
contrast with those of an intense blue.
BLUE STARS.
23. And now comes the last, and, in my opinion, the most beautiful
colour of all. This is the blue. It has generally been considered a very
dangerous colour, but the following formulas I have always found
thoroughly safe:—
BLUE STARS.
No. 7.
Chlorate of potash 8 parts.
Sulphide of copper 6 „
Chertier’s copper 5 „
Sulphur 4 „
Or,
No. 8.
Chlorate of potash 12 „
Chertier’s copper 6 „
Sulphur 4 „
Calomel 1 part.
These formulas give a rather pale but very brilliant blue. The
compositions have the advantage of being very readily ignited.
PURPLE STARS.
24. If a deeper blue is required, use the following, which I shall
dignify by the name of
PURPLE STARS.
No. 9.
Chlorate of potash 16 parts.
Chertier’s copper 12 „
Calomel 8 „
Stearine 2 „
Sulphur 2 „
Shellac 1 part.
This gives the most intense blue that I have seen used in pyrotechny,
and, with crimson or yellow stars, forms a truly magnificent contrast.
Chertier’s copper is a preparation discovered by a Frenchman of that
name, and particularly adapted to the requirements of the pyrotechnist.
It is made as follows:—Take any quantity of common sulphate of copper
(blue vitriol) and dissolve it in as little water as possible; then take
an _equal_ quantity by weight of chlorate of potash and dissolve it also
in as little water as will hold it in solution. Mix these two solutions,
and boil them _gently_ over a clear fire until the moisture is nearly
evaporated; then dry the green precipitate that remains _by a gentle
heat_. _When dry_ treat it with strong liquor ammoniæ till it changes to
a _deep blue_ colour; then let it dry very gradually in a warm place. If
this operation be properly performed you will have a fine, very light
blue powder, which is in reality a _chlorate of potash with copper and
ammonia_. This is what I designate as Chertier’s copper. Messrs. Bolton
and Co. will no doubt prepare it for you if you please.
The stearine employed in the above composition must be in fine powder.
It is easily reduced to this state by being treated in the same way as
camphor or spermaceti. If a few drops of spirits of wine are used with
it, it can be powdered in a mortar.
Compositions Nos. 7, 8, and 9, must be moistened, NOT _with the solution
of shellac, but with the gum-water_ which have recommended to be used in
making up the _brilliant_ stars. Care, however, should be taken that for
this purpose the gum-water has not become acid by long standing. A very
little of the fluid will make the composition bind well, and will enable
you to form from it stars of great tenacity and hardness.
I think now that want of variety is a thing that you can hardly complain
of; but I must beg you to bear in mind the following particulars:—
The stars of which I have at present spoken are only _for rocket
purposes_; they are not to be used for Roman candles. Another plan is
adopted with reference to these, and their preparation will be described
in its proper place.
When these rocket stars are to be used some of the powder recommended
before must be strewed among them; you can make that mixture weaker if
you please, using one proportion of fine charcoal to _five_ or even
_four_ of meal-powder.
The projecting ends of quick-match render these stars much more certain
of ignition than the ordinary cubic stars.
It is advisable not to prepare your coloured stars until you are ready
to use them, because, unless protected from damp in the most careful
manner, they will lose some of their beauty, and you will thereby not be
making the most of them. They may appear to you expensive things to
prepare, but you must bear in mind that _two or three rockets containing
them_ are quite sufficient for any one exhibition such as I suppose you
will be likely to give.
Remember that the red, green, and blue or purple stars may be used
_mixed_ with a very beautiful effect. The purple and golden, or purple
and crimson, or rose, will also form excellent contrasts.
GOLDEN RAINS.
25. One species of rocket decoration, the manufacture of which I
proposed to describe, remains yet to be considered. It is called _Golden
Rain_, and with the details of its preparation we will conclude our
subject of rocket-making.
[Illustration:
Fig. 32.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 33.
]
Golden rains are made in the following manner:—Procure a piece of brass
rod (I always prefer brass for formers, because it is not liable to
rust, as is iron or steel), the diameter of which is 3–16ths of an inch,
or rather less. The length of the former may be from 6 to 8 inches. You
will now require some thin brown or cartridge paper, of which to make
your cases. Cut this paper into short strips, about 2 inches wide, and
long enough, when wrapped round the former, to make a case whose
external diameter should be a quarter of an inch, or rather more. The
former should have a cup-shaped, hollow cut in one of its ends, into
which the paper may be turned, to form a closed end to your little
cases. Paste your strips of cartridge paper all over, and also rub some
paste on the former. Now, having turned back one end of your
strips—(figs. 32 and 33)—roll it round the former, beginning in the
manner here sketched, so that, instead of rolling a single edge of paper
round the former, you are rolling a double one. The advantages of this
plan for making cases will be more easy for you to see than for me to
describe. I may state, however, that you insure, by adopting it, a very
close and even fit of the case to the former; you secure the inner edge
of the paper from coming unfastened, and you are much more certain that
your strips will roll up straightly. This plan may be adopted, if you
please, for all cases. I think it is, on the whole, the safest and best.
The paste which you rubbed on the former will enable you to draw it out
from the case without tearing or injury. But before removing the former
entirely, draw it out only so far as to leave its cupped end a quarter
of an inch inside one of the ends of your case—so far, in fact, that a
quarter of an inch of your case remains unoccupied by the former. Now
pinch in the paper that projects beyond the former, and drive it down
with a tap upon your pasting slab, so that the twisted end is pressed
into the cup of the former. By this means you will have a neat and
secure end to your cases, which may be dipped afterwards into warm size
or glue. If a little red lead be mixed with this size, it will solidify
much more rapidly. This dipping the ends of the cases into size should
not be done until they are dry from the paste.
Now we come to the filling of these little cases; and for this purpose
you will require a simple apparatus, known among pyrotechnists as “the
funnel and wire.” The funnel is usually made of tin, and has at its
mouth a short tube, about a quarter of an inch long, the exterior
diameter of which is equal to the exterior diameter of your brass
former, so that it will exactly fit into the mouth of your golden rain
cases. The wire should be of steel, about 1–10th of an inch in diameter,
and at least 6 inches long. For convenience in working, it should have a
small wooden handle. The handles sold in the tool-shops for engravers’
tools will answer very well. This is the whole of the apparatus required
for making golden rains.
The composition employed for filling the cases is the following:—
GOLDEN RAINS.
Meal-powder 6 parts.
Nitre 1 part.
Fine charcoal 2 parts.
Or,
Meal-powder 8 „
Fine charcoal 3 „
Let these ingredients be very intimately mixed. When the composition is
ready for use, place the tubular mouth of the funnel in the mouth of one
of your little cases; and then put the wire, through the neck of the
funnel, down to the bottom of the case. Next, half fill the funnel with
one of the above compositions. Now, steadying the case with one hand,
raise the wire a little by its handle, and drive it down again. Continue
to repeat this operation, giving the wire a succession of short, rapid
strokes. You may give about fifteen strokes in five seconds. Each time
the wire is raised, a small quantity of the composition falls round it
into the case, and the descent of the wire has the effect of driving the
composition firmly and compactly into its place. When the case is
charged, the funnel must be removed, and the space that was occupied by
its nozzle filled with gunpowder paste—gunpowder, that is, or
meal-powder moistened with gum-water. This will prevent the composition
from being shaken out of the cases, and at the same time forms the best
method of priming them. Take care that this paste is pressed well into
the mouth of the cases, and fills them.
PORTFIRES.
26. The “funnel and wire” operation is one to which the pyrotechnist has
recourse for many purposes, one of which I may as well mention here, as
it may fairly be said to come under the head of rocket manufacture—I
mean the preparation of _portfires_.
The portfires, used for firing rockets and fireworks, are generally made
in the following manner:—The former for this purpose should be of brass,
and not less than a quarter of an inch in diameter, and the wire for
filling them not less than one-eighth of an inch. Portfire cases are
usually made very thin, three rounds of such paper as that on which the
_Times_ is printed being quite sufficient. The cases are prepared in
precisely the same manner as that described for golden rains, and are
also primed in the same way. The following is the composition which I
use for
PORTFIRES.
Nitre 6 parts
Sulphur 2 „
Meal-powder 1 part.
Portfires may be made of almost any size, according to the purpose for
which they are intended. You will find three-eighths of an inch quite
large enough for the inner diameter of any that you are likely to
require. If they are to be used for firing exhibitions, you will find
that 8 to 12 inches will be a convenient length. The funnel and wire
apparatus is so cheaply made that you will be able to provide yourself
with two or three sets of these tools, of different sizes, so as to
answer any purpose.
We are thus brought to the conclusion of the subject of rockets and
their accessories. I trust that I have made my method of operation
sufficiently intelligible and plain. The main difficulty that meets any
one who attempts to describe a delicate and particular system of working
lies in the fact that when one is thoroughly conversant with his
subject, particularly in all its minutiæ, he is very liable to overlook,
or to treat as unimportant in his directions, some point because it
appears trifling to him, and is never likely to be forgotten in _his_
practice, the involuntary omission of which, however, may be a frequent
cause of failure in the hands of others. I have tried throughout to
evade any possibility of misunderstanding; and if I have been too
diffuse, it has been solely from the desire to avoid that which has
certainly been the fault of almost all the treatises on pyrotechny that
I have seen, viz., indistinctness arising from insufficiency of detail.
Our next subject shall be that of
ROMAN CANDLES.
27. Fireworks of this species are exceedingly beautiful and effective,
especially when made with coloured stars, and fired in numbers. Their
manufacture is somewhat difficult, but the difficulty is one well worth
overcoming. I made a considerable series of experiments before I
produced a Roman candle that answered my expectations. At last, however,
I hit upon a plan which has never since failed in my hands, and I think
that, if I can succeed in making my meaning understood, and you will
undertake to follow my directions closely, you will find my plan a good
one.
There are several conditions upon which success depends, and which it
will be as well to enumerate. A poor Roman candle is not worth making.
If you wish to produce one that will satisfy you, remember—
1st.—That you must have a composition to burn in the intervals between
the stars, which will produce as good an effect when the Roman candle is
almost spent as when first lighted—in fact, which will throw a jet of
fire uniformly good throughout.
2nd.—That your stars must be hard enough to resist the pressure of the
drift with which you consolidate the composition.
3rd.—That the stars must be of tolerably rapid combustion, otherwise
they will not be ignited before they are blown into the air.
4th.—That the charges of powder for blowing the stars must be regulated
to a great nicety. If too small, they will not throw them high enough;
if too large, they may burst the case, or spoil the intended effect of
the stars, or so disturb the composition below them that three or four
of the stars will be fired in rapid succession, or almost
instantaneously.
Now, the first thing to be considered is the size of which Roman candles
are to be made. I make them of _one_ size only, for I have found that it
is much more convenient to have but one size of stars to prepare, and
one size of cases to roll, and one scale of powder-charge to remember,
than to run the risk of confusion by having to think of various sizes.
Besides, all the effect that these pieces are capable of can be produced
by my one size. This size is _that called the 2-oz. Roman candle_. The
former for the cases must be five-eighths of an inch in diameter, and
should be 18 inches long.
These fireworks require rather a large amount of paper and imperial
board for the manufacture of their cases. A good stout case may be made
as follows:—Cut your sheets of 70-lb. brown paper into halves, and your
sheets of imperial board into six equal pieces. One of these pieces,
with one half-sheet of 70-lb. paper, will make one case. Paste your
pieces of imperial board _all over_, as well as the sheets of paper. Rub
some paste on your former, and proceed to roll a piece of the pasted
board tightly and smoothly round the former till all but about two
inches of it is rolled. Then take the pasted half-sheet of brown paper,
and roll this upon the imperial board in the manner described for making
golden rain cases. The method there given is of especial value when the
cases that you are making are of considerable length, because it enables
you to roll the paper and board very straightly, which cannot be done so
easily by any other means that I know of. The cases thus made will be
pasted throughout and can be easily removed from off the former. They
will be about 14 inches long, which is a very good size. You can, of
course, make them shorter for experiments, but you will find the above
size not too large for exhibition purposes. I do not think it will do to
make the cases very much thinner than I have directed, but a few
experiments will decide what length or thickness of case succeeds best
in your hands. I have given you my size, which I have no wish to alter.
Now the next thing to be done is to prepare the stars. These are made in
a tubular mould, the exact size of which I have sketched in the page of
illustrations, Fig. 37. But before giving you directions for making
these stars, I may as well furnish you with a few formulas for their
composition.
WHITE ROMAN-CANDLE STARS.
28. The brilliant stars may be made of the same composition as that
given you for rocket stars of that kind. If, however, you require a
_more white_ star, use the following:—
WHITE ROMAN-CANDLE STARS.
Composition No. 1.
Nitre 48 parts.
Sulphur 10 „
Regulus of antimony 8 „
Realgar 6 „
Red lead 4 „
Shellac 1 part.
This formula gives a much purer white than the formula for ordinary
brilliant stars, which are always bluish in tint. Composition No. 1 must
be moistened with the solution of shellac recommended for rocket stars.
YELLOW ROMAN-CANDLE STARS.
29. Yellow Roman-candle stars may be made from the same formula as that
given for yellow rocket stars.
GREEK ROMAN-CANDLE STARS.
30. Greek Roman-candle stars may be made from the formulas given for
rocket stars; but there is also another formula, which produces a rather
deeper tint, but is hardly rapid enough in combustion for rocket stars.
It is the following:—
GREEN ROMAN-CANDLE STARS.
Composition No. 2.
Nitrate of baryta 40 parts.
Chlorate of potash 20 „
Calomel 12 „
Sulphur 12 „
Shellac (fine) 4 „
Charcoal (fine) 1 part.
This composition must be moistened with the solution of shellac. It will
produce a most lovely colour, if the _baryta be pure_.
CRIMSON, ROSE, BLUE, AND PURPLE ROMAN-CANDLE STARS.
31. The formulas for crimson, rose, blue, and purple Roman-candle stars
are the same as given for rocket stars, and must be moistened with the
liquid directed in my last paper as proper for each one.
You have now formulas for making brilliant, white, golden, green,
crimson, rose, blue, and purple stars.
ROMAN-CANDLE STARS (To Make).
32. In order to make the stars, moisten the compositions _very
slightly_. The mould in which these stars are shaped is a brass tube of
a size proportioned to the size of the Roman-candle case, and is
generally about one-sixteenth of an inch smaller in its inner diameter
than the case. The drift with which the composition is pressed into the
tube is made of boxwood or metal, and fits easily into the tubular
mould. At one of its ends there is a wire point. Place the end having
the point in the mould as far as it will go. You will find a space left
at the end of the mould unoccupied by the drift. Press this empty end of
the tube into the slightly-moistened composition until it is filled by
it, so that the drift, being driven down upon the composition, will
compress it into a firm cylindrical mass, into the centre of which the
wire point projects. Figures 35, 37, and 39, represent the mould, drift,
and finished star. When the star is thus formed in the mould the drift
must be reversed, and its long plain end inserted, and the star pushed
out. The object of making the star hollow is that it may dry and harden
perfectly in its centre. If heat is employed to dry the stars, they have
a tendency to harden outside rapidly, and thereby an impervious coating
is formed, through which the inner moisture cannot evaporate. This
difficulty is obviated by leaving a hole in the centre of the star, and
this hole is made of use for another important purpose—namely, _the
priming_ of the star.
My plan for insuring the ignition of the stars is, as far as I know,
peculiar to myself, and I have the satisfaction of knowing that it has
never failed me. Some pyrotechnists recommend the smearing of the star
with a very combustible paste; this plan, however, must to some extent
injure the colour of the star. I simply place a little piece of
quick-match into the hole in the star, and allow it to project about a
quarter of an inch above. By this means even slowly-combustible stars
are ignited, and almost every chance of failure is avoided.
This priming, however, should not be done until the stars are to be put
into the cases—at all events, till they are perfectly dry. Their drying
may be effected naturally out-of-doors in the summer, when a very few
hours’ exposure in the sun will render them thoroughly hard and fit for
use. In the winter time, however, artificial heat should be used. I
always find that the more rapidly, _up to a certain point_, these stars
are hardened, the better they keep. Nothing, however, will be gained by
hurrying them through this process, except a danger of their exploding.
Place them carefully, and not touching one another, in a tin box having
a lid, and let this box remain at such a distance before a fire that it
can become thoroughly warm, _not hot_, till the stars are thought hard
enough to be put away. They should be kept, when dry, in
closely-stoppered bottles in a dry place. Each star will weigh, at
least, thirty grains.
COMPOSITION FOR ROMAN CANDLES.
33. I must now suppose your stars and cases to be ready for use; and,
therefore, the next thing to be considered will be the composition which
is to form the intervals between the stars in the cases. For this
purpose I give you three formulas.
COMPOSITION FOR ROMAN
CANDLES.
No. 1.
Nitre 18 parts.
Sulphur 6 „
Charcoal (fine) 7 „
Meal-powder 4 „
This composition is one which answers very well. I think, however, that
the following is better, being rather more rapid in its combustion, and
thus capable of producing a more decided effect when burning at the
lower end of the case:—
No. 2.
Nitre 16 parts.
Meal-powder 8 „
Charcoal (fine) 6 „
Sulphur 6 „
This is the composition which I generally employ. Both of these formulas
give rather a dusty mixture, and can be used with much greater
cleanliness and comfort if slightly moistened. Only so much spirits of
wine or gin must be used as will render them less dusty, and not wet.
The following composition is very useful, but produces rather a jet of
flame with sparks than a rich sparkling fountain:—
No. 3.
Nitre 16 parts.
Meal-powder 11 „
Sulphur 6 „
Antimony 4 „
This composition is of a more heavy and less dusty nature, but can also
be slightly moistened, if you find it more convenient to use it when
thus treated. Take care that in each case the ingredients are well
mixed.
ROMAN-CANDLE CASES (To Fill).
34. Having selected one of the above compositions, you will now be ready
to fill your cases. For this part of your work you will require a small
turned block of wood, like that drawn in the page of illustrations (fig.
40). This block with its projecting piece is called a “settle.” One end
of your Roman-candle case is pressed over the upper part of this settle,
which is made of a size to fit into it tightly. By this means the case
will be supported while it is being filled. The first thing to be done
is to close up one end of the case. This is done by ramming in a small
quantity of dry potter’s clay, such as you used for rockets; this being
driven down over the top of the settle will form a very hard, firm end.
CHARGES FOR ROMAN CANDLES.
35. We now have to enter upon the most difficult part of the manufacture
of Roman candles. This is the regulation of the charges of powder which
are to blow the stars into the air. These are so small, and necessarily
so, that unless their quantity be very accurately measured you are very
likely to spoil the performance of the whole. The following table will
give you _an approximate_ idea of the quantity that each charge should
contain; but so much depends upon the _quality_ of the gunpowder which
you employ, that it is impossible to give you anything more than an
approximation:—
For the 1st star 3 grains.
„ 2nd „ 4 „
„ 3rd „ 4 „
„ 4th „ 5 „
„ 5th „ 5 „
„ 6th „ 6 „
„ 7th „ 6 „
„ 8th „ 7 „
„ 9th „ 8 „
„ 10th „ 30 „
Gunpowder exerts more or less force in its combustion in proportion as
it meets with more or less resistance. It is in accordance with this
principle that those charges of gunpowder which are at or near the lower
end of the Roman-candle case, are obliged to be much smaller than those
placed nearer its mouth. If it were not so, and all the charges were
alike, when the combustion reached a certain point the case would be
burst. You must modify the quantities given in the above table until you
produce the greatest and best effect with the greatest economy of power.
I think that the five first charges will not require to be altered much.
I have given charges for _ten_ stars. You need not, of course, put so
many into the case; but you should not put in less than _eight_. All
must depend in this matter upon the quantity of composition which you
like to use in the intervals between the stars. _Only be sure to keep
the two last charges of gunpowder always the same, and do not place the
two last stars too near the mouth of the case._ The reason why these
rules must be observed is that the force of the charges of gunpowder
which lie near the mouth of the case is so soon spent, that if the stars
are too near the mouth of the Roman candle they will do little more than
fall out of the case, instead of being blown to their proper height. The
first star means, not that one which is fired first from the Roman
candle, _but that which is first put into it_.
Your best plan for measuring the charges of powder is to have some small
scoops or ladles made of very thin sheet-brass, of the same shape as
that used in filling rockets, and capable of holding exactly the right
charge of powder for each star. This is the only plan that I am aware of
for insuring with any accuracy the various quantities.
Now, having your stars primed, as directed above, with quick-match, your
clay rammed firmly into the lower end of the case, and your composition
ready moistened for use, you must cut some _thin_ touch-paper into
squares of an inch in size. Next you must be provided with a round stick
with a flat end, which will pass easily into the case from one end to
the other, not shorter than _eighteen inches_. Your materials and
apparatus are now complete.
First put into the case the first charge of gunpowder, and take care
that this finds its way to the bottom of the case; drop in next the
first star, _with its priming upwards_. Take care also that the star
lies directly upon the charge of powder. Now, by means of another brass
scoop made to hold the proper quantity of composition, put into the case
half the quantity that is to be rammed between the first and second
stars. You must then press this into its place by means of your
ramming-stick. This can be done with the hand, without any mallet. The
weight of a mallet would break the star beneath. Remember always to ram
in the composition which is to form the interval between the stars _in
two quantities_. If you attempt to ram it all in at once it will not be
sufficiently consolidated, and its combustion will be too rapid. The
quantity of composition must depend entirely upon your own taste. I
generally put in as much, in two quantities, as will rise about an inch
in height in the case; it will not do to put in less.
Then upon the top of this composition put one of the square pieces of
thin touch-paper. This may be rammed down in the same manner in which a
gun-wadding is driven upon the top of the charge. The object of this
little piece of touch-paper is to prevent the charge of powder which is
above it from disturbing in its explosion the composition which is below
it. This I have always found it most effectually does, and allows,
moreover, of the use of a rather stronger charge of powder, than could
be employed without it. Having put this in flatly, measure out your
second charge of powder, and put upon the top of it your second star,
then another half-charge of composition, then the remaining half-charge,
then another piece of thin touch-paper, and so on till the case is
filled. _The last charge of powder should not be less than two inches
below the mouth of the case._ The Roman candles should always begin with
composition in their burning.
ARRANGEMENT OF STARS.
36. With regard to the arrangement of the stars, I generally vary the
colours as much as possible in each Roman candle. If these pieces are to
be fired singly, it matters little what the order of the colours is; but
if they are to be fired in numbers, it will be necessary to arrange them
so that they do not throw up the same colours at the same time. The plan
that I adopt to prevent this is the following:—I make out a list of the
coloured stars that I have ready to use, arranging them, for instance,
in the following order:—brilliant, green, yellow, blue, red, white,
purple, rose. The _first_ Roman candle may be filled with its stars in
this order. In the second I should begin with the green, in the third
with the yellow, and so on, till all that are to be fired at once are
completed.
PREPARATION OF TOUCH-PAPER.
37. I have spoken about touch-paper, but I do not think that I have yet
described its preparation. This is very simple. Obtain some thin blue
paper—not so thin as tissue-paper, but thinner than the ordinary blue
paper used by shopkeepers—brush or sponge this over with a weak solution
of nitre. If this solution is made too strong, the nitre will
recrystallise as the water evaporates in drying, and this should not be
the case.
QUICK-MATCH.
38. Quick-match, of a quality good enough to answer for priming to the
Roman-candle stars, may be made simply as follows:—Make a thick paste of
gunpowder and hot water with a small quantity of gum in it. Take about
four strands of cotton, such as is sold in balls and used for making the
wicks of lamps, steep this in the solution of nitre used above for
making touch-paper, and then wring it as dry as possible; then rub it
well in the gunpowder paste till it is thoroughly covered with it. One
end of the cotton may then be passed through a small funnel, whose mouth
is not more than an eighth of an inch in width. By this means, if the
whole length of the cotton is drawn through it, the superfluous paste
will be removed, and the match will be of a nice round form. Hang it
out-of-doors on a dry day, and when it is nearly dry coil it upon a tray
or paper, and dust it over with meal-powder. In winter it will not be
sufficiently dry for use under a week. When thoroughly dry it should be
stiff and hard, and the less it is bent or doubled the better.
If you wish to use this match for connecting the mouths of different
fireworks, or “clothing” them, as it is termed, you must make some long
paper tubes round a wire former which has a diameter of not less than
three-sixteenths of an inch. These pipes are threaded on the match, and
have a piece cut away at their side wherever they are inserted into the
mouth of a case, in order that the match may be laid bare and convey its
fire to the priming of the cases.
I have given you these short hints for the preparation of a quick-match.
I cannot, however, recommend your acting upon them, as the manufacture
of this useful article involves a great deal of very dirty work.
Unfortunately, quick-match is rather expensive to buy, while it may be
made at a very trifling cost. It is a most indispensable accessory, and
if you dare face the dirty work, you will find your courage will well
repay you. You may prepare it any way that you please, remembering that
all that is necessary is to coat the cotton well with a
highly-combustible compound, and one which will dry thoroughly.
Your Roman candles, when charged, should be finished with touch-paper;
or with ordinary paper, to receive the quick-match, if they are intended
to be fired simultaneously in numbers.
I trust that the above directions will enable you to succeed in the
manufacture of a species of firework without which no exhibition can be
complete, and with which so many and beautiful effects may be produced.
In case you should prefer to buy your chemicals and various ingredients
of an operative chemist, I beg to refer you to Messrs. Bolton & Co.,
146, Holborn-bars, London, in whose preparations I have great
confidence, and who will undertake to supply you with all the articles
required in pyrotechny at the prices in the subjoined list. You will
perceive that it is much more economical to purchase them _by the pound_
whenever they are required in such quantities. Many of the things,
however, you will need to use only sparingly, and these, therefore, may
be bought by the ounce. I think the following list will be found to
contain nearly all the preparations that you will require; there may be
a few things omitted, such, for instance, as red lead (used in the
composition for white Roman-candle stars), but this can be procured of
any country chemist or painter:—
Per lb. Per oz.
_s._ _d._ _s._ _d._
Nitre in powder 0 8
Meal-powder 1 0
Sulphur 0 4
Charcoal 4_d._ to 0 8
Calomel 5 0 0 4
Nitrate of strontia 1 0 0 1
do. do. anhydrous 2 0 0 2
Nitrate of baryta 1 0 0 1
Do. do. anhydrous 2 0 0 2
Chertier’s copper 4 6 0 4
Oxalate of soda 3 0 0 3
Shellac in powder 3 0 0 3
Sulphide of copper fused 2 6 0 2
Realgar 2 0 0 2
Carbonate of strontia 2 0 0 2
Stearine 2 0 0 2
Regulus of antimony 1 9 0 2
Bright steel filings 1 0 0 1
Cast-iron borings 0 6
Powdered glass 1 0 0 1
I have now only to give you a brief description of the woodcuts. Fig. 34
represents the funnel into which golden rain composition is placed; Fig.
35 the drift with which it is rammed; Fig. 36 the case which is to
contain it; Fig. 37 represents the tubular Roman-candle star mould; Fig.
38 the drift with which the stars are rammed; Fig. 39 the finished star
with its quick-match priming; Fig. 40 represents the settle with its
upper part on which the Roman-candle case is to be supported.
The next portion of our subject with which we have to deal is that which
comes under the head of
GERBES AND JETS OF BRILLIANT, CHINESE, AND COMMON FIRES.
CHINESE AND BRILLIANT FIRES.
39. These are certainly among the most beautiful and effective pieces to
be met with in the whole range of pyrotechny. They should find a place
in every exhibition, and, if only prepared properly, according to the
directions which I am now about to give, will be sure to prove one of
the most striking features in your display.
They have one great advantage—that there is no limit to the modes of
combination or arrangement in which these pieces may be effectively
employed. By means of them you can make any such things as the
following:—Fountains of any size or design, cascades, brilliant suns,
either fixed or revolving; bouquets of Chinese fire, Prince of Wales’s
feathers, trees of silver flowers, and a thousand other devices which
will readily occur to you.
But, like many other things which are possessed of highly useful or
ornamental qualities, they have a corresponding disadvantage. Their
compositions, to produce the desired effect, must be made _as shortly as
possible before you intend_ to fire them; for the ingredients upon which
they rely for their beauty are _filings of steel for brilliant fires_,
and _borings of iron for Chinese fires_, and unless these filings and
borings be entirely free from rust at the time when they are fired, the
effect produced will be insignificant as compared with what it should
be. And it must be borne in mind that both iron and steel become very
soon and very easily corroded when mixed with any composition into which
nitre and sulphur enter. I have known cases filled with brilliant or
Chinese fire remain good for a week in winter; but I do not suppose that
even then their performance was at all what it would have been if they
had been prepared for a few hours only.
Many attempts have been made to secure these metallic ingredients from
corrosion. Some have stirred the filings in a varnish made of resin and
spirit; others have shaken them about in powdered black-lead, and so
coated them with this substance. But a coating of any kind is tolerably
certain either to rob the spark, which each particle of metal should
produce, of its brilliancy, or to render the composition during
combustion very smoky, and so impair the intended effect.
By far the most successful preparation of steel and iron that I have
noticed is the following:—A weak solution of asphalt in naptha is made,
and the filings or borings are stirred about in this. When it is thought
that they are thoroughly covered with it, the solution is poured off,
and the filings spread out upon a paper to dry. This plan will protect
them from rust for a little time longer than they would otherwise remain
uncorroded. But still the best plan is to prepare the compositions as
short a time as possible before they are to be fired.
The size that I recommend for cases which are intended to contain
Chinese fire is that called the _two-ounce_ case. To make them, the same
former may be used as was employed in the manufacture of Roman-candle
cases already described.
The paper and imperial board may be cut of the following sizes. Open
your sheet of paper, _of the 70-lb. thickness_, to its full size, and
divide it into three pieces, as shown in the following woodcut, Fig.
41:—
[Illustration:
Fig 41.
]
Then open your sheet of imperial board to its full size, and divide it
thus into nine equal pieces, Fig. 42.
So that by these arrangements one sheet of imperial board and three
sheets of 70-lb. brown paper will furnish you with material for _nine_
cases, each of which will be about nine and a-half inches in length.
[Illustration:
Fig. 42.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 43.
]
My plan for rolling the cases is that which I have described in
paragraph 25, but which may perhaps, be rendered slightly more
intelligible by the accompanying sketch. Having pasted one of my strips
of paper and one piece of board all over on one side, and having brushed
some paste over my metal former, I lay the former across the strip of
paper about one-third of its whole length from the end nearest to me. I
then double the one-third of the strip, pasted side downwards, over the
former, on to the remaining two-thirds, Fig. 43, taking care that the
edges of the one are even and parallel with the edges of the other. Then
having made a crease in the upper fold just in front of the former, I
put into this crease the pasted piece of imperial board, and roll up the
whole together. It is necessary, however, _to paste the upper side_ of
the fold of paper which you have made round the former. This I have
always found a very quick, and easy, and perfect method of preparing
cases of any kind. I trust that I have rendered my meaning plain, as I
shall have occasion to refer frequently to this operation. The rolling
board must, of course be used.
The cases when made are to be choked, _while wet_, precisely in the same
manner as described for rocket-cases, only it must be remembered that
their aperture may be almost choked up, because when it has been
reopened by the point over which they are loaded, _it must not be more
than one-third of the interior diameter of the case in size_.
Having described the manufacture of the cases. I now proceed to give the
formulas for the composition of
CHINESE FIRE.
40. There are two sorts of this fire which are known by the names _red_
and _white_. The red is that which contains charcoal, and _therefore has
some red sparks intermixed with those produced by the iron_; the white
is that _the sparks of which are produced by the iron only_. It is my
intention to give several formulas for this fire, in order that my
readers may select for themselves, and use that which they find most
successful.
No. 1.
Meal-powder 16 parts
Nitre 16 „
Sulphur 4 „
Charcoal (No. 2) 4 „
Iron borings 14 „
Or the following is quicker in combustion:—
No. 2.
Meal-powder 16 „
Sulphur 3 „
Charcoal 3 „
Iron borings 7 „
Or,
No. 3.
Meal-powder 8 „
Nitre 16 „
Sulphur 3 „
Charcoal 3 „
Iron borings 8 „
Or,
No 4.
Meal-powder 16 „
Nitre 8 „
Sulphur 4 „
Charcoal 3 „
Iron borings 7 „
The compositions given above produce what is termed _Red Chinese Fire_,
since they all contain charcoal. I have numbered the charcoal, because
Mr. Bolton, 146, Holborn-bars, supplies three different degrees of
fineness, the _second_ of which is proper for this purpose.
The following formulas will produce what is called White Chinese Fire:—
No. 5.
Meal-powder 16 parts.
Nitre 6 „
Sulphur 3 „
Iron borings 10 „
Or,
No. 6.
Meal-powder 16 „
Nitre 4 „
Sulphur 2 „
Iron borings 6 „
Or,
No. 7.
Meal-powder 16 „
Iron borings 5 „
It is an understood rule among pyrotechnists that the smaller the
diameter of the case employed the quicker must be the composition with
which it is filled; or, in other words, a quick composition which
answers well in a case of small diameter will burn too rapidly, or
explode, in a case of larger dimensions. My readers must therefore first
determine the size of the case that they intend to use. It will not be
well to adopt any size of case smaller than the _two-ounce_ for Chinese
fire. If, however, the ¼ lb. size be chosen, I should recommend the
compositions No. 1, No. 3, or No. 5. Nos. 2, 4, 6, 7 will answer very
well in a case of the 2-oz. size.
But if it be thought advisable to have recourse to a case of the ½ lb.
size, a still weaker composition will be required, in which case the
following formulas may be used:—
No. 8.
Nitre 16 parts.
Sulphur 3 „
Charcoal 4 „
Iron borings 7 „
Or,
No. 9.
Nitre 20 „
Sulphur 4 „
Charcoal 4 „
Iron borings 12 „
For general purposes, cases of the 2-oz. size will be found quite large
enough, particularly when used in combination, and not fired singly.
The most effective of all the compositions that I have given is No. 7,
which consists of meal-powder and iron borings only, but it is very
rapid and fierce in its combustion, and will burst the cases into which
it is put unless great care be taken in the ramming. A very little of
the composition must be rammed at a time, in order to insure a
thoroughly equal and solid compression throughout the case. If properly
managed a two-ounce case filled with this composition will throw a very
brilliant jet of large flowers of fire from eight to ten feet in height.
I have sometimes thought that the moistening of composition No. 7 with a
little turpentine, so that it becomes less dusty, has the effect of
preserving the iron or steel from rust to some extent. At all events, it
greatly facilitates the uniform mixing of the ingredients. It must,
however, be especially borne in mind that _neither spirits of wine nor
gin must be used to moisten any composition containing iron or steel_.
The iron borings which Mr. Darby will supply are very effective for the
preparation of Chinese fire.
You should take care that the other ingredients are thoroughly mixed
before you add the iron borings, and then that the iron be equally
distributed throughout the mixture.
The next operation is the filling of the cases. For this you will
require some tools not before mentioned, which I will now proceed to
describe.
You should get Mr. Newman to make you three solid drifts which will pass
very easily into your 2-oz. cases. The first of these should be about
_nine inches long_, the second about five inches long, and the third two
inches long. These tools will always be found convenient for many
purposes in pyrotechny, and not only for the filling of Chinese fire
cases. The two longest of these drifts should be about _nine-sixteenths
of an inch in diameter_; the third may be nearly five-eighths of an
inch.
Your mallet should be, in the measurement of its head, five inches long
and three in diameter. It should be made either of ash or beech.
In the next place you will require a block with a nipple and point, such
as is drawn in the page of illustrations, figs. 44, 45 and 46. This may
be made of wood, with its point only of metal; but I much prefer a metal
nipple and point. Mr. Newman has made for me a set of nipples and
settles in gun-metal, _all of which fit into the same block_. They
answer all purposes, and take up very little room; whereas you will find
a multiplicity of blocks very inconvenient, if your accommodation is as
scanty as mine.
You must, of course, have a scoop of a proper size for filling 2-oz.
cases, and this, I think, will complete your tools.
Your case must now be pressed over the point of your nipple, and by this
means its aperture will be made of the proper size. You will find it
very convenient to have a ring of iron fixed into your block, through
which the case must be passed, which will steady it and keep it in a
perpendicular position while being filled (fig. 47).
[Illustration:
Fig. 47.
]
And this is in reality more than a matter of convenience, for unless the
case be perpendicular while the operation of filling is going on, the
blows of the mallet will not have their proper effect, and the
composition will not be thoroughly consolidated; or, what is worse, the
neck of the case may be wrenched or injured in some manner, and will in
all probability give way and burst upon the combustion of the
composition.
Now drive in your composition, a ladleful at a time, and, after putting
in each ladleful, give the drift twelve blows with the mallet. Fill the
cases till there remains a space of _two inches only_ unoccupied at the
end. Into this end put _a gun-charge and a-half_ of gunpowder. Then with
a bradawl separate one or two of the inner folds of the paper of the
case, and turn these down on the top of the powder.
My method of filling in the ends of the cases is the following:—Melt in
an earthen pipkin a mixture of two parts of common resin and one of wax.
This may be poured into the ends of the cases upon the paper that has
been turned down. It will harden in a few minutes, and will be found to
insure you a good report from the powder.
It only remains now to prime these cases. This is an operation requiring
some care, although it may be performed in a very simple manner. If the
point of your nipple is not too long—that is, is only long enough to
_reach_ the composition _without penetrating it_—all that you need do is
to press into the mouth of the case some meal-powder paste; but if a
cavity has been left in the composition, this must be filled up before
priming, or the case will inevitably burst.
It is an excellent plan to take for your first ladleful, not any of the
compositions for Chinese fire, but a ladleful of some slower fire
containing no iron borings. You may use a mixture consisting of
Nitre 6 parts.
Sulphur 1 part.
Charcoal 1 „
The advantage of attending to this piece of advice will be very apparent
to you, and I strongly recommend the plan to your notice in the case of
_brilliant_, as well as of Chinese, fires.
[Illustration:
Fig. 48
]
Having now described the manufacture of the cases of Chinese fire, I
shall proceed to point out to you some of the combinations in which they
may be used. The simplest is the ordinary Prince of Wales Feather, the
framework of which any blacksmith can make in thin iron rod, having a
couple of holes drilled in it, through which screws may be driven to
fasten it to your post. I give you two sketches (figs. 48 and 49), the
former of which has, in my opinion, rather the advantage. The mouths of
the cases must, of course, be connected with quick-match, so that they
all take fire simultaneously. By having a framework made of iron it will
be liable to no injury from the explosions at the end of the cases. The
same framework may be used with three Roman candles, instead of Chinese
fire cases, and with excellent effect.
[Illustration:
Fig. 49.—Prince of Wales’ Feathers.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 50.
]
The next most simple combination is that which is called the Bouquet of
Chinese Fire. It should be made with, at least, five cases, and will
then be found very effective in its performance. Its framework is of
very simple construction, and may be made in a few minutes by any boy.
The accompanying sketch (fig. 50), will prevent the necessity of any
further explanation.
A very pretty piece may be made, representing a tree of silver flowers.
Procure a straight piece of deal of any length that you require (the
length must be determined by the number of cases that you intend to
use). This will answer for the trunk of the tree. To this nail some
pieces of lath in the shape given in the adjoining woodcut (fig. 51). On
each of these, and at the top of the straight piece, tie a case of
Chinese fire, and connect all the mouths of the cases by means of
quick-match. When ignited, this piece will present a very beautiful
appearance, and may be made a highly satisfactory conclusion to a small
exhibition.
[Illustration:
Fig. 51.
]
It is worthy of remark that all pieces in which Chinese fire is used
should be raised to a considerable height from the ground, otherwise
they will lose much of their beauty, for the sparks produced by the
particles of iron are thrown much farther, and remain visible much
longer, on account of their superior size, than those produced by steel,
and if they have not a certain distance through which to fall, much of
their effect will be thrown away. The post on which I fire nearly all my
pieces _stands ten feet out of the ground_. It is made of deal painted
with lead-colour, and is about three inches square. It can be taken down
or put up at a moment’s notice, as it fits into an oak box sunk in the
ground, of the same kind as those used in drying grounds. If you have a
post of this kind made, see that the part which fits into the box is
_not straight_, but slightly tapered. This will allow of a better fit,
and enable you to remove it far more easily when required.
There are many combinations which it will not be at all necessary for me
to notice here, for the firing of one of these cases of Chinese fire is
not only a beautiful thing in itself, but is also very suggestive of
different devices under which this valuable preparation may be employed.
If any of my readers should hit upon any unusually good device I shall
be glad to hear of it through the publishers of this book; and if my
readers, in the course of their experiments, should stumble upon a
really good plan for preparing iron borings and steel filings so that
they become incorrodible, they will confer a great favour upon the
pyrotechnic world by making it known.
Be sure not to forget to first ram into your cases half-a-ladleful of
the preparatory fire given above: it will save you many a
disappointment. If you prefer a composition a little quicker, add some
meal-powder to it.
Having said all that is necessary to make the manufacture of Chinese
Fire intelligible, I pass on to consider, in the next place, the subject
of Brilliant Fire.
BRILLIANT FIRE.
41.—The points of difference between brilliant and Chinese fires are
these:—
1st.—The sparks produced in the combustion of brilliant fire by steel
filings are much whiter, but at the same time much smaller and
shorter-lived, than those produced by iron borings in Chinese fire.
2nd.—The steel sparks are not thrown to so great a distance, on account
of their superior weight and size; but they are much more numerous, and
afford a rich tale, or “brush,” as it is termed, of glowing
scintillations, rather than a gracefully-falling jet or fountain of
large sparks. This very fact, however, of their not being thrown so far
from the case out of which they are fired renders them capable of
producing an effect in combination of which Chinese fire is incapable.
The cases, when arranged in the position of the radii of a circle or
spokes of a wheel, will throw a _perfectly straight_ brush of brilliant
fire, which will, of course, much more closely represent rays of light
emanating from a centre than any fire the sparks of which have a
tendency to fall.
3rd.—Another point of difference between the composition containing iron
borings and that containing steel filings is that the former should
never be employed in the construction of pieces which have motion; for
the very motion of the piece, or rather the increased impetus with which
the particles of _iron_ are thrown out into the cold air, has the effect
of cooling them so rapidly that almost all their beauty is lost. But
this is not the case with _steel filings_: they seem almost unaffected
by the rapid motion of the piece in which they are employed; and for
this reason they possess an advantage which fully makes up for their
being so much less showy in their performance than the iron borings.
The cases into which the composition for brilliant fire is rammed need
not be so large as those employed for Chinese fire. I employ two
sizes—the 1-oz. size for cases that are intended to turn wheels or any
revolving pieces, and a smaller size still for those that are to remain
perfectly stationary during their combustion.
The fault into which the young pyrotechnist is most likely to fall is
that of using a power considerably in advance of his need. In order that
you may not do this (for there is always fear of failure when you do), I
recommend you _to use no cases for brilliant fire larger than the
one-ounce size_. This, you will find, will give you a moving power amply
sufficient for any wheels that I suppose you are likely to use, and
particularly if you bear in mind the rule, that _increase of power is
gained much more safely and much more effectively by an additional
number of cases burning at the same time than by any additional force
that you can get out of one case_.
The 1-oz. case, as you know by this time, is made round a former exactly
half-an-inch in exterior diameter and 12 inches long. The paper for
these cases may be cut precisely in the same manner as directed for
Chinese fire cases. The imperial board should be cut thus (fig. 52),
into twelve equal pieces. Take care that the _long_ side of the board is
divided into _three_, and the _short_ into four.
[Illustration:
Fig. 52.
]
If, however, you think a shorter case sufficient, cut your sheets of
paper into eight equal parts, thus (fig. 53), and your imperial board
into sixteen pieces—that is, half the length of the strips of paper;
this will give you cases about five and a-half inches in length. Both
these divisions of paper and board are for the 1-oz. cases.
[Illustration:
Fig. 53.
]
I will now speak of the smaller sizes, which are used only in fixed
pieces, and which are generally called on that account, for the sake of
distinction, _fixed cases_.
The former for these is a metal tube 12 inches long and seven-sixteenths
of an inch in exterior diameter. For cases of this size you may either
use paper and board cut as directed above for the longer 1-oz. cases, or
you may divide each sheet of paper into six strips thus (fig. 54), and
each sheet of board into twelve pieces half the length of the strips of
paper.
For filling either the 1-oz. or the fixed cases it will be evident that
you must have at least two drifts for each size that will pass _easily_
into their respective cases—one about 9 inches long in its straight
part, and the other from 2 to 3 inches in length.
[Illustration:
Fig. 54.
]
You must also have a nipple and point over which to ram each different
size of case. The exact size of these nipples you will see in the pages
of illustrations (figs. 45 and 46).
Use the same mallet and observe the same rules in filling these
brilliant fire cases as in filling the cases with Chinese fire.
We are now ready for the compositions. The first given is by far the
most beautiful, and most generally used; but being very rapid in its
combustion, it must be very carefully and uniformly compressed in the
case. No. 2 is of a much quieter character, and may be found useful for
some purposes.
BRILLIANT FIRE.
No. 1.
Meal-powder 4 parts.
Bright steel filings 1 part.
Or,
No. 2.
Meal-powder 16 parts.
Nitre 8 „
Sulphur 3 „
Fine Charcoal 3 „
Bright steel filings 10 „
Neither of these compositions should on any account be mixed before
their preparation is absolutely necessary, for their whole beauty
depends upon the brightness of the filings at the time of firing.
COMMON AND SPARKLING FIRES.
42. I will now give a few formulas for common and sparkling fires, which
will in all probability be found very useful for jets and fixed pieces.
COMMON AND SPARKLING
FIRES.
No. 1.
Meal-powder 4 parts.
Charcoal No. 2 1 part.
Or,
No. 2.
Meal-powder 16 parts.
Nitre 8 „
Sulphur 4 „
Charcoal No. 2 4 „
Or,
No. 3.
Meal-powder 16 „
Very fine glass dust 5 „
Or,
No. 4.
Meal-powder 8 „
Very finely powdered porcelain 3 „
These four compositions will be found effective for many purposes, but
should not be used in cases under the _one-ounce size_. Their great
advantage is that they are not in the least degree impaired by keeping.
They are to be rammed into the cases in precisely the same manner as
directed for Chinese fire.
BRILLIANT FIRE.—EFFECTIVE COMBINATION.
43. But now to return to _brilliant_ fire. I will suppose you to be
using some of the first composition given, and to have completed the
filling of a few cases. Let us see what we can do with these to put them
into effective combination.
[Illustration:
Fig. 54a.—Five-pointed star in brilliant fire.
]
Provide a circular disc of hard wood, 6 inches in diameter, and 1 inch
thick. This is to form the centre of your piece. Nail to this five
spokes of wood at equal distances from one another, and 15 inches long.
Nail also to the back of the central disc a strip of wood about 2 feet
long, 2 inches wide, and three-quarters of an inch thick (fig. 54). By
means of this you can screw the whole piece conveniently to your firing
post. On each of the five spokes tie a case of brilliant fire, reported
at its end, and connect the mouths of these with quick-match. The effect
produced by this piece is very surprising, when we take into account its
extreme simplicity. Its beauty may, however, be much enhanced by the
addition of a Chinese flyer to its centre; but the manufacture of this
auxiliary has not yet been described, and must not be spoken of out of
its place.
A simple large wheel of brilliant fire may be made by fastening two
cases to each end of a strip of wood about 30 inches long, the centre of
which strip is made thick enough to turn steadily on an iron spindle.
The cases are tied on at an angle so as to throw a large circle of fire.
The mouth of the case at one end is connected with that at the other by
means of quick-match. When these two cases are consumed they communicate
their fire to the two inner ones by a quick-match, which is led from the
tail of the first to the mouth of the second. If two of these pieces are
made to revolve on the same spindle _in opposite directions_ a very
magnificent brilliant sun will be formed, throwing a circle of rays 20
feet in diameter. The accompanying sketch (fig. 55) will, I trust, make
these directions sufficiently intelligible.
[Illustration:
Fig. 55.—Brilliant wheel.
]
A fixed sun may be made with any number of brilliant cases arranged as
the radii of a circle, and connected at their mouths with quick-match.
But since pieces of this kind may be rendered so much more effective by
the addition of other fireworks, it will be useless for me to give
drawings of them here. At the point I have sufficiently advanced in this
subject to enable you to complete these exhibition pieces in all their
beauty I have furnished some designs, from which you may perhaps derive
a few useful hints.
I have now, I think, opened to you a wide field for experiment, your
success in which depends now upon a careful following out of my
directions, and upon the amount of taste and ingenuity of which you are
master.
Mr. Newman will supply you with any of the tools mentioned, and either
Mr. Darby, or Messrs. Bolton & Co., with any of the ingredients for your
compositions; and if you have not fairly astonished your friends on some
festive occasion, I do not think the cause will rest with me.
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
Do not forget the preparatory half-ladleful of slow composition in your
cases of brilliant and Chinese fire.
Do not be careless about the manner in which your cases are _primed_.
You would feel very foolish if, in firing a five-pointed brilliant star,
for instance, like the one sketched above, one or two of your cases were
not ignited by the quick-match.
Do not be in a hurry about making your frames. A framework for any
piece, once well made, will last for ever. Remember that the concussion
from your reports will be an excellent test of the strength of your
woodwork.
Lastly, run no risks. Strong compositions have a way of behaving in a
very awkward manner if they take fire unexpectedly, or at the wrong
time; never, therefore, make compositions till the cases are ready to
receive them, and you have time to ram them. And, above all, never leave
batches of composition about, for the temptation is very strong to
inquiring minds to experiment upon their powers of combustion.
WHEELS OF VARIOUS DEVICES, HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL.
44. You will do well to remember that the remarks that I have already
made, under other heads, concerning _device_ are especially applicable
to the subject of wheels. I am not giving you designs to lead you to
suppose that this or that is _the_ way of accomplishing any one object.
There is no limit to the methods by which you may work out any plan, and
this you will discover by degrees, as your knowledge of the art of
pyrotechny grows riper, and your hands become more dexterous, and your
manipulation consequently more easy.
But in the outset of our subject, let me advise you not to attempt to
make catherine-wheels—that is, those small spiral wheels which are made
by the professionals to sell on the Fifth of November, and seem to be
intended for little girls to fire. You have nothing to do with such
pieces as these. Your object is to provide _an exhibition_, and you will
find it worth your while to bear in mind that the fireworks made by
professionals are of two kinds—those made for their _retail_ business,
which consists for the most part of _small_ single pieces, and which are
papered up very neatly for sale, and those which they prepare for their
large exhibitions, and which are in many instances made in an entirely
different way from the former. Catherine-wheels cannot, as far as I can
see, be employed in combination, and on this account they can form no
part of our present work. I am very ready to allow that, when properly
made, they are very pretty little things, but, not being available for
our immediate purpose, they must be passed over here. In case, however,
any one of my readers may happen to be so prejudiced in their favour
that he cannot consider his exhibition perfect without them, I may as
well say that he can procure them of Mr. Darby quite as economically as
he can make them himself, for the rolling and the filling of their cases
involves an expenditure of time and the acquisition of a certain
“knack,” which, when we consider that the wheel _will only do one thing_
after all, seems like a wilful waste of such perseverance as might be
directed much more profitably to some worthier object.
Now, the wheels of which I am about to treat are such as are made by
tying on choked cases, filled with a strong composition, to frames of
various forms, in such a manner that the recoil of the case during
combustion shall have the effect of driving the wheel. The preparation
of the composition for this purpose, and the making and filling the
cases are exceedingly simple: and, in fact, the only part of
wheel-making which requires any degree of nicety is the preparation of
the woodwork; for, unless the framework of the wheel be tolerably well
balanced, and made to run easily and smoothly on its axis, much of the
intended effect of your piece will be lost.
But we had better begin with the cases and compositions, and then
proceed to consider the various modes of combination in which they can
be employed.
The cases that I use for wheel purposes are of two sizes only—the 2-oz.
and the 1-oz. size; and of these two sizes, the one far most commonly
useful is the 1-oz. Cases of the 2-oz. size are necessary only for large
wheels, where a considerable weight of material has to be set in motion.
I make both these sizes of cases of the same length—that is, about 5½
inches long.
[Illustration:
Fig. 56.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 57.
]
The paper for the 2-oz. wheel-cases is to be cut as follows:—Divide each
sheet of 70-lb. brown paper into eight equal pieces (see fig. 56), and
then divide each sheet of imperial board into ten equal strips. Then
proceed to make your cases, pasting and rolling them in precisely the
same manner as previously directed, taking especial care that the inner
fold of the paper, which lies next the former, is thoroughly saturated
with paste, so that it is not loose when the former is drawn out of the
case. If this inner edge be left loose, the composition will get behind
it, and, upon firing the case, will act as a quick-match, and infallibly
burst the whole, and destroy your piece, and not only your piece of
pyrotechny, but also your peace of mind; so do not fail to remember this
hint.
Your 1-oz. cases for wheels must be made in the same manner, and with
the same care. But your imperial board must be cut differently. Cut your
70-lb. paper in the same manner as directed above for 2-oz. cases—into
eight equal strips—and your board into pieces of half that size—that is,
into sixteen pieces. These divisions will give you cases quite thick
enough for all purposes. Of course, each case is to consist of one piece
of board and one strip of paper.
You will require no more tools for the filling of these cases than those
already mentioned. The operations of choking and ramming are to be
performed in the same manner as directed for cases of brilliant and
Chinese fire, and the same blocks and nipples are to be employed.
We now come to the compositions with which the cases are to be filled.
For these I give you several formulæ, in order that you may be able to
vary your fires according to taste.
No. 1.
Meal-powder 16 parts.
Steel filings 4 „
This is the brilliant composition given in paragraph 41, which is used
also for wheels with excellent effect.
WHITE FIRE.
No. 2.
Meal-powder 16 parts.
Sulphur 3 „
Or,
No. 3.
Meal-powder 16 parts.
Nitre 4 „
Sulphur 2 „
Charcoal (No. 2) 2 „
Or,
No. 4.
Meal-powder 20 „
Charcoal (No. 2) 4 „
Or,
No. 5.
Meal-powder 16 „
Fine litharge 3 „
Or,
No. 6.
Meal-powder 40 „
Nitre 20 „
Sulphur 4 „
Charcoal 3 „
Bright steel filings 6 „
Litharge 2 „
Or,
No. 7.
Meal-powder 16 „
Nitre 2 „
Sulphur 2 „
Charcoal (No. 2) 2 „
Glass dust 2 „
Of the above compositions, Nos. 1, 2, and 4 will be found the most
generally useful; and of these I prefer No. 4 for all ordinary purposes.
Remember that the compositions for wheel-cases are by far the strongest
that are used in the whole range of pyrotechny, and that they must on
that account be compressed very evenly and completely in the cases, or
they will burn too rapidly, and explode when ignited.
You will find it very advisable to ram a small quantity of the
preparatory composition, recommended in paragraph 40, into the cases
before putting in the wheel-case composition which you have selected.
The cases should be filled till the composition rises to about
half-an-inch from their ends—that is, half-an-inch at the end of the
case should be left unoccupied by the composition. They should be primed
with wetted meal-powder as soon after they are filled as convenient,
care being taken that the space which the point of the nipple occupied
during the operation of ramming is filled up by the priming.
[Illustration:
Fig. 58.
]
When the filling and priming of all your cases is accomplished, you will
next have to cover them with paper which shall project about an inch
beyond each end of the case. The object of this is to enable you to tie
in the quick-match which is to connect one case with another. This
operation is very easily performed. Cut some ordinary newspaper into
strips wide enough to project an inch over each end of your case—that
is, _about eight inches wide_—and long enough to go two or three times
round the case. It will not be necessary to paste the newspaper strips
_all over_. If they are pasted slightly _at each end_ it will be quite
enough. The paste at one end of the strip will stick it to the case, and
that at the other end will fasten it down so as to prevent it from
coming unrolled. The annexed sketch (fig. 58) will show you how the case
ought to be covered.
COMMON SINGLE TRIANGLE WHEEL.
45. Now, the first form of wheel of which I shall speak is that usually
known by the name of the “_Common Single Triangle Wheel_.” Its
manufacture is very simple. Provide a piece of light beech wood, of
hexagonal form, each of whose sides is two inches in length (fig. 59).
[Illustration:
Fig. 59.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 60.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 61.
]
This hexagonal piece of wood may be about half-an-inch thick. Then bore
through its true centre a hole about three-quarters of an inch in
diameter, into which glue firmly a piece of wood turned or cut to the
shape given in the drawing (fig. 60). Through this piece bore, _in its
exact centre_, a hole about a quarter of an inch in diameter, and, when
bored, burn it through with a piece of quarter inch iron rod, red hot.
This is the hole through which the spindle is to pass which is to form
the axle of the wheel. When the operation is finished, the side view of
your framework will be like the accompanying sketch (fig. 61). The
object of this centre is twofold; first, to obtain a greater steadiness
in the motion of the wheel, by increasing the length of the hole through
which the spindle runs; and, secondly, to keep the wheel, during its
revolutions, from touching against the post into which the spindle is
driven—_a precaution never to be forgotten in the case of vertical
wheels of all descriptions_.
I must next suppose you to have three cases of the 1-oz. size ready
filled and primed and papered. Before fastening these on your framework
_take especial care that the one which is to burn last has its end
stopped up with some incombustible material_. The best plan is to ram
some powdered clay upon the composition before removing the case from
the nipple, in the same manner as recommended for the ends of rockets.
If some precaution of this kind be not taken, the fire issuing from the
mouth of the first of your three cases will be communicated to the tail
of the third, and thus bring your wheel to a most inglorious end.
Having, then, taken this precaution, proceed to tie on your cases to the
edge of your wooden framework. This is easily done if you bore two
holes, through which your string can pass, close to each of those sides
of the frame on which the cases are to lie. A reference to the sketch of
the framework (fig. 59) will show you where these holes should be made.
[Illustration:
Fig. 62.
]
In tying on your cases, be quite sure that the mouths or choked ends of
them lie all in the same direction, in such a manner that the tail of
the first case reaches almost to the mouth of the second; the tail of
the second to the mouth of the third; the tail of the third to the mouth
of the first. When you have secured them firmly in their places with
string, you can then proceed to connect them with quick-match—or
_clothe_ them, as it is called—so that when one case is burned out it
will communicate its fire to the mouth of the next, and so on till they
are all consumed.
In cutting your quick-match, bear in mind that about an inch of the
black match itself must project uncovered beyond each end of the paper
tubes in which it burns. This is to insure its taking and communicating
its fire. In the annexed sketch (fig. 63) you will see represented a
piece of quick-match as it should be cut for connecting cases. At fig.
64 is represented a wheel-case, such as is to burn second in your single
triangle, and has a piece of quick-match, like fig. 63, at each of its
ends, to connect it with the first and third case on the wheel. You will
observe that the newspaper which projected beyond the ends of the case
is simply tied in tightly round the quick-match. You will, after a few
trials, be able to get through this “clothing” operation very easily,
and with no unnecessary wasting of quick-match.
[Illustration:
Fig. 63.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 64.
]
The mouth of your first case may either be finished off with
touch-paper, or may have a short piece of quick-match put into it, to be
lighted with a portfire.
Your wheel is now completed and ready for firing. But I may as well
suggest here that its beauty and effectiveness will be very much
enhanced if the three cases on it be filled with different compositions.
For instance, fill the case _which is to burn first_ with composition
No. 2; that which is to burn second with No. 4; and the third case with
No. 1. This plan of varying the compositions, or any other that suggests
itself, may be adopted in the case of _all_ wheels. It is necessary,
however, that you should be well acquainted with the character of each
composition, in order that you may be able to produce the exact effect
that you require at the right time.
Composition No. 1 gives only brilliant sparks, and must be prepared as
shortly as possible before use.
Composition No. 2 will give a whitish circle of fire fringed with red
sparks.
Composition No. 3 produces less white flame and more sparks than No. 2.
No. 4 is a sparkling composition; by far the best for general use, in my
opinion.
No. 5 gives reddish sparks, which fly off in very straight lines from
the wheel, and form rays, as it were.
No. 6 gives rays, brilliant sparks, and a centre circle of white fire.
No. 7 gives a moderately good centre, with drossy red sparks of a
peculiar shape.
Those compositions which throw out the greatest number of sparks during
combustion are the best for larger wheels, but will be found also very
effective in the common single triangle.
Those which have a tendency to produce a _flame_, rather than a _jet of
sparks_, are very effective as a variety for _small_ wheels, but produce
an effect comparatively poor when employed for those of greater
dimensions.
For _horizontal_ wheels, _sparkling_ compositions alone are effective,
because in them everything depends upon the form that the fire assumes
_in its outline_, and not upon the shape of the wheel itself.
Compositions which produce but few sparks would be entirely out of place
if used to turn horizontal wheels.
DOUBLE TRIANGLE WHEELS.
46. I will now offer a few remarks with respect to the construction of
the _Double Triangle Wheel_. This piece may be made by employing two
hexagonal frames of wood of the same size, in a centre twice as long as
that described in fig. 60. But it may also be made in such a framework
as Mr. Darby will supply, which is a nave made of light wood, with six
spokes, cut at their ends in such a manner as will allow the cases to be
firmly attached. But whether you use the one form or the other, the
principle is precisely the same, and the cases must be arranged as shown
in the adjoining diagram (fig. 65).
[Illustration:
Fig. 65.
]
The performance of this wheel is, of course, the same as that of the
single triangle wheel, and differs from it only in the matter of
duration. But it must be borne in mind that a double triangle wheel,
having six cases upon it, would be a very slow sample of pyrotechnic
beauty _if all these cases were filled with the same composition_. It
would, indeed, be a most meaningless performance. You must therefore
take care that some variation is made, using at least two varieties of
composition. You will then have an effective piece, capable of lasting a
long time in proportion to its size.
VERTICAL WHEELS.
47. Leaving now the triangular form of wheels, we will pass on to those
which are called _Vertical_. All triangle wheels are vertical wheels,
but all vertical wheels are not triangular; it is of non-triangular
vertical wheels that I am now about to speak. These are made with a
nave, spokes, and felloe in the same manner as a carriage wheel. The
cases may be fastened to the felloe, or the wheel may be made without a
felloe, and the cases fastened, in any way that occurs to you, to the
extremities of the spokes; either by nailing to their ends pieces of
wood at right angles with the spokes, or by cutting a groove in the end
of each spoke and tying a case into it with string. As long as the cases
be properly arranged and secured firmly to the framework it matters very
little which of the above plans is adopted. Select the plan which can
most easily be carried out by the means that you have at command, and
carry it out in the simplest possible way. Complications are not only
unnecessary, but very likely to deprive your pieces of what would
otherwise have been their complete success. The accompanying sketch
(fig. 66) gives you a representation of another arrangement of six
cases, which is, in my opinion, productive of a better effect than the
double triangle. The wheel here represented is vastly improved by the
addition of a coloured fire placed somewhere near its centre; but I have
not yet given any directions or instructions for the preparation of
colours for such a purpose, and the making of these additions must be
reserved for its proper place.
[Illustration:
Fig. 66.
]
But perhaps the most satisfactory arrangement of six cases on a vertical
wheel is that which the next sketch represents. By the plan adopted
there—_that of making the cases incline outwards_—a much larger circle
of fire is produced, and the general effect is considerably improved. It
will be perceived that the mode of “clothing,” and tying on the cases,
for all these different forms of wheels is the same, the only difference
being in the shape of the framework. The cases may be fired singly or
doubly in this wheel—that is, you may make them burn one at a time till
all are consumed by putting the quick-match to them just as my sketch
(fig. 67) represents, or you may connect with quick-match the first and
fourth cases, so that these take fire simultaneously. By this
arrangement the first and fourth cases will work together, the second
and fifth, and the third and sixth. Of course the first and fourth cases
are the only _pair_ that need be connected by quick-match, for they will
severally convey their fire to the second and fifth, and these to the
third and sixth. The framework of this wheel may be made of deal or
beech (the latter I should prefer) about three-eighths of an inch thick;
the wheel altogether should be from 15 to 18 inches in diameter. It
should by all means have some centre, like that described at fig. 60, to
secure its steady and true movement. This wheel also will be vastly
improved by the addition of a coloured fire to its centre.
[Illustration:
Fig. 67.
]
We will now proceed to speak of
HORIZONTAL WHEELS.
48. These, like the vertical wheels, may be made of almost any shape or
design. They have a hole bored in the exact centre of their nave, and up
this hole the spindle passes on which they revolve.
The annexed fig. 68 gives you one of the simplest forms of the
horizontal wheel. A wheel made according to this plan will require four
wheel-cases and a case of Chinese fire long enough to last during the
combustion of two of the wheel-cases. The quick-match is put to it in
the following manner:—Simply connect the first and second wheel-cases by
carrying a quick-match from the tail of the first to the mouth of the
second. Then from the tail of the second carry two “leaders” (as these
pieces of quick-match are called), one to the third wheel-case and the
other to the perpendicular case of Chinese fire, which will thus be
ignited at the same moment with the third wheel-case; and to complete
the wheel carry a leader from the tail of the third to the mouth of the
fourth case.
[Illustration:
Fig. 68.
]
The case of Chinese fire which I should recommend you to make for this
and for other horizontal wheels is one of the 2-oz. size, nine or ten
inches in length, and filled with composition No. 4, given in paragraph
41. It is to be affixed to the wheel thus:—There must be a small
projecting piece of wood left by the turner at the top of the nave of
the wheel, about an inch in height and five-eighths of an inch in
diameter, and if an inch of the case be left unoccupied by the
composition at its unchoked end, this end can be squeezed over the
wooden point mentioned above, or can be glued on to it if you think it
desirable.
Another and very amusing variety of the horizontal wheel is that which
my next illustration represents, and which is sometimes called the
“capricious” wheel. This carries six wheel-cases and one Chinese fire
case. The wheel-cases are arranged in the following manner:—All the
cases are placed at an angle with the plane of the wheel’s revolution;
the three upper ones have their mouths inclined upwards, the three lower
ones downwards. Care of course must be taken that all the mouths,
whether inclining upwards or downwards, be turned _in the same
direction_. They are connected thus:—Make one of the lower cases the
first to be fired; from the tail of this carry a leader to the nearest
of the upper cases, which will then burn second; from the second carry a
leader to another of the lower cases; then from this to another of the
upper ones. From this fourth case carry three leaders—one to the
remaining upper case, one to the remaining lower case, and one to the
case of Chinese fire.
[Illustration:
Fig. 69.
]
The effect of this wheel is exceedingly laughable. It does not revolve
so rapidly as the simple horizontal wheel mentioned above, the cases of
which are perfectly horizontal. The impression that its performance
always gives one is, that it is determined to do something violent: that
if one direction of fire will not answer it will try another. Each
succeeding case sends it round more rapidly than the last, on account of
the decreasing weight as the cases burn out; and if the two cases which
are to burn with the case of Chinese fire be filled with composition No.
1, given in paragraph 44, the fury of the wheel will at the last seem to
know no bounds.
It is necessary, however, to see that the hole into which the iron
spindle is to pass is truly bored and is long enough, and that the
spindle _at the top_ of the post is straight and strong. This spindle
should pass into the nave of the wheel five inches at least.
Let me press upon you one or two important hints. _The case, or cases,
that burn last on each wheel must always have their ends closed with
clay, or some incombustible substance._ If this advice be neglected your
wheel is pretty certain to fail.
I have drawn at fig. 70, a fac-simile of the spindle which I use for all
vertical wheels. It is made to screw into an iron which is represented
at fig. 71, which iron is fixed by screws to my post in the manner shown
at fig. 72. The post I employ stands about ten feet out of the ground.
Into its top is driven another spindle, on which my horizontal wheels
turn. Both these iron spindles should be made of quarter inch iron rod.
You will find the spindle drawn at fig. 70 very much more convenient
than one simply driven into the post, and having a “nut” at its end to
screw and unscrew; for it is more than probable that on a dark night,
when you are taking down one wheel that has been fired, and putting up
another, you will drop the “nut,” and feel considerably at a loss
without it. And besides this, you can by this means always remove the
spindle, and protect it from rust. Your post should be very steady.
Mr. Darby will supply you with any frameworks of wheels, made to any
pattern that you please.
I shall speak of some other wheels when we are sufficiently advanced in
pyrotechnic proficiency to be able to attempt the manufacture of _all_
their component parts.
LANCES—WHITE AND COLOURED.
49. We have now, in the course of our pyrotechnic investigations,
arrived at a point where it becomes necessary to know something more
than we have already learned about _coloured fires_. I have spoken
hitherto only of those coloured compositions which are employed in the
manufacture of rocket and Roman-candle stars. These compositions must
for the most part be confined in their use to that purpose, because they
are, in almost all cases, far too rapid in their combustion for the
purposes of which I am now about to speak.
I now proceed to treat of Lances, white and coloured, for making up
devices, such as names, crests, mottoes, wreaths, &c., &c.
Now, there are a great many formulæ given for compositions employed to
decorate other fireworks, or to form designs of any kind in white or
coloured fire, with which it may be advisable for my readers to be
acquainted, in order that they may have the opportunity of selecting for
themselves, and of providing themselves with, a colour of that
particular shade and character which is best adapted for the working out
of the design determined upon.
In the first place I will speak of those fireworks which are properly
called “lances.” These are small cases, generally made about
three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter, that is round a piece of glass
or brass rod or tube of that size (tubes are always best for these small
formers). The cases are about two or two and a-half inches long, with
one end pinched or turned in. Two rounds of thin demy or double crown
white paper, pasted, will give sufficient thickness and substance for
the case. The cases, when dry, are to be filled with either of the
following compositions by means of the funnel and wire apparatus
illustrated at figs. 34 and 35:—
COMPOSITIONS FOR LANCES.
_White._
No. 1.
Nitre 16 parts.
Sulphur 8 „
Meal-powder 6 „
Or,
No. 2.
Nitre 16 „
Sulphur 4 „
Meal-powder 6 „
Or,
No. 3.
Nitre 12 „
Sulphur 4 „
Sulphide of antimony 3 „
Or,
No. 4.
Nitre 72 „
Sulphur 18 „
Regulus of antimony 33 „
Realgar 1 part.
Shellac 1 „
Or,
No. 5.
Nitre 96 parts.
Sulphur 24 „
Regulus of antimony 48 „
Realgar 6 „
Shellac 1 part.
These for the most part give a bluish-white flame, and when employed in
cases of the size mentioned above, burn slowly, and will last as long as
this species of firework is required to last.
_Yellow._
No. 6.
Chlorate of potash 72 parts.
Oxalate of soda 60 „
Stearine 6 „
Sulphur 6 „
Or,
No. 7.
Chlorate of potash 40 „
Oxalate of soda 16 „
Shellac 8 „
Stearine 3 „
_Green._
No. 8.
Chlorate of potash 60 „
Nitrate of baryta 41 „
Calomel 49 „
Powdered sugar 30 „
Shellac 1 part.
Or,
No. 9.
Chlorate of potash 63 parts.
Nitrate of baryta 50 „
Calomel 50 „
Sugar 32 „
Shellac 1 part.
The green colour is never very decided when the compositions are
employed in cases so small as those spoken of above. But by far the best
composition to be used in these small cases is one containing a rather
costly ingredient, which is the chlorate of baryta. The usual price of
this salt is about 8s. per lb., or rather less. It gives a magnificent
colour if it is pure, but if not, it is not worth buying. I give you the
formulæ in which it may be employed, in case you should require a very
brilliant emerald green in these small lances. They are—
No. 10.
Chlorate of baryta 18 parts.
Calomel 7 „
Shellac (very fine) 3 „
Or,
No. 11.
Chlorate of baryta 24 „
Stearine 3 „
Sugar (very fine) 1 part.
Compositions containing chlorate of baryta are perfectly safe _where no
sulphur is employed_. The salt itself is not at all deliquescent. A very
good formula besides the above is one containing three proportions of
chlorate of baryta, and one of powdered sugar. We will next speak of RED
LANCES.
_Red Lances._
No. 12.
Chlorate of potash 13 parts.
Nitrate of strontia 10 „
Calomel 8 „
Shellac 3 „
Dextrine 1 part.
Chertier’s copper 1 „
Or,
No. 13.
Chlorate of potash 12 parts.
Nitrate of strontia 12 „
Calomel 6 „
Shellac 4 „
Chertier’s copper 1 part.
Charcoal (fine) 1 „
A good rose-coloured fire may be produced by a composition containing
the oxalate of strontia, which, though not to be met with everywhere, is
a valuable salt on account of its extreme dryness and fineness. The
formula given next has the merit of being rapid in its combustion.
Should it be thought _too quick_, decrease the proportion of chlorate of
potash, or increase that of calomel. The increase of calomel has the
effect of deepening the colour, but, at the same time, of diminishing
the reflective power of the light.
_Rose-coloured Lances._
No. 14.
Chlorate of potash 24 parts.
Sulphur 2 „
Stearine 3 „
Oxalate of strontia 4 „
This composition will remain good for any length of time, and has
therefore a great advantage over those which contain the nitrate of
strontia. And here I may as well remind you of the importance and
necessity of having this latter salt perfectly dry and fine, otherwise
you will be disappointed of your intended effect in the ordinary
red-fire compositions.
For the blue lances you may use composition No. 8, given in paragraph
23.
But there are also two other formulæ which you will find very
serviceable and effective:—
No. 15.
Chlorate of potash 32 parts
Chertier’s copper 12 „
Calomel 40 „
Sugar 25 „
Or,
No. 16.
Chlorate of potash 6 „
Chertier’s copper 1 part.
Calomel 5 parts.
Sugar 4 „
For the preparation of a purple fire for these little cases, you cannot
do better than use that given for Purple Rocket Stars.
There are still two other colours which you may perhaps find useful and
ornamental, and without which my list would not be complete. They are
the violet and the lilac tints. The violet is at No. 17, and the lilac
at No. 18:—
No. 17.
Chlorate of potash 26 parts.
Calomel 24 „
Carbonate of strontia 4 „
Chertier’s copper 3 „
Sugar 14 „
Or,
No. 18.
Chlorate of potash 12 „
Prepared chalk 4 „
Sulphur 5 „
Calomel 3 „
Sulphide of copper 10 „
With regard to the use of sugar in pyrotechnic compositions it must be
borne in mind that it is a substance which readily attracts damp, so
that it must be kept in a closely-corked or stoppered bottle. It should
be reduced to powder in a very dry mortar, and then sifted through very
fine muslin, to fit it for pyrotechnic uses. And the mention of muslin
here reminds me of a fact which experience has brought to light, and
which you will find it highly convenient to remember. All those powdered
salts and pyrotechnic ingredients which clog the meshes of a wire sieve
will easily pass through a sieve made of muslin. For instance, powdered
stearine, shellac, sugar, and the salts of strontia and baryta will be
found to sift much more readily through muslin, _provided the muslin be
dry and clean_. This will enable the amateur pyrotechnist to fit himself
up with sieves of any fineness at a very small cost. He will require
only a tin or zinc drum, about 6 inches in diameter, and 4 inches high,
with a wire ring round each end. Over one of these ends he can stretch a
piece of muslin of the required thickness, and fasten it with a strong
elastic band. Or he may have a metal ring made large enough to fit over
the muslin and round one end of the drum, which he can remove when a
change of muslin is necessary. I do not by any means recommend this kind
of sieve for sifting such things as meal-powder, charcoal, or sulphur;
for I consider a receiver, made to fit on to the sieve, indispensable in
the case of sifting these articles. The dust arising from this operation
will otherwise find its way into your eyes, and nose, and clothes, and
over everything in your room.
It is, perhaps, unnecessary for me to add that all the above
compositions must be made up with the greatest exactness, and no
ingredients must be used but such as are thoroughly dry and in the
finest powder. The most successful pyrotechnists have never been able to
produce proper effects, even with the purest and best materials and
chemicals, unless those materials have been first reduced to the
necessary state of fineness and dryness, and then mixed till they have
become most intimately incorporated.
We will now suppose a sufficient number of these lances to be filled
with the selected compositions. They must be primed precisely in the
manner described under the head of “Golden Rains.” When finished they
will be about two and a-half inches long, and about equal in size to an
ordinary drawing-pencil.
[Illustration:
Fig. 73.
]
The first thing to be done is to decide upon your design. This, I
presume, will not be very large. I need not furnish you with a series of
suggestions for these designs, for the chance is, that, after all I can
say, the one which you wish to execute will be one of your own
conception, or at all events, one which you would rather carry out in
your own way. But I give here a plain sample of the work (fig. 73),
which is merely intended to make clearer my verbal directions. _The
letters should not be less than ten inches high._
In the first place you must either procure a board of sufficient size
for your design, or you must make a wooden framework of the shape that
you require. Suppose the design to be a V.R.: now either sketch this out
upon one side of your board, or, if you wish to have it larger than a
board will allow, make a plain rough framework describing the letters.
When this is done, decide upon the distance at which you can place the
lances one from another. This distance is generally about two inches,
but no exact rule can be laid down, for so much depends upon the sort of
design that you think of executing, and upon the scale of its size.
I will now suppose that you have your design carefully drawn upon the
board or framework. Upon the outlines of your sketch make little pencil
circles wherever you intend to place a lance; and, as far as it is
possible, arrange that the lances shall be equidistant one from another.
Of course the prime object of the arrangement must be to make the
outline of the letters, figures, &c., as plain and bold as possible. Now
with a centre-bit, or, what is better, a pin-bit, _bore a hole about a
quarter of an inch deep_ where your circles are pencilled. These holes
must be of such a size that the closed ends of the lances will fit
easily into them. When you have completed this operation, get either
some glue or some of the mixture of size and red lead which I have
recommended before; and when it is liquid, dip into it the closed end of
each of the lances. Enough of the mixture will adhere to the lances to
allow of their being secured firmly in the holes that you have bored. In
a very short time all will be hard and dry, and you will then have a
series of lances projecting at right angles with your board or
framework, each having its mouth primed, and all being of the same
length.
The only thing that remains now to be done is to clothe these primed
mouths with quick-match. This is by no means difficult, but requires a
certain amount of patience. Take a length of match in its case, and,
having exposed one end of the black match itself, put a small pin
through it into the priming of one of the lances. This will fasten it
down, and at the same time will insure its ignition. Then lead the
quick-match on to the next lance, cutting away with scissors a piece of
the under side of its case, to allow the match in passing to touch its
priming. Put a pin through the match into the priming of this lance
also, and so on till all are clothed. If more of the casing of the match
has been cut away than is necessary, it will be well to paste small
strips of paper wherever this has happened, as any exposure of the black
match will endanger the piece, rendering it liable to ignition from the
sparks of other fireworks. This piece of caution must be carefully
attended to, because lance-work is generally employed with the finale of
an exhibition, when a great many pieces are going off at once, and when
the effect of the whole may be easily spoiled by the untimely firing of
one part.
The arrangement of colours in lance-work must, of course, be left
entirely to the artist himself. It matters not what the arrangement is,
if the colours be only properly contrasted. Remember that the most
effective and striking contrasts are blue with yellow, red with green,
purple with red, white with violet or red.
In the case of letters, or a monogram, a border of an oval or circular
shape adds very much to the effect. This border should be of a different
colour to that used for the letters, &c.
Lance-work is not very largely used in pyrotechnic exhibitions; one
specimen of it in each display is quite as much as is generally seen.
But it certainly is a pyrotechnic feature, and on that account must not
be passed over. Lance-work is generally accompanied in its exhibition
with Roman candles, or with some arrangement of gerbes to take off what
would otherwise be its bare appearance. When introduced as a centre to
some framework of sparkling fire it is very beautiful, particularly if
colours be employed in it.
I need hardly add that when it is fired the framework is to be placed
vertically, and _the lances are to burn horizontally_. It is a good plan
to paint the framework black.
COLOURED LIGHTS.
50. We may now go on to deal with another branch of this part of our
subject—viz., that which concerns the manufacture of coloured lights for
illuminating wheels, or set-pieces, or any larger kind of firework. This
species of colour is perhaps more useful in exhibition work than any
single firework that can be named, for there are few set-pieces, or
wheels, or designs of any pretensions to which these coloured lights
cannot be adapted, and adapted, too, with a very enhancing effect.
Their preparation is exceedingly simple. They are generally made in two
sizes only; these are the two-ounce and the one-ounce sizes. The cases
are made of cartridge or foolscap paper and are about two inches long
for the two-ounce size and one inch and three-quarters for the one-ounce
size. Used-up copy-books furnish excellent paper for making these
coloured light cases. Three or four rounds of the paper will give you
ample thickness for the case. The paper should be pasted _all the way
along the strips_. When the cases are thoroughly dry, ram into the
bottom of them some dry powdered clay; this will make a close end, and
will also furnish an incombustible part by which the case may be tied or
fastened to its place. The clay is often rammed so as to fill the case
nearly half-way up; but, of course, the space left for the composition
will depend upon the length of time that you wish the colour to burn.
There is some exactness and nicety, besides a certain amount of actual
experience, required for the proper adjustment of these colours to the
cases in combination with which they are to burn. The coloured light
should be under control, so that it makes its appearance and introduces
its intended effect at the right time, and lasts only as long as it is
required to last. I will now give a few formulæ for these larger
coloured lights. These, if made up with ordinary care and their
ingredients thoroughly mixed will produce magnificent colours, both as
regards depth of tint and brilliancy of reflective power. The
compositions given above for lances are for the most part of too rapid
combustion to answer well in these larger and more open cases, but the
following will be found to succeed admirably if the chemicals used be
only pure and dry, and properly incorporated:—
WHITE LIGHTS FOR DECORATION.
No. 19.
Nitre 4 parts.
Sulphur 1 part.
Sulphide of antimony 1 „
Or,
No. 20.
Nitre 4 parts.
Sulphur 1 part.
Meal-powder 1 „
These will give the ordinary bluish-white light, and compositions made
from them will remain good for any length of time.
The yellow lights may be made from the formulæ given under the head of
Lances.
The following will produce the _green_:—
No. 21.
Nitrate of baryta 80 parts.
Chlorate of potash 32 „
Sulphur 24 „
Calomel 16 „
Charcoal (fine) 3 „
Shellac 2 „
The drawback to all green colours burnt in cases is that the combustion
of the case itself impairs to some extent the purity of the tint of the
flame. Cases, therefore, which are to contain green fire must not be
made unnecessarily thick. Composition No. 21 gives by far the best
colour that I have yet seen for this purpose, and when contrasted with a
good red is all that one need desire.
The two next compositions will furnish exceedingly beautiful red
colours. It is best to make them up only a short time before using them,
as their effect is much more brilliant when quite freshly mixed; and,
besides, the nitrate of strontia becomes damp after a time, particularly
in the autumn and winter months, in which case it will produce only the
effect of disappointing you. The compositions are both perfectly safe,
since they contain no sulphur, and are on that account entirely free
from all liability to spontaneous combustion:—
_Red Lights._
No. 22.
Chlorate of potash 32 parts.
Nitrate of strontia 48 „
Calomel 20 „
Shellac 12 „
Chertier’s copper 4 „
Charcoal (fine) 1 part.
Or,
No. 23.
Chlorate of potash 84 parts.
Nitrate of strontia 80 „
Calomel 51 „
Dextrine 22 „
Shellac 18 „
Chertier’s copper 4 „
Of these two formulæ, No. 22 is the one that I generally employ. It
produces a very brilliant colour, which is _almost scarlet_, and forms,
in my opinion, the best contrast both to the green and purple lights.
No. 23 gives a deep rich crimson, which may also be found very effective
occasionally. Dextrine, which enters into its composition, is always to
be had in very fine powder, and therefore it will give you no trouble to
bring it into the proper condition for use. It is very cheap, being sold
generally at from 1s. to 1s. 6d. per pound. You will require only a very
small quantity of it.
We now come to the last of our colours for making these decorating
lights, and that is the purple.
_Purple._
No. 24.
Chlorate of potash. 28 parts.
Chertier’s copper 28 „
Calomel 13 „
Shellac 8 „
Stearine 1 part.
Or,
No. 25.
Chlorate of potash 40 parts.
Calomel 28 „
Chertier’s copper 28 „
Dextrine 10 „
Stearine 3 „
No. 26.
Chlorate of potash 26 „
Chertier’s copper 24 „
Calomel 14 „
Shellac 7 „
All of these three formulæ produce good colours. I think that I am
rather inclined to give the preference to No. 25, on account of the very
effective contrast that it makes when employed to burn with the red at
No. 22. These three colours are perfectly safe, for the same reason that
I stated above when speaking of the red lights.
I trust that the formulæ which I have now given will be found to supply
all that you will require in this department of pyrotechny. The
compositions have all been used by me, and I can therefore speak from
actual experience of their respective merits, and so you will be pleased
to remember that if they do not succeed in your hands the fault will lie
either in the condition, perhaps the impurity, of your chemicals, or in
your own manipulation. I can answer for the receipts; all that is
necessary on your part is a scrupulous attention to my directions.
And here let me put in a word of caution. Where you see “_Red Lights,
Green Lights, Purple Lights_” written over the formulæ above, you are to
remember distinctly that I use the word “LIGHTS” to distinguish this
branch of pyrotechny, and these compositions, from those which I mean to
treat of under the title of coloured “FIRES.” By coloured lights I mean
small cases, of the 1 or 2-oz. size, filled with either of the above
compositions from No. 19 to No. 26 inclusive. _These compositions are
not adapted for the purpose of producing coloured FIRES, such as are
employed to light up gardens, avenues, buildings, &c._ They are to be
confined to their own use, which is _the decoration of wheels, or of any
large and complicated exhibition fireworks_. For this purpose they
_will_ answer _well_, and for the other _they will not answer at all_.
And having now explained the distinction between coloured LIGHTS and
FIRES, I must ask my readers not to lay the blame upon me if, when
employing my compositions for purposes for which they were never
intended, they find they do not succeed.
[Illustration:
Fig. 74.
]
But we have still to speak of the way in which these coloured lights are
to be fastened to the pieces which they are designed to decorate. The
most common way of doing this is to drive a nail into the wooden
framework of the piece at the place where you wish to place the coloured
light, and to tie the case which contains it to this nail. Two nails,
like “two heads,” are better than one, and the case may be secured as
shown in the annexed sketch (fig. 74). A represents the coloured light
case; B the string which is passed round its lower clayed end, by means
of which it is secured to the two nails, C C, which are driven into the
wooden framework. This mode of fastening is very simple and effective
for attaching the coloured fire cases to the framework of a _fixed_
piece. But in the case of a wheel, or any piece which has motion, it is,
in my opinion, very desirable to give them a position like that of the
_wheel-cases_—_i.e._, to let them revolve with their mouths in the
opposite direction to that of the motion of the wheel. This is easily
done, either by fastening them between the spokes of a large wheel, or,
in the case of a small one, by driving in a longer nail than is
necessary, and bending down the head of it in the desired direction, and
fastening the coloured light case to this bent part (fig. 75).
[Illustration:
Fig. 75.
]
By this means you will have no difficulty in attaching these little
decorations in any place, to any part of the framework of your piece, or
in any direction. The object of turning the mouth away from the
direction in which the piece moves is that the resistance offered by the
air during its revolution may not interfere with the easy combustion of
the coloured light.
But we have yet to say a few words about the filling these 1 or 2-oz.
cases, and their priming.
The compositions used for this purpose do not require, it must be
remembered, to be _rammed_ into the cases; they only need be _pressed
in_ so firmly that their motion during combustion shall not shake them
out. Of course they should be _uniformly_ pressed in, and this is simply
done by pressing in only a small quantity at a time.
With regard to their priming, this may be done in either of the
following ways—by smearing into their mouths some wetted meal-powder,
or, what is better, by pressing into their mouths a piece of
quick-match, and then pressing a little of the coloured composition over
that, and allowing the end of the match to project about half-an-inch.
But in whatever way they are primed they must have two rounds of some
thin paper pasted round their mouths, and projecting an inch or so
beyond them, into which the leaders can be tied which are to connect
them with the other cases of the piece.
In the case of small wheels, in which only one of these coloured light
cases is to be employed, it will be advisable to fill it with
compositions of different colours. Press in first enough red-light
composition to fill one-third of the case; then enough purple to occupy
another third, and fill the remainder of the case with green
composition. By this means you will be able to vary your effects to any
extent.
I now wish to give you directions for making a very beautiful and
effective firework, in which these coloured lights play a prominent
part. I must refer you to the page of illustrations which accompanies
this paper, in order that you may have no difficulty in understanding
the directions which I am now about to offer.
In its general working the piece is very similar to that which I have
described under the name of “Brilliant Wheel” at paragraph 43. But it is
at the same time a great improvement upon the one there spoken of. Cut a
piece of deal or beech board into the shape drawn at _A A_. (fig. 76).
This should be at least half-an-inch in thickness, and not less than
three feet in length. When you have shaped it as you intend to leave it,
find its centre, the point at which it balances. Through this point bore
a hole of such a size as will easily admit the iron spindle which screws
into your firework post (fig. 70). At each end of this wooden frame
place three wheel-cases, taking care that the position of the mouths of
these cases is so arranged that their driving power shall all be in one
direction. A quick-match leader is to be carried from the _tail of the
extreme case at each end to the mouth of the next_, and then from the
tail of these to the mouths of the third at each end.
Two more pieces of wood (represented at _B B_. fig. 76) will now be
required, each about twelve inches long, five-eighths of an inch wide,
and three-eighths of an inch thick. They must have a hole bored through
them, into which a spindle or smooth round nail can pass easily. _But
this hole must not be in their centre_; it should be bored about four
inches from one end, which will leave eight inches on the other side of
the hole. Through these holes drive a smooth round nail into the long
framework of the piece, exactly half-way between its centre and the
innermost wheel-cases. The object of hanging these two pieces _not_ by
their centre of balance is that one end being longer, and therefore
heavier, than the other, may cause the pieces to fall round by their own
weight, as the firework makes its revolutions. To these two pieces
coloured lights are attached at each end in such a position that they
shall project horizontally at right angles with the pieces _B B_. This
will be seen clearly by reference to the drawing at _C C_. (fig. 77),
which is intended to give you a side view of the same piece. It must not
be forgotten that the satisfactory performance of this firework depends
mainly upon the exactness and true adjustment of the woodwork. Unless
the revolving pieces are neatly hung, and the balance of the main
framework is true, you must not expect success.
The coloured lights may be arranged as follows:—A green and a red light
on one of the revolving pieces, and a purple and red on the other. These
coloured lights are all to be connected together and with the mouths of
the two extreme wheel-cases by quick-match. It will be obvious, then,
that the coloured lights must be so prepared as to last during the
combustion of the three driving cases.
The drawing at (fig. 78) represents a rather better position for the
wheel-cases than that given at (fig. 76).
The diagram (fig. 79) represents a wheel frame, to which are attached at
_f f f_ coloured lights. The position there indicated is a very good one
for coloured lights when required for wheels of any such make as that in
the drawing. You must not forget that they are all to be placed at
_different distances from the centre of the wheel_. They may, of course,
be made to play their part at any period of the wheel’s revolution. The
coloured lights, for whose manufacture I have given directions above,
are very valuable auxiliaries in nearly all exhibition pieces, and that
we shall have occasion to call them in frequently to our aid as our
practical pyrotechny becomes more advanced, and our enthusiasm in the
art leads us to search for new combinations and effects.
TOURBILLONS—PLAIN AND BRILLIANT.
51. The tourbillon is a species of firework very ingeniously contrived
to represent a spiral column of fire. Its performance is of short
duration, but while it lasts it produces a very striking effect, and is,
moreover, entirely different from any other pyrotechnic piece.
[Illustration:
Fig. 82.—Block to receive the tourbillon while it is being bored.
_m_—Groove in it to receive the quick-match. Fig. 83.—Block, with
settle (_n_) over which tourbillons are rammed. _Q Q Q Q_—Wooden
cylinder to enclose tourbillon case. _O O O O_—Iron rings to tighten
cylinder. _P P_—Pin to pass through cylinder, and settle to connect
them. Fig. 84.—Tourbillon complete, with stick attached. Fig.
85.—Revolving cradle from which tourbillons are fired. _s_—Iron
spike, with tubular top, in which the cradle revolves. Fig.
86.—Metal tourbillon scale.
]
The preparation of tourbillons requires a considerable degree of nicety
and precision, for unless the several proportions of the piece be
accurately preserved, the true and intended effect will certainly be
lost, and the operator not merely lose a feature, but a very beautiful
feature, in his exhibition.
Since, then, it is utterly impossible to prepare successful tourbillons
by careless manipulation, and to hurry over any part of their
manufacture without some deterioration to their performance, I must beg
that my readers will carefully follow my directions in every particular.
They will then be able to make these tourbillons as successfully as I
do. But if they prefer to work out some principle of their own, they
must not hold me responsible for its results.
For the benefit of those of my readers who may know little or nothing of
what a tourbillon is, I will first endeavour to explain the principle
upon which it is constructed, and then give in detail the various
operations necessary for its completion.
A tourbillon consists of a stout case filled with a strong sparkling
composition, and closed very tightly at both ends. In this case are
bored four holes, at which the fire is to find vent. Two of these holes
are made underneath the case; from these the fire issues in a downward
direction, and gives the piece the power of ascending perpendicularly.
The other two holes are made in opposite sides of the case near each
end; the fire issuing from these causes the case to revolve in a
horizontal direction while it is ascending.
Now, it will be obvious that to gain an exact counterbalancing of these
two forces considerable care and precision will be necessary. In order
to make my directions as clear as possible, I intend to speak only of
one size of tourbillon. You may make them of any size, from the 1-oz. up
to the ½-lb. size, if you please; but you will find it by far the most
_economical_ and _certain_ plan to keep to one effective size, and thus
avoid all confusion and expense arising from the multiplication of tools
and measurements.
We must first of all know how to make the cases. These are to be _of the
quarter-pound size_. You will derive little advantage from adopting a
larger size than this, and you will find smaller sizes unworthy of such
an exhibition as I trust you will be able to make by following my
directions in these papers.
From each sheet of your 70-lb. brown paper you will only be able to cut
two strips of sufficient width and length to make the ¼lb. tourbillon
cases. These two strips are represented at _A_ and _B_ in the annexed
diagram (fig. 80). _These strips must be eight inches wide._ Your sheets
of paper measure about twenty-two inches on their short side; so that if
_A_ and _B_ are eight inches wide, the remaining strip _C_ will be only
_six_ inches wide, and useless, therefore, for tourbillon cases of our
present size. But these spare strips are sure to prove useful for some
purposes, and so no waste will be incurred.
[Illustration:
Fig. 80.
]
The imperial board for these cases must be cut as in the adjoining
illustration. Each sheet of board will provide four strips of a size
proper for our purpose, each of which will be eight inches wide and
fourteen inches long. Those marked _a_ _b_ _c_ _d_ are intended to
represent the pieces to be used (fig. 81). Those marked _e_ _e_ should
be kept with the spare strip marked _C_ in fig. 80, and will make you a
good ¼lb. case for Chinese fire.
[Illustration:
Fig. 81.
]
I will now suppose you to have divided your paper according to the above
directions. In the next place you must paste both paper and board all
over thoroughly. Brush some paste upon your ¼lb former (the one used for
making rocket-cases, which is three-quarters of an inch in diameter),
and then roll on your paper and board in the manner described at p. 77.
Especial care must be taken that the innermost end of the strip of paper
(that which lies next to the former) is so thoroughly saturated with
paste that it cannot become separated or loose. If this precaution be
not taken, some of the composition will, in the process of filling,
drift behind it—will form a quick-match, as it were, inside your case,
and will infallibly cause the tourbillon over which you have otherwise
taken so much pains to vanish in a neat sharp report, and you will
discover to your annoyance that in the place of a tourbillon you have
only made an inferior kind of marroon.
Well, your cases are now made, and are eight inches in length, and
three-quarters of an inch in their bore. Their external diameter will be
found to be about one inch and an eighth.
We must next speak of the composition proper for filling tourbillons.
For this purpose I employ the following formulæ, which I think will be
found to answer well:—
No. 1.
FOR PLAIN
TOURBILLONS.
Nitre 8 parts.
Meal-powder 16 „
Sulphur 4 „
Charcoal 4 „
The charcoal that I use in making up this formula is the same that I
recommended for rocket purposes—that is, it should be partly fine and
partly coarse. If the above composition be found too strong, more
charcoal may be added until the desired strength be gained.
No. 2.
FOR BRILLIANT TOURBILLONS.
Meal-powder 16 parts.
Nitre 8 „
Sulphur 3 to 4 „
Charcoal (fine) 3 „
Steel filings 6 „
The effect produced by this composition is very good indeed, and in my
hands leaves nothing to be desired. It is advisable not to fill the
cases with composition No. 2 longer than necessary before use, as the
steel is sure to become corroded to some extent, and then much of the
brilliancy of the sparks is lost.
Some pyrotechnists use _iron borings_ instead of steel filings for
tourbillons. I cannot say that I have ever succeeded well with them.
Iron particles will not work well in rapidly-revolving pieces, as far as
my experience goes. They seem to me to become chilled too soon by their
motion through the air, and produce hardly any scintillation. I,
therefore, always use steel filings for all fireworks which are intended
to revolve, and employ iron only in those that are stationary. Now,
having prepared your composition, you will be ready to ram it into your
cases. For this purpose you will require a simple piece of apparatus,
which Mr. Newman will make for you at a small cost. You will find a
drawing of it on my page of illustrations (fig. 83). It consists of a
block of wood provided with a “settle,” on which one end of the
tourbillon case is placed, and over which the composition is rammed.
Then there is a wooden mould capable of inclosing the case and
supporting it tightly and firmly while the operation of ramming is being
performed. This mould consists of a hollow cylinder of wood pierced
throughout, and of such a size in its bore as will just admit the
tourbillon case. The mould is divided longitudinally in halves, and
these halves are kept together by means of iron rings, which encircle
the whole. You will find a full description given with the drawing.
In order to fill the cases, squeeze one end of one of them over the
projecting piece at the top of the settle. Then fit on the two halves of
the cylindrical mould, and drive down the iron rings until they are
tight. The exterior of the cylinder is made to _taper_, in order that
the rings may always fit tightly over it. And, lastly, put in the pin
which secures the cylinder to the block and settle. You will now require
a straight wooden drift, eight inches long (independently of its
handle), and nearly three-quarters of an inch in diameter—one, in fact,
that will pass _easily_ into your tourbillon case. The tools you have
already—viz., a scoop for the composition, a mallet, and the short
_solid_ drift which you used for driving in the clay over the
composition in your quarter-pound rockets. First put into your
tourbillon case as much clay as will, when rammed very hard, occupy
_three-eighths of an inch in the length of the case_. The settle
projects into the case about one-eighth of an inch, and thus
half-an-inch at each end of the case is left for the purpose of insuring
a very firm ending, which cannot be blown out by the combustion of the
composition.
When the clay has been rammed in as tightly as possible, drive in the
composition, a ladleful at a time, as uniformly as you can, until you
have only half-an-inch at the upper end of the case unoccupied by it.
Into this vacant space drive the same quantity of clay that you put into
the lower end, and be sure that it is rammed in very firmly indeed.
The ramming of your tourbillon is now completed, but the most important
part of its manufacture has yet to come. Open your penknife, and lay its
blade on the table, back downwards and edge upwards. Place your filled
tourbillon case across the edge of the knife, and _find the exact
central point at which it balances on it, and mark that point by making
a hole there with a small bradawl_. Now, having found the centre of its
balance, you have next to mark the places at which the holes are to be
made, and by far the best way to save yourself trouble in this respect,
and to insure the proper marking out of all your tourbillons, is to
follow my plan, which I am now about to describe. At fig. 86 I have
drawn out for you a shape which you must get copied exactly in tin or
zinc sheet. This piece of sheet metal, _when bent into the form of a
trough of such a size as to fit tightly round your tourbillon case_,
will give you the true position of the holes. In using it you will have
to put the filled tourbillon case into it, and make pencil marks through
the holes that correspond to those drawn in my sketch, and you will then
have got over the entire difficulty. In the middle of the scale which I
have drawn is one small hole marked _H_. _This hole is to come exactly
over the mark which you made with your bradawl at the balancing point_,
and if this be done all the rest must come right.
Having thus marked the position of the holes, the next thing is to bore
them. They should be as nearly as possible three-sixteenths of an inch
in size. I use a large bradawl for boring the holes, and it is better to
drive it into the case with a mallet than to work it in with the hand.
It must not be driven in farther than necessary, the object being merely
to make a clear hole through the case, and not to disturb the
composition. If you drive in the bradawl with your mallet you will
require a small block of wood with a groove cut in it, in which you can
lay the case while making the holes. I have given you a sketch of such a
block at fig. 82. If it is two inches square or rather more it will be
quite large enough. You will find the block very useful afterwards in
attaching the stick to the tourbillon.
The plan that I have given for the _tin or zinc tourbillon scale_, as I
shall call it, is drawn out _quarter size_, and the dimensions, marked,
so that no tinman can have any difficulty in copying it accurately. Your
tourbillon case is 8 inches in length. Half-an-inch at each end is taken
up by the clay endings, so that you have seven inches of composition in
the case. The two extreme holes, _which are on opposite sides of the
case_, are made at the ends of the composition. The fire issuing from
these gives the tourbillon a horizontal revolution round its centre of
balance. The two inner holes, which are on the under side of the case,
should be the same distance from one another that they are from the
extreme holes. The fire issuing from these gives the tourbillon its
ascending power.
But we have now to connect all these holes with quick-match, in order
that the composition may take fire at all the four points
simultaneously. To do this, begin at one of the under holes (those
marked _F_ in the scale), and press into it the end of a piece of
_uncased_ quick-match, taking care that the match reaches the
composition. Then carry the match on to the nearest _side hole, and
press it into it_. Then carry on the quick-match _over the upper side of
the tourbillon_ to the side hole at the other end of the case, and press
it in there; and, lastly, carry it on to the remaining under hole, and
press it into it.
Having completed this operation, cut some strips of thin paper, about an
inch wide, paste them well all over, and cover the quick-match with
them, holes and all. A very little practice will enable you to adapt
this pasted paper very neatly.
The tourbillon, if now ignited, will be sure to go somewhere, but
probably not in the direction which we should like it to take. In order
to regulate its flight we must do as we did with the rockets, adjust a
stick to it, which shall have the effect of keeping its under side
downwards, and so of compelling it to move upwards perpendicularly, if
at all.
This stick is usually made of a curved shape in the manner represented
at _I I_, in fig. 86. Those that I use I get from Mr. Darby; they are
eight inches long, about an eighth of an inch thick, and are made of
beech. There is a small hole in their centre through which a
_flat_-headed nail is driven into the tourbillon at its balance point,
which you marked with your bradawl. The stick must, of course, lie at
right angles with the case in the manner represented at fig. 84. It is a
very good plan to put a drop or two of glue at the point where the stick
touches the case, as it will then be prevented from shifting its
position.
In driving the nail through the stick into the tourbillon, make use of
the block represented at fig. 82, having previously cut at the bottom of
its rounded groove another small groove diagonally, so that when the
tourbillon is lying upside down in the large groove, for the purpose of
having the nail driven into it, the quick-match that extends across it
may lie in the smaller groove, and may not be injured by being crushed,
as would otherwise be the case.
The nails used should be about three-quarters of an inch long, and
should have a smooth, flat head.
To fire the tourbillon, place it stick downwards on a level board, and
see that it spins easily and freely on the head of the nail. Then with a
portfire burn through the quick-match _in the middle on the upper side_.
The tourbillon will make a few revolutions on the board before it begins
to rise.
I have known several tourbillons fail, when I had reason to believe that
there was nothing faulty in their make. They all behaved in the same
unaccountable manner, jumping off the board and falling bottom upwards
upon the ground. Of course, after this freak they could not right
themselves. They appeared to sink into a kind of blustering, sulky fit,
and when exhausted went out. Some time elapsed before I could assign any
satisfactory cause for this remarkable behaviour, but at last I began to
suspect the board on which the tourbillons were placed to fire them. It
occurred to me that there was not room enough for the rush of fire from
the under holes between the tourbillon and the board, that as soon as
the fire had been conveyed to these under holes the force generated then
and there was sufficient to throw the tourbillon over on its back, and
thus effectually to prevent any further performance. Now this was by no
means satisfactory, for if there is any single firework which requires
care, exactness, and attention in its preparation, it is the tourbillon.
I have often felt that I would much rather have a rocket than a
tourbillon, for in the first place the latter takes much longer to make,
and one feels that one should have some remuneration for one’s trouble;
and in the next place a good tourbillon, though it is a species of
firework not by any means so necessary to an exhibition as the rocket,
is still one capable of producing a very unique and grand effect. I
began to suspect that the board was the cause of my failure, and after a
little consideration I came to the conclusions here enumerated:—
1st. That a board of proper size, shape, and level was a thing not
always to be found when one wanted it, particularly if away from home.
2nd. That it was a very lumbering piece of luggage to carry with one
when about to take an exhibition to a distance.
3rd. That, if warped by damp, or put out of its level in any way, it
would be rather worse than useless.
4th. That something better might be contrived.
Whether I was right in blaming the poor board I do not know; but one
thing is certain—that I have never, since the adoption of my new plan,
had any failures at all with tourbillons.
I wanted something from which to fire the tourbillon which would leave
it no excuse for turning on its back, which would be small and portable,
and always ready for use.
I first made a brass cross of the shape and size indicated in fig. 87.
In the ends of the arms I drilled holes, into which I soldered pieces of
stout brass wire about two inches and a-half long. Thus a sort of cradle
was formed like that which is represented at fig. 85 in the plate. The
next thing to be done was to enable the cradle to revolve very easily.
To do this I soldered on to the centre of the under side of the cross a
piece of brass rod of the size generally used for stair-rods. This piece
was about six inches in length, and was filed at its lower extremity to
a point on which it might revolve. I thus had made a thing like that in
fig. 88. Now all that I had to do was to get a piece of glass tubing,
into which my piece of rod at _a a_ would fit easily, and in which it
would turn freely. This I did, and procured also a piece of iron rod
half-an-inch in diameter and about eighteen inches long. I had this
forged into a kind of spike point at its lower end, and filed at its
other end, to pass about an inch into the brass tube, and then I had the
tube and iron spike soldered together. This iron spike I press into the
ground, taking care that it is upright, and then drop the brass rod
which is soldered to the cradle into the brass tube at the top of the
spike. The cradle will be found to revolve freely. In it I lay the
tourbillon, with its stick downwards. When it is fired the holes at its
_sides_ are first ignited, and so its _horizontal_ revolutions begin
before any ascending power is given to it. The cradle of course revolves
with it, and, if properly made, can offer no obstruction of any kind to
its free play. But as soon as the fire is communicated to the _lower_
holes, the force there developed will lift the tourbillon out of the
cradle, and will send it on its upward flight.
My description of this little piece of apparatus may, perhaps, incline
my readers to imagine that its manufacture is difficult. I can only
assure them that it is not so, and that, if they will only give it a
trial, they will be convinced of the advantages which it possesses over
the old plan of the board. Probably some modification of its principle
will occur to you which may render it still more easy to be made. The
means at your own command are, after all, the best referees as to which
is the shortest and readiest method of carrying out any plan. I have
given you the method by which I obviated the difficulty that met me. I
need only add that if you use the board I hope that your tourbillons
will not disappoint you as mine did me.
Many persons make _six_ holes in their tourbillons—four on the under
side, and one at each end or opposite side. For my own part, I never
could see the advantage of this plan. I have tried it and succeeded with
it, but the effect has been always to convince me more firmly of the
superiority of the four-hole system. I know one or two very successful
pyrotechnists whose experiments have led them to the same conclusion.
It is possible to ram tourbillons without a cylindrical mould, but it is
neither advisable nor convenient. The cases require some very
substantial support while they are being filled, for the composition
cannot easily be driven too hard. The cylindrical mould cannot be an
expensive apparatus if made as I have suggested. Mr. Newman has such
facilities for boring blocks of wood and turning them, that I strongly
recommend you to get him to make you one, as it will considerably
lighten the trouble of preparing tourbillons, besides giving them, when
prepared, a much better chance of success.
I beg here to give my readers the size of 70-lb. paper and imperial
board, that there may be no difficulty in knowing what to purchase. The
sheets of 70-lb. brown paper and imperial board are of precisely the
same size, which is 22½ × 29 inches.
I must conclude the subject of tourbillons with one hint. The person who
fires a tourbillon with a portfire will generally fail to get a good
view of its performance. The plan that I commonly adopt is to cut an
inch of quick-match and twist some touch-paper round one end of it, and
lay the other end next to the match on the tourbillon at the point _r_
in fig. 84, pasting a piece of thin paper over it to secure it, and
leaving its other end free, with the touch-paper round it.
COLOURED FIRES.
52. _Coloured fires_, such as are employed for illuminating gardens,
shrubberies, avenues, buildings, &c., will now occupy our attention.
[Illustration:
Fig. 90.—Former for Coloured Fire Cases.
Fig. 91.—Iron Fork to support Coloured Fires while burning.
]
This species of firework is of very simple construction, and requires
only an ordinary amount of care in order to insure its success. And it
is very fortunate that so necessary an item in the programme of a
pyrotechnic display is one which can be relied upon for producing so
beautiful and surprising an effect. I have known spectators more pleased
with the coloured fires in an exhibition than with any other of its
features; and I am convinced, that by a well-contrived introduction and
arrangement of them, results may be produced at least as effective and
satisfactory as by any combination of a much more elaborate character.
But before entering upon the description of their manufacture, it will
be necessary for me to remind you of some information that I have
already given in the portion devoted to coloured stars, in order that
you may be induced not to prepare your colours for an exhibition until
you know _what you are going to prepare them for_—that is, what sort of
a place they are required to light up.
What I have before said under the head of Coloured _Stars_ with regard
to the illuminating or reflective properties of this or that
composition, must more than ever be borne in mind in the matter of
coloured _fires_. There are two kinds of fires used in pyrotechny—one
burning with a considerable depth and richness of tint, but possessing a
very moderate illuminating power, the other having great brilliancy and
reflective power, but not the same depth of colour. Now with this plain
distinction before us, there will be no difficulty in selecting such
composition as will produce the desired effect. You have simply to make
up your mind beforehand whether you require a colour of considerable
intensity, _which you may gaze at while it burns_, or one whose beauty
will be seen to advantage, _not in itself_, but in its reflection upon
those objects which are within reach of its illumination.
The formulas which I shall give will be characterised as “reflective,”
or “intense in colour,” and if they are only made up with pure, dry, and
fine ingredients, will, I am sure, give as good results as need be
desired.
In the first place the preparation of the cases is to be considered.
With regard to these it must be remembered that they are required _to
burn with the composition_, and must not be made too thick or hard on
that account. The thicker they are, the more will their consumption
interfere with the burning of, and impair the colour produced by, the
composition. A sheet of 60lb. or 70-lb. brown paper cut up into nine
strips in the manner represented at fig. 89 will furnish you some very
good cases for the purpose. Each of these strips will be a little over
three inches in width, which, in my opinion, is quite sufficient. The
former for these cases is made of wood, and should be from an inch and
a-half to an inch and three-quarters in diameter, and about four inches
long, irrespectively of its handle. The drift for filling the cases may
be of the same length, and _one-sixteenth of an inch smaller in
diameter_, so as to admit of its passing easily in and out of the case.
[Illustration:
Fig. 89.
]
The difficulty that I have always experienced with regard to these cases
has been this—they must be made of a certain thickness, in order that
they may not be broken during the process of ramming in the composition.
This process is, I believe, indispensable. At all events, I find it so,
for _if the composition be only pressed in loosely, and not rammed, it
will fall to the ground in burning lumps_, instead of burning slowly and
evenly in and with its case; and if the cases be made unnecessarily
thick, either the composition will not burn freely enough, or its colour
will be impaired (and this will be particularly the case with regard to
_green_ fires), or, what is more probable still, both these calamities
will happen at once, and render your production doubly ineffective.
Now my plan for obviating the difficulty has been to increase the
_diameter_ of the cases, and thereby to gain a greater body of
composition in proportion to their _thickness_. This plan I have found
to answer very well, and so I can conscientiously recommend it to you.
Take, then, one of the strips of paper, cut as recommended above, and,
pasting it all over on one side, roll it evenly round your former,
having previously brushed a little paste over the former to prevent the
paper sticking to it. Having rolled the strip up evenly and smoothly,
take it off from the former, and set it by to dry. It will readily be
perceived that these cases are among the easiest to make.
And now we may pass on to the important subject of the compositions with
which these cases are to be filled.
The first of these is known as the:—
COMMON BENGAL LIGHT.
53. It has a bluish-white colour, and is called by some pyrotechnists
“Artificial Moonlight.” Its composition is:—
No. 1.
Nitre 12 parts.
Sulphur 4 „
Antimony 1 part.
Orpiment or realgar may be substituted for the antimony, in which case
there will be less smoke.
The above is the commonest sort of Bengal light. It gives a pretty
effect, but has no great illuminating power.
54. WHITE FIRE.
WHITE FIRE.
No. 2.
Nitre 32 parts.
Sulphur 8 „
Regulus of antimony 12 „
Red lead 11 „
This is a French composition, introduced by Chertier, and is remarkable
for its whiteness. It will be found a very useful composition,
possessing a fair reflective power.
WHITE FIRE.
No. 3.
Nitre 24 parts.
Sulphur 7 „
Realgar 2 to 3 „
Antimony 1 part.
This I always find the most serviceable composition on the whole. It
does not possess the intense whiteness of No. 2, but has a slight tint
of blue; and this difference alone would gain it the preference in my
judgment. But it has also a greater illuminating power, and is decidedly
the best composition that I have yet been able to find.
The red lead recommended in composition No. 2 can be purchased in fine
powder, ready for use, at any painter’s or chemist’s shop.
YELLOW FIRE.
55. We may now proceed to the formula for—
YELLOW FIRE.
No. 4.
Nitrate of baryta 36 parts.
Oxalate of soda 6 „
Sulphur 3 „
Shellac 5 „
This composition produces a good colour and has a moderate reflective
power. Its principal merit lies in the fact that it will keep good for
any length of time after it is mixed, and can be made with samples of
nitrate of baryta which will not produce a good green.
YELLOW FIRE.
No. 5.
Nitrate of soda 48 parts.
Sulphur 16 „
Antimony 4 „
Charcoal (fine) 1 part.
This is decidedly the best formula for yellow fires, as far as effect is
concerned. But the nitrate of soda is so highly deliquescent that the
composition must on no account be made up longer before use than is
absolutely necessary. Yellow fires are not much used in pyrotechnic
exhibitions. I suppose this is to be accounted for by the extraordinary
power that they possess of giving to all objects, especially the human
face, a ghastly and death-like appearance, anything but agreeable to
behold. I have no doubt, however, that some of my younger readers,
knowing this, will set a higher value upon the formulas for yellow fire,
for the fun of showing off the spectators of their exhibitions to the
greatest possible disadvantage. Especial notice should be taken of the
complete annihilation of colour in flowers, dresses, &c., by this yellow
light. The effect is, of course, very similar to that produced by the
burning of spirits of wine or naptha holding salt in solution. This
latter is known as the _monochromatic light_; that is, a light in which
only one of the colours of the spectrum is shown.
Although I do not remember ever having seen a yellow fire used in any
large exhibition of fireworks, I have given the above formulas in order
to render my paper upon the subject as complete as possible.
The next colour with which we shall deal will be the
GREEN FIRE.
56. For this colour I shall give three formulas, all of which I have
found good, notwithstanding the universally acknowledged difficulty of
obtaining a real green colour. This difficulty has arisen, I believe,
solely from the imperfections and impurities in the nitrate of baryta
which finds its way into the market. This salt should be prepared from
the sulphate of baryta, _and not from the carbonate_; and I think I am
right in stating that it is far more generally prepared from the
carbonate than from the sulphate. When this is the case you either get a
very decent _yellow_ colour from the sample, or you get a salt which
burns about as green as a very bad specimen of nitre will burn. My
readers will readily understand that nitre ought not to be so green as
to admit of this.
And now, before giving the formulas, it only remains for me to say that
if you have but a really good sample of _dry_ nitrate of baryta _in fine
powder_, you ought to be able to make from the following receipts a
green fire which will answer any purpose:—
GREEN FIRE.
No. 6.
Nitrate of baryta 45 parts.
Chlorate of potash 10 „
Sulphur 10 „
Antimony (sulphide) 1 part.
The above formula gives a pure but pale green. It has a most intense
illuminating power, and for this cause is very valuable. The addition of
a little nitrate of baryta will render the composition more intense in
colour, but will detract from its rapidity of combustion, and therefore
from its illuminative power.
No. 7.
Nitrate of baryta 77 parts.
Chlorate of potash 5 „
Sulphur 12 „
Charcoal 2 „
Orpiment or realgar 2 „
Shellac 2 „
Composition No. 7 is a very old one, slightly altered to make it burn
more freely. It gives a more intensely green colour than No. 6, but has
not the same advantage with regard to its illuminative properties. It
is, however, a very serviceable and inexpensive receipt to employ.
We now come to the best of all the formulas for green fire that I have
been able to meet with, and one which has thoroughly satisfied me. It is
almost the same as that recommended by Chertier, the difference
consisting in a slight decrease in the quantity of calomel, which
enables the composition to burn rather more freely and adds to its
reflective power. I have seen a real emerald green produced by this
composition when good nitrate of baryta has been used, but in this, as
in the case of all other green fires, if you do not succeed you may
generally fasten your suspicions upon the nitrate of baryta.
No. 8.
Nitrate of baryta 40 parts.
Chlorate of potash 4 „
Sulphur 8 „
Calomel 8 „
Charcoal (fine) 2 „
Shellac 1 part.
I do not think that any better formula than this can be needed. It
carries with it a better combination of intensity of colour with
intensity of illuminating power than any coloured fire composition that
I am acquainted with.
PURPLE FIRE.
57. I have next a formula to offer which I think has considerable merits
of its own. It produces a purple colour of a very pleasing tint, and has
also very considerable illuminating power. I have never seen a colour of
this kind employed in any pyrotechnic exhibition, but I believe it to be
an effective composition, and one certainly that will make a change from
the ordinary routine of white, green, and red. I shall dignify it by the
title of—
PURPLE FIRE.
No. 9.
Nitre 48 parts.
Sulphide of copper 12 „
Sulphur 12 „
Calomel 6 „
Arsenic 6 „
Nitrate of strontia 6 „
Chlorate of potash 4 „
Shellac 4 „
Charcoal (fine) 1 part.
I trust that my readers will not be alarmed at the number of ingredients
in the above formula. I can only promise them that the colour produced
is an extraordinary one, and cannot be produced by ordinary means. You
will observe that I have recommended 12 parts of sulphide of copper.
This must be the _fused_ sulphide. Or you may substitute for it equal
parts of Chertier’s copper and sulphide of copper, or equal parts of
Chertier’s, or of sulphide of copper and fine black oxide of copper. The
_arsenic_ employed in the formula may be either orpiment or realgar, but
by far the best preparation of arsenic for this purpose is the _finely
powdered metallic arsenic_. Formula No. 9 is one of my own introduction.
It possesses the advantages of being perfectly safe, deep-tinted, and
decidedly illuminative. But I do not pretend to say that it can ever be
admired to the same extent with the red and the green fires. These
latter will always take the precedence, for their effect at night is so
thoroughly theatrical and surprising that no other colour, however
beautiful or extraordinary, can hope to supersede them. I was once asked
by a lady to make a _brown-coloured_ flame. The idea was so rich in
theory that I never attempted to dissolve its charm by any failures in
experimental practice. But had I succeeded to the utmost with this brown
fire, no illuminating properties could ever have been obtained. One
might as well have expected a good effect from a _black star_ or a
_neutral tinted sun_.
RED FIRE.
58. We come now to the most telling colour of all—the red, or crimson as
it is usually called. In the preparation of the _green_ fires the
_purity_ of the nitrate of baryta is the most important consideration.
In that of the red fires the _dryness_ of the strontia is the main
point. This is most especially to be borne in mind, as success or
failure depends upon it. A really good red-coloured fire is often the
making of an exhibition or its redeeming point, but in any case it is a
most important feature, and on that account is worth the expenditure of
any trouble on its preparation.
I shall give several formulas for red fires, each having its own
characteristic properties. You will have but to determine the particular
description of fire that is necessary, and I think you will find all
that you need among the following compositions:—
RED FIRE.
No. 10.
Nitrate of strontia 20 parts.
Chlorate of potash 3 „
Sulphur 5 „
Antimony 2 „
Charcoal (fine) 1 part.
This formula gives rather a deep rose-coloured flame, and has a most
intense illuminating power. But the composition is one on which the
non-dryness of the nitrate of strontia has the most disastrous effects.
It is, when properly prepared, a very useful composition for
illuminating buildings, &c., &c.
The next is a slower composition, having decidedly more intensity of
colour. It is a remarkably good composition, having considerable depth
of tint, and a very fair amount of reflective power. Its proportions are
these:—
No. 11.
Nitrate of strontia 64 parts.
Chlorate of potash 4 „
Charcoal (fine) 5 „
Sulphur 24 „
The next formula is one of very slow combustion, but of the greatest
depth of colour. It has but a small illuminating power, and can
therefore be employed only for certain purposes.
No. 12.
Nitrate of strontia 48 parts.
Chlorate of potash 4 „
Sulphur 12 „
Calomel 8 „
Chertier’s copper 2 „
Charcoal (fine) 1 part.
This composition, burns so slowly that if it be very much compressed, or
its case be at all thick, much of its effect is lost. I should therefore
recommend that it be laid in a heap upon a tile in order to be fired.
Its beauty will then be seen to the greatest advantage.
The following composition for red fire is the one which I have always
found the most generally useful:—
No. 13.
Nitrate of strontia 70 parts.
Chlorate of potash 6 „
Sulphur 24 „
Charcoal (fine) 2 „
Shellac 2 „
This composition, when employed in a case 1¾ inch in diameter, produces
a magnificent effect, and is at the same time a very economical
composition to make up. Its combustion does not appear rapid, and yet
there seems to be no lack of illuminating power combined with intensity
of colour. It is, of all the compositions which I give, the one best
adapted for the use of young aspiring pyrotechnists, as very certain in
its results, very inexpensive, and very easy to prepare.
Thus we are brought to the close of our list of compositions for
Coloured Bengal Fires. I trust that this list will be found to contain
all that you require, and contain it, too, in variety and abundance.
But we have still to consider how these compositions are to be encased
and fired.
COLOURED FIRES (To Encase).
59. The cases, made as directed above, I will now suppose to be dry and
ready for use. Your drift, with which the composition is to be
compressed into the cases, is one-sixteenth of an inch smaller in
diameter than your former. It will therefore pass easily within the
cases which were made upon “the former.” Now cut some pieces of
newspaper, or thin brown paper, into squares or circles about 3 inches
in diameter. Place the flat end of your drift in the centre of these,
and turn down the papers round its sides in the same way that papers or
bladders are turned down over bottles or jars when these are to be
capped or covered. Then insert the drift with the paper cap over it into
one end of the coloured fire case and push it through to the other end.
Now withdraw the drift, and leave the paper cap in the end of the
coloured fire case. Next place the case upright upon your driving-block
with the end, thus filled up, downwards, and put into it as much
powdered clay as will, when driven, occupy about half-an-inch in the end
of the case. Drive this clay down firmly with a few blows of the mallet,
taking care, however, not to rupture the case by exerting too great a
force.
The case is now ready to be filled with composition. This operation is
to be done as follows:—First put in enough of the composition to occupy
about half-an-inch in the case, and ram this down with a few light blows
of the mallet. Then put in another quantity, and ram that down in the
same way; and so on till the case is filled. I strongly recommend you
not to put in more composition at a time than will ram down into the
space of half-an-inch. You will find it easy to compress the whole of
the composition equally and uniformly by attending to this simple piece
of advice; and you will soon discover, if you do not already know, the
advantage of uniform compression.
When you have charged the case as far as you can with the drift and
mallet, that is, to about a quarter of an inch from the top of the case,
press the mouth of the case into the composition (from which you were
filling it) until the case becomes full up to the brim. Over the flat
surface of composition thus left, paste a piece of touch-paper, or any
thin paper, taking care not to paste that part of the paper which lies
against the composition, but only that which is to stick to the sides of
the case.
COLOURED FIRES (To Fire).
60. Your coloured fire is now complete and ready for firing. This is the
usual and most convenient way of preparing colours for exhibitions. But
for your own experiments you may place a small quantity of the
composition to be tried upon a tile or brick, not spreading it about,
but piling it into a pyramidal heap, to be lighted at the top. Many
persons adopt this plan for exhibitions, but it is not good, because
several of the best compositions burn too rapidly when unconfined by a
case. I only beg that you will do me the justice to remember that the
formulas which I have given above are intended to furnish compositions
suitable for burning in such cases as I have described, and not, as a
general rule, adapted for open and loose burning. My plan all along has
been this—to find compositions of sufficient freedom of combustion to
enable them to consume their case, to give a powerful light, and not to
burn out too rapidly. I think I have succeeded in gaining the first two
of these qualities in the compositions themselves, and the third by
compressing them closely in cases.
It is very much better to put into each case two different sorts or
colours of fire, making the fire, for instance, change from white to
red, or from green to purple. But if this be done, and more than one
case is to be burning at a time, of course an especial regard must be
had to the contrast of colour. You should never burn a yellow with a red
fire, or a yellow with a white; green with red, yellow with purple,
white with red make the best contrasts.
But, for my own part, I never burn two Bengal fires of different colours
at once. If the fires have any illuminative power at all, they are
pretty certain to neutralise one another’s effect, and so give you a
very poor and unsatisfactory return for your outlay. It is very true
that red and green are _complementary_ colours, as they are called, and
look very well side by side, but the effect produced upon an object by
illuminating it with a red and green light is anything but complementary
to the object or to the coloured fires themselves. If you wish, however,
to try the effect of the contrast, use compositions possessing the
greatest depth of colour and the least reflective power; in this case
the fires themselves will be complementary one to another, and their
non-illuminative properties will effectually prevent any confusion of
reflection. That what I have said above is true any one may discover by
getting two pieces of stained glass, one of a rich red, the other of a
rich green colour. Let these colours be thoroughly _transparent_, and if
you place one before the other and attempt to look through them, you
will find that you have a medium through which very little can be seen
at all.
The cases of coloured fire, made as directed above, must not be placed
perpendicularly to be fired, but _horizontally_. The reason of this is
very simple. While they are burning a sort of boiling lava is formed,
which is the refuse of the combustion, and this will considerably clog
the flame and rob it of much of its light if allowed to remain at the
mouth of the case. Now if the cases be placed horizontally, this lava
will fall away as it forms, and leave the fire to burn without
impediment.
All that it is necessary to do to give the cases this horizontal
position is to drive two long, stout nails into a post horizontally,
about an inch and a-half apart, and lay the case on these. Coloured
fires should, as a general rule, be fired at a distance of about three
or four feet from the ground.
But as one cannot always find nails of the proper sort for these
purposes, especially when at a distance from one’s own stores, I have
sketched for you an iron which I always use, fig. 91, and which I am
sure you will find convenient. It is made in the shape of a tuning-fork,
with a screw at its handle; this screw is simply twisted into a
gimlet-hole in a post, and is easily put up or removed.
I must not omit to say a few words with regard to the placing of
coloured fires. This must depend mainly upon individual taste, but a few
hints may not be out of place. I cannot help thinking that the best and
most effective way of displaying coloured fires is _to conceal the fire
itself, and let only its illumination or reflection be seen_. Let any of
my readers keep his spectators at a distance of twenty or thirty yards
from the coloured fire, and hold up a tray or piece of board in front of
the fire, of such a size as will conceal only the fire itself. I think
it will be generally admitted that the beauty of the piece is much
enhanced by this simple contrivance, and if it be thought so, then it
becomes a consideration whether it would not be better to use the most
illuminative colours always out of sight, in such a position that their
effect only can be seen. For instance, if there be a large tree
conveniently at hand, place your colour on that side of it which is away
from the spectators, so that the trunk of the tree is between them and
the coloured fire. This plan I have always found to give a most charming
result.
But it must be remembered that anything but highly illuminative colours
cannot be employed in this manner. You will of course find objectors to
the plan mentioned above. There are many people who will tell you, “No,
I like to see the light itself,” as if gazing on the sun or moon, except
for astronomical purposes, could ever give half the pleasure that the
sight of a fine sunlit or moonlit landscape can impart.
What would a fairy scene in a pantomime be worth if you saw some of the
green-room myrmidons, with a pot of beer in one hand and a lucifer-match
in the other, lighting a heap of composition on a tile beside the stage,
and then saw the composition burst into a smoky flame, but were
prevented from seeing the effects of its colour?
This suggests to me another branch of my present subject, which some of
my readers may consider an important one.
COLOURED FIRES FOR THEATRICAL PURPOSES.
61. In the event of private theatricals you may not, or your friends may
not, like their drawing-room to be filled with a strong sulphurous
smoke, which is pretty certain to hang about the drapery of the room and
the dresses of the company for some unpleasantly long time. I shall
therefore give you now two or three formulas for coloured fires which
may be safely used in a room, and which contain no sulphur.
But first let me give you this caution, which it is most highly
important that you should attend to:—
NEVER BURN ANY COLOURED FIRE COMPOSITION INDOORS, OR IN ANY INCLOSED
SPACE, WHICH CONTAINS ORPIMENT, REALGAR, OR ANY PREPARATION OF ARSENIC
AMONGST ITS INGREDIENTS. THE FUMES FROM SUCH COMPOSITIONS MUST BE VERY
INJURIOUS. THEY CAN ONLY BE USED WITH SAFETY OUT-OF-DOORS.
COLOURED FIRES FOR THEATRICAL
PURPOSES.
WHITE.
No. 14.
Chlorate of potash 12 parts.
Nitre 4 „
Sugar 4 „
Stearine 1 part.
Carbonate of baryta 1 „
This does not give a pure white light, for it is impossible to get a
real white without sulphur, but when used to overpower theatrical
lamplight, it is to all intents and purposes white.
YELLOW FIRE.
No. 15.
Chlorate of potash 6 parts.
Nitre 6 „
Oxalate of soda 5 „
Shellac 3 „
Nitrate of baryta may be substituted for nitre in the above formula with
advantage, provided it be very dry and fine.
GREEN FIRE.
No. 16.
Chlorate of potash 2 parts.
Sugar 1 part.
Nitrate of baryta 1 „
This green colour is but faint in itself, but gives a very good
reflection.
RED FIRE.
No. 17.
Nitrate of strontia 4 parts.
Chlorate of potash 1 part.
Shellac 1 „
These colours are for the most part very rapid in their combustion, and
therefore may be used in cases if you please. But as coloured fires for
theatrical purposes are only required to last a short time, the more
brilliant they are during that time the better.
CHINESE FLYERS OR SAXONS.
62. I now treat of the manufacture of Chinese flyers, or Saxons, as they
are called by professional pyrotechnists. But it will not be sufficient
merely to speak of the manner in which they are made—we must follow them
into some of those combinations in complex designs in which they fulfil
a very striking part.
And first the object of the Chinese flyer is to produce a circle of
white fire, unattended by any scintillating radii, which can be easily
worked into large pyrotechnic designs, and which is at the same time
easy of construction.
The Chinese flyer forms a very pretty little piece of itself when
properly made, but its principal use is in combination. It is of two
kinds, and these are known by the names of the “single” or “double”
Saxon or flyer.
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
SINGLE SAXON FLYER.
63. First we will speak of the single Saxon. Its case should be eleven
inches in length, and should be made round a “former” of the one-ounce
size. In order to cut your paper and board of a proper size for these
cases, refer to the following woodcuts. Open a sheet of 60 lb. brown
paper of the imperial size, and divide it in halves lengthwise. At fig.
92 it will be seen that each sheet of paper will give you two cases. If
you use 70-lb. brown paper instead of that of the 60 lb. substance, you
will hardly require any imperial board. But I think that the cases are
better when made with a piece of the board used with the paper.
Supposing, then, that you employ 60 lb. brown paper, cut your imperial
board as shown at fig. 92a, that is, into eight equal pieces, one of
which is to be used with each strip of paper.
[Illustration:
Fig. 92.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 92a.
]
Now paste your paper and board well all over, for you will require a
hard, strong case. Then proceed to roll your paper round the former,
folding it over in the manner described at par. 39. Then place upon the
unfolded paper the piece of imperial board, and roll both up together
into a close firm case. Your former should be moistened with paste, and
particular care must be taken that the inner fold of the paper, that
which lies next to the former, is well saturated with paste. This will
effectually prevent its being separated afterwards when dry, and will
obviate one cause of failure and explosions. I have before explained the
necessity for attending to this piece of advice in speaking on
tourbillons. The cases for these Chinese flyers are, in fact, very much
like those made for Roman Candles, but as they are to contain a very
much stronger composition, must have so much additional care bestowed
upon their preparation.
The next thing necessary is to know the principle upon which these
Chinese flyers are made. A reference to fig. 93 will make this easily
intelligible. The composition is rammed into the cases in two
compartments, between which and at the extreme ends of which some dry
powdered clay is driven in. The clay in the centre of the case is put
there to form a solid substance, through which a hole can be bored to
admit the spindle on which the case is to revolve. The clay at the
extremities of the case is driven there to form a hard ending which is
capable of resisting the force of the combustion of the composition. The
intervening spaces between the ends and centre of clay are filled with
composition.
The cases are filled over a settle proper for the purpose, of which a
sketch is given at fig. 104. When the cases are dry, take one of them
and place one of its ends over the projecting piece at the top of the
settle. You will now require a long drift, rather less than half-an-inch
in diameter, so that it will pass easily in and out of the case. It
must, of course, be of a length not less than that of your case. I must
suppose that you provided yourself with a ladle proper for filling the
cases of brilliant fire, and the wheel-cases, of which I have treated.
The same ladle will now come into use again. In case you have not such a
ladle, buy or make yourself one in metal which will pass easily into
cases of the one-ounce size. In this ladle take up as much powdered clay
as will, when driven, occupy a quarter of an inch in the length of the
case. Drive it in firmly by means of your drift and mallet. Then put in
the composition, for which the following are the formulas:—
COMPOSITION FOR
SAXONS.
Meal-powder 16 parts
Nitre 8 „
Sulphur 6 „
Or,
Meal-powder 6 „
Nitre 3 to 4 „
Sulphur 2 „
Antimony 2 „
Of these two I prefer the former, but the latter is perhaps better when
the flyers are to to be fired singly, as it produces a much greater halo
of sparks.
Now drive in the selected composition, a ladleful at a time, giving from
twelve to sixteen blows to each, until it rises to half-an-inch below
the middle of the case. It is a good plan to mark cases, so that there
shall be no possibility of mistake as to where this point is. Remember
that you will require one inch of clay in the exact centre of the case,
in the middle of which clay you will have afterwards to bore a hole.
Upon the top of this clay ram in more composition until the case is
filled to about three-eighths of an inch from the end. Upon this second
composition drive in as much powdered clay as you drove in at the other
end of the case, taking care that it is made very firm, and is not at
all likely to be blown out by the combustion of the composition.
The next thing to be done is to bore the central hole through the clay.
I do this generally with a bradawl first, and afterwards with a pin-bit
or spoon-bit. The size of spindle which is best adapted for such
fireworks as these is that which is three-sixteenths of an inch in
diameter. I should therefore use a bradawl of about an eighth of an inch
in diameter first, and then a pin-bit of the same size as the spindle to
be employed. Care must be taken that the hole is not made unnecessarily
large, and that it is bored at right angles with the length of the case.
Having accomplished this, you have in the next place to bore the holes
from which the fire is to issue. These are to be made on opposite sides
of the case at each end, and about half-an-inch from the ends of the
case. I make these holes with a bradawl, beginning with a small one and
finishing with one rather less than three-sixteenths of an inch in
diameter. I believe the true size of the awl that I use to finish with
is five thirty-seconds of an inch. I mention this because some
considerable nicety is required with regard to the sizes of these holes,
otherwise the Saxon will either burst or not have force enough. The
compositions that I have given have reference to holes of the above
size, and will not be found to succeed well with any other sized
aperture. I bore these holes about half-way through the composition, and
then nearly fill up the hole with some of the same composition, leaving
room for the ends of the match to be pressed in. A very convenient
instrument for filling up these holes after boring, also for filling up
tourbillon holes and the necks of wheel or brilliant fire cases, is that
represented at fig. 94, which consists of a piece of stout brass wire
driven into a bradawl-handle, and having a flat end. This simple
instrument will serve also to press in the ends of the quick-match which
is to connect the extremities of the case.
At fig. 93 is represented the manner in which the quick-match is
applied. A hole is bored at A. A piece of match is put into it and
carried to the end of the case for the convenience of lighting the
flyer. A piece of thin paper is pasted over the match and round the end
of the flyer to keep the match in its place, and to protect it from
injury and from taking fire before its time. Another hole is made at B
just large enough to admit an end of quick-match. The match is inserted
into this hole, and is carried on to another hole at C, bored exactly
like the one at A, and at the same distance from the end of the case,
but on the opposite side.
The reason for all this contrivance will be readily understood. The
Chinese flyer is lighted at the match which enters the hole A. It
revolves on the spindle which is passed through its centre, and in a
direction opposite to that of its mouth. The composition continues to
burn till it reaches the point marked B, when it communicates its fire
by means of the quick-match with the other aperture at C. If the flyer
be required to burn by itself, a piece of touch-paper should be pasted
round the end at A, and twisted into a point. If, however, it is to be
connected with other pieces, some thin paper should be used, two or
three folds thick, and projecting an inch beyond the end of the case, so
as to allow the communicating match from the other pieces to be tied in.
In my opinion no Saxon or Chinese flyer, single or double, used singly
or in combination, should be without a colour in its centre. For this
purpose colours in cases of the one-ounce size will be found sufficient.
A case an inch long, independently of its clay end, will burn as long as
is required. It may be fixed on in such a position as that indicated at
D in fig. 3. It can either be tied on with wire or glued on, or fastened
in both ways if considered necessary. It must be connected by
quick-match with the end of the case which is fired first.
The colours that I recommend to be used for this purpose are those given
at Nos. 21, 22, and 26, in paragraph 50. It is a good plan to fill the
cases with at least two colours, if the Saxon is to be fired by itself,
so that it may have a varied centre. But if the piece is to consist of
more than one Saxon, then it is best to employ a separate colour, which
does not change, with each. I shall say more about the construction of
pieces consisting of Saxons presently, when I have described the making
of what is known among pyrotechnists under the name of the
DOUBLE SAXON.
64. This, though a larger firework than the single, is quite as easily
made, and is more effective. It consists of two cases attached to a
wooden centre, such as is represented at fig. 95. It is simply a turned
piece of light wood, having ends of such a size as will fit tightly into
the Saxon cases. It is about five inches and a-half long, and four
inches and a quarter between its shoulders. You can procure these in any
quantity of Mr. Darby or Mr. Newman.
The cases for double Saxons are made in the same manner as described
above for the single Saxons, but are of a different length. The
following directions for the division of paper and board will give you
cases of a size proper for double Saxons:—
Cut your 60lb. brown paper lengthwise into three equal strips, as
represented at the annexed fig. 96. By this division your cases will be
about seven and a-half inches in length. Your imperial board must be
cut, as shown in the illustration at fig. 97, into twelve equal pieces;
so that four sheets of 60lb. brown paper, and one of imperial board,
will give you material enough for twelve cases, and therefore enough for
six double Saxons.
[Illustration:
Fig. 96.
]
The cases are to be filled in the same way as directed above under the
head of single Saxons. After placing your case upon the settle, drive in
as much clay as will, when compressed, occupy a quarter of an inch, and
see that it is very firm and secure. Then drive in your composition
(made from one of the formulas given above) a ladleful at a time, until
you have filled the case to within an inch of the end. Drive in another
small quantity of clay, and you will then have three-quarters of an
inch, or thereabouts, of unoccupied space at the end of the case. This
is to be filled with the end of the wooden centre represented at fig.
95. When your two cases are filled, _glue them on to the centre_, taking
care that they are not likely to come unfastened by any fair means. You
will have no trouble in boring the central hole for these, for you buy
them already bored in the right manner.
[Illustration:
Fig. 97.
]
But you will have to bore through the case to the composition, to make a
vent for the fire. The holes are to be made about half-an-inch from each
end, and on opposite sides, as represented at A and B in fig. 98. After
boring the holes, be careful to fill them up again with some of the same
composition, leaving only room enough to receive the ends of the
quick-match, which should be pressed in with the little instrument
represented at fig. 94. This quick-match is first to be put into the
hole at A and secured there, and then carried over that end of the case
and down the other side to the hole at B, where it is to be secured in
the same way. Over the quick-match is to be pasted a piece of thin
paper. A strip an inch wide and twenty inches long is what is required
for this purpose. This strip is to be pasted all along the match. This
will prevent its being injured or ignited at the wrong time.
It is hardly necessary for me to state that the same plan must be
adopted with regard to the quick-match that is put to single Saxons. The
paper is simply to be pasted over the match in the same way as is done
in the case of tourbillons.
A wider strip of paper is next to be cut, which is to be pasted round
the end A of the double Saxon, and to project beyond the end, in order
to receive the quick-match from other pieces.
In order to attach a colour to the centre of these double Saxons (and
they should never be used without a colour), a nail may be driven into
the wooden centre, in the position indicated at C, in fig. 98, and the
coloured fire case bound to the nail with a round or two of fine wire.
The case at C must then be connected by quick-match with the end at A.
All the double Saxons that I have seen have been made in this manner,
but there is no reason why they should not burn one end at a time, like
the single Saxons. The difference will be that if both ends take fire at
once, the pieces will last just half the time that they would otherwise
take. The compositions that I have recommended for filling them are
quite strong enough to make them revolve well, if only burning at one
end; but if the two ends are arranged to burn simultaneously, a much
more perfect circle of white fire is produced, and this, I presume, is
the object of their always being made to burn double.
In deciding whether they shall burn singly or not, you must take into
consideration the questions, How are they to be used? and, With what
other pieces are they to burn? You will, no doubt, have plenty of
devices of your own making into which these illuminated Saxons will
enter. A very little experience will show you their effect, and teach
you how long they last, and how to regulate their use.
And here let me give you a hint that you will find very useful with
regard to these, and to all fireworks which can be used in combination.
Whenever you ascertain the length of time that any piece—say a Roman
candle, a brilliant gerbe, a Saxon, or a wheel-case—is in burning, make
a note of it in a book kept for the purpose. It will save you much
trouble and calculation, and will add very much to the beauty of your
compound pieces, to have a written statement of the duration of any
component part of them, so that you may have no excess in any
particular, and that it may appear that your design has been made with
judgment, and is not the result of a chance mixture of pieces.
I trust that I have left no particular unnoticed in my directions for
making these single and double Saxons. If I have, I hope that the
principle on which they are constructed is laid down with sufficient
clearness to put the mode of its working out beyond a doubt.
SAXON WHEEL.
65. I now wish to supply a few designs for combinations in which these
Saxons, together with other pieces, find a place. The first that I shall
give will be that which is called a Saxon wheel. It consists of a wooden
framework about three feet in diameter, having six spokes, and into
three of these spokes the spindles are driven on which three double
Saxons are to revolve. On the circumference of the wheel, cases are tied
filled with brilliant fire made from the following formula:—
Meal-powder 4 parts.
Steel filings 1 part.
These cases may be of the one-ounce size, and must burn _two_ at a time.
This is easily effected by connecting the mouths of the cases, _on
opposite sides of the wheel_, with quick-match, and then from the tails
of these cases carrying leaders to the heads of the next two, and so on.
The number of cases on the circumference is not a matter of importance.
I have drawn six in the sketch at fig. 100. In the centre should be
placed a single triangle wheel, the cases on which may be of the “fixed
case” size, spoken of in paragraph 41, but not quite so long—five and
a-half inches will be found long enough. The cases on this triangle
wheel may be filled with the brilliant fire. The piece will then
require—
6 one-ounce wheel-cases in brilliant fire.
3 triangle wheel-cases in brilliant fire.
3 double Saxons, illuminated with colours.
You may make this wheel perform in any manner that you choose. I may,
however, suggest one order for its performance. I should first light the
triangle wheel, and let its three cases expend themselves. This central
triangle must revolve upon the same axis on which the larger wheel
turns. Then I should advise you to fire the two connected cases on
opposite sides of the large wheel, and let these convey their fire to
the other cases which follow them. When four of these cases are consumed
(or rather, I should say, when _two couples_ of these cases are
consumed), fire the quick-match which connects the illuminated Saxons.
You will see that the central triangle is a separate piece, and will not
require to be connected with the other part of the design. The Saxons
must be connected by quick-match with one another, and must have a
leader left by which to fire them. The outside wheel-cases must also
have a leader by which they can be ignited at the proper moment.
Especial care must be taken that these leaders are not too near one
another, or you will probably find your whole piece ignited at one time,
and not in the order which you had intended it to observe. The triangle
wheel will, of course, be in front of the other wheel, and so the fire
from it will not start the other pieces before their time. The best plan
for igniting the Saxons at the right moment is to make a fuze to last
just the time that the two first couples of wheel-cases take to burn
out, and so to convey its fire to the Saxons. These fuzes are a larger
sort of portfire, primed at both ends, with a quick-match leading to and
from them. The fuze must be lighted by the same leader which fires the
wheel-cases, and if it be only of the proper length, will when consumed
pass its fire on to the Saxons at the proper time.
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
In the sketch at fig. 100 it will be seen that the cases at A A are to
burn together; those at B B will follow them; and while A A and B B are
burning, the fuze at D is also burning, and should last precisely the
same time. Then when C C take their fire from B B, the Saxons take their
fire from the fuze at D. I hope this is intelligible. I can answer for
the beauty of the design if properly carried out. You may put on the
three Saxons a red, a green, and a purple fire, which will make a good
contrast, and you will further improve your piece by putting a
changeable colour on the centre of the triangle wheel. Put the end of
the leader E in such a position that it is not ignited by the fire from
the triangle.
There is also a very pretty fixed piece, of more simple construction
than the above, in which you may use three single Saxons. It consists of
three Saxons illuminated, and three fixed cases of brilliant fire. A
fuze will be found useful in this piece as in the last, but you can do
without it here. Connect the three Saxons with leaders; connect also the
three fixed cases with leaders, and carry from these another leader to
some point where you can conveniently light it with a portfire. Fire the
Saxons (which we will suppose are single ones) and let them burn until
one end of each is consumed; then fire the fixed cases of brilliant
fire, which should each have a report at its end. A sketch of the shape
of this piece is given at fig. 101.
SAXON SQUARE.
66. The next design that I shall give is known by the name of the Saxon
square. The sketch at fig. 99 shows the form of it. It consists of a
square wooden frame, used _diamond-wise_—that is with one of its
_angles_ downwards, and not one of its sides downwards. The pieces
required to mount it are as follows:—
8 brilliant fixed cases.
4 Saxons illuminated with colours.
1 illuminated triangle wheel for centre.
The framework may be about 30 inches square. In the centre place a
brilliant illuminated triangle wheel. A _double_ triangle will be the
best for this purpose, and will make the piece last longer. If the
Saxons burn at both ends at once, they must be fired with the brilliant
fixed cases; but if one end only burns at a time, the fixed cases may
burn with the second halves of the Saxons. The fixed cases should all be
reported.
Let two of the cases on the triangle wheel burn first; then let the
colour in the centre of the triangle take fire, and burn with the
remaining four cases; then let the first halves of the Saxons take fire
when the fourth wheel-case begins, and let the brilliant cases come on
with the sixth of the wheel-cases, and with the second halves of the
Saxons. In this and in all other cases where a triangle, or any wheel is
employed, as a centre, it must be brought well forward so that its fire
will not injure any other part of the piece.
If it be thought advisable to increase slightly the size and beauty of
this piece, place three brilliant fixed cases in the intervals between
the Saxons instead of two, and let them be fixed so as to form a kind of
Prince of Wales’s feather in each place.
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
I now come to a design which I have used, and can, therefore, speak from
experience of the beauty of its effect. I employed it at the close of an
exhibition, and I can assure you that it makes no inconsiderable finale.
It consists of the following component parts:—
16 brilliant fixed cases reported.
4 double Saxons illuminated.
4 five-pointed stars.
This piece will be much better if it has a brilliant triangle, or double
triangle, wheel in its centre. If a double triangle be used, it will
begin first and last out through the performance of the piece. The
sketch given at fig. 102 will speak for itself as to design, shape,
outline, &c., &c. But I may as well suggest in this case, as I have in
the others, an order for its changes, or _mutations_, as the authorities
delight to call them.
I will suppose that you use a brilliant double triangle wheel in the
centre. This, of course, has six small cases upon it, and should have
also a colour in its centre. Fire this wheel first, and let two of its
cases be consumed. Then fire the four coloured lights which are to be
substituted for the five-pointed stars. Two of these coloured lights may
be _green_, and two _purple_. Then when two more of the cases on the
triangle are burnt out, strike in the double Saxons and the brilliant
fixed cases.
This piece will, of course, take you some time to make, and will require
some patience and a good deal of nicety and precision in its
arrangements. But it will fully repay you for all the pains that you
bestow upon its preparation. I think the colour on the double triangle
wheel had better be purple; those on the Saxons red; the other four
colours, as I have said, green and purple.
At fig. 103 I have drawn the wooden centre of a double Saxon to show you
an easier way of fastening on your colours. You have simply to bore a
hole with a small bradawl through the clay end of the coloured light
case, and pass through it a piece of small soft iron or copper wire. The
ends of the wire are then bent round the wooden centre, and twisted
together tightly at the back.
Fig. 104 represents a settle proper for the making of Saxons. It is to
be fixed or screwed into a block, such as I have drawn in the
illustrations for Roman candles.
SERPENT MINES.
67. We now come to a very useful and effective feature in pyrotechnic
displays, which, although rather short-lived in its performance,
produces quite as much aërial decoration as any piece that can be
employed. I speak of the mine, whether charged with serpents or
crackers.
It would be difficult to find a better single accompaniment to the
concluding piece of a small exhibition than a really good serpent mine.
But these pieces need not necessarily be used as accompaniments; they
may also be made up as separate pieces. Of these combinations I shall
speak hereafter.
And first, for the information of those who do not know what a mine is,
or what its performance is, I may say that it consists of a cylindrical
box, made either of thick paper or iron; and this box contains a number
of small serpents having reports; these serpents are placed in the box
in such a manner that their mouths may all readily take fire at the same
instant, at which instant they are blown out of the box to the height of
fifty or sixty feet in the air, where they be-have themselves in a most
lively and somewhat eccentric manner, until a smart pop from each brings
their gambols to a close by turning their carcasses inside out.
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
Now comes the question, “How are we to charm these little serpents into
doing as we please?” The following answer to this question will, I
trust, leave nothing unexplained or difficult of comprehension.
In the first place, with regard to the serpents themselves, I cannot
think that you will find it worth your while to be troubled with the
manufacture of them. The work is dirty, troublesome, and rather
expensive, because you can do nothing without a choking apparatus proper
for this purpose, and when you set in array against these disadvantages
the very low price of the serpents, as you can buy them of Mr. Darby, of
98 Regent Street, Lambeth, which is, I believe, at the rate of three
shillings per gross, primed and ready for use, I think you will agree
with me that the best plan is to wash your hands altogether of their
manufacture, and to buy them where you can depend upon their being
uniformly good and reasonable in price.
These serpents are generally about two inches and three-quarters in
length, and are of a very convenient size for the purpose. I will
suppose that you have provided yourself with some of these, and that you
want to make one of such serpent mines as can be bought at the firework
shops.
The first thing for you to do is to decide upon the size of mine that
you require. In my opinion, very small mines are not worth making. I
should never think of putting less than _two dozen_ serpents into a
mine. If you will take my advice you will determine upon one or two
sizes, and keep to them; you will find this by far the most convenient
plan.
The two sizes which I should recommend are those whose cases are _two
inches and a-half_ and _three inches_ in diameter. The latter will
discharge three dozen serpents, and will, I think, be found large enough
for all purposes.
If you want a former round which to make the case, _or mortar_, as it is
called, of the two and a-half inch size, you can generally find one
ready made at the draper’s. They have them as rollers for silks, &c.,
and the above is one of their sizes. I have found one of these very
convenient.
In the next place you must always keep your eye on the look-out for old
odd pieces of thick brown paper, or sugar paper, or any thick paper used
for parcels, and turn them to account; any old pieces of cardboard may
also be worked in. You will want a case or mortar _seven inches long_,
and so well pasted and closely rolled that you can hardly bend it with
your fingers. Do not spare the paste, nor imagine that you can dispense
with the roller board. Well paste the former and all the paper, and when
you have finished the mortar, set it by, and do not use it till it is
thoroughly dry and hard, but at the same time do not attempt to hurry
the drying over, and so warp it and put it out of shape.
You will now have a round hard cylinder of pasteboard, open at both
ends. Cut a piece of deal or other wood, of a size that will fit tightly
into one of these ends, and _about an inch thick_, and glue it in, to
make a firm bottom to the mortar, so that it has no chance of coming
out.
Now weigh out one-ounce of common gunpowder; such as is sold at the
shops at about 1s. per pound is quite good enough for this purpose. Put
this into a piece of _thin_ paper, and make it up into a neat little
flat circular parcel as shown at fig. 105. It should be as nearly as
possible the same size as the interior of the mortar. You will find that
the mortar of the two and a-half inch size is capable of holding about
twenty-eight serpents. But, whatever sized former you use for the
mortar, ascertain how many serpents will be required to fill it,
remembering that they are by no means required to fit in tightly; that
if they are fitted in tightly your mortar is pretty sure to be blown to
pieces, which catastrophe is by all means to be avoided. Having
ascertained the number of serpents required, tie them into a bundle with
cotton. This will enable you to pass them without any trouble into the
mortar. But before putting them in take out the centre serpent, and tie
to its neck a piece of quick-match in the manner represented in fig.
106. This match is to convey the fire to the mouths of the serpents, and
so on to the packet of powder. When the piece of match has been attached
as directed above, replace the serpent in the midst of the bundle. Take
notice that that part of the match which projects beyond the mouth of
the serpent _is to be uncovered_—that is, is to have its case cut away
from it.
Now in order to insure the proper lighting of all the serpents, I
have adopted a plan which I have always found successful. The usual
plan is to smear the flat side of the packet of gunpowder with
meal-powder-paste, and to let the serpents stand mouth downwards
upon this. I am well aware that many good mines are made in this
way, but I must think that their success is the result rather of
chance than of anything else. I have experimented a great deal in
this direction. I have fired mines so prepared in a place where I
have been able to pick up the remains of the serpents after the
explosion of the mines, and I have frequently found serpents that
had never taken fire at all. And this fact set me to work upon
discovering some new plan. I at once hit upon the cause of former
failures, imagining them to be due to the too rapid ignition of the
powder, which had not allowed time enough for the fire to be
conveyed to the mouths of _all_ the serpents. In attempting to
rectify this, I naturally enough ran to the other extreme, and gave
them rather too long a time, so that they actually found their way
out of the mortar by their own force, and the powder expended itself
in a mighty puff just when they were out of the reach of its
influence. Of course the serpents only found their way just out of
the mortar, and did not produce that lively effect in the air which
was intended. So then I had recourse to the plan which I now adopt,
and which has never failed me. I take some circles of thin blue
paper—such paper as the pyrotechnists use for making into
touch-paper, which is called _thin blue double crown_; these circles
I cut of such a size that they will just pass into my mortar, and I
smear them well over with meal-powder-paste made with meal-powder
moistened with thin starch or gum-water. One of these circles I
place between the packet of powder and the mouths of the serpents.
And I find that this arrangement just allows time enough for the
fire to be conveyed to all the serpents before the packet of powder
is exploded.
You will now have the three principal parts of the mine ready to put
into the pasteboard mortar. In order to do this, take your bundle of
serpents and hold them _mouths upwards_, as represented at fig. 107, and
on their mouths lay the primed circle of thin paper, _meal-powder side
downwards_. On this lay the packet of gunpowder, with its _smooth side
downwards_, and its tied side upwards. Then taking the mortar, _bottom
upwards_, pass it over the whole in the way in which an extinguisher is
used. The mine, thus far completed, is now to be turned the proper way
upwards, and a knife or pair of scissors passed into it to divide the
cotton which bound the serpents together. Care must be taken that this
little piece of after-work is not forgotten and left undone, otherwise
your serpents will come out in a lump, and will not be able to spread.
But now we come to the case which is to play before the mine is fired.
This may be a short case of the one-ounce or two-ounce size, and may be
filled with the beautiful old composition called spur-fire. The
composition for this is—
Nitre 18 parts.
Sulphur 8 „
Lampblack 6 „
But there is a great deal of art in preparing this composition. The
ingredients require to be well-sifted together, and then rubbed together
in a large mortar with a wooden pestle. You must have two or three short
choked cases ready while this pestle and mortar operation is going on,
in which to try the composition at different stages of its progress. If
the ingredients have not been sufficiently rubbed with the pestle, very
few of the beautiful spur-shaped sparks will be thrown out. But if, on
the other hand, too much rubbing has taken place, the composition will
burn too fiercely, and will throw out only drossy sparks. There is
certainly a good deal of patience necessary in the preparation of this
spur-fire composition, but when properly made it will repay you for all
the trouble it has given. It is better to make a good large batch of it
at a time. It is said to improve after being rammed into cases a long
time.
There is only one disadvantage that I have ever found in this spur-fire,
and that is, that much of its beautiful effect is lost unless the
spectators are very close to it when it is fired. The scintillating
sparks may be caught in the hand without danger.
But there are many other compositions which will answer very well for
the beginning case for a mine. For instance, you may use—
Meal-powder 2 parts.
Steel filings 1 part.
Or,
Meal-powder 2 parts.
Iron borings 1 part.
Or,
Meal-powder 4 parts.
Charcoal 1 part.
These compositions may be rammed into either one-ounce or two-ounce
cases, and primed in the ordinary way. The tail end of the case must be
left open, in order to insert the end of the match which comes out of
the bundle of serpents.
You will next require a circular piece of millboard, of a size that will
answer as a lid to your pasteboard mortar. Through the centre of this
lid bore a hole with a centre-bit just the size of the case that you
mean to insert; and when you have decided how far this case shall
project out of the lid, make a mark, and glue the case into the central
hole: and when you have made the necessary connection between the tail
of the fountain-case and the quick-match from the bundle, the lid is
ready to be pasted on. If, however, there is any chance of the mine
being knocked about before it is fired, fill in the space above the
serpents with waste paper, or, still better, with common wadding, _which
does not burn_.
It only remains now to paste a strip of thin paper neatly round the top
of your mortar, so as to secure the lid, and then to put some
touch-paper to your fountain-case, and the piece is ready for firing.
There is another way of making these mines which you can adopt if you
please. Instead of using a short fountain-case, a long one is employed
which will reach down to the smeared meal-powder pad. This case has, of
course, to pass through the bundle of serpents, and so takes up a good
deal of room among them. If you employ a long case of this kind, you
will find it best to use one of the sparkling compositions given above,
_and not the spur-fire_; or, at all events, if the spur-fire is used,
only half fill the case with it. It is a slow-burning composition, and
answers much better in _short_ cases of large calibre than in long cases
of small bore.
For a mine two inches in diameter the charge of powder should be
three-quarters of an ounce. The mortar should be about six inches high.
For a mine two and a-half inches in diameter, and seven inches high, the
charge of powder should be one-ounce.
For a mine three inches in diameter, and eight inches high, the charge
should be an ounce and a-half.
But I must now proceed to tell you of another way of making mines for
exhibition purposes which can be fired at any given moment. These are
fired from iron mortars. One of these mortars will last a lifetime. The
size that I use is that which has a diameter of three inches. The mortar
is made of thick sheet-iron, rivetted firmly into the form of a
cylinder, with an iron ring round its mouth, and a wood block screwed
into its other end for a foot. This mortar has a clear depth of eight
inches inside, and is capable of throwing three dozen serpents. The
exterior of the iron cylinder is bound round with cord, which is
supposed to give it great additional strength. So much for the mortar
from which these exhibition mines are fired. The serpents, powder, &c.,
are contained in paper bags, and have a projecting piece of match by
which they are fired. I have a solid cylinder of wood, six inches long,
and two and three-quarter inches in diameter, upon which I make my paper
bags for these mines. A former of this size makes a bag that will
contain the three dozen serpents, and will at the same time pass easily
into the mortar. The powder, meal-pad, serpents and quick-match are to
be put in precisely in the same manner as that directed above: the
powder packet at the bottom, of course, then the meal-pad, then the
serpents. After all are inclosed, feel with the fingers for the string
that ties the serpents together, and cut through the paper of the bag
and this string to liberate them. Your mine will then be ready for
firing. Any number of these bags can be fired one after another from the
same iron mortar.
You will find a sketch of a pasteboard mortar at fig. 108, showing its
contents and the fountain-case. You will find also a sketch of an iron
mortar, fig. 109, and bag and serpents, fig. 110; such as I use, which
is by far the most convenient way of exhibiting serpent mines.
CRACKER MINES.
68. We will now proceed to speak of cracker mines, another very
effective item in exhibition pyrotechny. With regard to the crackers
that are employed for this purpose, I cannot think that you will
economise at all by trying to make them yourselves. In order to make
them all of one uniform size and shape—and these points must be attended
to particularly in the manufacture of crackers for mines, otherwise you
will be unable to pack them properly in the bags or mortars—a
considerable amount of apparatus of rather an expensive kind is
required, and is in fact indispensable. The money laid out in the
purchase of this apparatus would furnish you with many grosses of mine
crackers. If you will be advised by me, you will purchase them of Mr.
Darby, whose crackers for this purpose are, in my opinion, exceedingly
good. The only difference between mine crackers and those usually sold
at the shops for the 5th of November is in their _priming_. Instead of
having touch-paper, at which they are lighted, a piece of bare
quick-match is left projecting from the mouth, which, of course, takes
fire very readily.
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
The mortars used for throwing crackers differ from those employed for
throwing serpents in being square instead of round. I shall speak only
of one size of cracker mortar, because you can at your pleasure fire
from it any number of crackers from one dozen to four dozen by adopting
my plan of packing them. If you are about to use a pasteboard mortar,
you must have a square former made, two inches and three-quarters square
and six inches long. Upon this former make a very strong mortar with
well-pasted cardboard and thick paper, and let it be thoroughly dry
before you use it. Glue into one end of it a piece of wood an inch thick
for a bottom.
You will now require just the same kind of packet of gunpowder as was
spoken of under the head of serpent mines. This packet may contain an
ounce and a-half of common powder. Put it into the bottom of the mortar,
flat side upwards; then put a piece of thin paper, smeared over with
meal-powder paste, meal-powder side upwards, and then proceed to put in
your crackers in the following way:—You will find two dozen a very good
number for cracker mortars of this size. I frequently use _three_ dozen,
but this is not necessary. I will suppose that you have determined to
use two dozen. Take _six_ of these; pack them side by side, so that
their primed mouths are arranged in a line; tie them in this position
with a piece of cotton; make four of these packets containing six
crackers; now put them into the mortar in such a way _that the
projecting pieces of quick-match are all turned inwards_, as shown in
the drawing at the page of illustrations. The crackers will, of course,
all be lying on their sides. Now down the centre of this arrangement lay
three or four pieces of bare quick-match, which shall be in immediate
juxtaposition to all the primed mouths of the crackers, and which shall
reach down to the meal-powder pad. Thus you will infallibly insure the
lighting of all the crackers before the charge of powder takes fire at
the bottom.
Over this mine, and as an introduction to it, you can, if you please,
place a fountain-case, as with the serpent mines, gluing it into the
centre of the lid of the mortar, and connecting its tail end with the
crackers below.
But the most useful plan for exhibition purposes is to have an _iron_
mortar for these mines, made about two inches and three-quarters square
(interior measurement), and six inches in depth. Iron mortars should
have a very substantial foot of wood. If an iron mortar is employed for
cracker mines you must have a wooden former made, about two and a-half
inches square and six inches long, on which to form the paper bags that
are to contain your powder, crackers, &c. The arrangement of the
contents of these bags is precisely the same as that recommended for the
filling of the _pasteboard_ cracker mortars, except that of course a
piece of quick-match must be left projecting from the top of the bag by
which the whole is fired. Take especial notice that after placing the
parcels of crackers in the bags, as directed above, the cotton which
binds each parcel must be cut so as to liberate the crackers, otherwise
you will have four parcels of crackers instead of twenty-four crackers
making their appearance at the explosion of your mine.
In the page of illustrations, fig. 108 represents a section of a
pasteboard serpent mine; _aa_, the fountain-case; _bb_, the serpents;
_c_, the meal-pad; _d_, the packet of powder; _ee_, the match passing
from the fountain-case through the bundle of serpents; _f_, the wooden
block at the bottom of the mortar; _gg_, the lid. 109 represents an iron
serpent mortar. 110 represents a mine bag for firing from an iron
mortar. 111 represents the arrangement of crackers in a cracker mine.
The drawing will be found about the right size, and crackers packed in
this manner cannot fail to light.
FIVE-POINTED STAR.
69. The cases are made upon the same “former” on which the quarter-pound
rocket-cases are rolled. They consist of a piece of 70-lb. brown paper
and a piece of imperial board. The sheet of brown paper is cut into
strips, as represented in the annexed diagram, by which it will be seen
that each sheet furnishes enough paper for _six_ cases. The imperial
board should be divided, as shown in the following sketch, 112, into
twelve equal strips—thus: so that two sheets of 70-lb. brown paper and
one of imperial board will give material for one dozen cases for
five-pointed stars. The paper and board must be well pasted, and the
rolling board used unsparingly, as cases for this purpose cannot be too
strong and hard.
[Illustration:
Fig. 112.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 113.
]
The common plan for filling these cases with composition is simply to
put them on the same settle on which quarter-pound tourbillons are
rammed, and to drive into the lower end of them about half-an-inch of
clay, very solid, and to ram in the composition upon this until it rises
to such a height as will enable the star to burn as long as the piece or
pieces with which it has to keep time. But I think a much better plan is
the following:—Procure a turned drift of box, or some _hard_ wood, about
five inches long in its straight part, with an end as represented at
fig. 113. Put a ladleful of clay into the case when it is upon the
settle (the ladle used for filling quarter-pound rockets is meant), and
drive down the clay with the conical end of the drift, by which means
you will have a hollow clay cone formed in the end of the case. Now ram
in your composition, which may be made from either of the following
formulas:—
FOR FIVE-POINTED
STARS.
No. 1.
Nitre 16 parts.
Sulphur 6 „
Meal-powder 4 „
Antimony 2 „
No. 2.
Nitre 16 „
Sulphur 8 „
Meal-powder 6 „
Antimony 4 „
No. 3.
Nitre 16 „
Sulphur 8 „
Meal-powder 4 „
Antimony 3 „
It will be best to decide first of all which of these compositions you
prefer, and to keep to that, remembering that five-pointed stars are
never used singly, but only as parts of compound pieces, and that, in
order to produce their proper effect, they ought to last just for a
certain time and no longer. By keeping to _one_ of the compositions
given above, you will be able to time them better. I cannot give any
directions for the quantity of composition to be driven in—this must
depend entirely upon the part which it is intended that the stars should
play in the piece for which they are made, and can be decided only by
actual experiment. The composition will not require to be driven very
hard.
You will by this time be beginning to wonder how a case filled in the
manner described above is to make a five-pointed star. Well, there is no
great difficulty in achieving this end. Provide yourself with a gimlet
which will make a hole about one-eighth of an inch in diameter, or
rather more; also with a pair of compasses the legs of which can be
secured at certain distances from one another. Let the points of the
compasses be exactly such a distance apart that they will represent
_one-fifth of the exterior circumference_ of the case—that is, so that
they will exactly go round the case in five strides, finishing at the
point from whence they started. When you have thus adjusted your
compasses, make them perform their five-stage journey _round that part
of the case inside which is the hollow clay cone_, about half-way
between the point and base of the cone, and wherever the points of the
compasses touch, there make a mark by pressing the point into the case.
You will thus have divided the circumference of the case into five equal
parts. Now at each mark made by the compasses bore a hole gently with
your gimlet, which should be a sharp one, taking care that you only bore
through the case and the clay, and disturb the composition as little as
possible. In order to prime the case, fill the hollow at the end of it,
which was occupied by the top of the settle, with wetted meal-powder,
and when this is dry, pass across it a piece of bare quick-match, the
ends of which should be long enough to be tucked into two of the
gimlet-holes, and which will convey the fire from the priming to the
composition inside the case. Then cut some pieces of thin paper (such as
double crown) three inches wide, and long enough to go twice round the
case, and paste one of these on the case just below the gimlet-holes, so
that the paper covers up gimlet-holes, priming, match, and all, and
projects an inch and a-half or thereabouts beyond the primed end of the
case. This projecting paper serves to contain the end of the encased
match which is to connect the five-pointed star with other pieces.
The best method of fixing these stars on the frames for which they are
required is to have projecting from the frames wooden pegs of such a
size that the unprimed end of the case can be squeezed tightly over them
or glued on to them. I should have stated that when the proper amount of
composition has been inserted, a little clay should be driven on the top
of it for the sake of security, and there should be not less than
three-quarters of an inch of unoccupied case beyond this clay. Into this
unoccupied space the pegs mentioned above should be fixed.
Five-pointed star-cases must, of course, be placed horizontally, with
their primed end towards the spectators; and when fired they will, or
should, present an appearance of this kind, the burning composition
protruding its tongues of white flame through the holes made by the
gimlet.
In your anxiety not to disturb the composition with the gimlet, do not
run into the other extreme, and leave the _clay unbored_. And see that
there is sufficient clay beyond the point of the cone to prevent the
combustion from finding vent there.
[Illustration:
Fig. 114.
]
The object of the conical clay head to the case is that the fire may not
burn the holes larger. If the holes were simply bored through the paper
case they would be burnt much larger than they were originally made.
Nevertheless, if it be thought too troublesome to make the hollow clay
cones, as I have suggested, a very fair five-pointed star may be made by
driving in a flat end of clay, and boring just below it into the
composition.
It is possible to make the cases for five-pointed stars of iron tubing,
such as ordinary gas-tubing, about the same size in bore as the paper
cases, the manufacture of which I have described above. Half-a-dozen
iron cases, open at both ends, with the five holes drilled at equal
distances round their circumference, and about an inch from the end,
will be found very handy, because they are indestructible, can be used
any number of times, and after use have only to be laid in hot water,
and they can be washed as clean as when new. It will be necessary to tie
something round the holes while the composition is being driven in. The
ends, of course, are made with clay.
But let me here caution you to be very careful in the use of iron cases.
If quicker compositions than those given above are employed, there is
danger of the case being blown to pieces. If this should happen it would
result in the most serious injury to any one who might be in its way.
And therefore it will be advisable, if you think of using iron cases, to
fire your experimental five-pointed star at a great distance from where
you stand, taking care that no one is near it. It will probably go well;
but there is a risk attending the use of iron cases which makes them
less safe than those made of paper and board.
I trust that these directions will enable you to prepare a satisfactory
five-pointed star.
It now remains for me to furnish you with some designs for exhibition
pieces, and to describe the manner in which they are to be made up.
EXHIBITION PIECES.
70. If it be thought desirable to have ready a variety of frames which
can be fitted up at a moderately short notice, some of the following
will be found useful, and capable of being mounted with fireworks in
many effective ways:—
In the first place there is the large vertical wheel, the frame of which
is described at fig. 115. This should be not less than four feet in
diameter, and should turn on an iron spindle made of three-eighths of an
inch rod. The following is a good useful sort of spindle for large
wheels (fig. 116), being very steady and easily fixed to your post. _AA_
represents the post, which should be ten feet out of the ground. _BB_
represents the spindle, which has an iron collar at _C_ and a large
thumbscrew at _DD_. The collar is fixed to the spindle, and is placed
against the face of the post. The thumbscrew is screwed up tightly at
the back of the post, and keeps the spindle firmly in position. The
other end of the spindle may be “tapped” for a short distance, and have
a small “nut” to fit it, in order to keep the wheel from working off;
this, however, is not of much importance, as a piece of cork tied on
will do as well.
[Illustration:
Fig. 116.
]
The wheel should have a nave of hard wood, through which a hole is bored
to admit the spindle. And in the case of all vertical wheels, it should
be borne in mind that they will revolve much more lightly and easily if
the spindle does not touch the wood of the nave at all, but works
through two iron or brass plates, fastened one on the back and the other
on the front of the nave, and having holes drilled in them of a size
proper to admit the spindle without too much “play.” The working of a
large wheel will be very much more satisfactory if this plan be adopted,
and the wood of the nave be not allowed to touch the spindle at all.
For a wheel of four feet in diameter there should be six spokes, to the
ends of which is fastened a strong ash or beechwood hoop. There should
also be another wooden hoop six inches nearer to the centre of the
wheel, as is shown at fig. 115. The pieces with which I have there
represented the wheel as fitted up are as follow:—
_a a a a_ are twelve brilliant reported “fixed cases,” which, as will be
remembered, are cases having an interior bore of seven-sixteenths of an
inch, and reported with a gun-charge of powder at their end, and filled
with brilliant fire. Each of these is fastened to the two outer wooden
hoops at a slight angle, and all their mouths are connected with
quick-match, the end of which is to be brought to the bottom of the
wheel and tied to the post which carries the wheel. This tying will have
the effect of steadying the wheel until the time arrives for firing the
fixed cases.
_B B B B_ are six triangle wheels, the turning cases of which are filled
with brilliant fire, and carrying each a colour. The cases need not be
larger in diameter than the “fixed cases” mentioned above. In my sketch
I have described them as _double_ triangle wheels, but the artist must
decide for himself whether they shall be double or single—_i.e._,
whether they shall have six or three cases apiece.
In front of the nave of the wheel is placed a much smaller vertical
wheel (_C_) on the same spindle. This may be made to carry six turning
cases of brilliant fire, and as many colours as you think proper. The
cases may be made to burn singly or doubly (_i.e._, two cases at a time
upon opposite sides of the wheel).
Supposing the wheel represented at fig. 115 to be mounted with one
smaller central vertical wheel, with six cases and colours, six small
brilliant single triangle wheels with colours and twelve brilliant
reported fixed cases, the way in which it should be fired is
this:—Connect together by quick-match all the single triangle wheels,
and let the end of this match be secured where it can be found with
readiness, and where also it is out of the reach of sparks. I will now
suppose the cases on the central wheel to burn singly, in which case
fire—
1stly. The central wheel, and when three of its cases are all but burnt
out, put your portfire to—
2ndly. The match which is to start the six single triangle wheels. When
these are half burned out (_i.e._, when about a case and a-half is
consumed on each) fire—
3rdly. The quick-match which connects all the reported fixed cases on
the circumference of the wheel, and you will then have a revolving piece
of fire nearly twelve feet in diameter, of which the sketch at fig. 119
is intended to give you an idea.
The framework of this piece is, as you will at once see, capable of
being fitted up in many other ways. For instance, instead of triangle
wheels, you might use Saxons; instead of a central illuminated vertical
wheel, you might have a six-pointed star in white lance-work. In fact,
there is hardly any limit to the variety which might be produced if the
artist will only acquaint himself with the value and adaptability of the
single pieces which are treated of in the former numbers of this series
of papers.
We now come to the last page of illustrations, where is described a
set-piece known by the name of the lattice-work piece (fig. 121). This
may be made either with 24 brilliant reported fixed cases and 6 coloured
fires, or with 36 fixed cases and 9 coloured fires. The sketch is made
to represent the arrangement as it should be for 36 cases and 9 colours.
If used with only 24 cases, and 6 colours or five-pointed stars, it will
be _a large piece_, and quite effective enough for a display of ordinary
pretensions. It is made by fastening brilliant reported fixed cases to
squares of wood, and fixing these squares at equal distances from one
another, so that the fire from the cases represents lattice-work.
Provide for this purpose as many squares as you require, half-an-inch
thick and seven inches square. To each of these fasten the reported ends
of four brilliant fixed cases by boring holes on each side of the cases
through the wood, and fastening them by means of wire or string in their
places. In the centre of each square fasten either a coloured case or a
five-pointed star. Each square, when mounted, will be like the adjoining
sketch.
[Illustration:
Fig. 120.
]
The distance from one another at which these wooden squares should be
fixed must depend upon individual taste; you must remember that the
farther apart you fix your upright posts in the ground the longer the
posts must be, as you cannot spread the piece sideways without
increasing its height, A good distance apart for the posts will be three
feet six inches. If this distance be observed, and nine squares are
used, you will require posts at least fifteen feet out of the ground;
but if six squares are used, which I think you will find effective
enough, posts twelve feet out of the ground will be sufficiently high.
At fig. 121 you will see that, for additional effect, I have placed at
the top of the two side-posts large gerbes. I should make these
_certainly not smaller than the quarter-pound size_, and as long as the
fixed cases employed. Fill them with—
Meal-powder 3 parts.
Iron borings 1 part.
These gerbes must be connected by quick-match with the squares which are
on the same posts with them. At the top of the central post I should
place either a “simple horizontal” or a “capricious” wheel, the
manufacture of which I described in my paper on wheels. The capricious
wheel will be the most effective.
In order to prepare the piece for firing, bring all the pieces of match
which are to convey the fire to the brilliant squares and gerbes to a
point in the centre of the piece, leaving them long enough to be tied
together in a bundle round _the case_ of the match. Beyond the point
where the match-cases are all tied together leave at least six inches of
each quick-match bare, and tie these bare pieces together in one or two
places. Unless this precaution is taken, some of your squares will have
a good chance of not being fired at all. But by this means they can
hardly misfire. The object is to give all the bare-ends of match time to
take fire _before the fire reaches the covered part of any_ of the
matches.
Fig. 121 will give you some idea as to what the lattice-work piece
should look like before it is fired. To fire it, light first the piece
of quick-match which hangs from the capricious wheel. When _four_ cases
on this wheel are burnt out, light the collected ends of quick-match in
the centre of the lattice-work. _These ends must on no account be
exposed until they are to be fired_; therefore some paper must be
wrapped round them, which can easily be removed. At once your brilliant
cases, stars, and gerbes will be ignited, and will burn while the
remainder (which is the best part) of the capricious wheel is going
through its revolutions. You will then, if all goes right, have such a
piece as is represented at fig. 122.
My next illustration shows a simple but beautiful piece, having for its
centre a wheel such as I have described in my papers on coloured lights,
lances, &c., and consisting of four double triangles executed in white
lances, and a large four-pointed star in brilliant fire. Fig. 123
represents the framework mounted, as it appears before firing. This
framework is simply four arms, made of deal, and fastened into a solid
centre; the arms may be five feet long. At the extremities of these arms
are fastened four double triangles made of deal lath or any light
material. Upon these little frames fasten white lances, by driving in
short pieces of iron-wire into the woodwork, and after boring the closed
end of the lances with a very small awl, sticking a lance upon every
wire-pin with the mixture of glue and red lead recommended in former
papers. Then clothe the double triangles with quick-match in the usual
way, and connect them all. In the next place fasten on each of the arms,
at a suitable distance from the centre of the piece, two reported
brilliant fixed cases, in the manner indicated in the sketch; clothe
these with match, and connect them.
For the centre of the piece take the wheel with dangling colours,
explained under the head of coloured lights, and fit it up carefully.
The piece will thus be ready to be fixed to its post. To do this you
will require an iron spindle something like the one I have recommended
for the four-feet vertical wheel, with this difference—that the
framework of our present piece must not revolve, but remain stationary;
the centre wheel alone is to revolve, which it will do well enough on
such a spindle. But remember that all vertical wheels used as centres to
large pieces _must be brought well forward before the rest of the
piece_, otherwise the sparks from them will fire the other parts before
their time.
I will now suppose that you have the piece represented at fig. 123. You
must first start the central wheel, which should be connected by match
with the triangles at the extremities of the arms. These will then burn
together until a case and a-half of the central wheel is consumed, at
which time strike in the eight brilliant fixed cases, and this done your
piece will take the form represented at fig. 124.
We now come to the last of my designs, by which is represented at fig.
117 a large set-piece worthy of proving a finale to any exhibition, and
at the same time by no means difficult of preparation.
The framework of this piece consists of a solid wooden centre, into
which are secured six arms made of deal, in such a manner that they are
like the spokes of a large wheel in their arrangement. The arms for this
piece, and for that represented in fig. 123, should be five feet in
length, two inches in width, and an inch full in thickness. For the sake
of economy I think you will find it well to make one centre do for both
these pieces, by having grooves cut in one side of it to hold six arms,
and in the other side for four, as you would never require _both_ these
pieces in the same exhibition. The grooves in my framework are about
half-an-inch deep on each side of a circular flat centre of oak, two
inches in thickness and twelve inches in diameter; they impart greater
steadiness to the arms than could be gained by screws alone. So much for
the framework, which you will see is, when put together, ten feet in
diameter, and can always be taken to pieces for the purpose of
economising space. If you have six arms made, you can use either four or
all of them at pleasure.
Now for the pieces with which this framework is to be mounted.
In the centre there should be a large double triangle frame, mounted
with white or coloured lances. The six laths of which this framework
should be made should be each three feet six inches long, and about
five-eighths of an inch square. The lances placed upon them should be
not less than three and a-half inches apart. These must all, of course,
be connected by quick-match. The six angles of the double triangle
should rest upon the six spokes of the framework of the piece. At a
distance of an inch or two outside each angle should be fixed a
five-pointed star, and close to it two brilliant reported fixed cases,
which must be connected by quick-match, and fastened at such an angle
with the framework that their fires may meet at a point between the six
triangle wheels, which, lastly, are to be placed at the extremities of
the long arms. The cases on these wheels are to be filled with brilliant
fire, and each wheel is to carry a colour in its centre.
To fire this piece begin with the central double triangle, and when this
is well-lighted, fire the six triangle wheels and five-pointed stars,
and when one case of the triangle wheels is consumed, fire the twelve
brilliant fixed cases, and your piece will be of the shape given at fig.
118.
With this piece I close my “Papers on Pyrotechny.” I trust that I have
left nothing unsaid which could make the directions given for these
pieces more clear, and I hope that many an amateur will soon have
arrived at such a state of proficiency as will enable him not only to
prepare such pieces as these, but any variation upon them. No piece
should be used as a finale to any exhibition unaccompanied by two
batteries of Roman candles containing coloured stars. These so-called
“batteries” consist simply of four, six, or any number of Roman candles
fastened to upright posts at such an angle that they may throw their
stars over the centre of the piece from each side of it. Any number of
serpent or cracker mines that can be brought to bear while the finale is
in _full_ force will greatly enhance the effect, if fired from behind
it.
In conclusion I believe that, in any village even, were any one to
manifest a desire to become a successful pyrotechnist, and to interest
his intelligent neighbours in his adopted art, he would find that in
most cases they would lend a hand, and show an activity in the
preparation of a public exhibition to a degree which no one who has not
tried the experiment would anticipate. Many a long evening might be
shortened by discussion with the artisans of the place as to the best
mode of making what is usually known as a “grand flare-up” for Christmas
Eve or New Year’s Eve. And if I am not very much mistaken, such a
discussion would prove at least as interesting to any inquiring mind as
the very desultory and questionable source of information commonly
called Penny Readings, at which it is the fashion to spoil so much good
writing by bad reading, and so much good music by bad singing. It cannot
but be evident that any exhibition of fireworks in a place must be to a
certain extent public; all who can will do their utmost to get their
chins above the level of the walls or fences which are intended to make
any exhibition private; and quite rightly too, in my opinion. Though no
longer a boy, I should do the same now, unless I had reason to believe
that the “grand display” was about to consist of a certain number of
dozens of squibs, crackers, and pin wheels, fired as fast as
circumstances will allow, considering the number of times that the
lantern is blown out by the incautious application of one or other of
the above-named combustibles to its flame. In the case of _experiments_,
which _must_ be made before every exhibition, I think that the more
private one can keep _them_ the better. But if there is to be an
exhibition, why not let every one who can, not only see it, but give
assistance in its preparation? You will by this means not only insure a
much more real interest in your success, but gain the satisfaction of
having proved to many an intelligent villager the important truth that
he is capable of doing something for which he had never suspected the
slightest capability.
These hints I throw out merely as suggestions. They have been acted on
with the most satisfactory results, and I feel sure that they may be
turned to account; but everything will depend, of course, upon the
manner in which the plan is worked out, and the spirit felt by those
whose aid it is proposed to engage. I need only add to these remarks
that if it can be shown that my work has done anything towards making
pyrotechnic recreation more general, reasonable, and possible than it
has hitherto been, I shall consider myself amply rewarded for the time
that has been spent (much to my own gratification) in making and
recording the results of my experiments.
THE END.
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
● Typos fixed; non-standard spelling and dialect retained.
● Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.Project Gutenberg
Pyrotechny : $b or, The art of making fireworks, at little cost, and with complete safety and cleanliness.
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