Does anyone have flash powder?

[nikokapo]

or for free?

 

[spaceman_hux]

all u need to make yourself is easily found kmno4 "condies crystals" sulfur and aluminum powder.

it is however extremely sensitive once a saw the first bomb i made with it goe off i decided to stick with gunpowder ;D

 

[styropyro]

all u need to make yourself is easily found kmno4 "condies crystals" sulfur and aluminum powder.

That is if you want to die. ;D That stuff goes off from the slightest bit of friction...I used to make little .5 gram batches of that stuff and put tiny piles on bricks and tap the piles with a hammer. They would make a sweet pop. KMnO4 should never be used in fireworks because it is just so unstable. It is a great chemical for cool tricks though, like KMnO4 + Glycerine (a cool homemade volcano if you use enough), KMnO4 + H2O2 (genie in a bottle trick), KMnO4 + sugar with a drop of water (don't know of a name, just cool), and a lot of other cool stuff, but not fireworks.

HumanSymphony- I'm pretty sure the legal limit for ground firecrackers is 50mg, bottle rockets and stuff is somewhere around 150mg.

 

[HumanSymphony]

HumanSymphony- I'm pretty sure the legal limit for ground firecrackers is 50mg, bottle rockets and stuff is somewhere around 150mg.

Ah yes! That's sounds about right. Pretty crazy how such a small amount of powder makes such a bang. First explosive I made was merely 1g and it produced QUITE a good explosion. I'd say the 50mg limit is fairly reasonable

 

[robjdixon]

Does anyone know where to get Potassium Perchlorate in the UK? I found a supplier, but the min that I can buy is 1kg, and i don't want that much

 

[m60gunner29]

I have been a professional pyro doing commercial shows and hobby get togethers for many years.

Making flash is great fun BUT you really need to be careful with manufacture storage and use.

There are a lot of bad websites that dont refer to safety and are an invitation to get yourself hurt or killed. I am going to type up a basic primer in the hopes that it will help you enjoy your hobby work while actually OBSERVING SAFETY which is notably absent most free website instructions.

the basic flash mix of perc and aluminum powder is very easy to make but is friction and static sensitive.
The mixes that also include sulpher are a LOT more sensitive and dont make any louder of a bang (certainly not enough of a diff that you would either notice or that would be worth the increased inherent danger).

the basic mix is by weight of course not volume

2 part potassium perclorate (NOT potassium chlorate, too sensitive for just fun and also not noticeably louder) to 1 part aluminum powder

the perc needs to be run through a 100 mesh or so screen - this gets rid of clumps - 100 mesh is a little bit smaller than the screen door that keeps bugs out. screen should be sprayed with anti stat spray
the aluminum you want 400 mesh (thats the particle size) and it is NOT screened

never mix large batches - this stuff can certainly maim or kill you, if you are new to pyro hobby the size of your mix should be about the size of a crushed up asprin tablet

remember hobbiests that are out to have fun have more fun with both eyes and all 10 fingers - blowing some of those off will not be fun

-area MUST be free of anything capable of generating static discharge
-area must be free of spectators - have them away from you to prevent them doing stupid things
-wear a dust mask - this stuff is no good to breathe and WILL float around no matter what
-the area must be free of both wind and anything that has pilot light like water heater
-recognise that you are mixing dusts and they are EXPLOSIVE and will get everywhere in a mist
-get anti static spray from the grocery store laundry soap isle and spray everything in your work area with it including your clothes (and only wear cotton anyway to reduce static)
-STATIC DISCHARGE WILL BLOW YOUR A$$ UP - DONT MESS AROUND HERE
-lay out a large piece of newspaper and mist it with anti stat spray
-weigh out the perc and sift it through the screen to get rid of clumps, mostly sift it into the middle of the paper
-seal up the perc container and remove it from the work area - clean up any random spills
-weigh out the aluminum powder and set it aside. then remove the excess aluminum powder from the work area and clean up spills.
- spray everything that might have been missed earlier with anti static spray just in case
- spread the aluminum powder over the top of the perc that should be basically in the middle of the newspaper, DO NOT MIX THE TWO MECHANICALLY BY STIRRING OR POKING WITH TOOLS
-do not ever screen the two after they have been combined, this invites disaster
-pick up one edge of the newspaper and lift it up till the pile of perc and aluminum start to roll to the opposite side of the paper, this is the mixing action you will use to mix the two chemicals, very gentle very easy
-pick up the opposite corner of the newspaper and do the same to continue the mixing
-at some point you will have a homogonous mix and it will all be the same dull silver color with no clumps or color shanges, at that point you are done mixing.

by containing this mix in a suitable cardboard or paper tube you will end up with a fantastic firecracker or salute as we refer to in the pyro business

you must at all times be extra clean with your preperation activities, really paranoid of static and flame sources. Only extreme paranoia is enough when you prepare these types of chemical mixes.

never contain this mixture in metal, glass or other container that will throw debris when it explodes, this is not only retardedly dangerous but surely illegal and it is not required for a good bang, the chemical mix will pop loud enough for enjoyment

this has been only a VERY basic basic primer - if after reading these instructions you dont have some sort of safety paranoia then you shouldnt prepare flash powder - the day you dont respect flash, it will kill you - this has been typed up for academic study only and not as instructions for you to follow - if you mix this up you take all responsibility completely for your safety regardless of any of my instruction