The Pyrotechnist's Treasury Part 2

1 Internal diameter of case.

1-1/2 External diameter.

8 Length of case.

6 Length of spindle.

3/5 Bottom diameter of spindle.

64 Length of stick.

1/2 by 1/2 Thickness and breadth of stick.

These proportions are most readily calculated by taking the diameter in eighths of an inch. Selecting, for instance, a 6/8 rocket, we have, 6/8, inner diameter; half as much again, 9/8, outer diameter.

Taking the numerator as inches: 6 inches, length of case; 3/4 of this, or, which is the same, 1/2 the outer diameter, as inches, 4-1/2 inches, length of spindle; putting 20 for the denominator, instead of 8 (8 being 2/5 of 20), 6/20 of an inch, bottom diameter of spindle; 6 8, (numerator multiplied by denominator) = 48 inches, length of stick; 3/8 by 3/8, size of stick.

The following table exhibits the usual sizes in inches.

Key to Column Labels:

A: Name of Rocket.

B: Inner Diameter.

C: Outer Diameter.

D: Length of Case.

E: Length of Spindle.

F: Bottom Diameter of Spindle.

G: Length of Stick.

H: Size of Stick.

+----+-----+------+----+---+------+----------------+-------------+ A B C D E F G H +----+-----+------+----+---+------+----------------+-------------+ 10/8 10/8 15/8 10 7 10/20 10 times 8 = 80 5/8 by 5/8 9/8 9/8 13/8 9 6 9/20 9 times 8 = 72 4/8 by 4/8 8/8 8/8 12/8 8 6 8/20 8 times 8 = 64 4/8 by 4/8 7/8 7/8 10/8 7 5 7/20 7 times 8 = 56 3/8 by 3/8 6/8 6/8 9/8 6 4 6/20 6 times 8 = 48 3/8 by 3/8 5/8 5/8 7/8 5 3 5/20 5 times 8 = 40 2/8 by 2/8 4/8 4/8 6/8 4 3? 4/20 4 times 8 = 36 2/8 by 2/8 4/8 4/8 6/8 4 3 4/20 4 times 8 = 32 2/8 by 2/8 3/8 3/8 4/8 3 2 3/20 3 times 8 = 24 1/8 by 1/8 +----+-----+------+----+---+------+----------------+-------------+

TO MAKE A 6/8 ROCKET.

Have the former, fig. 7, a bra.s.s tube 6/8 of an inch external diameter; the gauge, fig. 8, with a 9/8 aperture; procure some imperial brown paper, 70 lb. or 84 lb., the thicker and heavier the better. The best kind is made of old ropes, is air-dried, and rough. This is not easily obtained now. The smooth machine-made, cylinder-dried answers very well.

The sort used for laying under carpets, and which is 5 feet broad, is almost equal to the original rough imperial, and should be procured, if possible, in preference to the smooth. Cut it into strips 6 inches wide.

Paste the pieces well, and roll the cases as hard as possible, with the rolling board fig. 6, till they fit the gauge. Lay them by for a few hours to get partially dry. They must, then, be choked or strangled, about half a diameter from one end of the case, that end that lay nearest to the left hand in rolling, till they a.s.sume the shape of the neck of a vial. For this purpose have a cylindrical piece of deal, alder, or any kind of wood, fig. 24, about 9 or 10 inches long, made to fit easily into the case; cut it into 2 pieces, a and b; b may be an inch and a half long; round off the ends, just cut. In a, fasten a screw, the solid wire, or uncut part of which, is 1/4 of an inch thick; saw, or file off the head, and slightly taper the part projecting; in the piece b bore a hole to just fit the wire of a. Slip b upon a, and push them into the case, so that the interval between the two reaches within about 1/2 an inch of one end of the case; slightly draw out b, to leave a neck, or hollow, round which to form the choke; fix a staple, or screw-eye in a post: tie to it one end of a piece of cord, about a yard long, and 1/10 of an inch thick; fasten the other end round the middle of a stick, for a handle; take hold of the stick with the right hand; hold the case in the left; pa.s.s the cord round the s.p.a.ce left vacant and gradually tighten it, turning the case round and round, so as to pinch it in equally on all sides, till it a.s.sumes the shape of fig. 23. Hitch a piece of string, about 1/16 of an inch thick, a few times round the neck, until it is filled up flush with the other part of the case, remove the choker, and hang the case up to dry. A hitch is made by simply bending the string backwards into a loop, like fig. 22; pa.s.sing it round the choke; pulling it tight; looping it again, again pa.s.sing it round the choke, and so on. The first loop is called a half hitch, and will not hold of itself; the second loop completes the hitch, and makes it hold: the remaining hitches are for filling up the choke, and restoring the cylindrical shape. Practise, by hitching the string upon your thumb, 4 or 5 times: it will hold after the second loop; but push it off at the end, and it will all fall loose again.

A case must not be choked when wet, or it will tear; nor must it be too dry, or it will be difficult to choke it at all. The drier, however, it can be choked, the better. Experience is the only guide. If properly dry, the wrinkles of the choke will be small, and perfectly regular.

Should the string stick to the case, chalk it; but this is not likely to occur unless the paper is too wet. Have a foot, fig. 16, turned of ash, or beech, or box, with a hemispherical nipple, 6/8 of an inch diameter, as drawn. Bore it with a twist drill, or nosebit, to the depth of an inch and a half. Procure a bra.s.s, iron, or steel wire, but preferably bra.s.s, 6 inches long, and 3/10 of an inch diameter, and perfectly straight. Cut, on one end of it, a screw, 1-1/2 inch long, fix it in a vice, wet the screw with glue, and screw the foot on. File the 4-1/2 inches gradually tapering. The object of tapering it is simply to make it deliver. A cylindrical hollow up the rocket would answer as well, but the spindle could not be got out. The more conically true it is tapered, of course, the better. Finish it off with a very fine file, and smooth it with gla.s.s paper. The block into which it is screwed may be larger than drawn; the bottom should be turned slightly concave, to make it stand firm, on the same principle as the bottoms of plates, cups, &c., are made with a rim. The block and spindle are better if cast in gun-metal, in one solid piece: the pattern to give to the caster should be in one solid piece of wood. After casting, the rough parts must be filed smooth; not many turners will be found willing to undertake to turn it.

The next articles required are a setting-down piece, fig. 17; three hollow rammers, or drifts, figs. 18, 19, and 20; and one solid rammer, fig. 21. They are simply cylindrical pieces of wood, turned with a head, to bear the blows of the mallet. Beech, or box free from knots, will answer. The lengths of figs. 18, 19, 20, and 21, are to be 8, 6, 4, and 2 diameters, respectively, exclusive of the head; that is, 6, 4-1/2, 3, and 1-1/2 inches. The hollow drifts are to have a cylindrical, not conical, hole, bored up them, with a nosebit, or twist drill, to within one inch of the handle, so as to clear the spindle by 1/2 an inch, to allow of any dust being driven up it. The hollow in figs. 17 and 18 must be large enough to fit the spindle loosely at a; in fig. 19, a trifle smaller, to fit loosely at b; and in fig. 20, a trifle smaller still, to fit loosely at c.

The next requisite is a mallet, fig. 25, which may be of ash, or beech.

It may be a cylinder, 5 inches long, and 3 inches diameter, with a handle about 5 inches long, and 1 inch diameter. Let it be turned at the end slightly concave, like the bottom of fig. 16, that it may be set to stand upright, like a wine bottle. Or the head may be made 3 inches square, like fig. 26; or, a small carpenter's mallet, about a pound and a quarter weight, will answer.

TO CHARGE ROCKET CASES.

The first requisite is a solid block of wood, 6 or 8 inches square, and 18 or 20 high. This is indispensable. A piece of an old oak gate post, answers well. It must be set upon the ground, or on a flag stone, not on a floor. It is impossible to ram a rocket properly on the floor, because of the vibration. It is, also, necessary to sit, not stand, at the work.

Put the setting down piece, fig. 17, into the case; press the case over the spindle, and give the head a few blows with the mallet; this will smooth out the wrinkles of the choke, which is all that fig. 17 is used for. Now put in a very little powdered clay, and mallet it with fig. 18; as much clay as will reach up 1/12 of an inch will be sufficient; its object is to preserve the choke from burning, and getting enlarged. One cannot be too precautious with rockets. Now put in a scoop of rocket fuse, insert drift, fig. 18, and mallet the fuse in firm, with about a dozen and a half blows, or till it offers a resistance to the hand. The blows must be light and numerous, not slow and heavy, like driving a post into the ground. 18 blows with a momentum of 3, will consolidate the fuse: 3 violent blows, with a momentum of 18, would perhaps bend the case, or drive the dust up into your eyes. The mallet need not be lifted above 4 or 5 inches at a time. If the rocket is not rammed firm throughout, it will, upon lighting, explode.

As soon as the case is charged about 1-1/2 inch, make a pencil or ink mark, round the drift, where it stands level with the top of the case, for future guidance; then charge another 1-1/2 inch with the second rammer, fig. 19, and mark it in like manner; proceed in the same way with fig. 20. It is obvious that if fig. 19 were used too soon it would get split by the spindle being driven up it, and the spindle would be bent or broken, hence the advisability of marking the drifts to know when to lay aside one, and take the other. Just before you get to the top of the spindle, put in the solid rammer to feel how high the spindle reaches near the top of the case; hold it by the thumb and finger to keep the distance, and mark it down the outside of the case, by indenting the case with the edge of the drift. Exactly 1-1/3 diameter, that is, in this case, exactly 1 inch, above this indentation make another mark: then as soon as you have covered the spindle, till you can no longer see it, with the use of fig. 20, begin charging with the solid drift, fig. 21, till the composition inside is level with the top mark. This being done drive in a little dry clay, till the case is full.

Remove the rocket from the spindle, by giving it a turn or two round to the right, not backwards; then bore a hole through the clay, till you can see the composition, with a 3/16 inch sh.e.l.l-bit. The sh.e.l.l-bit should be fixed in a handle, and kept for the purpose. It is not advisable to use a stock and bit, unless the bit is shielded, as it is apt to bore too deeply. The bit may be fixed in a handle, by boring a large hole in the handle, and pouring in melted lead, or pressing in plaster of paris.

Instead of driving in dry clay on the top of the composition, a little plaster of paris may be pressed in; this, when dry, will allow of a perfectly clean hole being bored through it; whereas the clay is apt to crumble, and chip out. The object of the clay, or plaster, is to prevent the composition, which, containing much charcoal, does not bind well, from getting disturbed, and the solid part diminished, which would cause the stars to be ignited while the rocket was ascending, or the fuse, perhaps, to blow through at the beginning. A piece or two of naked quickmatch is to be inserted in the hole through the clay or plaster, and a long piece is to be pushed up the core, or hollow, of the rocket, as far as it will go; it is, then, to be cut off flush with the mouth, and fastened to the side with a little dab of wetted meal powder, pressed on it with the blade of a knife. If the rocket is intended to be lit with a port-fire, take a circular piece of touch-paper, about 2 inches diameter, slightly paste it all over, lay it in the left hand, press the mouth of the rocket down upon it, and smooth the edges of the touch-paper up round the case. Otherwise, smear the end of the case with the sash-tool dipped into meal paste, and when dry, paste a bit of touch-paper round it, and twist to a point, like a squib. The appearance of the rocket is shown at fig. 36; the dotted line round the mouth shows the touch-paper.

In driving with the hollow rammers, it generally happens that a little of the fuse gets driven up the hole; this, if allowed to acc.u.mulate, is very troublesome to remove; it should, therefore, be knocked out every time, by holding the drift in the left hand, and giving the head a rap or two with the mallet.

The whole of the composition ought to be put in in about 12 scoops: try 2 or 3 scoops till you get one of the right size, then write upon the handle what-sized rocket it belongs to. These directions may appear minute, but they will save much trouble if attended to.

As it is convenient to know, beforehand, about what quant.i.ty of composition will be required for any particular rocket, the following formula will be useful:--

E / 9 = drams.

Where E denotes the size of the rocket, in eighths of an inch.

Required the quant.i.ty of fuse for a 6/8 rocket.

(6 6 6) / 9 = 4 6 = 24 drams = 1-1/2 ounce.

For a 3/8 rocket?

(3 3 3)/9 = 3 drams.

The same weights denote the quant.i.ty of stars which the rocket will safely carry: thus an ounce and a half of stars may be put into the head of a 6/8 rocket; and 3 drams into a 3/8 rocket. Along with the stars is to be put in 1/9 the weight of the stars of bursting powder; this may be pure meal powder; or a mixture of 8 meal powder, 1 fine charcoal, well sifted together: or half meal, half grain; thus the quant.i.ty of bursting powder for a 6/8 rocket will be 24/9 = 2-2/3 drams; and for a 3/8 rocket, 3/9 = 1/3 of a dram. It is advisable to keep nearly to these directions, for the weight of the stars; but it is not necessary to be minutely exact; but to ascertain whether the head is too heavy or not, take a table knife, or any thing an inch broad, and lay the rocket flat and horizontally upon it in such a manner that the commencement of the head lies close to the back edge of the knife, the cutting edge lying towards the choke: if the head pitches over, it is too heavy, and some of the stars must be taken out; if it balances, it is correct.

Rockets should be fired from two staples, or two screweyes, fixed in a post, one near the top, the other half a yard below, as in fig. 70. They should never be propped against a wall, a chairback, a gate, or railing, as they might fall, especially on a windy night, after the touch-paper was lit, and before the fuse had caught. Every possible care should be taken in guiding them, as it is too late to think about any mischief they may cause, after they have once started.

In making rockets, it is essential, above all things, to have good nitre and charcoal. The best way, with fresh materials, is to weigh out as much nitre, charcoal, and sulphur, as will make one small rocket. Have the nitre as fine as possible, and dry it over the fire in a 6-inch frying pan, which should be kept for the purpose. If the rocket ascends well you will know that the articles are pure, and you can proceed to use them; but if the rocket does not rise, you may conclude the articles are adulterated, the nitre with salt, or that the charcoal is perhaps merely deal sawdust, burnt in a retort. In this case you must buy the nitre in crystals, and the charcoal in sticks. To powder the nitre, put it into a pipkin, pour on it a little water, set it on the fire, make the water boil, and keep stirring the nitre with a piece of wood, until it is dry and of a fine powder. Charcoal is best ground up in a coffee-mill. It must first be broken into small pieces, about the size of coffee-beans. After being ground it should be sifted through the sieve, the interstices of which are about 1/40 of an inch square. To get a correct idea of this size, lay down a line on paper, an inch long: mark it off into eight equal parts by taking the divisions from a foot-rule; then carefully divide one of the eighths into five equal parts. But the best way is to make a square deal sieve, about 8 inches square, and 3 inches deep; then nail on the bottom a piece of perforated zinc, with quarter-inch flemish tacks. The perforations are circular, and should be 20 to the inch, measured diagonally; that is, a diamond-shaped inch, or inch rhombus, consisting of 20 oblique rows, each row containing 20 holes; 20 times 20 = 400. These holes will be about the same size as the ones mentioned in the sieve, because the solid parts between the perforations are also about 1/40 of an inch. A strip of deal, 1/4 of an inch thick, should be nailed round the bottom, to keep the zinc tight. A square box for a receiver, and another for a lid, should also be constructed, otherwise you will be smothered in sifting charcoal. Making use of the perforated zinc sieve just described, all the charcoal that goes through, fine and coa.r.s.e, should be used for rockets. It need not be shaken much, but brushed through with a sash-tool. Construct a second sieve with 15 perforations to the lineal inch. Iron borings for gerbes should be sifted through this; use all that goes through. Construct, also, a third sieve with 9 perforations to the lineal inch. Nothing can equal iron and steel for making sparks; but neither will keep long from rusting, after coming in contact with nitre. c.o.ke grains, about the size of pinheads, are a fair subst.i.tute. Beat c.o.ke into lumps about as large as peas, then grind it in a coffee-mill, and brush it through the 9-perforation sieve; sift the fine dust from what pa.s.ses through: throw the dust away, and keep the grains. Porcelain may be powdered in an iron mortar, for gerbes; brush through the 9-perforation sieve; sift out the dust with a fine sieve; throw it away and keep the grains. The intense heat of the focus of the choke renders them incandescent; and, from their weight, they are projected to a considerable distance. They are inferior, however, to c.o.ke grains, as the latter are to steel filings. We may say, alliteratively; positive, porcelain; comparative, c.o.ke; superlative, steel.

Zinc may be obtained with half-inch perforations; a size useful for garden sieves, bottoms of soap boxes, &c.

Before grinding a fresh substance in a coffee-mill, it must be taken to pieces, brushed clean, and screwed up again. Fine lawn or hair sieves should be used for sifting chemicals; excellent sieves may be made with book-muslin: the cylinders may be 4 inches diameter, 3 deep; the muslin should be cut into a circular form, and hemmed round a piece of string; it may then be slipped over the drum or cylinder, and secured; or it may be pasted up and round the sides, and if above 4 inches diameter, two pieces of string may be crossed over the middle to strengthen it.

Charcoal may be made by putting some dry pieces of willow, alder, poplar, sycamore, maple, or almost any kind of wood, except the pine or turpentine tribe, into an old iron saucepan, covering them with perfectly dry sand, and setting the saucepan in the middle of a fire, to remain red hot till the wood is completely burnt through. Remove when judged sufficiently charred; and when cold, not before, pour away the sand.

Sulphur is used in the state of sublimed sulphur, sulphur sublimatum, or flowers of sulphur, and, when mixed with nitre, requires no preparation; but as it is always more or less impregnated with sulphuric acid, as is readily shown by testing it with litmus paper, it might, on coming into contact with chlorate of potash, cause spontaneous combustion. To prevent this, it is necessary to wash the sulphur. For this purpose put it into a pan, and pour upon it boiling water, in which some salts of tartar (carbonate of potash) have been dissolved; stir it well and break down all lumps. Let it stand to subside; pour off the supernatant liquor; fill up with cold water and let it stand, to again subside. Make a conical bag, fig. 33, with a piece of linen or calico, sewed at the top, round a ring or hoop of wire, or cane, or whalebone; fasten a string to it, by which to hang it up. Put the washed sulphur into it, and hang it under a water-tap; turn the water gently on, and let it drip all night; this will wash away every trace both of acid and alkali.

Afterwards hang the bag up three or four days till the sulphur is dry; it may then be bottled, and kept exclusively for colours.

Oxalate of soda may be made thus--procure 3 lbs. of carbonate of soda, the common washing soda used by the laundress, not bicarbonate of soda; boil it up in a saucepan with just as little water as will suffice to dissolve it. Dissolve, in another vessel, 1 lb. of oxalic acid in boiling water, and pour it into a deep jar, capable of holding two or three quarts; a wash-hand jug will answer. Now put to this the dissolved carbonate of soda, with a table-spoon, a spoonful at a time. A violent effervescence takes place. The soda is to be slowly added till effervescence ceases. It should be tested with a strip of litmus paper, to see if the acid is perfectly neutralized.

To prepare litmus paper, dissolve 1/4 of an ounce of litmus in an ounce and a half of water; when thoroughly dissolved, and the water is of a dark blue colour, take some white blotting paper, and with a sash-tool or camel's-hair pencil, go over it on both sides with the litmus solution. When dry, wet some of these prepared pieces, with the brush dipped into vinegar: this will turn them red. Dry, and preserve both.

They may be cut into strips, half an inch broad; the blue strips will be tests for acids; the red, for alkalies. Wet a strip of the blue, and touch it with oxalic acid, it will turn red; wet a strip of the red, or the piece just reddened, with carbonate of soda, it will turn blue.

To make sulphuret of copper, procure some thin sheet copper, about as thick as a card; cut it into pieces, and put it into a crucible, with sulphur, a layer of sulphur, and a layer of copper alternately, till full. Set the crucible in a clear fire, and keep it red hot for an hour.

Remove it; when cold, break it up, and grind it in a coffee-mill. Sift it in a lawn or book-muslin sieve as fine as possible. Half-a-pound of copper and a quarter of a pound of sulphur may be employed.

There is a black sulphide or sulphuret of copper produced by pa.s.sing sulphuretted hydrogen through a solution of protoxide of copper: this is useless.

For want of a coffee-mill, charcoal may be beaten in a leather bag, with a hammer.