film cannisters

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Tue Dec 03, 2002 3:28 am

Greetings from Oz. Just a quick note that a farily safe and reliable little pyro that I have used in various action shorts are film cannister charges. Film cannister filled with blackpowder or sparkler dust, with a sparkler wick and packed nice and tight with cotton wool. Experiment with the wick.
Still though use care and experiment first.
My website will be soon up and I will have examples of some of my experiences there.

Grant Meredith
CEO
Sick Individual Productions
si_productions@yahoo.com.au

Post by **Matt** » Wed Dec 04, 2002 2:14 pm

Thanks Grant, will look forward to seeing your site develop.

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Fri Dec 06, 2002 8:51 am

Thanks Matt, just a quick note with the above info

"TAKE CARE!" TEST IT FIRST. KNOW THE LIMITATIONS! IF IN DOUBT DO NOT DO IT. ALSO IN YOUR COUNTRY(S) IT MAY BE ILLEGALL, SO TAKE CARE.

I have had no injuries or mishaps yet but i have experimented a lot.

Grant Meredith
CEO
Sick Individual Productions
si_productions@yahoo.com.au

[Edited on 6-12-2002 by Grant]

Ornsack · Post by **Ornsack** » Fri Dec 06, 2002 8:07 pm

If you can get a shot of that on your site I'd be most grateful! I'm always on the lookout for how to make cheap explosions.

The best ways we've found of doing them so far is fireworks. Stick a rocket in the ground (the big fat ones, not the lil' ones you get in firework multi-packs), rip off the stick, light the fuse and prepare to fill in the hole the rocket leaves in the ground.

A better way (and sadly due to them being banned no longer possible) is to mix the gunpowder taken out of bangers and Air Bombs and compact it together in a tin foil ball. Light that mother and watch the thing explode! Horrah!

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 3:58 am

The proof of the power and ease of use of a film cannister charge is here at this link to my webpage and then proceed to the tips page. Down at the bottom there are some nice pics.

SI_Productions

Enjoy!

[Edited on 22-12-2002 by Grant]

2nd_Recon · Post by **2nd_Recon** » Thu May 15, 2003 2:17 am

I've found a good way to make a flair, and i'm pretty sure it's legal (I don't check into it, but my friends dad didn't mind). You take a small carboard box, take a bunch of sparkelers, crack the part that burns, and it should come off in chuncks. But them in the box, lite a match and put in, not burning end first, in the powder, and set it down. if you use enough, it'll either burn white, or burn forever.

And to make a realistic looking Depth Charge explosion, move to a place where you can get to water about 5-8 feet deep, light a bottle rocket, and throw it into into the water just as the fuse reaches the end. the propellant will shoot it right to the bottom, it'll sit for a second, and explode, and it usually makes a "Bloommp" sound. it sounds and looks really cool

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Thu May 15, 2003 7:12 am

Not bad ideas. Here is one to try in your spare time.
Wire together 1000+ sparklers and then use one as a wick. Light it and run.
Short lived but very intense pillar of fire.
Do not do indoors.

2nd_Recon · Post by **2nd_Recon** » Thu May 15, 2003 7:46 pm

i couldn't FIT 1000+ sparklers in any room in my house

Syras · Post by **Syras** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:28 am

my friend has filled a large pringles container with sparkler dust (the container is about 30cm high and cyclindrical about 4cm across) - it shot sparks and flame about 40m into the air

EDIT: sorry didnt realise how long dead this topic was

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 12:01 pm

cool. 2nd Recon 1000 sparklers bound together actually takes up very little space. Hold it easily in both hands

Post by **Matt** » Sat Mar 20, 2004 8:48 pm

Grant, where do you buy that many sparklers without it costing a fortune ?

Don't worry about reanimating dead threads. In some ways it is better than creating new ones about the same topic.

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Sun Mar 21, 2004 1:11 am

well yes it does cost a bit

I think at the supermarket you can roughly by 16 sparklers here for about 80c, so i did buy them gradually over the period of about a month. All that for about 5secs of enjoyment!

UFProductions · Post by **UFProductions** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 5:51 am

Grant, when making the film canister pyro's is the order of ingredients into the canister: Sparkler Dust, Cotton, Fuse. Or ist It: Cotton, Dust, fuse?

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 7:47 am

lol...hole in one end stuffed with fuse, fuel against the fuse, cotton wool to pack the fuel

UFProductions · Post by **UFProductions** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 2:47 am

Thanks, didn't want to wind up wasting sparklers, on a mega-low-budget

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 4:43 am

tell me how you go

UFProductions · Post by **UFProductions** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 4:45 am

Nice sized bang for the buck. I found if you place a pop can with the top cut off, filled with camping fuel, then lit before you light the canister bomb you get a pretty massive fireball along with it (about 15 feet tall and wide). The fuel in the can just burns peacefully on the surface until the pyro goes off.

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:38 pm

yes well adding more to the effect will help

enigma · Post by **enigma** » Sun May 23, 2004 9:32 am

hi i found some old boat flares under the house an i was just wondering if they would do the same job as the black powder or sparklers. i'd use sparklers but u cant buy em in nz anytime other then guy fawkes

2nd_Recon · Post by **2nd_Recon** » Sun May 23, 2004 10:12 am

I would bet boat flares are alot more powerfull than sparkler stuff, but I would think that you just use less powder and you should be fine, but as always, with any form of pyros, make sure that the flare would go through a good safety test (You think it looks cool enough, yet managed not to burn your eyebrows off)

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Sun May 23, 2004 1:12 pm

mmm flares burn fiercer and harder to control. I would advise against setting one off in your face

NaziSentry · Post by **NaziSentry** » Mon May 24, 2004 9:17 am

where did you get the fireworks from in your movies Grant?

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Mon May 24, 2004 11:29 am

you want me to tell a source? ha ha ha...well some are made, some are found, some are borrowed, some are purchased. Getting harder to find here with all the new laws etc

nileo6 · Post by **nileo6** » Mon May 24, 2004 9:56 pm

Has anyone here ever made a pipe bomb? What I do is get PVC pipes and glue on one cap then i get black powder and empty it in there. then glue on the other cap and make a hole somewhere for the fuse. then put some glue around where the fuse meets the pipe so it doesn't fall in. Its so bad. The coolest is to put them into a stream or a lake and it sends water flying everywhere.

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Tue May 25, 2004 7:43 am

lol why use PVC? get a metal water pipe and cap the ends. More pressure then....or so theory states

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