FIRECRACKERS
A simple firecracker can be made from cardboard tubing and epoxy. The
instructions are below:
1) Cut a small piece of cardboard tubing from the tube you are using.
"Small" means anything less than 4 times the diameter of the tube.
2) Set the section of tubing down on a piece of wax paper, and fill it with
epoxy and the drying agent to a height of 3/4 the diameter of the tubing.
Allow the epoxy to dry to maximum hardness, as specified on the package.
3) When it is dry, put a small hole in the middle of the tube, and insert a
desired length of fuse.
4) Fill the tube with any type of flame-sensitive explosive. Flash powder,
pyrodex, black powder, potassium picrate, lead azide, nitrocellulose, or
any of the fast burning fuel-oxodizer mixtures will do nicely. Fill the
tube almost to the top.
5) Pack the explosive tightly in the tube with a wad of tissue paper and a
pencil or other suitable ramrod. Be sure to leave enough space for more
epoxy.
6) Fill the remainder of the tube with the epoxy and hardener, and allow it
to dry.
7) For those who wish to make spectacular firecrackers, always use flash
powder, mixed with a small amount of other material for colors. By crushing
the material on a sparkler, and adding it to the flash powder, the
explosion will be the same color as the sparkler. By adding small chunks
of sparkler material, the device will throw out colored burning sparks, of
the same color as the sparkler. By adding powdered iron, orange sparks
will be produced. White sparks can be produced from magnesium shavings, or
from small, LIGHTLY crumpled balls of aluminum foil.
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