WARNING AND DISCLAIMER:  If you are underage, then consult with your parents or guardians before attempting any of this.  You are on your own - I'm not responsible for your actions or harm you may bring to others because of your actions.  Making the items described below  can result in injury or death to you or people in your vicinity. Some things mentioned here may be illegal to make in your city, county, state, or country so check the laws that apply to you before you attempt anything described here. These notes are not complete on purpose. If you are reading them and new to pyrotechnics, then you are making a mistake. Stop now - this page is not for you. Get a beginning book on fireworks (see Skylighter or American Fireworks News (very quick shipping)  for a start) and read up. You can't make any of this work without more information so read up or join a club or ask someone to help you.

Compositions - The Abbreviated Version

This list of compositions is not meant to be exhaustive. It is just a list of ones that I have used or with which I'm currently experimenting

Black powder - see blackpowder2.html 

Be sure to read about charcoal as a variable - it is a short read but pretty important. Your choice of charcoal will affect the outcome of most of the formulas below. Use Skylighter Airfloat Charcoal and a rock tumbler for milling if you want to duplicate my results. If you use a heavier duty pyro mill, your BP will be hotter by far and will probably require taming down quite a bit.

RP is 'Rocket Propellant' which is a 18 Potassium Nitrate, 6 Skylighter airfloat charcoal, 3 Sulphur, 2 Aluminum dust (atomized or use titanium flake - very sparky!) mix. That makes it about 62% oxidizer. It was described by Alan Yates.  Ball mill all except aluminum for 24 hours if using a rock tumbler - 3 hrs if using a hobby pyro mill.. Mix in aluminum. Moisten. Press through a coarse screen. Dry. This mixture seems a bit tame but it is safe to use on almost anything. I've speeded it up by mixing it with 75-15-10 pulverone (50/50) which puts the oxidizer at about 68%. Note that on long rockets or big rockets, RP is the safest fuel to use. Start with it and work your way hotter. 

RPH is 'Rocket Propellant Hotter' which is 68 Potassium Nitrate, 17 Skylighter airfloat charcoal, 10 Sulphur, 5 Aluminum dust (atomized) and made into pulverone (see RP). This is my modification and it is used for rockets up to 1/2". Originally, it was created from mixing RP and meal (50/50) to get a hotter mixture for the smaller rockets. Now I just create it from scratch (much easier to create an homogenous mixture). 1/2" rockets must have a large nozzle (> 1/3 ID) and the spindle should not be longer than about 2 1/2" if you use this mixture.

Nozzleless Fuel is very hot fuel used for nozzleless rockets. I use 75/15/10 willow based BP or similar that has been ball milled in a pyro ball mill for at least 3.5 hours. Mix +3% mineral oil with lacquer thinner (about 1 part mineral oil to about 10 parts lacquer thinner) and then mix that with the BP and dry for 24 hours. The BP is not granulated or made to pulverone, rather it is used as it comes from the ball mill. The mineral oil keeps the dust down and makes the BP soft and easily compacted. Hard grained BPs will often CATO because it is so difficult to eliminate the tiny faults in the compressed grain. Try using 2Fa as a nozzleless fuel sometime -- but make sure you retire sufficiently away from the rocket because it will pop. I've pressed 2Fa grains to 8000 pounds and they still had faults in them.

Nitrocellulose Lacquer Substitutes.  NC Lacquer is quite expensive for what you get.

One good substitute is to buy a couple of six packs of Ping Pong balls and dissolve them in a 1/2 pint of acetone.  The resulting white mixture is a suitable substitute for NC and it is much cheaper.  I use a small paint can (a new one) and store the mixture in it when I'm done. If the liquid isn't thick enough - let it dry with the lid off for just a while (keep watch - it dries fast). If it is too thick, add a bit of acetone.  Some have complained that this solution isn't flammable enough - although I've certainly had no problems with it.

Another substitute is to buy some smokeless rifle powder and dissolve it in acetone. Smokeless powder is fairly pure nitrocellulose so you are dealing with the real McCoy when you use it. Be careful. Using acetone, make a thick mixture for your stock solution  and then dilute it for your different needs.

Finally, some hobby chemical dealers sell NC powder. Buy that and mix your own NC Lacquer. It will be much, much cheaper than the liquid version.

Priming Liquid for Fuses.  A good priming liquid is made from the Ping Pong ball mixture (above) and about 1/2 BP. Use a film can for a container and mix thoroughly. Dip fuses in it followed by dipping the fuses in some loose meal. This will give you a great priming  medium - it will light the first time and every time. For added benefit, add 10% titanium powder to the meal before dipping. Once dry, it will light even the hardest to light rockets.

BenzoLift

BenzoLift is essentially whistle mix that is diluted with black powder. If made correctly, Benzolift can be very powerful. Be careful - it can be two or more times as powerful as commercial BP and seems to be the answer to the weaknesses of homemade BP - that is, the stuff is powerful enough that you don't have to make charcoal from hard-to-get woods to make a good lift powder. Normal BP made from Skylighter airfloat charcoal makes great Benzolift (about twice as strong as Elephant brand 2fg). In addition, it doesn't take too long to make and it is cheaper than commercial BP. It might be a bit more expensive than homemade BP although that might not be true when you factor in the efficiencies of using it.

Here is a link to how to make simple Benzolift safely: benzolift.html. If you decide to make it, then stay consistent on your process from batch to batch - minor changes in process can affect the power of Benzolift quite a lot.

There is probably no reason to use Benzolift for lifting large shells - Benzolift is in the 3" and less territory! One thing I have noticed - it 'slams' the shell harder than BP does. Specifically, a 3 gram charge of Benzolift in a Double-Voice Cracker will destroy the cracker on the ground - 3 grams of very hot BP will lift it into the air the way it is supposed to. Both these charges, when used in a mortar, lift the shell about the same height.

Since it is much easier to make Benzolift than hot BP (especially if one can't get/make the correct charcoals), here are some small diameter rules of thumb for lift quantities that I go by (your mileage and cardboard shrapnel may vary):

1.5 to 1.75" - 2 grams of Benzolift
2" - 2.5 grams to 3 grams
3" - 5 grams

Over 3" - don't use Benzolift - use BP. Even poor lift powder can often be used for larger mortars.

Star Compositions - most primed heavily (just to be sure).  BP and 10% Al outer, 75/25 for the next layer, 25/75 for the third. I mentioned Veline's prime before but I don't like it - it has many ingredients and it doesn't light the stars much better than a simple green meal mix (unmilled BP with hot charcoal - 75/15/10) +10 silicon, +10 dextrin. When the stars are split, they look something like:

Note that this is a sculpy inner star (red-orange stuff actually burns red-orange; go figure!) with blue star outer shell and a layer of prime.
The dot in the center is the #9 lead shot I use to start building the star in my wok. Not perfectly round, but close enough (and fun to do)
To build round stars, get a large round bowl (or a round wok lid- which is great), put in a 1/2 teaspoon of shot, moisten with a spray
bottle (slightly), sprinkle on some composition (lightly does it) and let 'er roll. 

Most of  the formulas below should be primed.

The following formulas are sectioned off as Red/Blue/Green/Yellow/White/etc. Any formulas in the top part have been assembled by me but might not be tested thoroughly. The bottom part (marked unknown) is pretty much open for experimentation though some work as been done on some of the formulas.

RED

Bleser #1 

Above reds are Bleser #1 with PVC

Color - Red Organic (Bleser KP #1) (from Alan Yates with notes)

Name: Red Organic (Bleser KP #1)
Source: David Bleser with comments

Composition:
70 Potassium Perchlorate
15 Strontium Carbonate (Creagan: works fine, easy enough to light if well primed)
10 Red Gum
4 Dextrin
1 Charcoal (airfloat)
+10 PVC (not Bleser - added in by Creagan to lengthen burn time - it also adds to the color)

Preparation:
Screen together well using a 60 mesh screen.

Dampen with water and cut or pump

Comments (borrowed from Alan Yates):

Substitution of the Strontium Carbonate with other metal carbonates for different colors works fairly well:

8 Sodium Bicarbonate: Yellow (Creagan: works as advertised - burns fairly quickly)
10 Calcium Carbonate: Orange (Creagan: works as advertised - nice Orange)
20 Barium Carbonate: Green (Creagan: did 20/10 Barium Carbonate and PVC. It is a bit washed out but I also did Veline's Green (with Parlon) and it seemed almost as pale - it is a bit harder to light so prime in three layers)

Bleser #1 burns quickly - almost too quickly. I added in +10 PVC to all the carbonate mixes and that slowed it down a bit and added to the colors. The picture above shows Bleser #1 with PVC with some sparkler stars and some strobes.

Parlon Red Star                            

Source: Lifted from Skylighter newsletter at: http://www.skylighter.com/skylighter_info_pages/article.asp?Item=8)
Strontium nitrate                      50
Potassium perchlorate               8
Parlon                                     18 (PVC substituted successfully)
Magnesium/aluminum              12
Charcoal, airfloat                      5
Sulfur                                       5
Red gum                                  2

Total (parts by weight)         100

Dextrin                                  +5

Notes: This one is hard to light! It also has a bit of ash. I had it covered with Veline's Prime and it just burnt the prime off leaving the star. Yeesh! However, this sucker does have a strong red color and it lasts a long time (when you get it lit). To be successful on ignition, I had to dust the bottom of the star board with lightly dampened Veline, then 50/50 Veline/composition, then 25/75, then pure composition, then press. I haven't tried it, but green meal with a little silicon or aluminum should work as a prime, too.

Falling Leaves (Chinese colored fuse):   

This is also made in green (see green stars below) and other colors. The red is fairly good and the fuse burns slowly. See Skylighter (and cannonfuse.com) for prices. It comes in 96 foot rolls. Cut off 1" pieces and prime one end with NC or Ping Pong Ball/Acetone mix and BP. 

The image above links to a demo that used a Black Cat Exploding Comet rocket as the lift platform. The Comets are cheaper Black Cats that can carry a star or two for testing. In this case, it carried a half dozen or more Falling Leaves. Click on the image to see the demo.

 

Chrysanthemum #6
    aka: Charcoal fire dust #1

3/8" Chrys #6 using film can shell (left) and a 4" shell (right)

Source: Takeo Shimizu

55 Potassium Nitrate
33 Charcoal (airfloat)
7 Sulfur
5 SGRS (Dextrin can be substituted)

Preparation:
Shimizu says to wet to get KNO3 into charcoal. You can also ball mill for a few hours. After milling, I like to add a metal to make it even sparkier. 15% FeTi is nice - however, when you add in metal, you start getting close to other formulas -  with the addition of +15 FeTi, Chrys #6 starts sounding like Blonde Streamer (see below).

 

BLUE

Blue Star #1 (not recommended!)

Source: Skylighter: http://www.skylighter.com/skylighter_info_pages/article.asp?Item=12

(B2)
Potassium perchlorate     60.8 (much depends on the purity of the perc!)
Parlon                           13.0 (Temporarily misplaced my Parlon - used PVC)
Copper carbonate            12.0
Red gum                          9.0
Dextrin                            4.8

Notes: This works ok - using more Parlon and no Dextrin and dissolving it in acetone seems to make it better but harder to light. Potassium perchlorates available in the U.S. have a good deal of foreign material in them - be sure you use a fairly pure perc else the color will be washed to white.

Falling Leaves (Chinese colored fuse - get blue at Cannonfuse.com).  Click HERE for demo.

Blue Star #2  (not recommended!)

Source: I 'discovered' it in isolation while experimenting with colder star compositions and trying to get them to light easier. I have since found it on the UK Rocketry Forum (or near enough).

KClO4 70
PVC 9
CuO 15
Red Gum 10
Dextrin 5 (additional %) (note: UK Rocketry Forum lists SGRS instead of Dextrin)

Blue Star #3 (not recommended!)

Source (and comments from the source): Skylighter article on blues: http://www.skylighter.com/skylighter_info_pages/article.asp?Item=12 and From “Chemistry of the Elements” and reprinted in D. Haarmann's “Pyrotechnic Formulary” and the Aug. 1993 1st Fire.  Good ignition.  This potassium-perchlorate augmented ammonium perchlorate composition was in the minority of tested AP formulae in regards to ignition (Ed. Meaning it was good, not bad).  Color saturation was very good and bum rate was acceptable.  A good formula

B10                                            

Potassium perchlorate         38 (get the purest ingredients!)
Ammonium perchlorate       29
Copper carbonate              14
Red gum                            14
Dextrin                               5

Comments: This one was easy enough to make once you have the ingredients. It lights easily and has a good review on Skylighter. It does seem a tad light but still good. I rolled it and primed it with three layers.

Blue Star #4 (recommended - CAUTION - THIS IS A CHLORATE STAR - DO NOT ATTEMPT IF YOU ARE NEW TO PYRO - GET SOMEONE TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND CHLORATE SAFETY BEFORE ATTEMPTING)

These are from page 216 of Shimzu's FAST - you can choose fast burning or a bit slower burning. Both should be primed.

Blue Star
                                      Faster                                           Slower (my favorite) 
Potassium Chlorate ...        66.5                                                 60.8   
Red Gum ...................       9.9                                                   9.0
Cupric Oxide .............       13.4                                                   xx
Copper Carbonate......           xx                                                 12.3
Parlon ....................           5.4                                                 13.1
Charcoal ..................           xx                                                   xx 
SGRS (Binder) ............        4.8                                                   4.8
 

GREEN 

Green star #1
Veline's Green and Bleser #1 (substituting Barium Carbonate and PVC (20/10) for the Strontium Carbonate) have been tried. Both are pale. Bleser #1 is explained under RED. Veline's green is:

Barium Carbonate ............. 15
Barium Nitrate ..................  24
Potassium Perchlorate .......  30
Magnalium ........................  11
Red Gum ..........................    5
Parlon ..............................   15
Dextrin ............................      5

I dampened with 35% alcohol and primed in three layers

Green star #2
Bright Green (Best of AFN III, p. 115, seen first in Tom Perigrin's Book "Introductory Practical Pyrotecnics")

Potassium Perchlorate ... 30
Barium Carbonate .......... 19
Magnalium ...................... 30
PVC ................................. 12
Red Gum ......................... 4
Dextrin ............................ 4

Comments: Triple primed. This is harder to light and is certainly Bright Green.

Falling Leaves (Chinese colored fuse) Click HERE for demo.

This is probably the best substitute for green stars (as long as you buy the green Falling Leaves!). You don't have to worry about Barium compounds and it is fairly cheap. See Skylighter (and cannonfuse.com) for prices. It comes in 96 foot rolls. Cut off 1" pieces and prime one end with NC or Ping Pong Ball/Acetone mix and BP.

Green star #3

Source: Composition from Shimizu
Preparation:

Barium nitrate....................................28.3
Potassium Perchlorate.............................47.2
Parlon............................................4.7
Red Gum...........................................14.2
Soluble Glutinous Rice Starch.....................5.6 (I substituted Dextrin)

Comments: This one is easy enough to make and lights easily, too. I rolled it and primed it with three layers. It might be the best of the non-metallic greens I've tested so far and might qualify as a 'good enough' based on an 'ok' color and ease of ignition. The break above ( a 1 3/4" Easter Egg) was almost 100%.

 

YELLOW

See Veline (again) and also see the Bleser #1 comments under the 'Red Star' section

Gold Flitter??

Source: Visser

Comments: The particle sizes of aluminum powders will markedly affect the result. If Al bronze is available, you can use all 16 parts of it instead of the two different Al powders.
Preparation: Add water and proceed as usual.

Potassium nitrate, fine...........................16
Sulfur............................................3
Charcoal, powdered................................2
Sodium oxalate or Ultramarine.....................4 or 2
Fine, grey aluminum powder (preferably pyro Aluminum).....11
Flake Aluminum or medium Al powder (Al bronze works well).....5
Dextrin...........................................4

Notes: Lots of ash but it does look gold and it does flitter

Falling Leaves (Chinese colored fuse - get yellow at cannonfuse.com) Click HERE for demo.

Blonde Streamer 

Source: Bleser

Potassium nitrate .............45
Sulfur ................................ 6
Charcoal (150 mesh) ....... 29
Dextrin ............................   5
Ferrotitanium ..................  15

Notes: This is quite nice and the FeTi makes the sparks hang for a while. Easy to light. This is a comet formula but it still works ok as a star - the stars usually stream out quickly then a fire dust lingers for just a bit.

WHITE

White Antimony

Source: Davis
KNO3: 62
Antinomy (III) sulphide: 17
Sulfur: 17
Dextrin: 3

Comments: This is a nice star. It lights fairly easily (I used a good single coating of Veline's Prime), and it is not terribly expensive except for the antimony. The white is bright and pretty and it burns a medium amount of time.

White Strobe

Click on the above picture to view the .wmv movie of a White Strobe test (500k)

Source: United Nuclear White Strobe Stars (from: www.unitednuclear.com/stars.htm)

Barium Nitrate .................51
Potassium Nitrate ............7
Sulfur ..............................19
Magnalium ......................18 (60 to 100 Mesh)
Dextrin ............................5

Comments: This seems to be a really easy star formula - it rolls exceptionally well and it definitely strobes. I primed it with three layers - but it lights ok - it's just that I have a hard time getting Barium Nitrate so the cost is pretty high and I want the stars to work. I hope to find a supplier of Barium Nitrate who is within driving distance - anyone know anybody near Omaha Nebraska? If you do, email me at dcreagan@bellevue.edu. Click on the image above to see a test flight (using one of the high reliability 3/8" rockets with titanium delay - see rockets.html). The payload is two 5/16" strobe stars. The strobe stars almost hit ground - but not quite. They definitely last a good long time. I like 'em!

Falling Leaves (Chinese colored fuse - get white at cannonfuse.com) Click HERE for demo.

OTHER

Special Effects Star:

Click on picture to see the movie
~1/2" Blonde Streamer round star and 3/16" flash core.
Star gun launch with 1/2 gram of Benzolift.

Name: Flash Core 
Source: David Bleser  (as listed on Passfire)

Barium Nitrate 66 
Aluminum, flake, dark, German Blackhead. 3 micron 27 
Dextrin 6 
Boric Acid 1 

Preparation: Must use flash core igniter formula as a prime (see igniter prime below). Roll with 50/50 
water/alcohol, not exceeding 3/16'' diameter and dry. Roll at least 1/32'' thick igniter 
prime before rolling on next layer of star comp. Star must be moving through the 
air to accurately test for proper operation. Click on the above picture to see a short movie of the flash core in action.

 

Robbed Stars

Source: Creagan

I found some really cheap Roman Candles in Missouri - six for a dollar and they had ten shots. I opened one up and it had ten 1/4" stars of various colors inside. Very cool - very easy to light - very easy to rob.  I bought a couple hundred of them. I slit the outer paper with a box cutter and then just unroll the candle. This works on other kinds of candles, too, but I would recommend doing the first one of a new kind with heavy gloves, apron and face protection just to be safe (I do!). This size star is great on 1/4" rockets or as cores to larger rolled stars. You get a nice color change when the large star burns down.

Robbed Sparklers

Source: Creagan (and a million others)

I lightly sprayed some green sparklers with 35% alcohol and let them soak for a few minutes. Cleaned off the sticks, mixed the stuff with BP (50/50) and a little Barium Nitrate.  Then fired it up.  Not  a green flicker in sight - though the orange red was pretty good!  I tested it unprimed as a 5/16 star in a 3/8 rocket.  It lit easily.

D1 Glitter

Source: Tom Rebenclau/Jack Drews and from Alan Yates

Composition:
53 Potassium Nitrate (corrected from 58 - input from member of UK Rocketry Forum)
18 Sulfur
11 Charcoal (airfloat)
7 Aluminium (-325 mesh, spherical)
7 Sodium Bicarbonate
4 Dextrin

Preparation:
The composition designer suggests dampening with 6% plain water with 1 part of boric acid dissolved in it when pressing comets or pumping stars. It need not be ball milled if your components are already sufficiently fine, just screen together, moisten and granulate through a coarse sieve ready for pressing/pumping.

Comments 
I used it as delay for a 3/8 rocket.  It was about 50% slower than RP.  As a star, it does glitter but in small stars (3/8") it doesn't seem to last very long. It didn't require priming.

 

PRIME

My Favorite Prime (Recent change from the Ti prime)

        Name: Silicon Prime
        Source: Dan Creagan (and others)

        Reactive Charcoal (willow, pine, etc) ..... 15
        KNO3 ...................................................... 75
        Sulfur ........................................................10
        Silicon .......................................................+10
        SGRS (preferred) or Dextrin .....................+5
                   (you can also put it on with a 10% solution of Gum Arabic instead of water or water/alchohol)

        Mix the first three ingredients thoroughly. Do not wet. All ingredients should be airfloat except the silicon. Additional benefit can be had by adding +10 diatomaceous earth.

My next Favorite Prime (liberally applied to a color core, it has a titanium tail that then turns to the color)

        Name: My Favorite Prime
        Source: Dan Creagan

        Charcoal (airfloat willow): 15
        KNO3 (airfloat): 75
        Sulfur (airfloat): 10
        FeTi or Ti: +15
        Dextrin: +5

        Preparation: Make sure all chemicals except metals are milled to airfloat. However, mill them separately - not together. If you mill them together, the mixture will be too reactive and burn cooler - in other words, it won't work as good. Screen all ingredients but metal together. Add metal and then use to prime rolled stars.

Hot Igniter Prime:

Name: Flash Core Igniter 
Source: Takeo Shimizu (as listed on Passfire)


Barium Nitrate 34 
Potassium Perchlorate 33 
Aluminum, flake, dark, German Blackhead. 3 micron 10 
Antimony Trisulfide, Chinese needle 9 
Red Gum 8 
Dextrin 5 
Boric Acid 1 

Veline's priming

Source: Robert Veline

Comments: The wood meal in this prime makes the stars a little 'fuzzy', making the stars much more easy to ignite. Without the wood meal prime the stars are often blown blind.

Potassium perchlorate.............................55
Charcoal, air float...............................20
Wood meal, 70 mesh................................6
Red Iron Oxide, Fe2O3.............................5
Magnalium (50/50).................................5
Potassium dichromate..............................5
Dextrin...........................................4

Red Magnalium Chuffer Rocket

3/4" (One pound) Red Mag Rocket on Takeoff 

Source: Dave Stoddard/John Steinberg (Skylighter newsletter)
See also: Magnalium Rockets

Strontium Nitrate                                      55 %
Magnalium, -325 mesh powder              28 %
PVC powder                                              10 %
Parlon                                                         7 %
Vaseline (dissolved in Naphtha)          +2 %

Note: While Stoddard's instructions state that the composition must be slightly damp to chuff, I've found that it will chuff even if dried thoroughly - and I prefer the dry mix since it is the most repeatable procedure. I used a standard BP rocket spindle for these and fused them with fast Visco that had the tip dipped in NC lacquer and a bit of titanium. The reason for the hot fuse is that normal Visco (especially American) will not ignite the  core reliably. The fast Visco will get everything going quickly and the titanium tip makes sure it lights each and every time. The composition was pressed to about 3500 on the mix. It is important to use the same size magnalium each time. Different sizes affect both power and chuffing.

I used mineral oil instead of Vaseline.

Video: http://www.wichitabuggywhip.com/fireworks/strontium.wmv

 

---

Green Magnalium Rocket

Source: Dave Stoddard (Skylighter newsletter)
See also: Magnalium Rockets

Barium Nitrate                                       60 %
Magnalium, -325 mesh powder          25 %
PVC powder                                          9 %
Parlon                                                     6 %
 
Makes fast stars, too. Use lacquer thinner to wet, cut them. Prime with a good prime! 

---

Yellow Magnalium Rocket  

Source: Dave Stoddard (Skylighter newsletter)
This isn't a very spectacular rocket. It looks a lot like a BP version - probably not worth the effort
See also: Magnalium Rockets

Strontium Nitrate                                  22%
Barium Nitrate                                       36 %
Magnalium, -325 mesh powder          26.2 %
PVC powder                                          9.4 %
Parlon                                                     6.4 %

 

---

Unknown or not explored thoroughly yet (this is just a resting place for my 'todo' list on stars):

Star (flitter/thick tail?)

Source: ukrocketry forum

Potassium Nitrate 29
Pine Charcoal 34
Sulfur 6
Fe-Ti 25
SGRS 6 (Soluble glutinous rice starch - or Dextrin???)

(Creagan: This did not work at all. It looks intriguing so I'll play with it a bit more)

Red-Orange

Source: Creagan (experimental)

75 Potassium Chlorate

25 Sculpy clay works as a delay (and a red orange star if you can ever get it lit).

Mix 160 grams of Sculpy and 520 grams of KCLO4. The best way to do this is just bake the Sculpy after you roll it out - that hardens it. Then grind it up without the oxidizer. Then mix things together.

Red (Shimizu)

KClO4 66
Red gum 13
Strontium carbonate 12
Lampblack (or charcoal, I used charcoal) 2
PVC 2
Dextrin 5

bind with 25% alcohol

Yellow Shimizu

KClO4 68
red gum 18
NaNO3 7
charcoal 2
dextrin 5

bind with 25% alc

---

Veline Star Color System (as lifted from Skylighter newsletter: http://www.skylighter.com/skylighter_info_pages/article.asp?Item=8)

 Robert Veline created this system and intentionally put it in the public domain.  When you look at it, you can see that it uses very similar ingredients and proportions for many of the different colors, making this an extremely versatile color set:  you can create any color you want using only ten chemicals!

When you look at the part called "Now the Fun Stuff" you can even see how to mix an almost limitless palette of colors by mixing the different primary colors shown in the table.  A word to the wise:  These colors are well balanced in terms of color brightness and intensity.  So, Veline's colors seem to appear most pleasing when they are used with each other any given device (shell, mine, etc.).  Here's the original paper published by Veline, but formatted differently to fit our newsletter.

A Compatible Star Formula System for Color Mixing

By Robert Veline 

	Red	Orange	Green	Blue	Super Prime
Strontium carbonate	15
Calcium carbonate		15
Barium carbonate			15
Copper oxide, black				15
Barium nitrate			24
Potassium perchlorate	55	55	30	55	55
Parlon	15	15	15	15
Red gum	9	9	5	9
Magnalium (50/50 -200 mesh	6	6	11	6	5
Dextrin	+4	+4	+4	+4	4
Charcoal, airfloat					20
Wood meal, -70 mesh					6
Iron oxide, red					5
Potassium dichromate					5

 A Few Notes About These Formulae

The numbers are in percent by weight.  The potassium perchlorate is a fine powder.  The Swedish stuff is what I used.  The parlon was Hercules brand, but Superchlon brand from Ishihara Co. Ltd. also works.  Nothing special about the red gum, just fine powder.  The best barium and strontium carbonates are obtained from Barium and Chemicals of Steubenville Ohio.  The calcium carbonate was -200 mesh 'Whiting'.  Copper carbonate may be used rather than black copper oxide without much change in performance.  I have tried finer more pure forms and found they have slowed the burn rate, and degraded the color...  Note that all of the proportions are the same for the different colors, the exception being the green.  The idea is to have as many characteristics, burn rate, brightness, flame size, color purity, and density of powder, common between the different powders, as is possible. While these formulas do not excel in any one characteristic, they are all part of a matched set.  The green:  I was unable to get a suitable green star for this family without using barium nitrate.  So, in order to compensate for the reduced oxidizing ability of the nitrate, a more energetic fuel mixture was used.

 Now the Fun Stuff:

YELLOW                               55 green                 45 orange

CHARTREUSE                     80 green                 20 orange

AQUA                                   80 green                 20 blue

TURQUOISE                         55 green                 45 blue

MAGENTA                           50 red                     50 blue

MAROON                             85 red                     15 blue

PEACH                                  60 orange               25 red                     15 blue

PURPLE                 5 orange                 15 red                     80 blue                                                            Copyright:  Robert Veline

 Well, that's it!  These stars are the results of a couple of years of hard work, they are offered as some form of repayment to the many people who published information which I have feasted on all these years.  THANK YOU!!!!     Robert Veline II

---

 

Notes from ukrocketry forum - a thread by BigG and others (see examples at:: http://www.ukrocketry.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=480&st=45 )

R1
Sr(NO3)2 65
Dark Al 12
Parlon 18
Red Gum 5

R2
Sr(NO3)2 60
Dark Al 12
Parlon 20
Red Gum 3
Sulfur 5

R3
Sr(NO3)2 62
Dark Al 12
Parlon 18
Red Gum 8

R4
Sr(NO3)2 65
MgAl* 12
Parlon 14
Red Gum 3
Sulfur 6

R5
Sr(NO3)2 60
MgAl* 12
Parlon 25
Red Gum 3
 

Silver Star
kno3 : 60
Al spherical 200 mesh : 20
Sulfer : 14
Charcoal : 6
boric acid : 1
dextrin : 5
 

Potassium Nitrate..........50
Sulphur..........................30
Aluminium......................20
Binder...........................+5
(Boric Acid.....................+1)

This composition makes a bright golden white. I think a true silver is probably reserved for barium nitrate or potassium perchlorate compositions, but this one is pleasing enough. For a binder I have used NC laquer (this was just added until the composition was cuttable, and was not exactly 5%) and dextrin (this was 5%). It will need an intermediate prime. In my experience, BP just burnt off, leaving it unignited.
 

Note that today, true "white stars" are credited for the metallic addition of Magnesium, or the organic (more common) inclusion of antimony trisulphide. You can also use Antinomy Metal powder. Formulas containing KNO3, Sulphur, and Antinomy will burn with a brilliant white much better then the white posted in the quote.

For Example:

Davis: (Creagan note - this is great and is listed at the top of this composition listing as a 'tried and true' formula)
KNO3: 62
Antinomy (III) sulphide: 17
Sulfur: 17
Dextrin: 3

Lancaster:
KNO3: 51
Sulfur: 18
GP: 15
Antimony Metal: 10
C (+150 mesh): 3
Dextrin: 3

Working many years with white formulas that utilize KN03, S and C (with or without AL), I had to redefine my understanding of “White" after using Davis formula.

 

Red??

Potassium perchlorate.............................55
Strontium carbonate...............................15
Sculpey............................................15
Red gum...........................................9
Aluminium 200 mesh..........................3
Magnesium powder............................3
Dextrin...........................................+4

Sculpey (I used blue with sparkles) was cooked as instructions, and then powdered as best I could. I used slightly larger amounts of Sculpey (as it is not pure PVC), Mg and Red gum (don't ask why). These stars were pumped and dried for 4 days. They take fire surprisingly well, and test firings (unprimed) with 1.4g lift provided no blind blowers. Obviously, due to inclusion of Mg and Al instead of Magnalium, this composition is more dangerous to make/dry/store than Veline's normal formula.

white star
Potassium nitrate 59%
Sulfur 30%
black powder 11%
 

Red star:

potassiumchlorate 55%
strontiumcarbonate 25%
sugar 20 %

blue star:

potassiumchlorate 50%
coppersulfate 25%
sugar 25%
 

Purple Shimizu KP #2

64 Potassium Perchlorate
9.5 Red Gum
8.7 Parlon
7.8 Strontium Carbonate
5.2 Copper Oxide (black)
4.8 Dextrin

Red

Burlhorse on UK Rocketry:

Here's another red thats fast, Good Color Depth, Easy to Make (only 4 Chems) and Will light from a cigarette ash at 10 Paces.....

Pot Perc...........................70
Strontium Carbonate...........5 (corrected to 15)
Red Gum..........................10
Air Float or Willow Charcoal..1
Dextrin...............................4

Blue from Skylighter article on blues: http://www.skylighter.com/skylighter_info_pages/article.asp?Item=12

B10                                            

Potassium perchlorate         38
Ammonium perchlorate       29
Copper carbonate                14
Red gum                                14
Dextrin                                     5

Oglesbys "Better Pearl"

47 KNO3
10 Ba(NO3)2
10 Al [i used the cheap 50µ Al]
18 Sulfur
10 Charcoal [I used coffee grinder- milled willow charcoal]
5 Dextrin

from UK Rocketry forum: "Its a very cheap star, but it spreads blinking bits everywhere "

Universal Prime

Posted by Eugene Yurek (on Passfire)

Potassium Nitrate 20
Charcoal, airfloat 5
Sulfur 3
Dextrin 2
Total 30

Notes say it burns hot. Use as a green mix that's just screened - burns cooler if milled. Step priming only necessary for high metal content stars like flitter and wave types. I believe this is a prime that was used by a major US fireworks manufacturer for a long time.

Of course, it can't hurt to add 3-5% fine flake AL (American Dark or equivalent or some fine flitter AL). You could also add a pinch or two of silicon powder.

Golden Kumora (source rec.pyro through Jason Murri - original source is not known at this time)

30.3 potassium Nitrate
30.3 charcoal, af, I used pine charcoal
6.1 sulfur
27.25 FeTi, 40-100 mesh
6.1 dextrin

Rec.pyro blue and purple

This is a very nice chlorate "violet purple" Giovanni Forli sent me
some time ago and I like it a lot:

Potassium Chlorate      1 kilogram
Black Copper Oxide      220 gms.
PVC (very fine dust)      160 gms.
Strontium Carbonate     160 gms.
Red Gum                     100 gms.
Gum Arabic                   60 gms.

Damp with water and cut or roll.  Makes a fast burning,  easily lit
star.  I prime lighly with fine meal.  If you use Parlon instead of
PVC, it may change the color and burn slightly.  Also, this is more on
the blue side of "purple" than the red. Hardt also has some very good
compositions for purple using chlorate as well as perchlorate.

John Reilly.

Rec.pyro blue and purple

Purple (from Mike S. and others)

Potassium chlorate 24
Strontium carbonate 3-3/4
Copper oxychloride 2-1/2
Shellac 4
Hexachlorobenzene 2
Dextrine 1-1/2

"This gives a very clear pure lavender-purple color and is useful for making
wafers for married comets or for pillbox stars. If you don't have HCB, Saran
might be the best substitute."

<from LK>

To speed this up, use the following formula:

                                  lbs            4Kg                     % (rounded)

Potassium chlorate      24            2543                63.6
Strontium carbonate    3-3/4       397.35               9.9
Copper oxychloride    2-1/2       264.9                 6.6
Shellac                        2             211.9                 5.3
Red Gum                    2             211.9                 5.3
Saran                          2             211.9                 5.3
Dextrine                      1-1/2      158.9                 4

=======================================================

Ammonium Perchlorate70%
Red Gum10%
Copper Carbonate10%
Dextrin5%
Charcoal10%

Moisten With Alcohol

copied the above from the Skylighter newsletter archive

=======================================================

Yes.  As Pyrotec said, gum arabic (acacia gum) can be substituted with
dextrine with little noticable difference.  I'd probably go to 4.0 or
4.5% dextrin though and adjust the red gum and pvc down 1% total.  You
can also make a nice blue chlorate star with this kind of mix:

Potassium Chlorate            60%
PVC                                  10%
Copper Oxide (black or red) 20%
Shellac                               6%   (red gum can be used also)
Dextrine                              4%

Damp w/water and cut or roll.  Light BP prime.  This isn't quite as
good as the KClO3/Paris Green,HCB, with stearine, or lactose and
shellac and dextrine but it's better than many in my opinion and lights
easily.  

John Reilly
 

=======================================================

Blue Strobe by DJ (DJ's words used here)

60 % Ammonium perchlorate
15 % powdered sugar
11 % Black copper oxide
7 % PVC
5.5 % Hexamine
1.5 % wax (paraffin)

(Editor: ½ I.D. of rocket for spindle and about ½ - 2/3 rocket motor long???)

 Everything except the wax is screened and  mixed normally "all chemicals. should be finely powdered -100 mesh or better". The wax should be dissolved in suitable solvent (I use CRC brand Brakleen "non flammable type") but anything that doesn't leave a residue will work. Dissolve the wax until you have a solution that is as thin as water or thinner, the exact amount of solvent isn't important..... But too much will make the comp unmanageable and lengthen drying time.
   Once the wax is completely dissolved, add it to the premixed composition and stir until everything is evenly wetted. If you didn't use too much solvent you should have a somewhat clumping powder, run this powder through a window screen or similar onto paper to dry. Your fuel shouldn't be like wet clay or runny.... if it is, cut down on the amount of solvent next time, but for now let it dry some before running through a screen to final dry.

 

The tooling is easy, <edit: this is for a 1/2" rocket about 5" long> the taper on the spindle does
not need to be exact, I show a 1/16" taper from top to bottom but less will work.

                                        Tooling Tips...........

Spindle base :  To make the base drill a 15/32" dia. hole (1/2" will work also, but I like a tight fit) in a piece of sturdy "thick" wood, drill it at least 1/2" deep. Then smear some wood glue into the hole and hammer a piece of 1/2" dia. hard wood dowel into it. Cut off excess dowel leaving 3/8" to 1/2" protruding from base. Now drill a 1/4" dia. hole dead center of the wood dowel keeping it straight as possible, it doesn't have to be perfect "close is good enough". Drill this hole about 1/2" to 3/4" deep, run the drill bit in and out of the hole several times (we want the spindle to fit loosely in it).

Spindle :  Start with a 4" long piece of 1/4" steel dowel. To put the taper on my spindle, I chucked the rod into my hand held drill, chucking about 1/2" to 3/4" into the drill. Then using coarse emery cloth, I ran the drill at high speed and worked the cloth up and down the rod making sure to do the upper portions more than the lower. After gaining some taper, I switched emery cloth and fine sanded it. The taper is only to aid in spindle removal. Your goal on the taper should be to make it smooth and gradual, the fuel has an incredible ability to stick to the spindle. Because of this, I recommend steel rod for the spindle, I had some Aluminum rods twist in half when trying to remove them, leaving me with a solid Al core. Rubbing a bar of Ivory soap up and down the spindle before pressing a rocket helps tremendously with spindle removal!   Check your spindle length by placing it in it's base hole, it should be a little to long..... Just cut off excess length from the bottom of spindle rod until you have 3" of spindle sticking out of the hole.

Rammers :  You will only need two rammers, one with a hole up it and one solid rammer. Making the spindle rammer can be done easily, just drill a 5/16" dia. hole 2.5" deep into the end of a piece 1/2 dia. hard wood dowel. <--- It's not all that hard, I do it by hand ....  It doesn't need to be perfect but do the best you can. Once you do this, take another piece of 1/2" dia. dowel and cut off a 3/4" slice of it. <--- Drill a 1/4" hole as dead center through this as humanly possible, you will glue this onto the end of the dowel with the long "bigger" hole in it. If you did everything fairly well, you will have a self centering rammer that will slide almost all the way down your spindle. The bigger hole in the rammer will allow for the spindle to move freely inside the rammer to compensate for any inconsistency in drilling it, the end piece will keep the spindle straight and true where it's necessary. This is why you want the spindle to fit loosely in the base.   If I need to go into detail on the solid rammer, you shouldn't be making these rockets////  <smile>

=========================================

Blue strobe rocket propellant
Source: Greg Gallacci <psygreg@u.washington.edu
Comments: The GE silicone II is noted for having an ammonia-like odor, where the GE silicones smell more like vinegar. The dimensions of the rocket made with this propellant were 1 1/8 inch ID, with a 1/2 inch core.
Preparation: Mix the copper oxide, PVC and silicone first, in a plastic bag. Then mix in the ammonium perchlorate. The stuff is said to be somewhat crumbly, and presses well.

Ammonium perchlorate..............................63
Silicone II.......................................22
Copper(II)oxide...................................10
PVC...............................................5

==================================================

White strobe rocket propellant
Source: John Steinberg
Comments: Mix with NC and Acetone until it is blendable (1 kilo of comp and 4 to 5 ounces of NC binder). Dry until screenable then screen and dry overnight. Metals can be mixes of MgAl and Mg. Generally, the finer the MgAl or more fine Mg the faster the strobing. Try 300 mesh MgAl alone first to see results. If you don't have the finer MgAl or Mg then you will need to ball mill - this is a whole other safety issue and you should not do so without consulting with those who have done it. 20% MgAl (300 mesh) and 5% Mg (400 mesh atomized) causes the strobe to speed up until it is almost too fast. To press in a rocket, put in whistle mix until the spindle has less than 1 increment left to cover it. Cover it with strobe mix. Add more whistle or other things. This strobe mix is slow burning and won't provide a lot of lift so get the rocket off the ground with whistle or BP.

60% Ammonium Perchlorate

25% Metal (see above)

15% Barium Sulfate

5% additional, by weight, Potassium Dichromate

Nitrocellulose as a binder

 

---

1 lb rocket formula from Andy H. on rec.pyro

This is the formula I use for 1-lb rockets:

62 - KNO3
10 - Sulfur
15 - AF Charcoal (commercial)
2 - Dextrin
8 - 40-60 mesh pine
3 - Ball milled Kingsford (long-hanging sparks)

Mill together the nitrate, sulfur, air-float charcoal and dextrin
together for 3 hrs.  Screen in the additional charcoal, dampen, and
granulate through a 20 mesh screen.

---

from Truesdell on rec.pyrotechnics (1994)

The "Pyrofish Sculpy Rocket Formula"

Potassium Perchlorate        75
Sculpy                       25
Mg:Al (50:50, 200-400m)       5
Red Iron Oxide                2.5
Copper Chromate               3

---

Glusatz - long time delay mix (approximately 30 seconds per inch???)

Source: APC forum and rec.pyrotechnics (Frank Rizzo and Richard Ogden)

Glusatz

Barium nitrate 75.5
Charcoal (AF) 10
Sulfur 10
Meal 3
Cab-O-Sil 1
CMC 0 .5
Dist. water +6 (dissolve CMC first then add remaining ingredients)

Must be rammed into spollette tubes.

Poisonous!

---

Dark lance composition (Dead Lance)

Source: Mike Swisher on rec.pyrotechnics and attributed to Hardt

A composition using meal
D 47% and strontium carbonate 53% is given, No. 5 in Table 15-4, p. 122
of Hardt's "Pyrotechnics." I have used this mixture and it works well.
 

---

Wheel Driver:
Name: Purple Driver
Source: John Glasswick (Passfire Database)


Strontium Nitrate 25
Potassium Perchlorate 25
Parlon 20
Magnalium, granular, -200 mesh 20
Titanium, sponge, 40-80 mesh 15
Red Gum 10
Copper(II) Oxide, black 10
Total: 125

---

Fountain Formulas
Borrows Heavily from John Glasswick's Gerb Formula Article

Do not tamp any of these. You can hand press them damp and let them dry (takes a few weeks) or you can press them in a hydraulic press. Mr. Glasswick hand presses them dry and they seem to work for him - I would be uneasy with that - especially if I was mixing different effects. Start with chokes that are 1/2 the diameter of the tubes for these mixes.

Chemical	Red	Yellow	Orange	Green	Blue (rec.pyro)	Blue-Green (Chertier)	Lime	Purple	Turquoise
Red Gum	8	8	8	8			8	10	7
Charcoal						16
Parlon	18	18	18	18			18	20	14
Magnalium	18	18	18	18			18	20	14
Titanium	13	13	13	13			13	15	11
Zinc Dust						45
Strontium Nitrate	43		28					25
Sodium Nitrate		18	15				1
Potassium Nitrate						39
Barium Nitrate		25		43			42		36
Cupric Oxide (black)					10			10	18
Stearin					20
Shellac					5
Potassium Perchlorate								25
Ammonium Perchlorate					65

 

To make potassium hydrogen terepthalate: dissolve 6.9 grams of potassium carbonate in water. Add 16.6g of terephthalic acid and let it react. Filter.

 

Gold Glitter (from Eric Hunkins)

Gold Glitter

50% Potassium Nitrate

20% Sulfur

6% Sodium Bicarbonate

4% Dextrin

10% Magnalium

10% Charcoal

 Gold Glitter (PGI Bulletin)

Here is the gold glitter formula from the PGI bulletin number 148:

KNO3                             48
Air Float Charcoal         9
Sulfur                               9
Sb2S3                             10
Al Atomized 12 mic.  &n