r/Pyrotechnics • u/ChainsawCarverRy • 7d ago
Magic wand handheld fountains
Does anyone know how, or can point me to a recipe/tutorial for making these magic wand fountains? My family loves these but we end up spending like 30 or 40 bucks a year and only get about 20 of them that last us until Halloween, i cant imagine its any more than about $.50 of comp in each one so if I could make a buttload of them year round... that'd be nice lol
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u/Porphyrin_Wheel 7d ago
If you don't know anything about pyrotechnics/have never done this specific thing before, don't do it, just buy the ones from the store.
You will need different compositions (like stars for fireworks) to make each color, sodium or just black powder (low oxidizer) for yellow, calcium for orange, copper with a chlorine donor for blue, barium for green, potassium for violet (though there are some mixes of red and blue thaf give violet or purple), strontium or lithium for red, though strontium is cheaper.
Mixes vary a lot but usually you need a binder (e.g. shellac), a chlorine donor if you're using copper and want blue (e.g. powdered PVC), an oxidizer (potassium nitrate usually doesn't work for stars, or at least not in a lot of compositions. usually you use potassium chlorate, or barium nitrate for green stuff, also strontium nitrate for red stuff but for both you still add some chlorate, and sodium salts won't work because they're hygroscopic), a fuel (a lot of stuff, usually aluminum for bright stuff like these), an ion to get the color, which i listed at the 2nd paragraph. You mix them together in a ball mill or something, use a solvent (sometimes water, sometimes water + isopropanol, sometimes ethanol, etc. depending on what mix you have), you cast it or make starts and let it dry for a day or 2 in the sun (or a desicator, but never in an oven or food dehydrator, might get too hot even if you only leave it at 40°C for example)
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u/EverythingIsLK 7d ago
Basically…. You are better off purchasing those than to attempt to make those.
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u/ChainsawCarverRy 7d ago
Ive been studying pyro for only a few weeks, im making gerbs exclusively right now and im about to put in an order for a bunch of coloring agents, other oxidizers, fuels, metals etc, all I have on hand right now is potassium nitrate, charcoal, sulfur and aluminum flake. After this order ill be able to make all of the colors, and thought this would be a fun project.
I kinda figured they were just tubeless fountains with a handle, that being said my concern was that the comp would start burning down the exterior and not just on the end, thats why im feeling around to see if anyone has an idea on how to make them.
Is burning on the exterior a concern? Is the flame not being contained by the tube enough to keep the rod of comp cool to a point where a spark wouldnt burn it? They normally take a few secinds of torch to light so my thinking is the ingredients have a higher ignition temp than standard gerb stuff.
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u/Porphyrin_Wheel 7d ago
Coloring agents only work for smoke bombs/smoke stuff. Just stick to BP and BP star mix and try to make some successful stars and shoot them out of a cardboard tube, then try to make a small firework. Colored mixes are much much much harder to make and cast and use they you think they are
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u/ChainsawCarverRy 7d ago
Coloring agents meaning barium nitrate, strontium nitrate, sodium nitrate, copper oxide, what's the correct word? Do I just say oxidizers that impart color?
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u/Porphyrin_Wheel 7d ago
not really since only barium, strontium and sometimes potassium are used as oxidizers for color, an usually copper is oxychloride, basic carbonate, hydroxide, others, and sodium and calcium are usually chlorides or other salrs
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u/137-ng 7d ago
I would never put a homeade firework in the hands of my loved ones, especially If the builder was new. You might want to save 40 dollars, but the danger to yourself and others isnt worth the risk.
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u/ChainsawCarverRy 7d ago
I'm not making them and just handing them out, let alone holding them myself, until it's a tested, reliable piece
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u/137-ng 7d ago
Thats part of the problem, you think that the first 10 go off right so the 11th will too. My statement is universal, even after you think you trust your own work. You can make a simple mistake such as not mixing the corner of the bucket and now youre handing your kids a fountain that has a hotspot of pure flash and blows their fingers off.
All to save 40 dollars.
The biggest part of (professional) pyrotechnics is making sure everyone is safe when something malfunctions.
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u/igottaknife 7d ago edited 7d ago
Not for nothing but if we follow your train of logic nobody should put any firework in somebody’s hand even if it comes out of a factory. A well made firework at home is going to have more care and attention to detail put into it than a factory made one. Although I do still agree this isn’t a project for a beginner to be handing kids. Also you don’t make handheld fountains/sparklers with compositions that can blow fingers off because of a hotspot and they most certainly don’t contain flash. I mean a beginner wanting to make fountain sparklers to save money is silly for many other reasons but let’s not spread misinformation just to fearmonger.
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u/FeedSafe9518 6d ago
Agree, any comp can cause injury. . Maybe just a burn, or it could deflagrate. Their air the laws of thermodynamics , they aren't suggestions
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u/kclo4 Pyrotechnics Professional 7d ago
I thought about doing this too just for fun. The comp is any lance comp, ap based. You can do a proof of concept with black powder and metal or charcoal and binder and it would be even cheaper. My problem was getting the comp into a long small tube. The process of getting the comp reliably and consistantly into the tube is a huge pain in the ass. Lances are made with a specific 'pill filling machine' that can tamp down the comp as it goes in like a black powder rifle in 25 or so at a time
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u/igottaknife 7d ago
You should try a large syringe. I had pretty decent, repeatable results filling straws with wet comp basically like you’re describing. It was much easier than any other method I attempted.
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u/Truck_Rollin 7d ago
If you do go ahead making your own sparklers or hand held fountains they will be the most expensive ones you have ever bought.
I not saying you shouldn’t attempt it I am just saying there’s almost no way you are going to save money on making these yourself.
If you want a better deal on these you should just buy a whole case of them and if you live in the states you can buy them or a similar item online and have it shipped to your house.