A fountain is a great device for beginners to make. The manufacture of a fountain is safe and easy, and they are reliable and forgiving to error. I like to make fountains using my mini-stars, but you can use almost anything you like. In the presentation I will be making a fountain a little less than 6" in length and 1" ID, I recommend that the beginner start off with a much smaller size. As always, wear the proper safety gear. You can kill yourself making even the most benign devices.
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A Tube - Your tube will need to be thick walled. If the walls are too thin, the fountain will burn through the side and start shooting sparks in a lateral direction. The tube in the demonstration has a 3/16" wall. It's original dimensions were 36" long, 1" ID, 3/16" wall. These can be purchased from Pyro Creations. 1" ID tubes make a very dramatic large fountain. |
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A Rammer - A rod made of non-sparking metal or wood and a mallet will be needed to consolidate the material in the fountain. I use wood because it is cheap, works perfectly, and is disposable. You can buy overpriced aluminum dowels from many pyro distributors if you don't value money.
A Base - I use a piece of cardboard.
A Drill - You are going to need to drill out a choke, you should probably do this by hand or very slowly with a press.
Glue Gun w/ Glue - You'll need this to glue the fountain to the base.
I use a fountain formula by Rev. Lancaster that works great, here is what you need:
Charcoal - I use airfloat charcoal to make the fuel for the fountain, you can add 80 mesh if you want orange sparks.
KNO3 - Potassium Nitrate is the oxidizer that this compo uses
Sulfur - Good ol' S.
(Iron) - Optionally used for sparks. Steel or titanium work well too, but titanium is very expensive, maybe shredded hundred dollar bills are a cheaper substitute.
(stars) - Micro or mini. I prefer mini.
Bentonite Clay and Grog - This makes a good heat resistant choke.
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1) Make the basic fountain compo. Screen together all the ingredients from the Lancaster fountain formula (ID #506 in the formulary). |
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2) Mix in your effect juice. In the demonstration I am using iron and mini-stars in alternating sections, but you can use almost anything. Make sure everything is mixed together so that it is very evenly distributed. If you use metal, make sure that the particle size is large enough to give you sparks and not act as a fuel. |
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3) Ram a clay/grog plug. I use my Tube Block to hold the tube on, recess the plug, and give me a choke drilling guide. Ram the nozzle fairly hard, but do not split the tube. The plug should be as long as it is wide (maybe even a little longer) and firm enough so that when you drill it, it does not crumble apart. The recessed choke is not necessary, you can ram the clay on a flat surface if you like. |
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4) While the fountain is still upside down, pour a section of the mix from step 2 into the fountain that is as deep as the fountain is wide. 5) Ram this with five or so good blows with your dowel from your rubber mallet. You will not crush your microstars. |
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6) Repeat steps 4 and 5 until the fountain is full. |
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7) After the tube is very full, squeeze a bunch of hot glue from the glue gun on to the open end of the tube. This shouldn't ignite the device, the ignition point of black powder is 626 degrees (F). Paper's ignition point is 446 degrees (F). |
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8) When there is enough glue on the end of the tube to make a little dome, stick the fountain to the base with the hot glue you just applied. Secure it to the base with more hot glue if necessary. |
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9) When the hot glue dries, drill a hole in the center of the clay down to the beginning of the powder in the fountain. Do not drill into the powder. You can experiment with different choke sizes. Smaller ID = smaller choke, I am using 5/16" for this 1" ID tube (a large choke). |
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10) All that's left to do is stick an ignition system (fuse) into the hole and set it off. |
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Video of the effect - This is just a clip of the full effect. Fountain performed nicely with the intended bursts, blue shimizu min-stars were used.
Check the test shoots section for more videos of these.
