New Member from Missouri

[AstroEd]

I am new to this forum and fairly new to the world of Fireworks. I am a 51 year old Disabled Veteran who loves Fireworks, (A bit worried I look strange on 4th of July as I have no family or children to do the shows for just myself and the neighbors enjoyment)

For the past 3 years I have bought $300-$800 worth of various firworks I live alone so have only fired one at a time. Lots of walking and slightly boring for the spectators I think.
This year I am hoping to try something new for the first time. I want to tie in several fireworks together with extra fuse (This is all new to me and have no clue how to judge timing or fuse length BUT still want to try, I went online to search for the Fireworks I have but the search results bring up the same name but TOTALLY different fireworks so I can not find the info on their duration or effects) an example I have a Brothers Fireworks Desperado box set left over from last year I was seting up one at a time lighting walking back to watch repeat with 2, 3, then 4 versions This year I hope to try and use the 40' of 25'/sec fuse I bought to tie them together to do 5 at a time slightly delayed from each other in a 2,3,4,3,2 format. Once I learn how to build a rack for them (Sadly I do not own wood working tools like saws and such).
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And/or to tie together my Kill Zone and two Wicked ones with the wickeds on either side of the Kill Zone but I have no idea how the timing works or how long each one lasts. I was told the Kill Zone was a slow effect thought it would be a nice middle of the show item.
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I am also looking into maybe trying to buy a Cobra Wireless Firing System but can not decide on the 18R or 18R2 scripted for future proofing and syncing to music later as I learn more.

I will post pictures of all the fireworks I have now I am hoping they will be all that I need for a decent show if I can link some together. Please any tips on what I need don't need Or for the future the best bang for the buck types of fireworks to get for a decent show from my Driveway.

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[AstroEd]

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[AstroEd]

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[Rick_In_Tampa]

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Ed - Nice assortment you have there. You certainly have enough to make a nice little show. As far as suggestions go, here's what I have to offer.

IMHO spending half your annual budget on a Cobra firing system is a waste. Unless you're shooting 20-30 cases, I'd hold off on that. If the goal is to not have to hand light each cake one at a time, you can accomplish that easily and cheaply by buying a sheet of plywood, some liquid nails, and a few rolls of fuse.

Timing is always a problem. It's hard to tell how long a cake will burn unless there's a video available to view. I did a little searching and I couldn't find any videos of what you have. So at best I'd be guessing right along with you. For what it's worth, the small 200G cakes I buy normally burn at about 20 seconds each. The 500G cakes are generally between 22 and 52 seconds.

I never buy a firework unless I can watch a video to know what it looks like first. That also comes with the added advantage of letting me know how long it's going to burn. In your case, that ship has sailed, so you're going to need to take a SWAG at it.

Once you make a stab at how long each one burns, you just need to buy the right speed fuse to tie them all together. It's just a simple matter of basic math at that point. Based on what I'm seeing in your stash, you would probably do well to buy a few rolls of 10 sec per ft fuse and mount everything to a 4'x8' sheet of plywood. Glue everything down with liquid nails and you should be good to go. If you allow 20 seconds per 200G cake, obviously, you'll use 2' of fuse between each cake. If you want some overlap and more "stuff" in the air at the same time, use less fuse and/or mount the cakes closer together. It's no more complicated than that. Do a search on You Tube for "how to fuse fireworks" and you'll see tons of videos on how to fuse your cakes together. Most folks use zip ties or tape. If you want to use tape, I would highly recommend the U-Haul box tape. That stuff will stick ice cubes together!

As for the Brothers Fireworks Desperado mortar set... That's a different animal altogether. You're going to need to buy some mortar racks or make your own. Like you, I don't have woodworking tools. (And I'm a cheap SOB!) So I went the milk crate route. You can buy a standard plastic milk crate from Home Depot for about $10. Each crate will fit 25 HDPE DR-11 mortar tubes. You can get those online for about $3 each. Once you have the crates and tubes, you can load them any way you want and use any type fuse you want. Or no fuse at all! Last year I had one crate where I just wired each mortar to the mortar next to it. Nothing extra to buy! I'll post a pic of what I have this year so you can see what I'm talking about.

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I hope this helps. If you need/want any more info, don't hesitate to ask!

Rick

P.S. Thank you for your service!! (I'm retired AF myself)

[AstroEd]

Rick, Thank you for your reply and I like your mortar rack, I am hoping to find the dimensions buy the stuff at Lowes or Home Depot and see if they will cut it all to proper length and I will assemble at home, One main reason for the desire to go with a Cobra system is I had a Left Total hip replacement 1 Month and 2 weeks ago and it still hurts to kneel and stoop and bend too much. Thought I could get some help wiring/fusing from a neighbor then sit back and control it all in somewhat comfort.

Those few pictures of what I have cost me around $1000 maybe a bit more, Heck the ones in your quote were almost $800 of it. I normally can not afford it but had 2 years of Tax refund to put toward it. I wish I had a license to sell so I could get them cheaper LOL (I know it probably does not work that way).

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Rick, Thank you for your reply and I like your mortar rack, I am hoping to find the dimensions buy the stuff at Lowes or Home Depot and see if they will cut it all to proper length and I will assemble at home, One main reason for the desire to go with a Cobra system is I had a Left Total hip replacement 1 Month and 2 weeks ago and it still hurts to kneel and stoop and bend too much. Thought I could get some help wiring/fusing from a neighbor then sit back and control it all in somewhat comfort.

Those few pictures of what I have cost me around $1000 maybe a bit more, Heck the ones in your quote were almost $800 of it. I normally can not afford it but had 2 years of Tax refund to put toward it. I wish I had a license to sell so I could get them cheaper LOL (I know it probably does not work that way).


Wow... I'm guessing you're buying everything retail, yes? If so, check out WF Boom. I buy from their sister store every year and I get 40% off if I buy in March. when you buy wholesale, your budget is going to go a LOT further even when you include the shipping cost.

Home Depot (and I assume Lowes) will cut the boards for you. I bought my wood from HD and had them cut 4'x8' sheets of plywood in half so I had two 2'x8' sheets. Then I screwed some 1"x2"x8' boards underneath to add support using deck screws. Have HD cut 1 of those 1"x2"x8' boards into 2' sections and you have the 4 lateral cross supports. I'll post a picture of my boards so you see what I'm talking about.

Start out with two 2'x8' boards and grow from there. It's a nominal investment and you can reuse them forever if you keep them dry throughout the year.

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By the way... That pile of fireworks cost me $1600 which included the 150 mortars in the picture I posted earlier. That $1600 also included shipping. So wholesale is definitely the way to go.

[Crab107]

Ed - Nice assortment you have there. You certainly have enough to make a nice little show. As far as suggestions go, here's what I have to offer.

IMHO spending half your annual budget on a Cobra firing system is a waste. Unless you're shooting 20-30 cases, I'd hold off on that. If the goal is to not have to hand light each cake one at a time, you can accomplish that easily and cheaply by buying a sheet of plywood, some liquid nails, and a few rolls of fuse.

Timing is always a problem. It's hard to tell how long a cake will burn unless there's a video available to view. I did a little searching and I couldn't find any videos of what you have. So at best I'd be guessing right along with you. For what it's worth, the small 200G cakes I buy normally burn at about 20 seconds each. The 500G cakes are generally between 22 and 52 seconds.

I never buy a firework unless I can watch a video to know what it looks like first. That also comes with the added advantage of letting me know how long it's going to burn. In your case, that ship has sailed, so you're going to need to take a SWAG at it.

Once you make a stab at how long each one burns, you just need to buy the right speed fuse to tie them all together. It's just a simple matter of basic math at that point. Based on what I'm seeing in your stash, you would probably do well to buy a few rolls of 10 sec per ft fuse and mount everything to a 4'x8' sheet of plywood. Glue everything down with liquid nails and you should be good to go. If you allow 20 seconds per 200G cake, obviously, you'll use 2' of fuse between each cake. If you want some overlap and more "stuff" in the air at the same time, use less fuse and/or mount the cakes closer together. It's no more complicated than that. Do a search on You Tube for "how to fuse fireworks" and you'll see tons of videos on how to fuse your cakes together. Most folks use zip ties or tape. If you want to use tape, I would highly recommend the U-Haul box tape. That stuff will stick ice cubes together!

As for the Brothers Fireworks Desperado mortar set... That's a different animal altogether. You're going to need to buy some mortar racks or make your own. Like you, I don't have woodworking tools. (And I'm a cheap SOB!) So I went the milk crate route. You can buy a standard plastic milk crate from Home Depot for about $10. Each crate will fit 25 HDPE DR-11 mortar tubes. You can get those online for about $3 each. Once you have the crates and tubes, you can load them any way you want and use any type fuse you want. Or no fuse at all! Last year I had one crate where I just wired each mortar to the mortar next to it. Nothing extra to buy! I'll post a pic of what I have this year so you can see what I'm talking about.

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I hope this helps. If you need/want any more info, don't hesitate to ask!

Rick

P.S. Thank you for your service!! (I'm retired AF myself)

Rick has a nice set up right?? Makes me jealous. Welcome to the forum!! Im knew to fireworks. Did most of my just like you have been! This year i have tied some fuse together to send my mortars up in simulataneous and conzecutive orders...jst have to reload my tubes each time because i only have 14.
But I LOVE THIS SITE...everyone is friendly and helpful. Dave has some good videos posted on many things and ive used some of them for my fuses. Im currently headed to the store now for some smoke, fountains and one more cake..going to design my own finale!!

Glad youre here and welcome!!

[AstroEd]

Rick, thank you for your service as well my friend, I was a coward and went Navy Subs (NO BUBBLEHEAD COMMENTS) I figured if I were to drown at sea I wanted to be as close to the bottom as possible. LOL

Thanks for the tips heading to Home Depot in a bit to get the plywood, also want to try to get one mortar rack parts cut.

I picked up some fuse 3mm/10' 4 for $5.00 each 25 sec/foot total $20 yesterday.
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Then today I found these for 2.99 each $11.96 for 20' each, man was I ticked at what I paid for the 10'
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I need to get over the idea that to do a better show each year I have to spend more money, and learn what fireworks do what and what works together to accent each other.

[AstroEd]

Not sure why my images are rotating sideways.

[AstroEd]

Crab107 thanks for the welcome, I have so much to learn, already getting ahead of myself dreaming of ATF license to use 1.3 stuff LOL

[PyroJoeNEPA]

Welcome to the Forum Ed. USAF (1969-1973) here. The best way for you to start out is with fusing your cakes. Possibly next year you can budget something in for an "entry level" chinese system that will give you 32 cues for a couple hundred bucks. Much less than investing in the Cobra. Also, you will save that much by "smart buying"--as you get deeper into the hobby you will find where the best buys are & also by shopping "off season" you will get a lot more product for your dollar spent. Read thru some of the threads on here--there is a lot of info on how people set their shows up.
"Non Sibi Sed Patriae!"

[AstroEd]

Thank you for your service and the reply also love your "Non Sibi Sed Patriae!" Wonder how many folks know what it means..

I am heading to Home Depot now for some 4x4 plywood not sure 4x8 will fit in my Prius lol, liquid nails.
I just ordered 3 6 tube mortar racks from wfboom.com hope they arrive in time, if not I will liquid nail the desperado tubes to a board for this year.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Rick, thank you for your service as well my friend, I was a coward and went Navy Subs (NO BUBBLEHEAD COMMENTS) I figured if I were to drown at sea I wanted to be as close to the bottom as possible. LOL

Thanks for the tips heading to Home Depot in a bit to get the plywood, also want to try to get one mortar rack parts cut.

I picked up some fuse 3mm/10' 4 for $5.00 each 25 sec/foot total $20 yesterday.
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Then today I found these for 2.99 each $11.96 for 20' each, man was I ticked at what I paid for the 10'
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I need to get over the idea that to do a better show each year I have to spend more money, and learn what fireworks do what and what works together to accent each other.

A coward?! Are you kidding me? Takes some pretty big stones in my opinion to live and work inside a tube hundreds of feet under the water. No way would I do that. It would scare the s--t out of me!

Good luck with the build. Again, IMHO, it's part of the fun of being a pyro. Every little project inspires the next bigger, better, badder project. Before you know it, you're dreaming in 1.3G! lol.

Fusing will drive you crazy. Way too many options. Visco fuse, fast fuse, perfect fuse, safety fuse, paper fuse, quick fuse etc. and so on. How's a guy (or gal!) supposed to keep all this stuff straight?! I've got a big zip-lock bag full of smaller bags of fuse with the burn time written on them. That's the only way I can keep it all straight. I ordered 5 rolls of 10 sec fuse this year and I think I only used 1. It's nuts.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Rick has a nice set up right?? Makes me jealous. Welcome to the forum!! Im knew to fireworks. Did most of my just like you have been! This year i have tied some fuse together to send my mortars up in simulataneous and conzecutive orders...jst have to reload my tubes each time because i only have 14.
But I LOVE THIS SITE...everyone is friendly and helpful. Dave has some good videos posted on many things and ive used some of them for my fuses. Im currently headed to the store now for some smoke, fountains and one more cake..going to design my own finale!!

Glad youre here and welcome!!

No need to be jealous Crab. I'm just a little fish in a big pond. Still have lots to learn. I figure if I throw enough money at it, eventually I'll get it right! lol.

Check out the milk crate rack thing. 25 tubes in one crate. No building anything! Might save you some reloading time. ;-)

[AstroEd]

Wow... I'm guessing you're buying everything retail, yes? If so, check out WF Boom. I buy from their sister store every year and I get 40% off if I buy in March. when you buy wholesale, your budget is going to go a LOT further even when you include the shipping cost.

Home Depot (and I assume Lowes) will cut the boards for you. I bought my wood from HD and had them cut 4'x8' sheets of plywood in half so I had two 2'x8' sheets. Then I screwed some 1"x2"x8' boards underneath to add support using deck screws. Have HD cut 1 of those 1"x2"x8' boards into 2' sections and you have the 4 lateral cross supports. I'll post a picture of my boards so you see what I'm talking about.

Start out with two 2'x8' boards and grow from there. It's a nominal investment and you can reuse them forever if you keep them dry throughout the year.

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By the way... That pile of fireworks cost me $1600 which included the 150 mortars in the picture I posted earlier. That $1600 also included shipping. So wholesale is definitely the way to go.

Rick I went with 3 4x4 boards I was concerned about 4x8 fitting in my Prius with my dogs in the car. I bought a large tube of liquid nails and the device to squeeze it out. I was advised by the person I bought the fireworks from NOT to use liquid nails as he was worried about the fireworks heat loosening the bond, But I will trust the judgment of what I have read here. I have to go back tomorrow for some boards to use for support as they were closing by time I got there. I aso will drill holes in for some rope so I can drag them out to the spot on the driveway as I can not lift much yet.

[StigMatic]

Hello fellow pyro from chicago,IL :)

[AstroEd]

I had to cancel my order for the 3 6 tube mortar racks as with shipping it was way more than those items were worth, I have 48 12" HDPE DR11 plugged mortar tubes ordered, will look online for the best rack design (If you all know of any good sites that give step by step instructions and measurements and best screws to use etc. let me know. I can find and try to make my own, I will post images if I can do it. I need to get dimensions for 6 and 12 tube racks as I see in my mind 6 tubes left and right and a 12 tube in the middle of the driveway.

Was still thinking about getting the Cobra system, but I also want to by a new 130mm telescope for my Astro imaging LOL so not sure yet but I better decide soon.

This is my OTHER hobby.
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[AstroEd]

StigMatic: Hi there Neighbor!

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Rick I went with 3 4x4 boards I was concerned about 4x8 fitting in my Prius with my dogs in the car. I bought a large tube of liquid nails and the device to squeeze it out. I was advised by the person I bought the fireworks from NOT to use liquid nails as he was worried about the fireworks heat loosening the bond, But I will trust the judgment of what I have read here. I have to go back tomorrow for some boards to use for support as they were closing by time I got there. I aso will drill holes in for some rope so I can drag them out to the spot on the driveway as I can not lift much yet.

Awesome Ed!! Sounds like you're on your way. Not sure why the fireworks guy told you that. I've never heard of an instance where a cake came loose from the board because the heat melted the liquid nails bond loose. Never. Just be sure to remove the thin flimsy paper from the bottom of the cake to expose the cardboard or wood panel on the bottom, and apply the liquid nails to that. You can even set something on top of the cakes to make them bond better to the boards if you want. If you use enough liquid nails and remove the paper from the bottom of the cake, it's not going anywhere!

Just a thought... If you're going to drill holes to run rope through to drag the boards, you might want to consider using wheels on the other end to make the job easier. Something like this: http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-5535S/Casters-and-Wheels/Standard-Polyolefin-Caster-Swivel-4-x-1-1-4?pricode=WY236&utm_source=Bing&utm_medium=pla&utm_term=H-5535SQ2&utm_campaign=Material%2BHandl Looks like you can get them for $9 each.

[Crab107]

I had to cancel my order for the 3 6 tube mortar racks as with shipping it was way more than those items were worth, I have 48 12" HDPE DR11 plugged mortar tubes ordered, will look online for the best rack design (If you all know of any good sites that give step by step instructions and measurements and best screws to use etc. let me know. I can find and try to make my own, I will post images if I can do it. I need to get dimensions for 6 and 12 tube racks as I see in my mind 6 tubes left and right and a 12 tube in the middle of the driveway.

Was still thinking about getting the Cobra system, but I also want to by a new 130mm telescope for my Astro imaging LOL so not sure yet but I better decide soon.

This is my OTHER hobby.
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Astro!!! Dude!! those pics are AWESOME!!!

And to Rick...i am certainly going to do milk crates for my racks. Just not for the fourth:( dont have time to get the tubes in. But im in the process of building my finale...im stoked about it!! Im going to post a pic of my layout when im done

[AstroEd]

Rick thanks I thought about wheels myself.

[AstroEd]

Well no fireworks for me this year, I thought today was the 3rd, and have not built my mortar racks yet so no time to do it now with out tools was hoping Lowe's would cut what I needed to size but they are too busy. Thought about 12 cinder blocks with sand around the mortar tube but was not sure what I would do with the sand after or the blocks. Also in a funk and feeling down, Oh well I will have plenty of time to get ready for next year and learn proper setup and use of my new Cobra system, and won't have to buy any fireworks as I have over $1000 worth now.