First mortar rack build

[89mitch]

Built my first mortar racks cant wait to try them out http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1258&stc=1http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1258&stc=1

[displayfireworks1]

That is interesting how you did that top board , I do not think I ever saw that technique. Do you have carpentry skills? That looks like a tough cut.

[89mitch]

I am very handy at building things and very mechanicly minded. I saw that most designs either bunched them all together tight or slats between each tube for spacers so i took the good ideas from each and combined them. It was not to bad to drill i used my small drill press and a hole saw to cut the holes in the top board and the middle board then wood glue and screwed together. I also took the fiberglass tubes we had left from this year and i had to replug them since the clay had crumbled so i used the holesaw without the drill bit and cut new plugs and pressed them in and tacked them in the wood plugs should hold up better i hope so ill have a total of 4 racks of 5 mortars and 1 rack of 4 mortars. I ordered another 20 hdpe mortar tubes today from pyroboom to get me a nice setup of 44 tubes for shooting.

[89mitch]

http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1260&stc=1http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1261&stc=1http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1262&stc=1http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1263&stc=1http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1264&stc=1http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1265&stc=1Here are some pictures of the ones ive finished just need some paint and im going to put the eyelets on either side to support them with rebar spikes or if im on a solid surface i can mount some feet on them with a few screws.

[89mitch]

The hardest thing so far was choosing the best way of removing the bases off the 10 excalibur tubes without damaging the structure of the tube since the bases are fused to the tubes i ended up using a oscillating tool to cut away the bases leaving the tube fully intact and useable in my new racks.

[displayfireworks1]

You may be the only person I know making you own bottom mortar plugs. I get a lot of questions about that. Do you mind explaining how you determine the size and what type of adapter you use to do it. Did you grind down the inner part of that mortar to make it fit. It looks a little thinner on one side.

[djsmurf]

Only way to go with removing putting the excalibur in racks is cutting the bases like you did. I have not had them in a few years as plenty of can hit just as hard and some have better effects.

How much does each of the single racks weigh? I like the way you built them, just think a bunch of them would be way heavy compared to making 10 shot racks. Nice work either way.

[chriskrc]

Looks good that is a great idea for the top plate.

[89mitch]

The next ones i build will be 10 mortar racks i started with these for using when im hand firing small shows and am just loading and shooting as i go. This gives me 4 racks i can have set and ready to shoot spaced apart so while we are shooting from one rack i can be reloading another.

For the plug i drove out one of the clay plugs and used a measured the diameter and picked up a hole saw that had the same id as the plugs. The tube is even the entire way around i used the belt sander to clean the rough edge off both ends of the plug i missed a little on that one what you see in the picture is some wood flashing covering the edge of the tube. I did taper the plugs on the end going into the tube to help them self center. They are a nice snug fit it will take quite a bit of force to kick them out. Then i used my press to seat them in the tube and secured them with two screws. Ill post the hole saw size up tonight but it is the same for the hdpe tubes and the electric rain fiberglass tubes. Now i just need to find a hdpe distributor near beaver county and i can make my own. I used a standard Milwaukee hole saw with the standard holesaw arbor and just removed the pilot bit so i did not end up with a hole in the middle of my plug. I used the drill press so they are smooth and straight.

[89mitch]

For the 10 shot racks i am thinking of leaving out the spacing plates and just placing the tubes side by side to reduce the weight. These smaller racks do have some weight around 5lbs but i know they are solid.

[89mitch]

I replugged all the fiberglass tubes due to the original clay plugs deteriorating after one shooting so i decided to replace them with the wood plugs and see how they hold up

[PapaBearPyro]

I do my plugs the same way, a Milwaukee hole dozer (brand not important) 2 inch hole saw (1.91 inch i.d which makes a 1.91 inch o.d plug)- just remove the arbor and use a drill press and you can crank them out by the dozen. I tamp them in the tube and use a pneumatic staple gun-presto. PBP

[89mitch]

It is a 2 1/8" hole saw that i used it gave me a snug fit like i wanted

[89mitch]

Just found a local pipe supplier and picked up some its geothermal pipe

[Derby187]

Don't know the weight of the wood structure or plugs or fiber glass tubes but dr9 is .77lb/ft & dr11 is .64lb/ft if anyone was guesstimating rack weight...

[215less]

nice rack setup i must say. thumbs up

[89mitch]

Just finished the new 10 shot rack design last night and put it together1321

[89mitch]

If anyone needs dimentions or help let me know

[Pyro Paul]

Is that 7/16 osb you're using for the top and side rails?

[89mitch]

1/2" osb for the top and sides and 2x3 for the frame. Frame is glued and screwed and the osb is glued and stapled and screwed

[Kenny East]

I've been using 2" poplar dowels cut to about 1.5-2" works good for hdpe and the 2" cardboard tubes i got a while back... Only issue i have is it's not end grain so, i can split if you don't pre-drill pilot holes