Cake Rack ideas!

[Stang]

Been looking around for some idea for cakes racks to secure a larger amounts of 500g and 200g cakes.
Here is something I threw together after looking through some other pictures I seen somewhere heh.

This one is quite large 4'x4' so it could probably holy around 12-15 maybe? 500g cakes. Didnt put a plywood bottom on yet.

http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=6151&stc=1

Not sure if this is too big yet or now. Oviously its an ease of moving vs cost. More racks = more t-track to buy.

Do you think that having space between the cakes and the wood would be a problem and allow the cakes to possibly tip over. For example, if using different size cakes in the same row an hving maybe an inch gap?

Do you think if the cakes are not butted up next to each other in each row, that an additional piece of wood would be needed to secure allt he sides? Could probably just brad nail a quick 1x2 or something in place after the layout is known and would be easy to rip off after.

Mainly looking for ideas to save setup time. I can have this all ready in my garage with the slats attached and just move it out versus taking the time to stake everything on the shoot day.

Lastly, anyone else have other ideas besides individual stakes or rebar and tape?

[Birdman]

I don't normally fuss too much with stabilizing 500g consumer cakes as long as they are on flat stable surfaces. I typically just use one stake and wrap some tape around it and the cake. I always stake it on the side facing the audience so there is less chance of it tipping that direction. So I think for 500g cakes you're fine. Smaller cakes are the most prone to tipping so those always get braced well or I tape several together and treat it like a 500g cake. I think you would be fine if you taped some of the cakes together and keep the smaller cakes between the larger ones.

One concern I have taping cakes together or keeping them butted up against each other is one catching on fire and damaging the others. To avoid this I try and organize the cakes so that those in close proximity are fired at or around the same time in the show so fire does have a chance to damage any other good cakes that haven't been shot yet. There is also that rare chance a cake could blow violently enough to damage nearby cakes or damage any bracing in place for other cakes. That's why some spacing is always preferred, in my opinion (e.g. just a space between tubes in mortar racks is preferred). I've never had that happen but I've seen where it can so it's always something I keep in mind. My philosophy is I don't have to mitigate all risks but as long as I'm aware of the risks I can at least have a plan to deal with them should they occur.

[esgrillo]

I just use packing tape. Cheap and fast. I always group cakes that are firing in sequence together and typically use one ematch and fuse the rest to time the cakes allowing some overlap so there is no black sky. In that manner the fire issue is not a problem since they are going off in sequence anyway and that happens quicker than any fire will develop. Really helps you get more out of limited cues too.

I have done thousands of cakes in this manner and place them on plywood decking. Never had anything tip in over 10yrs. You can see the process in just about any of my videos in the beginning when I show set up.

[displayfireworks1]

At Stang , that device you created looks like it has adjustable side boards. Interesting, this assumes electrical firing. What is funny I bet that bottom cakes is a Shogun product. They came out with that top paper matching the mortar layout and size that was under the top paper. I remember covering that in one of my videos.

[6afraidof7]

Stang, Looks like quite a bit of thought with a nice concept. For the floor maybe a 1x3or4 strip down the middle to help with weight, also some triangles screwed into the 'slats' may help secure those cakes of different sizes. I myself, go for something small, and just do combos or small sequences on a small piece of ply about 2' x 2' with maybe a rim of scrap wood. I use small 3 or 4 inch pieces of 2x4 wedged in against the cakes with a 3" screw, plus tape. I agree with Birdman, the fires can be troublesome, so I do space out some of the smaller boards and also set something up like Ed describes putting several in a line for sequential firing.

I always do a double take on those printed tops also.

[displayfireworks1]

That cake with the top paper showing the layout of the mortars is something Shogun Fireworks came out a few years back in 2018. You can hear me talk about it in my 2018 video from the National Fireworks Association
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About one minute in to this video.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klkk6PZxIwg

[6afraidof7]

That is pretty cool Dave, I have not seen the ones that show the effect on the tube. Pretty awesome! Thanks

[WithReport]

Interesting idea. I like the adjustable rails.

I found that 6ft by 22in is a good manageable cake board. I have a bunch build on 2x2 frames. They are easy for two people to carry. Two can fit easily side-by-side in a standard pickup bed. I use a bunch of blocks with pocket screws.

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