Part 8

The next most simple combination is that which is called the Bouquet of Chinese Fire. It should be made with, at least, five cases, and will then be found very effective in its performance. Its framework is of very simple construction, and may be made in a few minutes by any boy. The accompanying sketch (fig. 50), will prevent the necessity of any further explanation.

A very pretty piece may be made, representing a tree of silver flowers. Procure a straight piece of deal of any length that you require (the length must be determined by the number of cases that you intend to use). This will answer for the trunk of the tree. To this nail some pieces of lath in the shape given in the adjoining woodcut (fig. 51). On each of these, and at the top of the straight piece, tie a case of Chinese fire, and connect all the mouths of the cases by means of quick-match. When ignited, this piece will present a very beautiful appearance, and may be made a highly satisfactory conclusion to a small exhibition.

It is worthy of remark that all pieces in which Chinese fire is used should be raised to a considerable height from the ground, otherwise they will lose much of their beauty, for the sparks produced by the particles of iron are thrown much farther, and remain visible much longer, on account of their superior size, than those produced by steel, and if they have not a certain distance through which to fall, much of their effect will be thrown away. The post on which I fire nearly all my pieces _stands ten feet out of the ground_. It is made of deal painted with lead-colour, and is about three inches square. It can be taken down or put up at a moment’s notice, as it fits into an oak box sunk in the ground, of the same kind as those used in drying grounds. If you have a post of this kind made, see that the part which fits into the box is _not straight_, but slightly tapered. This will allow of a better fit, and enable you to remove it far more easily when required.

There are many combinations which it will not be at all necessary for me to notice here, for the firing of one of these cases of Chinese fire is not only a beautiful thing in itself, but is also very suggestive of different devices under which this valuable preparation may be employed. If any of my readers should hit upon any unusually good device I shall be glad to hear of it through the publishers of this book; and if my readers, in the course of their experiments, should stumble upon a really good plan for preparing iron borings and steel filings so that they become incorrodible, they will confer a great favour upon the pyrotechnic world by making it known.

Be sure not to forget to first ram into your cases half-a-ladleful of the preparatory fire given above: it will save you many a disappointment. If you prefer a composition a little quicker, add some meal-powder to it.

Having said all that is necessary to make the manufacture of Chinese Fire intelligible, I pass on to consider, in the next place, the subject of Brilliant Fire.

BRILLIANT FIRE.

41.—The points of difference between brilliant and Chinese fires are these:—

1st.—The sparks produced in the combustion of brilliant fire by steel filings are much whiter, but at the same time much smaller and shorter-lived, than those produced by iron borings in Chinese fire.

2nd.—The steel sparks are not thrown to so great a distance, on account of their superior weight and size; but they are much more numerous, and afford a rich tale, or “brush,” as it is termed, of glowing scintillations, rather than a gracefully-falling jet or fountain of large sparks. This very fact, however, of their not being thrown so far from the case out of which they are fired renders them capable of producing an effect in combination of which Chinese fire is incapable. The cases, when arranged in the position of the radii of a circle or spokes of a wheel, will throw a _perfectly straight_ brush of brilliant fire, which will, of course, much more closely represent rays of light emanating from a centre than any fire the sparks of which have a tendency to fall.

3rd.—Another point of difference between the composition containing iron borings and that containing steel filings is that the former should never be employed in the construction of pieces which have motion; for the very motion of the piece, or rather the increased impetus with which the particles of _iron_ are thrown out into the cold air, has the effect of cooling them so rapidly that almost all their beauty is lost. But this is not the case with _steel filings_: they seem almost unaffected by the rapid motion of the piece in which they are employed; and for this reason they possess an advantage which fully makes up for their being so much less showy in their performance than the iron borings.

The cases into which the composition for brilliant fire is rammed need not be so large as those employed for Chinese fire. I employ two sizes—the 1-oz. size for cases that are intended to turn wheels or any revolving pieces, and a smaller size still for those that are to remain perfectly stationary during their combustion.

The fault into which the young pyrotechnist is most likely to fall is that of using a power considerably in advance of his need. In order that you may not do this (for there is always fear of failure when you do), I recommend you _to use no cases for brilliant fire larger than the one-ounce size_. This, you will find, will give you a moving power amply sufficient for any wheels that I suppose you are likely to use, and particularly if you bear in mind the rule, that _increase of power is gained much more safely and much more effectively by an additional number of cases burning at the same time than by any additional force that you can get out of one case_.

The 1-oz. case, as you know by this time, is made round a former exactly half-an-inch in exterior diameter and 12 inches long. The paper for these cases may be cut precisely in the same manner as directed for Chinese fire cases. The imperial board should be cut thus (fig. 52), into twelve equal pieces. Take care that the _long_ side of the board is divided into _three_, and the _short_ into four.

If, however, you think a shorter case sufficient, cut your sheets of paper into eight equal parts, thus (fig. 53), and your imperial board into sixteen pieces—that is, half the length of the strips of paper; this will give you cases about five and a-half inches in length. Both these divisions of paper and board are for the 1-oz. cases.

I will now speak of the smaller sizes, which are used only in fixed pieces, and which are generally called on that account, for the sake of distinction, _fixed cases_.

The former for these is a metal tube 12 inches long and seven-sixteenths of an inch in exterior diameter. For cases of this size you may either use paper and board cut as directed above for the longer 1-oz. cases, or you may divide each sheet of paper into six strips thus (fig. 54), and each sheet of board into twelve pieces half the length of the strips of paper.

For filling either the 1-oz. or the fixed cases it will be evident that you must have at least two drifts for each size that will pass _easily_ into their respective cases—one about 9 inches long in its straight part, and the other from 2 to 3 inches in length.

You must also have a nipple and point over which to ram each different size of case. The exact size of these nipples you will see in the pages of illustrations (figs. 45 and 46).

Use the same mallet and observe the same rules in filling these brilliant fire cases as in filling the cases with Chinese fire.

We are now ready for the compositions. The first given is by far the most beautiful, and most generally used; but being very rapid in its combustion, it must be very carefully and uniformly compressed in the case. No. 2 is of a much quieter character, and may be found useful for some purposes.

BRILLIANT FIRE. No. 1. Meal-powder 4 parts. Bright steel filings 1 part.

Or,

No. 2. Meal-powder 16 parts. Nitre 8 „ Sulphur 3 „ Fine Charcoal 3 „ Bright steel filings 10 „

Neither of these compositions should on any account be mixed before their preparation is absolutely necessary, for their whole beauty depends upon the brightness of the filings at the time of firing.

COMMON AND SPARKLING FIRES.

42. I will now give a few formulas for common and sparkling fires, which will in all probability be found very useful for jets and fixed pieces.

COMMON AND SPARKLING FIRES. No. 1. Meal-powder 4 parts. Charcoal No. 2 1 part.

Or,

No. 2. Meal-powder 16 parts. Nitre 8 „ Sulphur 4 „ Charcoal No. 2 4 „

Or,

No. 3. Meal-powder 16 „ Very fine glass dust 5 „

Or,

No. 4. Meal-powder 8 „ Very finely powdered porcelain 3 „

These four compositions will be found effective for many purposes, but should not be used in cases under the _one-ounce size_. Their great advantage is that they are not in the least degree impaired by keeping. They are to be rammed into the cases in precisely the same manner as directed for Chinese fire.

BRILLIANT FIRE.—EFFECTIVE COMBINATION.

43. But now to return to _brilliant_ fire. I will suppose you to be using some of the first composition given, and to have completed the filling of a few cases. Let us see what we can do with these to put them into effective combination.

Provide a circular disc of hard wood, 6 inches in diameter, and 1 inch thick. This is to form the centre of your piece. Nail to this five spokes of wood at equal distances from one another, and 15 inches long. Nail also to the back of the central disc a strip of wood about 2 feet long, 2 inches wide, and three-quarters of an inch thick (fig. 54). By means of this you can screw the whole piece conveniently to your firing post. On each of the five spokes tie a case of brilliant fire, reported at its end, and connect the mouths of these with quick-match. The effect produced by this piece is very surprising, when we take into account its extreme simplicity. Its beauty may, however, be much enhanced by the addition of a Chinese flyer to its centre; but the manufacture of this auxiliary has not yet been described, and must not be spoken of out of its place.

A simple large wheel of brilliant fire may be made by fastening two cases to each end of a strip of wood about 30 inches long, the centre of which strip is made thick enough to turn steadily on an iron spindle. The cases are tied on at an angle so as to throw a large circle of fire. The mouth of the case at one end is connected with that at the other by means of quick-match. When these two cases are consumed they communicate their fire to the two inner ones by a quick-match, which is led from the tail of the first to the mouth of the second. If two of these pieces are made to revolve on the same spindle _in opposite directions_ a very magnificent brilliant sun will be formed, throwing a circle of rays 20 feet in diameter. The accompanying sketch (fig. 55) will, I trust, make these directions sufficiently intelligible.

A fixed sun may be made with any number of brilliant cases arranged as the radii of a circle, and connected at their mouths with quick-match. But since pieces of this kind may be rendered so much more effective by the addition of other fireworks, it will be useless for me to give drawings of them here. At the point I have sufficiently advanced in this subject to enable you to complete these exhibition pieces in all their beauty I have furnished some designs, from which you may perhaps derive a few useful hints.

I have now, I think, opened to you a wide field for experiment, your success in which depends now upon a careful following out of my directions, and upon the amount of taste and ingenuity of which you are master.

Mr. Newman will supply you with any of the tools mentioned, and either Mr. Darby, or Messrs. Bolton & Co., with any of the ingredients for your compositions; and if you have not fairly astonished your friends on some festive occasion, I do not think the cause will rest with me.

Do not forget the preparatory half-ladleful of slow composition in your cases of brilliant and Chinese fire.

Do not be careless about the manner in which your cases are _primed_. You would feel very foolish if, in firing a five-pointed brilliant star, for instance, like the one sketched above, one or two of your cases were not ignited by the quick-match.

Do not be in a hurry about making your frames. A framework for any piece, once well made, will last for ever. Remember that the concussion from your reports will be an excellent test of the strength of your woodwork.

Lastly, run no risks. Strong compositions have a way of behaving in a very awkward manner if they take fire unexpectedly, or at the wrong time; never, therefore, make compositions till the cases are ready to receive them, and you have time to ram them. And, above all, never leave batches of composition about, for the temptation is very strong to inquiring minds to experiment upon their powers of combustion.

WHEELS OF VARIOUS DEVICES, HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL.

44. You will do well to remember that the remarks that I have already made, under other heads, concerning _device_ are especially applicable to the subject of wheels. I am not giving you designs to lead you to suppose that this or that is _the_ way of accomplishing any one object. There is no limit to the methods by which you may work out any plan, and this you will discover by degrees, as your knowledge of the art of pyrotechny grows riper, and your hands become more dexterous, and your manipulation consequently more easy.

But in the outset of our subject, let me advise you not to attempt to make catherine-wheels—that is, those small spiral wheels which are made by the professionals to sell on the Fifth of November, and seem to be intended for little girls to fire. You have nothing to do with such pieces as these. Your object is to provide _an exhibition_, and you will find it worth your while to bear in mind that the fireworks made by professionals are of two kinds—those made for their _retail_ business, which consists for the most part of _small_ single pieces, and which are papered up very neatly for sale, and those which they prepare for their large exhibitions, and which are in many instances made in an entirely different way from the former. Catherine-wheels cannot, as far as I can see, be employed in combination, and on this account they can form no part of our present work. I am very ready to allow that, when properly made, they are very pretty little things, but, not being available for our immediate purpose, they must be passed over here. In case, however, any one of my readers may happen to be so prejudiced in their favour that he cannot consider his exhibition perfect without them, I may as well say that he can procure them of Mr. Darby quite as economically as he can make them himself, for the rolling and the filling of their cases involves an expenditure of time and the acquisition of a certain “knack,” which, when we consider that the wheel _will only do one thing_ after all, seems like a wilful waste of such perseverance as might be directed much more profitably to some worthier object.

Now, the wheels of which I am about to treat are such as are made by tying on choked cases, filled with a strong composition, to frames of various forms, in such a manner that the recoil of the case during combustion shall have the effect of driving the wheel. The preparation of the composition for this purpose, and the making and filling the cases are exceedingly simple: and, in fact, the only part of wheel-making which requires any degree of nicety is the preparation of the woodwork; for, unless the framework of the wheel be tolerably well balanced, and made to run easily and smoothly on its axis, much of the intended effect of your piece will be lost.

But we had better begin with the cases and compositions, and then proceed to consider the various modes of combination in which they can be employed.

The cases that I use for wheel purposes are of two sizes only—the 2-oz. and the 1-oz. size; and of these two sizes, the one far most commonly useful is the 1-oz. Cases of the 2-oz. size are necessary only for large wheels, where a considerable weight of material has to be set in motion. I make both these sizes of cases of the same length—that is, about 5½ inches long.

The paper for the 2-oz. wheel-cases is to be cut as follows:—Divide each sheet of 70-lb. brown paper into eight equal pieces (see fig. 56), and then divide each sheet of imperial board into ten equal strips. Then proceed to make your cases, pasting and rolling them in precisely the same manner as previously directed, taking especial care that the inner fold of the paper, which lies next the former, is thoroughly saturated with paste, so that it is not loose when the former is drawn out of the case. If this inner edge be left loose, the composition will get behind it, and, upon firing the case, will act as a quick-match, and infallibly burst the whole, and destroy your piece, and not only your piece of pyrotechny, but also your peace of mind; so do not fail to remember this hint.

Your 1-oz. cases for wheels must be made in the same manner, and with the same care. But your imperial board must be cut differently. Cut your 70-lb. paper in the same manner as directed above for 2-oz. cases—into eight equal strips—and your board into pieces of half that size—that is, into sixteen pieces. These divisions will give you cases quite thick enough for all purposes. Of course, each case is to consist of one piece of board and one strip of paper.

You will require no more tools for the filling of these cases than those already mentioned. The operations of choking and ramming are to be performed in the same manner as directed for cases of brilliant and Chinese fire, and the same blocks and nipples are to be employed.

We now come to the compositions with which the cases are to be filled. For these I give you several formulæ, in order that you may be able to vary your fires according to taste.

No. 1. Meal-powder 16 parts. Steel filings 4 „

This is the brilliant composition given in paragraph 41, which is used also for wheels with excellent effect.

WHITE FIRE. No. 2. Meal-powder 16 parts. Sulphur 3 „

Or,

No. 3. Meal-powder 16 parts. Nitre 4 „ Sulphur 2 „ Charcoal (No. 2) 2 „

Or,

No. 4. Meal-powder 20 „ Charcoal (No. 2) 4 „

Or,

No. 5. Meal-powder 16 „ Fine litharge 3 „

Or,

No. 6. Meal-powder 40 „ Nitre 20 „ Sulphur 4 „ Charcoal 3 „ Bright steel filings 6 „ Litharge 2 „

Or,

No. 7. Meal-powder 16 „ Nitre 2 „ Sulphur 2 „ Charcoal (No. 2) 2 „ Glass dust 2 „

Of the above compositions, Nos. 1, 2, and 4 will be found the most generally useful; and of these I prefer No. 4 for all ordinary purposes.

Remember that the compositions for wheel-cases are by far the strongest that are used in the whole range of pyrotechny, and that they must on that account be compressed very evenly and completely in the cases, or they will burn too rapidly, and explode when ignited.

You will find it very advisable to ram a small quantity of the preparatory composition, recommended in paragraph 40, into the cases before putting in the wheel-case composition which you have selected. The cases should be filled till the composition rises to about half-an-inch from their ends—that is, half-an-inch at the end of the case should be left unoccupied by the composition. They should be primed with wetted meal-powder as soon after they are filled as convenient, care being taken that the space which the point of the nipple occupied during the operation of ramming is filled up by the priming.

When the filling and priming of all your cases is accomplished, you will next have to cover them with paper which shall project about an inch beyond each end of the case. The object of this is to enable you to tie in the quick-match which is to connect one case with another. This operation is very easily performed. Cut some ordinary newspaper into strips wide enough to project an inch over each end of your case—that is, _about eight inches wide_—and long enough to go two or three times round the case. It will not be necessary to paste the newspaper strips _all over_. If they are pasted slightly _at each end_ it will be quite enough. The paste at one end of the strip will stick it to the case, and that at the other end will fasten it down so as to prevent it from coming unrolled. The annexed sketch (fig. 58) will show you how the case ought to be covered.

COMMON SINGLE TRIANGLE WHEEL.

45. Now, the first form of wheel of which I shall speak is that usually known by the name of the “_Common Single Triangle Wheel_.” Its manufacture is very simple. Provide a piece of light beech wood, of hexagonal form, each of whose sides is two inches in length (fig. 59).

This hexagonal piece of wood may be about half-an-inch thick. Then bore through its true centre a hole about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, into which glue firmly a piece of wood turned or cut to the shape given in the drawing (fig. 60). Through this piece bore, _in its exact centre_, a hole about a quarter of an inch in diameter, and, when bored, burn it through with a piece of quarter inch iron rod, red hot. This is the hole through which the spindle is to pass which is to form the axle of the wheel. When the operation is finished, the side view of your framework will be like the accompanying sketch (fig. 61). The object of this centre is twofold; first, to obtain a greater steadiness in the motion of the wheel, by increasing the length of the hole through which the spindle runs; and, secondly, to keep the wheel, during its revolutions, from touching against the post into which the spindle is driven—_a precaution never to be forgotten in the case of vertical wheels of all descriptions_.