I would have put this in the "pyrotechnics" area but as it is my first post i thought i would just play it safe.

during my searches in the forum i realised that i couldn't find any recipes for the most classic of all fireworks (except maybe the skyrocket) firecrackers. as i live in australia anything that burns much faster than wood has been banned, but i have found a fairly simple (though a tad expensive) source of BP, model rocket engines. a pack of 3 c-grade engines costs around AUD $20. from each of these engines 3-4 crackers can be made. once the engines have been obtained a slit must be made lengthwise and the thick cardboard tubing unwound this should leave a solid mass of BP. this must then be ground up in a CLAY mortar and pestle or ball milled.
once you have the powder, a casing for your cracker must be made. this is done by wrapping a 20 by 5 cm strip of paperaround a dowel 1cm diameter, a strip of wood glue should hold it together well enough, endcaps should be cut from the dowel and should be 0.5cm long. one endcap is glued on and a hole for a fuse is cut halfway up the tube, i simply use a common 8 inch sparkler cit in half as a fuse, this is then inserted into the hole and the tube is HALF filled with BP, this will serve to preserve your BP reserves and it also tends to create a louder bang. the other endcap is then glued on and left to set overnight.
Adding the material from one 8 inch sparkler to the mix and taking out some BP to ensure that it only fills up halfway will create some rather nice sparks to fly out.

The fun part about "home-made" fireworks is that well, they're home-made. Even if everything you need, to make pyrotechnic compositions is banned, spending AUD $20 on rocket engines to tear apart and salvage BP does not sound like a good idea to me. Besides, rockets are more fun than plain ol' crackers. There are certain materials required by amateurs that are exotic enough to warrant scrounging for , but BP is definitely NOT one of them.:rolleyes:

There are laws everywhere, and everyone finds it difficult to get hold of material. Even sulfur and chlorates are banned here, and I'm sure it's the same story in other parts of the world too, but that doesn't stop determined-minded people from getting what they want.

Sorry for the ranting, but the point I'm trying to make is don't stoop to such levels as having to recover bp from rocket motors. Get some KNO3, make/get some charcoal, and make some bp of your own.

Hmm, I don't know about things being banned, I was in buying 100m of green visco fuse today, and with a little social engineering (ie, not looking like a cop and knowing something about the subject.), you can get just about any type of firework. Throw enough money around and they will sell you diplay items as well :)

I even thought about selling Pyro stuff on eBay for aussies, as it's percieved as being so hard to get. The fireworks shops here (guess where....) will send anything mail-order to anywhere in Aus, depending on couriers, all you have to do is phone and ask them. or look at the websites.

http://cadaverine.net/canberra/shops.html#crackers
http://www.in2fireworks.com/
http://www.actfireworks.com.au/retail.html

$20 would have got you a box of 100 k203's (decent 2" long match-cracker maroons)

the moral of the story? .. search harder.

well, sulfer and charcoal r easy enough to get but my real problem is the KNO3, i checked withseveral chem. wholesalers but the least they sell is 500g for AUD$60 i am going to ask the local high school if i can buy some soon

for KNO3...

read up a little on Hydroponics, so you know a bit about the subject, Then either go to a Rural Supply place, a large Gardening Shop, or a Hydroponics place, ask for Potassium Nitrate, and say it's for a hydro setup.

Rural supply places will sell you 50 or 25kg bags for around $1/kg without any fuss,
Gardening joints usually get the 50kg bags and repackage it into 1kg & 5kg bags, and sell it for twice the price..again, no fuss.
Hydro stores will sell you 1, 5 or 10kg bags relatively cheaply, though they may quiz you about what you are using it for. Pretty funny for a shop that is basically selling items for growing dope.. Just tell them to shut the fuck up :)

Though if you manage to strike up a friendship with the owner of a Hydro store, they can be the most useful friends you'll ever make in this business & will order you all manner of naughty items.

I've never had to go to ChemSupply, Sigma or Lomb in Oz, though I'm considering it for some truly hard to get stuff shortly. Anyone got a common source for Strontium for reds?

edited to add..

Attitude is everything. KNO3 isn't an illegal chemical, so march in like you expect to be sold it without any problems, if they complain, tell them you've bought it before, what's the problem now? it's not illegal. etc. If you walk in like a scared schoolkid they are probably justified in not selling it to you. After all, Your using it for a perfectly legal hydro setup growing orchids arent you?? ;)

I've said it before, I'll say it again. (great OTC survey)

Strontium Carbonate: potters supply shop
Barium Carbonate: potters supply shop
Antimony oxide, copper oxide, lithium carbonate, manganese oxide, sodium silicate, iron oxide, blah, blah, blah, : all from a potters supply shop!

Primary use for these things is in glazes, but they wont bat an eyelid, as they will assume you are a potter, and thats want you want the stuff for!

Thanks Tuatara, I should have been a bit more specific though..

I already have Strontium Carbonate, from the aforementioned pottery supply... It seems to make a fairly weak red though, I'd much prefer to try some Strontium Nitrate.

So convert it to the nitrate with nitric acid. Carbonate + acid -> acid salt + CO2 + H2O. You have KNO3, you can make HNO3.

Ahh, I didn't think it was that simple, but there you go.. thanks!, I'll try it out.. :)

I should be completely finished my OTC Australia pdf soon so thats something to look out for! So any ozzies please email me pics to - blindreeper@xmail.net

my local high skool agreed to sell me some once i bullshited my way through their bunch of questions, btw thanks for the tip about the hydro and gardening shop, isnt it great that shops still sell these nice safe chemicals ;)

Question, whats with spelling school "skool"? My little sister does the same thing at 14 years old.

Usually because they think it is a 'kool' way to spell school :rolleyes:.

syndicate7, you should be careful with what you say to your teachers. You most likely have just put yourself on their mental 'list' of students that need to be watched for malicious behaviour, that is if you were not already on it :rolleyes:.

Also please word your posts in an intelligent manner. Punctuation is your friend :).

Allowing newbies to find sources of precursors and information themselves is part of the screening process. If they make it past the first few steps without any loss of enthusiasm, only then can you trust them with any further information you give to them. Spoonfeeding doesn't help anyone.

Sorry about the spelling of school, anyway the reason I even bothered asking my school is because I am on very good terms with my chemistry teacher. This guy showed us how to make thermite in year 8! For some reason i dont think i'm on his mental list just yet.