Artificial fire-works : $b improved to the modern practice, from the minutest to the highest branchesJones, Robert
History
Artificial fire-works : $b improved to the modern practice, from the minutest to the highest branches
Jones, Robert
Fireworks -- Early works to 1800
To prepare your chest, you must lay a quick-match, in all the grooves,
from hole to hole; then take some sky rockets, and rub them in the
mouth, with wet meal powder, and put a bit of match up the cavity of
each, which match, must be long enough, to hang, a little below the
mouth of the rocket; your rockets and chest being prepared, according
to the above directions, put the sticks of the rockets, through the
holes in the top and bottom of the chest, so that their mouths may
rest on the quick-match in the grooves; by which all the rockets, will
be fired at once; for by giving fire to any part of the match, it will
communicate to all the rockets, in an instant. As it would be rather
troublesome, to direct the sticks from the top, to the proper holes in
the bottom, it will be necessary to have a small door in one of the
sides, which when opened, you may see how to place the sticks. Flights
of rockets, being seldom fired at the beginning of any fireworks, for
which reason, they are in danger of being fired, by the sparks from
wheels, &c. Therefore to preserve them, a cover should be made to sit
on the chest, and the door in the side kept shut.
Of Serpents or Snakes for Pots des Aigrettes, Small Mortars, Sky
Rockets, &c.
Serpents for this use, are made from two inches and an half, to seven
inches in length, and their formers from three sixteenths, to five
eights of an inch diameter, but the diameter of the cases, must always
be equal to two diameters of the former: they are rolled and choaked
like other cases, and filled with composition from five eights of an
inch, to one inch and an half high, according to the size of the
mortars, or rockets, they are designed for, and the remainder of the
cases, bounced with corn-powder, and afterwards their ends pinched and
tied close: before they are used their mouths must be primed with wet
meal-powder.
Of Leaders, or Pipes of Communication.
The best paper for leaders, is a large sort of white paper, called
Elephant, which you cut into long slips, two or three inches broad, so
that they may go three or four times round the former, (but not more)
for when they are very thick, they are too strong for the paper which
fastens them to the works, and will sometimes fly off, without leading
the fire: the formers for these leaders, are made from two, to six
sixteenths of an inch diameter, but four sixteenths is the size
generally made use of; the formers are made of smooth brass wire; when
you use them, rub them over with grease, or keep them wet with paste,
to prevent their sticking to the paper, which must be pasted all over;
in rolling of pipes, make use of a rolling board, but use it lightly;
having rolled a pipe, draw out the former with one hand, holding the
pipe, as light as possible with the other, for if it press against the
former, it will stick and tear the paper.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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