Best of AFN VI - Picks up where Best of AFN V leaves off.

All the articles that appeared in American Fireworks News newsletter for the 5 years ending December, 2010.

Over 200 pages jam-packed with up-to-date how-it-is-done fireworks info! Lots of articles on shell construction, rockets, and so much more!

• Preface to the 6^th Edition................................. 5

• Hobby Fireworks Makers Have Value.............. 5

 ADVICE & SMALL DEVICES

•  Simple To Assemble Battle In The Clouds...... 7

• Cones Are Cool.............................................. 10

• Colored Fire Bricks........................................ 14

• Recycling 1.4 Cake Items.............................. 15

• Recycle Instead Of Rolling Your Own............ 15

• "Cap-Bomb" Firecrackers.............................. 16

• Designing Portfires........................................ 17

• Traditional Portfires...................................... 19

• We Don't Need No Stinkin' Portfires!............. 20

• Lead-Free Dragon Eggs................................. 20

• Improved Titanium Sparkler......................... 20

• Humorous & Inexpensive Americana............ 21

• Double-Granatine Effect................................ 24

• Save Your Old Cakes..................................... 25

• Cap Bombs.................................................... 25

• Roman Candle Improver................................ 26

• Streamer Comets In A Nutshell.................... 27

• Making Lampblack........................................ 27

• Even Cheaper Fountain Comp...................... 28

• Lampblack & Comet Tails............................. 28

• Using Titanium In Salutes............................ 29

• Titanium No-No............................................. 29

• Nitrate-Based Strobes................................... 30

• Cutting Visco And Similar Fuses.................. 30

• Burst Charge For Small Shells..................... 31

• Cleaning Ball Mill Jar................................... 31

• The Bishop's Cross........................................ 32

• More Fun With 1.4........................................ 33

• Small Diameter Mortar Tubes....................... 33

• Granulating................................................... 34

• Tip Of The Month........................................... 34

• Chemistry Corner.......................................... 35

• Tip Of The Month........................................... 35

• Chemistry Corner.......................................... 35

• Better Than Rice Hulls?................................ 36

• Warning About Contacts............................... 36

• Punk.............................................................. 37

• Hot Patch....................................................... 38

• All Bamboo Is Not The Same......................... 39

• The Use Of Titanium In Pyrotechnics........... 40

• Sizzling Colored Comets................................ 44

• A Collection Of Star Formulations................ 45

• Don't Overlook Roman Candle Tubes!........... 47

• Quote Of The Month...................................... 47

• Paper Freebies............................................... 47

• Saran Resin................................................... 48

• CMC, Its Properties And Uses....................... 48

• Festival Ball Comets...................................... 49

• Exploding Terrorist Fun Project.................... 50

STARS & STUFF

• Crossette Bursts - Getting It Right................ 53

• Tip Of The Month........................................... 54

• Fine Titanium ............................................... 54

• Chemistry Corner.......................................... 54

• Red Mag Stars From Road Flares ................. 55

• Easy Red Mag Star........................................ 57

• Pyro Quotes................................................... 57

• Quote Of The Week........................................ 57

• Spinning & Hovering Stars........................... 58

• Comets To Falling Leaves.............................. 58

• Square Stars In Square Shells..................... 59

• Bushy-Tailed Spider...................................... 60

• Will The Real Independence Red Please….... 60

• Starting And Rolling Round Stars................. 61

• Using Fine Mesh Magnesium In Stars.......... 62

• Blind Stars: What Are They And Why.......... 63

• Calculated Amount Of Blind Stars .............. 66

• In Aerial Shell Display Fireworks.................. 66

• Extruding Star Comp.................................... 67

• More On Extruding Star Comp...................... 68

• Star Cores From Portland Cement ............... 69

• Tip(S) Of The Month...................................... 69

• Avoiding Sticking Comp In Rolling Stars...... 70

• Perceiving Color In Stars .............................. 70

AERIAL SHELLS & RELATED

• Flying Fish Fuse Shells................................. 71

• Three Stooges Shell Inserts........................... 72

• Must Flash Comp Be Contained To Work?... 73

• Spoulette, Spolette, Spoolette........................ 74

• The Cost Of Building HDPE Mortars............. 75

• Stabilizing Racks........................................... 76

• Handling Large Diameter Shells................... 77

• Still More On Round Paper Shells................. 78

• Further To Handling Large Diameter Shells. 79

• Japanese Shell Break Radii.......................... 80

ROCKETS

• Deluxe Bottle Rockets ................................... 83

• Tip Of The Month........................................... 87

• Quote Of The Month...................................... 87

• Sky Rocket Performance Characteristics...... 88

• Spritzing Your Star Cores............................. 90

• Quote Of The Month...................................... 90

• Transition Pieces........................................... 91

• Rocket Sticks................................................. 92

• Tubes To Make Bottle Rockets...................... 92

• Cheap & Safe Rocket Headings .................... 93

• Quickly Igniting A Flight Of Small Rockets... 93

• Considerations In Hydraulic Pressing.......... 94

STARS & MISC. MANIPULATIONS

• Making One's Own Chems............................ 95

• Tip Of The Month........................................... 97

• Making One's Own Chems II......................... 98

• Making One's Own Chems III...................... 101

• A Little Matter Oft Forgot............................. 103

• Misadventures With White Phosphorus..... 105

• Misadventures With Iodine Crystals .......... 107

• You Got It, Now What Do You Do With It?... 108

• Tip Of The Month......................................... 108

• Misadventures With Pot. Permanganate.... 109

• Farewell To The Trusty Old Triple Beam?... 111

• Ice Fountain - Sparkler In Disguise?.......... 115

• End Plug Insertion Tool............................... 116

• End Plugs For Small-Diameter Tubes......... 118

• Improvised CD Box From Fly Swatter.......... 121

• Building A Floppy For Brush Fires.............. 122

• Comparing Gum Arabic & Guar Gum......... 123

• Static Electricity.......................................... 124

• Sky Lantern Safety...................................... 124

• Drilling Into Titanium Comp....................... 124

• Bad Charcoal Choices................................. 125

• Paulownia Charcoal Again.......................... 127

• Will The Real Retort Method Stand Up....... 128

• Ghost Flames As Motivators........................ 129

• Lead Media For Ball Mills............................ 130

• Fiddlestix..................................................... 131

• The Hazard Of Staple Guns......................... 132

• Nail Board Firing......................................... 133

• Tie One On For The 4th............................... 134

• Quote Of The Month.................................... 135

• Pyro Quotes................................................. 135

• Quick, Safe, Easy Way To Shoot Display  .. 136

 

FUSE, IGNITION & BLACK POWDER

• Rammed Fuses............................................ 137

• Low Tech, Low Budget, Black Powder......... 138

• No More Walking The Finale....................... 139

• Quickmatch Basics..................................... 140

• Pyro Quotes................................................. 141

• Comments On Bill Hoyt's "Make Some Chinese Fuse - American Style"       142

• E-Match Alternative.................................... 143

• Pyrotechnic Fuse Cutting............................ 144

• The Missing Color........................................ 145

• Quote Of The Month.................................... 145

• Another Visco Cutting Method.................... 145

• AC Match..................................................... 146

• Visco Punch................................................. 147

• Cheap & Dirty Electric Ignitors................... 150

• Chicken Fuse.............................................. 152

• Pyrotechnic Fuse Burn Rates..................... 153

• "Skip Burning" Of Visco Fuse...................... 155

 

INDOOR & SFX

• Gerbs For Close Prox Work.......................... 159

• Cautions On Snapping Fingers Article....... 160

• Using Pulling Fireworks In Magic Tricks..... 160

• Lycopodium................................................. 161

• Using Speaker Terminals In Slats.............. 162

• Quote Of The Month.................................... 162

GOOD STUFF TO KNOW AND DO

• Aluminum Basics........................................ 163

• Christmas Crackers.................................... 164

• Revisited...................................................... 164

• Tip Of The Season....................................... 165

• Other Than Christmas Crackers................ 166

• Pao Chuk: Chinese Crackers Explained..... 166

• Quote Of The Month.................................... 167

• What Helpers Need To Bring To A Display? 167

• Fireworks Fun Laying At Your Feet............. 169

• The Art Of Display....................................... 170

• Shooting Displays In Cold Locations........... 171

• Data Dropouts............................................. 172

• Drag Strip Fireworks .................................. 173

• MSDS & LD50.............................................. 174

• Preparing For The Unexpected.................... 175

• Preparing For The Unexpected.................... 177

• Fireworks From The Past............................. 184

• Some Perils And ......................................... 185

• Pleasures Of Pyro EBay............................... 185

• Some Comet Formulas................................ 189

• Triboluminescence...................................... 190

• Hazard Data For Chemicals........................ 191

• Lessons From A Fatal Accident................... 194

• Making Fireworks For Your Own Use.......... 198

• Sequencers Add Creativity To Displays...... 199

• Safety Rating System For Pyro-Chemicals.. 202

• Long Live Freedom!...................................... 204

  Weight: 0.25LB