crackers, scrolls, or any thing else, according to your fancy,
remember always to put a ladle-full of meal-powder into each head,
which will be enough to burst the head and disperse the stars, or
whatever it contains.
_Decorations for Sky-rockets._--Sky-rockets may be decorated according
to fancy. Some are headed with stars of different sorts, such as
tailed, brilliant, white, blue, and yellow stars, &c. Some with gold
and silver rains; others with serpents, crackers, fire-scrolls, and
marrons; and some with small rockets and other devices, as the maker
pleases.
LENGTH OF ROCKET-STICKS.
For rockets of 6 lb. 0 oz. the stick must be 14 ft. 10 in. long
4 0 12 10
2 0 9 4
1 0 8 2
0 8 6 6
0 4 5 3
Having your sticks ready, cut on one of the flat sides at the top a
groove the length of the rocket, and as broad as the stick will allow;
then on the opposite flat side cut two notches, for the cord which
ties on the rocket to lie in; one of these notches must be near the
top of the stick, and the other facing the neck of the rocket; the
distance between these notches may be easily known, for the top of the
stick should always touch the head of the rocket. When your rockets
and sticks are ready, lay the rockets in the grooves in the sticks,
and tie them on. We will now proceed to the charge for sky-rockets.
ROCKETS OF FOUR OUNCES.
lb. oz.
Meal-powder 1 4
Saltpetre 0 4
Charcoal 0 2
ROCKETS OF EIGHT OUNCES.
lb. oz.
Meal-powder 1 0
Saltpetre 0 4
Brimstone 0 3
Charcoal 0 1-1/2
ONE POUND.
lb. oz.
Meal-powder 2 0
Saltpetre 0 8
Brimstone 0 4
Charcoal 0 2
Steel-filings 0 1-1/2
SKY-ROCKETS IN GENERAL.
lb. oz.
Saltpetre 4 0
Brimstone 1-1/2 0
Charcoal 1 12
Meal-powder 0 2
LARGE SKY-ROCKETS.
lb. oz.
Saltpetre 4 0
Meal-powder 1 0
Brimstone 1 0
ROCKETS OF A MIDDLING SIZE.
lb. oz.
Meal-powder 1 0
Charcoal 1 0
Saltpetre 3 0
Sulphur 2 0
ROCKET STARS.
WHITE STARS.
lb. oz.
Meal-powder 0 4
Saltpetre 0 12
Sulphur vivum 0 6
Oil of spike 0 2
Camphor 0 5
BLUE STARS.
lb. oz.
Meal-powder 0 8
Saltpetre 0 4
Sulphur 0 2
Spirits of wine 0 2
Oil of Spike 0 2
VARIEGATED STARS.
lb. oz.
Meal-powder 0 3-1/2
Saltpetre 0 4
Sulphur vivum 0 2
Camphor 0 2
BRILLIANT STARS.
lb. oz.
Saltpetre 0 8-1/2
Sulphur 0 1-1/2
Meal-powder 0 0-3/4
Worked up with spirits of wine only.
COMMON STARS.
lb. oz.
Saltpetre 1 0
Brimstone 0 4
Antimony 0 4-3/4
Isinglass 0 0-1/2
Camphor 0 0-1/4
Spirits of wine 0 0-1/4
TAILED STARS.
lb. oz.
Meal-powder 0 2
Brimstone 0 2
Saltpetre 0 2
Charcoal (coarsely ground) 0 0-3/4
STARS OF A FINE COLOUR.
lb. oz.
Sulphur 0 1
Meal-powder 0 1
Saltpetre 0 1
Camphor 0 0-1/4
Oil of turpentine 0 0-1/4
RAINS.
GOLD RAIN FOR SKY-ROCKETS.
lb. oz.
Saltpetre 0 8
Brimstone 0 2
Glass-dust 0 1
Antimony 0 0-3/4
Brass-dust 0 0-1/4
Saw-dust 0 0-1/4
SILVER RAIN.
lb. oz.
Saltpetre 0 8
Brimstone 0 2
Charcoal 0 4
Steel-dust 0 0-1/4
_To fix one Rocket on the top of another._--When sky-rockets are fixed
one on the top of another, they are called _towering rockets_, on
account of their mounting so very high. Towering rockets are made
after this manner: Fix on a pound rocket a head without a collar; then
take a four-ounce rocket, which may be headed or bounced, and rub the
mouth of it with meal-powder wetted with spirit of wine: this done,
put it in the head of a large rocket with its mouth downwards; but
before it is put in, stick a bit of quick-match in the hole of the
clay of the pound rocket, which match should be long enough to go a
little way up the bore of the small rocket, to fire it when the large
rocket is burnt out. As the four-ounce rocket is too small to fill the
head of the other, roll round it as much tow as will make it stand
upright in the centre of the head: the rocket being thus fixed, paste
a single paper round the opening of the top of the head of the large
rocket. The large rocket must have only half a diameter of charge
rammed above the piercer; for, if filled to the usual height, it
would turn before the small one takes fire, and entirely destroy the
intended effect: when one rocket is headed with another, there will be
no occasion for any blowing powder; for the force with which it goes
off will be sufficient to disengage it from the head of the first
fired rocket. The sticks for these rockets must be a little longer
than for those headed with stars, rains, &c.
_Caduceous Rockets._--They are such as, in rising, form two spiral
lines, by reason of their being placed obliquely, one opposite to the
other; and their counterpoise in the centre, which causes them to rise
in a vertical direction. Rockets for this purpose must have their ends
choked close, without either head or bounce; for a weight at the top
would be a great obstruction to their mounting. No caduceous rockets
ascend so high as single, because of their serpentine motion, and
likewise the resistance of air, which is much greater than two rockets
of the same size would meet with if fired singly.
The sticks for this purpose must have all their sides equal, and the
sides should be equal to the breadth of a stick proper for a
sky-rocket of the same weight as those you intend to use, and made to
taper downwards as usual, long enough to balance them, one length of a
rocket from the cross stick, which must be placed from the large stick
six diameters of one of the rockets, and its length seven diameters;
so that each rocket, when tied on, may form, with the large stick, an
angle of 60 degrees. In tying on the rockets, place their heads on the
opposite side of the cross stick; then carry a leader from the mouth
of one into that of the other. When these rockets are to be fired,
suspend them between two hooks, or nails, then burn the leader through
the middle, and both will take fire at the same time. Rockets of 1 lb.
are a good size for this use.
_Honorary Rockets._--These are the same as sky-rockets, except that
they carry no head nor report, but are closed at top, on which is
fixed a cone; then on the case, close to the top of the stick, is tied
on a two-ounce case, about five or six inches long, filled with a
strong charge, and pinched close at both ends; then in the reverse
side, at each end, bore a hole in the same manner as in tourbillons,
to be presently described; from each hole carry a leader into the top
of the rocket. When the rocket is fired, and arrived to its proper
height, it will give fire to the case at top; which will cause both
rocket and stick to spin very fast in their return, and represent a
worm of fire descending to the ground.
There is another method of placing the small case, which is by letting
the stick rise a little above the top of the rocket, and tying the
case to it, so as to rest on the rocket: these rockets have no cones.
A third method by which they are managed is this: in the top of a
rocket fix a piece of wood, in which drive a small iron spindle; then
make a hole in the middle of the small case, through which is put the
spindle; then fix on the top of it a nut, to keep the case from
falling off; when this is done, the case will turn very fast, without
the rocket: but this method does not answer so well as either of the
former.
_To make a Rocket form an Arch in rising._--Having some rockets made,
headed according to fancy, and tied on their sticks, get some sheet
tin, and cut it into round pieces about three or four inches diameter;
then on the stick of each rocket, under the mouth of the case, fix one
of these pieces of tin 16 inches from the rocket's neck, and support
it by a wooden bracket, as strong as possible: the use of this is,
that when the rocket is ascending, the fire may play with greater
force on the tin, which will divide the tail in such a manner that it
will form an arch as it mounts, and will have a very good effect when
well managed; if there is a short piece of port fire, of a strong
charge, tied to the end of the stick, it will make a great addition;
but this must be lighted before the rocket is fired.
_To make several Rockets rise together._--Take six, or any number of
sky-rockets, of any size; then cut some strong packthread into pieces
of three or four yards long, and tie each end of these pieces to a
rocket in this manner:
Having tied one end of the packthread round the body of one rocket,
and the other end to another, take a second piece of packthread, and
make one end of it fast to one of the rockets already tied, and the
other end to a third rocket, so that all the rockets, except the two
on the outside, will be fastened to the two pieces of packthread: the
length of thread from one rocket to the other may be what the maker
pleases; but the rockets must be all of a size, and their heads filled
with the same weight of stars, rains, &c.
Having thus done, fix in the mouth of each rocket a leader of the same
length; and when about to fire them, hang them almost close; then tie
the ends of the leaders together, and prime them; this prime being
fired, all the rockets will mount at the same time, and divide as far
as the strings will allow; and this division they keep, provided they
are all rammed alike, and well made. They are sometimes called
chained rockets.
_To fix several Rockets to the same Stick._--Two, three, or six
sky-rockets, fixed on one stick, and fired together, make a grand and
beautiful appearance; for the tails of all will seem but as one of an
immense size, and the breaking of so many heads at once will resemble
the bursting of an air-balloon. The management of this device requires
a skilful hand; but if the following instructions be well observed,
even by those who have not made a great progress in this art, there
will be no doubt of the rockets having the desired effect.
Rockets for this purpose must be made with the greatest exactness, all
rammed by the same hand, in the same mould, and filled with the same
proportion of composition: and after they are filled and headed, must
all be of the same weight. The stick must also be well made (and
proportioned) to the following directions; first, supposing the
rockets to be half-pounders, whose sticks are six feet six inches
long, then if two, three, or six of these are to be fixed on one
stick, let the length of it be nine feet nine inches; then cut the top
of it into as many sides as there are rockets, and let the length of
each side be equal to the length of one of the rockets without its
head; and in each side cut a groove (as usual;) then from the grooves
plane it round, down to the bottom, where its thickness must be equal
to half the top of the round part. As their thickness cannot be
exactly ascertained, we shall give a rule, which generally answers for
any number of rockets above two; the rule is this: that the stick at
top must be thick enough, when the grooves are cut, for all the
rockets to lie, without pressing each other, though as near as
possible.
When only two rockets are to be fixed on one stick, let the length of
the stick be the last given proportion, but shaped after the common
method, and the breadth and thickness double the usual dimensions. The
point of poise must be in the usual place (let the number of rockets
be what it will;) if sticks made by the above directions should be too
heavy, plane them thinner; and if too light, make them thicker; but
always make them of the same length.
When more than two rockets are tied on one stick, there will be some
danger of their flying up without the stick, unless the following
precaution is taken: For cases being placed on all sides, there can be
no notches for the cord which ties on the rockets to lie in:
therefore, instead of notches, drive a small nail in each side of the
stick, between the necks of the cases, and let the cord, which goes
round their necks, be brought close under the nails; by this means the
rockets will be as secure as when tied on singly. The rockets being
thus fixed, carry a quick-match, without a pipe, from the mouth of one
rocket to the other; this match being lighted will give fire to all at
once.
Though the directions already given may be sufficient for these
rockets, we shall here add an improvement on a very essential part of
this device, which is, that of hanging the rockets to be fired; for
before the following method was contrived, many attempts proved
unsuccessful. Instead, therefore, of the old and common manner of
hanging them on nails or hooks, make use of the following contrivance:
Have a ring made of strong iron wire, large enough for the stick to go
in as far as the mouths of the rockets; then have another ring
supported by a small iron, at some distance from the post or stand to
which it is fixed; then have another ring fit to receive and guide the
small end of the stick. Rockets thus suspended will have nothing to
obstruct their fire; but when they are hung on nails or hooks, in such
a manner that some of their mouths or against or upon a rail, there
can be no certainty of their rising in a vertical direction.
_To fire Rockets without Sticks._--You must have a stand, of a block
of wood, a foot diameter, and make the bottom flat, so that it may
stand steady: in the centre of the top of this block draw a circle two
inches and a half diameter, and divide the circumference of it into
three equal parts; then take three pieces of thick iron wire, each
about three feet long, and drive them into the block, one at each
point made on the circle; when these wires are driven in deep enough
to hold them fast and upright, so that the distance from one to the
other is the same at top as at bottom, the stand is complete.
The stand being thus made, prepare the rockets thus: Take some common
sky-rockets of any size, and head them as you please; then get some
balls of lead, and tie to each a small wire two or two feet and a half
long, and the other end of each wire tie to the neck of a rocket.
These balls answer the purpose of sticks, when made of a proper
weight, which is about two-thirds the weight of the rocket; but when
they are of a proper size, they will balance the rocket in the same
manner as a stick, at the usual point of poise. To fire these, hand
them one at a time, between the tops of the wires, letting their heads
rest on the point of the wires, and the balls hang down between them:
if the wires should be too wide for the rockets, press them together
till they fit; and if too close, force them open; the wires for this
purpose must be softened, so as not to have any spring, or they will
not keep their position when pressed close or opened.
_Scrolls for Rockets._--Cases for scrolls should be made four or five
inches in length, and their interior diameters three-eighths of an
inch: one end of these cases must be pinched quite close before
beginning to fill; and when filled, close the other end; then in the
opposite sides make a small hole at each end, to the composition, as
in tourbillons, and prime them with wet meal-powder. You may put in
the head of the rocket as many of these cases as it will contain:
being fired, they turn very quick in the air, and form a scroll or
spiral line. They are generally filled with a strong charge, as that
of serpents or brilliant fire.
_Stands for Rockets._--Care must be taken, in placing the rockets,
when they are to be fired, to give them a vertical direction at their
first setting out; which may be managed thus: Have two rails of wood,
of any length, supported at each end by a perpendicular leg, so that
the rails may be horizontal, and let the distance from one to the
other be almost equal to the length of the sticks of the rockets
intended to be fired; then in the front of the top rail drive square
hooks at eight inches distance, with their points turned sidewise, so
that when the rockets are hung on them, the points will be before the
sticks, and keep them from falling or being blown off by the wind; in
the front of the rail at bottom must be staples, driven
perpendicularly under the hooks at top; through these staples put the
small ends of the rocket-sticks. Rockets are fired by applying a
lighted port-fire to their mouths.
_Table-Rockets._--Table-rockets are designed merely to show the truth
of driving, and the judgment of a fire-worker; they having no other
effect, when fired, than spinning round in the same place where they
began, till they are burnt out, and showing nothing more than a
horizontal circle of fire.
The method of making these rockets is thus:--Have a cone turned out of
hard wood two inches and a half in diameter, and as much high; round
the base of it drive a line; on this line fix four spokes, each two
inches long, so as to stand one opposite the other; then fill four
nine-inch one-pound cases with any strong composition, within two
inches of the top: these cases are made like tourbillons, and must be
rammed with the greatest exactness.
The rockets being filled, fix their open ends on the short spokes;
then in the side of each case bore a hole near the clay; all these
holes, or vents, must be so made that the fire of each case may act
the same way; from these vents carry leaders to the top of the cone,
and tie them together. When the rockets are to be fired, set them on a
smooth table, and light the leaders in the middle, and all the cases
will fire together and spin on the point of the cone.
These rockets may be made to rise like tourbillons, by making the
cases shorter, and boring four holes in the under side of each at
equal distances; this being done they are called _double tourbillons_.
_Note._--All the vents in the under side of the cases must be lighted
at once, and the sharp point of the cone cut off; at which place make
it spherical.
WHEELS.
Wheel-cases are made to any length; which must always depend on the
size of the wheel, but must not exceed the length of each angle.
Charge for wheel-cases, from 2 oz. to 4 lb.
lb. oz.
Meal-powder 4 0
Saltpetre 1 0
Brimstone 0 8
Charcoal 0 4
The filings in this composition may be varied by using a portion of
sea-coal, glass-dust, saw-dust, &c., or a combination of the whole.
SLOW FIRE FOR WHEELS.
lb. oz.
Saltpetre 0 4
Brimstone 0 2
Meal-powder 0 1-1/2
or, 1 oz. of brimstone may be used with 1 oz. of antimony.
DEAD FIRE FOR WHEELS.
oz. dr.
Saltpetre 4-1/4 0
Brimstone 0-1/4 0
Lapis-caliminaris 0 2
Antimony 0 2
_Single Vertical Wheels._--There are different sorts of vertical
wheels; some having their fells of a circular form, others of an
hexagonal, octagonal, or decagonal form, or of any number of sides,
according to the length of the cases you design for the wheel; the
spokes being fixed in the nave, nail slips of tin, with their edges
turned up so as to form grooves for the cases to lie in; form the end
of one spoke to that of another; then tie the cases in the grooves
head to tail, in the same manner as those on the horizontal
water-wheel; so that the cases, successively taking fire from one
another, will keep the wheel in an equal rotation. Two of these wheels
are very often fired together, one on each side of a building, and
both lighted at the same time, and all the cases filled alike, to make
them keep time together; as they will, if made by the following
directions: In all the cases of both wheels, except the first, on each
wheel drive two or three ladlesful of slow fire, in any part of the
case; but be careful to ram the same quantity in each case; and in the
end of one of the cases, on each wheel, you may ram one ladleful of
dead-fire composition, which must be very lightly driven; you may also
make many changes of fire by this method.
Let the hole in the nave of the wheel be lined with brass, and made to
turn on a smooth iron spindle. On the end of this spindle let there be
a nut, to screw off and on; when you have put the wheel on the
spindle, screw on the nut, which will keep the wheel from flying off.
Let the mouth of the first case be a little raised. Vertical wheels
are made from ten inches to three feet diameter, and the size of the
cases must differ accordingly; four-ounce cases will do for wheels of
14 or 16 inches diameter, which is the proportion generally used. The
best wood for wheels of all sorts is a light and dry beech.
_Horizontal Wheels._--They are best when their fells are made
circular; in the middle of the top of the nave must be a pintle,
turned out of the same piece as the nave, two inches long, and equal
in diameter to the bore of one of the cases of the wheel; there must
be a hole bored up the centre of the nave, within half an inch of the
top of the pintle. The wheel being made; nail at the end of each spoke
(of which there should be six or eight) a piece of wood, with a groove
cut in it to receive the case. Fix these pieces in such a manner that
half the cases may incline upwards and half downwards, and that, when
they are tied on, their heads and tails may come very nearly together:
from the tail of one case to the mouth of the other carry a leader,
which should be secured with pasted paper. Besides these pipes, it
will be necessary to put a little meal-powder within the pasted
paper, to blow off the pipe, that there may be no obstruction to the
fire from the cases. By means of these pipes the cases will
successively take fire, burning one upwards and the other downwards.
On the pintle fix a case of the same sort as those on the wheel; this
case must be fired by a leader from the mouth of the last case on the
wheel, which case must play downwards: instead of a common case in the
middle, you may put a case of Chinese fire, long enough to burn as
long as two or three of the cases on the wheel.
Horizontal wheels are often fired two at a time, and made to keep time
like vertical wheels, only they are made without any slow or dead
fire; 10 or 12 inches will be enough for the diameter of wheels with
six spokes.
_Spiral Wheels._--They are only double horizontal wheels, and made
thus: the nave must be about six inches long, and rather thicker than
the single sort; instead of the pintle at top, make a hole for the
case to be fixed in, and two sets of spokes, one set near the top of
the nave, and the other near the bottom. At the end of each spoke cut
a groove wherein you tie the cases, there being no fell: the spokes
should not be more than two inches and a half long from the naves, so
that the wheel may not be more than eight or nine inches diameter; the
cases are placed in such a manner, that those at top play down, and
those at bottom play up; but let the third or fourth case play
horizontally. The case in the middle may begin with any of the others;
six spokes will be enough for each set, so that the wheel may consist
of 12 cases, besides that on the top: the cases six inches each.
_Plural Wheels._--Plural wheels are made to turn horizontally, and to
consist of three sets of spokes, placed six at top, six at bottom, and
four in the middle; which last must be a little shorter than the rest:
let the diameter of the wheel be 10 inches: the cases must be tied on
the ends of the spokes in grooves cut on purpose, or on pieces of wood
nailed on the ends of the spokes, with grooves cut in them as usual:
in clothing these wheels, make the upper set of cases play obliquely
downwards, the bottom set obliquely upwards, and the middle set
horizontally. In placing the leaders, they must be managed so that the
cases may burn thus, viz., first up, then down, then horizontal, and
so on with the rest. But another change may be made, by driving in the
end of the eighth case two or three ladlesful of slow fire, to burn
till the wheel has stopped its course; then let the other cases be
fixed the contrary way, which will make the wheel run back again; for
the case at top you may put a small gerbe; and let the cases on the
spokes be short, and filled with a strong brilliant charge.
_Illuminated Spiral Wheel._--First have a circular horizontal wheel
made two feet diameter, with a hole quite through the nave; then take
three thin pieces of deal, three feet long each, and three-fourths of
an inch broad each: nail one end of each of these pieces to the fell
of the wheel, at an equal distance from one another, and the other end
nail to a block with a hole in its bottom, which must be perpendicular
to that in the block of the wheel, but not so large. The wheel being
thus made, have a loop planed down very thin and flat; then nail one
end of it into the fell of the wheel, and wind it round the three
sticks in a spiral line from the wheel to the block at top; on the top
of this block fix a case of Chinese fire; on the wheel you may place
any number of cases, which must incline downwards, and burn two at a
time. If the wheel should consist of ten cases, you may let the
illuminations and Chinese fire begin with the second cases. The
spindle for this wheel must be a little longer than the cone, and made
very smooth at top, on which the upper block is to turn, and the whole
weight of the wheel to rest.