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MagicMasterMatt New user Yankton, South Dakota 28 Posts |
I just purchased a flash gun and was soooo happy it finally came, but when I fired it off, (by the way the description said it shot up to 20 feet)all that came out was a little poof of smoke. I don't understand......can someone help me?
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Kevin Ridgeway V.I.P. Indianapolis, IN & Phoenix, AZ 1832 Posts |
If this is the kind that uses flash cotton and flash paper then it could be one of several things.
Did you use flash cotton? and is it dry? You may have used either too little cotton or too much cotton. Don't pack it...keep it loose. Hope that helps. Kevin
Living Illusions
Ridgeway & Johnson Entertainment Inc Kevin Ridgeway & Kristen Johnson aka Lady Houdini The World's Premier Female Escape Artist www.LadyHoudini.com www.livingillusions.com |
MagicMasterMatt New user Yankton, South Dakota 28 Posts |
Thnx, Living Illusions.......I do have the one that packs, yeah I should pack it looser, does a clean barrel have anything to do w/ it?
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Kevin Ridgeway V.I.P. Indianapolis, IN & Phoenix, AZ 1832 Posts |
Yes, try to keep it clean. After several shoots clean it with a brush. make sure to leave the cotton our for a bit so it can dry out.
Kevin
Living Illusions
Ridgeway & Johnson Entertainment Inc Kevin Ridgeway & Kristen Johnson aka Lady Houdini The World's Premier Female Escape Artist www.LadyHoudini.com www.livingillusions.com |
MagicMasterMatt New user Yankton, South Dakota 28 Posts |
Thnx that helped a lot
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Kevin Ridgeway V.I.P. Indianapolis, IN & Phoenix, AZ 1832 Posts |
Glad I could be of some assistance. Now experiment with how much cotton and how paper to get a fireball to shoot out and really flash up away from the device.
Kevin
Living Illusions
Ridgeway & Johnson Entertainment Inc Kevin Ridgeway & Kristen Johnson aka Lady Houdini The World's Premier Female Escape Artist www.LadyHoudini.com www.livingillusions.com |
Miracle Man Show New user Indiana 56 Posts |
Matt,
You can always trust that Kevin will give you good advice. I consider myself lucky to count him as my friend. Let me throw in my two cents. Guncotton or flash cotton has never been one of my favorite materials to use. It seemed to foul my devices, and didn’t perform consistently. I got tired of having to clean my flash guns all the time, and I kept destroying the glow plugs as I cleaned the barrels. So here’s what I did. I looked at the use of these materials, and here’s what I figured out. The flash cotton was being used as a propellant, and the flashpaper was being used as the load. First, I started working on the load. I found that by rolling the flashpaper as I crumpled it into a ball, the load would burn longer, and consequently farther. Next I replaced the propellant wad of flash cotton with flashpaper. It has a more constant burn rate, in my experience. So, what I do is to take a small piece of flashpaper (lightly crumpled) and lightly tamp it into the barrel. It needs to be in contact with the glowplug, but not tamped into a wad. (I hope this makes sense.) Then the load ball is tamped into the barrel, remembering not to crush the propellant strip of flashpaper into a wad. The load ball should be of a size to fit the inside diameter of the tube, not so tight as to require force in tamping, yet not so loose that the expanding gas from the propellant escapes around it. If the load fits the barrel too tightly it gets ejected from the gun without ever getting ignited, and you end up shooting a paper wad across the room…big deal! Now as to cleaning… after ruining several dozen glowplugs, here’s what I learned. Flashpaper and flash cotton are the of the same material as is used in modern guns, so the cleaning solvents used for shotguns will work just as well in a flashgun. Hoppe’s No.9 solution is what I have used for years, and it works great. My cleaning regimen is this… after several firings; I pour a small amount of Hoppe’s into the barrel, cap it with my thumb and shake. That usually keeps it clean enough for normal use, and the glowplug is never destroyed by being struck by a brush. Glowplug wires become very brittle after they have been used a few times, and will break very easily. When it is time for real maintenance, I break the gun down completely, brush down the barrel with a gun brush (.410 shotgun brush works for mine) and Hoppe’s, replace the glowplug, clean the battery contacts, and check all the wires. I hope this helps.
Tom McCormick
"The Miracle Man Show" There's only one Miracle Man, that's Jesus Christ; I just get to do a show about HIM. www.themiraclemanshow.com |
theaterfreak89 New user 93 Posts |
Miracle Man is dead on. I use these effects at work quite often and follow almost the exact same steps. Just keep working on the mix until you get the effect you want. I speak from experience, shooting an unlit piece of paper out of a device looks pretty pathetic. Also try getting a couple books of "flash pads" from theatre effects. These are about 2" x 2" scraps of flash paper that are the perfect incrememntal amount when experimenting with mixtures.
Hope this helps, Nick
"...Now lift it up...over your head..."
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hugmagic Inner circle 7655 Posts |
Ok I used a flashwand that Paul Diamond taught me how to load years ago. A small square of flashpaper was loaded with a little coarse gun powder and stuff into the tube tail first. It kind of looked like a Hersey's kiss. It was packed down and a percussion (red toy cap) was placed on the end. When the paper ignites, the gases shoot the ball of paper out of the tube and a puff of smoke appears out about 10-20' from the end. This was an old spring loaded German wand. I have used the same load in the sliding percussion wand. WARNING: This is like a small little zip gun. Don't point it at anyone and keep your hands and face always away from the opening.
I also made a percussion gun using a wooden toy pistol made by the Paris company. I drilled out the area where the cap is placed. This allowed the fire from the cap to go easier into the chamber which shot out the flashpaper. I also have Grant's gunsmoke. It fires six rounds of fireballs using a similar mechanism. Considering the gun was made from an old Mattel gun that used a two part "bullet" and greenie stickum caps. It is worth more as an old toy. Yes, I did all this but no more. Too much liablity with any type of fire. But it is still fun at Halloween. Scares the devil out of trick or treaters.
Richard E. Hughes, Hughes Magic Inc., 352 N. Prospect St., Ravenna, OH 44266 (330)296-4023
www.hughesmagic.com email-hugmagic@raex.com Write direct as I will be turning off my PM's. |
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