Home made rocket launcher!

[windowmaker]

I thought they used flashpowder in fireworks as opposed to black powder?

[MittinsKittens]

Yeah, I thought that would of been too easy x)
Still, Nothing stopping from that poorly attempted Rocket stash for getting gunpowder, and putting them into the rocket, Lighting the fuse, aiming to the sky (Lets not get stupid and aim it at people/animals/buildings...although it might be funny if you're going to youtube it, If so, Make sure you aim at some groin ;D) and "firing".
Bonus points if it looks like a colour coordinated rocket, and an extra one if somehow it looks like a crit ^^

[ApacheFlame]

And for legal reasons, no - you lot cant have any.

Wonderful. I am the president of my University Rifle Club. I have no problems getting my hands on it

I was talking about the general masses would find it hard/illegal to get hold of.

</off topic>

[MittinsKittens]

...Window just got TOLDDDD!
My point with just getting a rocket still stands...

[Kaelan002]

i wish we did that a school beats making cd racks and molymorph models!!

[Kaelan002]

you can probably guess where im going with this....

[Krazko]

to the sky?

[Inevitable]

It would be amazing, though gunpowder that strong is not very easy to get hold of in the UK

Probably not hard to make gunpowder.

I believe it's a mixture of carbon, sulfer and some nitrogen compound? Two of those should be easy enough to get a hold, the third, obviously is a question mark as I don't remember what it is.

[Kaelan002]

delete for safety reasons

[Kaelan002]

delete for safety reasons

[ApacheFlame]

Guys, please dont try this at home. This stuff is dangerous and WILL kill you if you dont know what you are doing.

You need a license to own this stuff (in the UK) for a reason and you will not be granted one without 'good reason'.

@Inev: Making the stuff is more dangerous than buying it and is not necessarily just mixing a few things.

Being a 'bucket chemist' and a target shooter myself I feel qualified to give you advice on this and it is not because I want to be a killjoy. I have been shooting for many years and even I would think twice before making my own ammunition and that would be with professionally made propellant.

If you want to get into this sort of thing then fire me a PM, lol, and we can talk about black powder shooting, which is amazingly good fun and above all a hell of a lot safer than messing around with thing you dont have the full appreciation of.

[ApacheFlame]

you can probably guess where im going with this....

There is a professor of chemistry here, as you can appreciate a pretty clever bloke, who used to make his own fireworks. He managed to blow most of one of his hands off.

Dont even think about it.

[Inevitable]

@Inev: Making the stuff is more dangerous than buying it and is not necessarily just mixing a few things.

Being a 'bucket chemist' and a target shooter myself I feel qualified to give you advice on this and it is not because I want to be a killjoy. I have been shooting for many years and even I would think twice before making my own ammunition and that would be with professionally made propellant.

If you want to get into this sort of thing then fire me a PM, lol, and we can talk about black powder shooting, which is amazingly good fun and above all a hell of a lot safer than messing around with thing you dont have the full appreciation of.

I wasn't going to make it myself. Or even really recommending it.

Just sharing some knowledge.

Like TNT, give me an A Level chemistry textbook and a few chemicals and I bet I could make that. I just have to figure out how to attach three nitrogen molecules to toluene.

[ApacheFlame]

This is the dangerous thing. With a textbook it looks simple. Actually carrying out the experiment successfully and without injury is the hard part. Certainly if you dont have lab grade reagents and equipment to hand to ensure proper control of the reaction it is a recipe for disaster.

I am just aware we have some younger members of the community who may be intrigued by this and so want to impress upon them just how dangerous this is when you dont have the equipment and training to do it.

If you want to see things go bang, join a shooting club. It is amazing fun, not as expensive as you might think and a very easy sport to get good at.

[Odgor]

you can probably guess where im going with this....

Too bad that kind of fireworks has been forbidden in Norway for 3 years because 10 people can't keep their eyes out of the trajectory..Never mind the 4 million who can.

[Kaelan002]

I am just aware we have some younger members of the community who may be intrigued by this and so want to impress upon them just how dangerous this is when you dont have the equipment and training to do it.

ok by this i guess you mean me, when i said this

its 75% Potassium Nitrate, 15 % Charcoal , and 10% Sulphur

the potassium seems easy enough to buy so its just a case of it not exploding in your face when your making it

i obviosly didnt expect odgor to go out and start mixing highly reactive materials together in a big bucket and hoping for the best, i was being sarcastic and sharing knowledge (looking back at it now i realize it was a stupid thing to say and i should have frased it a bit better). I would never dream of trying to do it myself either.

you can probably guess where im going with this....

as for the rocket idea i dont really see the problem, as its basically just a big launch tube, im not suggesting he fires it from his shoulder of anything stupid!

[ApacheFlame]

*SNIP*
ok by this i guess you mean me, when i said this
*SNIP*
as for the rocket idea i dont really see the problem, as its basically just a big launch tube, im not suggesting he fires it from his shoulder of anything stupid!

Not necessarily you mate, though you are right. Your post did make it look like you were going to give it a go.

The wonderful thing about forums as it is not necessarily just the people who post that look at a thread, particularly one as cool as this! I love Odgor's rocket and think it is awesome that he spent the time to make both of them.

It only takes one person to actually give making gunpowder a go and loose a finger saying: The internet gave me the idea. I wanted to highlight that it is not that simple and is a very bad idea! Join a shooting club and do it safely!

There is nothing more manly than smelling of gunpowder and a woman wearing "eau d' gun oil" becomes surprisingly attractive

[Kaelan002]

ok i think ill delete those posts

[Kaelan002]

right so rockets = illegal

gunpowder = illegal + too dangerouse

next idea?

compressed air spud gun?

[Arbor plena simia]

Match rockets. Tiny little things but rather fun to make.

Or have a look at;
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Backyard-Ballistics-Cannons-Cincinnati-Dynamite/dp/1556523750/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295892361&sr=1-1

Great book, I got it as a present years ago. It's aimed at an American audience, but still works over here in terms of what you can get hold of.