How to make a wick at home

Every person is a child in the shower. And what do children like? That's right, everything is clapping and sparkling! After all, no one can imagine a holiday without fireworks, and some manage to make them at home.

Fortunately, this happens rarely. Where more often we buy pyrotechnics on the eve of New Year's holidays. Unfortunately, often the quality of their production leaves much to be desired. Especially this applies to cheap pyrotechnics, the wicks of which are sometimes indecently short.

And how to make a wick from improvised materials? Is this real at all? Almost nothing complicated in this.

The simplest version

Surely everyone in my childhood at least once, but dabbled with matches. Do you remember how perfectly nitrate burned off them? Before you make a wick, you need to scrape it off from a couple of boxes. The resulting nitrate is rammed into sticks from juices or something like that. Dense tamping - the guarantor of long burning.

Despite the primitiveness, such wicks burn very stably, and with proper sealing practically are not afraid of wetting. Ideal for safe use of doubtful pyrotechnics!

If there is such an opportunity, then before you make a wick, try to get hunting matches. They are superbly burning, they easily withstand even soaking, so that of them you can make just an excellent bikfordov cord!

There is also a method involving the use of ordinary scotch tape. You again have to grind the sulfur from a pair of match boxes, then cut off a narrow strip of adhesive tape of the required length. Put it with the adhesive side up, pour on it a thin strip of match nitrate.

On top of all this construction, press down the same strip of scotch. The received ignition cord can be used even in winter time, because it is slightly susceptible to moisture. Since making a wick for firecrackers in this way is extremely easy, it can be recommended for fans of pyrotechnics of all ages.

Attention! Strictly observe all the rules of fire safety equipment, otherwise it is easy to arrange a fire.

For residents of cities

If you have a little poplar fluff on the balcony since spring - great! It is only necessary to fill the dry fluff in a newspaper folded with a tube, so that a rather good wick turns out of it. Needless to say, all the material must be absolutely dry.

A way for young chemists

To make a reliable wick for this recipe, you will need ordinary potassium permanganate, a glue "Moment" or similar, as well as matches. Take a small amount of potassium permanganate, glue, and then these two components are mixed to a homogeneous mass.

Attention! Do not forget that the "Moment" is not only extremely flammable, but also contains many substances harmful to your health. Be sure to ensure a normal ventilation of the room when doing this kind of work.

Do not hurry, for a complete mixing of components will take at least ten minutes. Since the resulting mixture is excessively liquid, you should wait a few minutes until the curing process has passed.

After this time, the resulting puddle must be accurately molded, giving it a more compact appearance. When the composition acquires the consistency of plasticine, it needs to be rolled up, giving the appearance of sausages. The thickness does not matter.

And how to make a wick of matches and the composition described by us? It's simple: if you need a wick that burns quickly and very reliably, then some quantity of ground match-nitrate should be added to the composition before it hardens.

How it works?

Have you ever wondered why such complications? The fact is that the wick obtained as a result of our actions not only burns perfectly (and at an acceptable rate), but also easily withstands the ingress of water and snow. With it, you can easily fireworks from a safe distance, even setting it right in the snow.

Potassium nitrate is our choice!

If you ask the representatives of the older generation, they will surely tell you about all the ways of getting the wick, which were used by children in the USSR. Among the main components, the place of honor was always occupied by potassium nitrate. In those years it was sold in all agricultural stores, so there were no problems with its receipt.

How to use it? To begin with, saltpeter needs to be dissolved in ordinary water, taking one part of the active substance and three parts of the liquid. The easiest way to make a wick is that the usual newspaper is soaked in the resulting mixture. More precisely, it can simply be dipped in a jar and immediately removed.

After this, the paper should be thoroughly dried. Attention! Since the products from evaporation of the working composition are not very useful for human health, it is desirable to do this in the open air.

And how to make a wick for the firecracker from the resulting material? The dried up paper is rolled into a thin tube, if necessary, by bandaging it with a thread. Certain skill requires only bringing it into "combat readiness".

To do this, you should set fire to the very tip of the "sausage", then shoot down the flame. Smoldering light - this is the goal of all our chemical experiments. It easily transfers even a light hydration, and the burning speed is such that it reliably protects you against premature operation of pyrotechnics.

By the way, before making a homemade wick, be sure to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of modern products of this kind. Almost surely seen will impress you so much that you definitely will not risk coming to an extinct firecracker.

A more serious way

The disadvantage of the method described above is the fact that a thin newspaper does not fit the role of the Bickford cord. It can quickly die out, and after a sharp burn out right in front of your astonished eyes. The consequences can be very sad.

Therefore, it is desirable to obtain a quality cotton rope. It is also soaked in the above-described aqueous solution of nitrate and thoroughly dried. To ensure that the structure is as reliable as possible, it can be lubricated with a mixture of potassium permanganate and glue "Moment". The recipe for the "hellish composition" we already cited above.

This ignition cord will withstand even a significant moisture, which will not have any effect on its ability to burn. By the way, and from what it is possible to make a wick, if not to take into account the above-mentioned methods?

And again potassium nitrate

Unfortunately, this substance can not be abandoned, since only with its help can one create sufficiently reliable wicks. So, take about two parts of saltpeter and one part of the usual sugar.

All this is grinded in a porcelain mortar to form a thin and uniform powder. The resulting composition can be slaughtered in tubes from under the juice (as in the method with matcha nitrate).

Important note

Before you make a wick with your own hands, do not forget about the responsibility for all your subsequent actions. It is possible to start pyrotechnics only in the absence of a strong side wind, outside of dense urban development. It is inadmissible to use such products in hot and droughty weather conditions, as well as their use by under-age children.

Here's how to make a wick without using expensive tools for this.