BEFORE YOU BEGIN...


Safety

The thing I want to emphasize here is safety.  Some of the projects listed in this section require the use of black powder.  It is extremely flammable and explosive, and must be treated with great care.  Keep it away from any possible sources of heat and ignition.  Do not eat black powder.  Although it's considered a "low explosive" when compared with things like dynamite, it's still pretty powerful.  Don't too scared of it, though.  It only will explode if it's ignited when confined, such as in a firecracker or bomb.  If the stuff is just lit in a pile out in the open, it will burn in a big puff of smoke.

Black powder can be bought from most gun shops.  Goex and Elephant are two common brands that will be just fine for this.  Pyrodex WILL NOT work.  Black powder comes in several granulations, specified by the number of F's on the can.  The more Fs, the finer the powder.  The finer the powder, the faster it burns.  "FFFFg" powder is like fine sand, and burns very rapidly, whereas "Fg" powder is the size of small pebbles and burns more slowly.  

Tools and Supplies

Also, all of the projects require quickmatch and/or visco fuse.  It would be a good idea to make quickmatch and buy some visco first before starting these projects.

There are several basic things you'll need for these projects that I won't list individually in the instructions.  Such items include duct tape, masking tape, electrical tape, scissors, an x-acto knife, pliers, wire cutters, a low-temp glue gun, and basically any other tools and crap that may be lying around the house.  Low-temp glue guns can be bought for a couple bucks, and you can get loads of glue sticks for cheap.  I recommend using low-temp so the glue doesn't hurt your fingers (no guarantees it wont...it doesn't hurt mine, but that's probably because most of the nerves in my fingers are already dead...)


  Pyro Universe