Time fuse is getting harder to get. For larger shells it doesn't work well anyway because you want to spit fire into the center of the canister which can be several inches down from the top of the cylinder shell. The larger diameter of the spollette provides better mechanical integrity and a place to hang your spiking string on
Word on the street is that time fuse is getting harder and harder to get, and what is the reason? Supply chain glitches, bird flu, competency crisis, quiet quitting, three letter agencies are buying up all the supply. Choose your conspiracy theory, I believe them all.
Well what about the idea that God is trying to speak to you and tell you that you should be making spollettes instead of using time fuse anyway?
In researching this article I stumbled upon a correspondence between a young man who was just starting off on his cylinder shell building odyssey being advised by Mike Swisher, the eminence-gris from the Northern Lighters, a man who has forgotten more than most of us will ever know about fireworks. Key to his development as a pyro, and the promulgation of Italo-American cylinder shell construction techniques in the US clubs WPA, PGI, Northern Lighters etc. was his spiritual relationship with the famous pyro author/journalist "Fulcanelli". Fucanelli, the nom de plume of the writer documenting the construction techniques of the Sons of Italy who brought their techniques with them from the Italian peninsula to the USA one hundred years ago. You could say it was a labor of love, you could say it was the acetone vapors, or the delerium of living in Frostbite Falls, MN during the winter. You be the judge:
Newbie -
"I have noticed that Fulcanellis basic method for loading and spiking single
break canister shells doesnt always result in a uniform break of stars."
Swisher response -
"
You aren't using spolettes - that's your problem. A spolette will throw fire
vigorously right down the center of the shell. Spun fuse is not advised for
shells over 4" in size. It makes it difficult to paste a good heavy crown on the
shell, and a good crown is necessary for a good break. I like to use a 3"
spolette on a 5" shell and have a beautifully conical crown pasted up to maybe
3/4" from the end of the spolette. You'll get a nice break every time.
You do need to pinion the vertical strings at the bottom of the shell with a
couple of turns, and pinion them again at the top with a clove hitch, as
described in the text pp. 20-21. More is not necessary. The figure on p. 19 is
not as well drawn as it could be and does not show this.
Your bad breaks are most likely to be a consequence of inadequate pasting. In
particular, you need to pay close attention to pasting a heavy and solidly
rubbed down crown.
"
https://rec.pyrotechnics.narkive.com/h0vNNU7D/loading-and-spiking-fulcanelli
I have to say I wasn't aware of the issue of making a large crown, but that is a subject we will save for a later article.
To simplifiy what I think is the most important parts of the Fulcanelli article below and what I myself have learned through the making and use of spollettes:
- Spollettes are better because they really do spit fire into the center of the shell. Yes you can do that by attaching quickmatch to a 1-1/2 piece of time fuse but tying the string with only two hands is a pain and at some point you are doing just as much work as pressing or pounding out a spollette.
- Spollettes give you a much better place to hang your spiking string on.
- USE MEAL D OR IF YOU MAKE YOUR OWN BP MAKE SURE YOU CAN MAKE IT CONSISTENTLY EVERY TIME. I did not follow this in the beginning and wound up with spollettes that were all over the map. They are very sensitive to slight variations in powder speed. You spend all this time and effort rolling stars, building the canisters, stringing, pasting. Its not worth it. Speaking as an inherent cheapskate.
- I have not seen any difference between spollettes made on an arbor press vs those that I pounded so your cost of materials besides the tubes can be as simple as a piece of rod stock from a hardware store and a dead blow hammer. Maybe you need a grinding wheel to make the pointy part for the tool used at the very end.
https://www.woodysrocks.com/store/p313/5%2F16_NEPT_Spollette_Tubes_-_3%22.html#/
https://pyrodirect.com/products/spollette-and-insert-set