The process of making fireworks itself is actually quite simple if you have gathered the right ingredients. Stick fireworks, smoke bombs, and glow snakes are fairly safe to make and light, but you should still be careful when making or lighting fireworks. Check applicable laws and regulations to ensure you are allowed to make and light fireworks in your residential area before starting this project.
Ingredients
Making Stick Fireworks
- 300 grams of potassium chlorate
- 60 grams of aluminum flakes or shavings
- 2 grams charcoal powder
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) dextrin
- 9 teaspoons (45 ml) water
- 500 grams of strontium nitrate (optional, for the red color)
- 60 grams barium nitrate (optional, for green color)
Making Smoke Bombs
- 130 grams of sugar
- 200 grams of potassium nitrate
Making Fire Snake
- Sand
- Drinks with a high alcohol content (eg Bacardi 151)
- 1.5 grams of sugar flour
- 0.375 grams of baking soda
Step
Method 1 of 3: Making Stick Fireworks
Step 1. Combine potassium chlorate, aluminum flakes or shavings, and powdered charcoal in a bowl
Pour 300 grams of potassium chlorate, 60 grams of aluminum flakes/shavings and 2 grams of charcoal powder into a bowl. Use a spoon to mix the ingredients until evenly distributed.
- Use a digital scale to weigh the specific proportions of each ingredient.
- Break up the lumps that form so that all the ingredients are evenly mixed.
- You can buy these ingredients from online chemical stores or websites like Tokopedia.
Step 2. Add dextrin and water to the ingredients until it becomes a slurry
Mix 1 teaspoon (5 grams) of dextrin with 9 teaspoons (45 ml) of water in a cup. After that, pour a small amount of the liquid mixture into a bowl and stir. Keep adding the water and dextrin mixture gradually until it forms a kind of molasses.
- When you're done mixing, the mixture should look like a thick liquid.
- You can buy dextrins from chemical stores online.
Step 3. Add strontium nitrate if you want a red glow
Without additional ingredients, the resulting light will be white. If you want a red glow, measure 500 grams of strontium nitrate by weighing it on a digital scale, then add it to the mixture. Once you get the right amount, you can add it to the mix.
If the mixture becomes too dry after the strontium nitrate is added, add a little water and dextrin to make the mixture thinner
Step 4. Add barium nitrate if you want a green glow
Instead of strontium nitrate for a red flame, you can use barium nitrate to create a green flame. Pour 60 grams of barium nitrate into the mixture after you have measured it correctly using a scale, then stir until evenly distributed.
- Make sure you stir the ingredients well so that they are evenly mixed.
- Add more water and dextrin if the mixture seems too dry.
Step 5. Dip the wire or stick into the mixture, leaving room for the handles
You can use stiff wire or wooden sticks to make fireworks sticks. You can also use kebab or satay skewers. Dip each stick or wire into the mixture and gently lift until the top 2/3 of the wire or stick is completely covered by the mixture. Make sure the bottom third of the stick or wire is not exposed to the mixture to use as a handle.
- Sticks or wire as long as 25 centimeters is enough. This size is also a common size for kebab or satay skewers.
- Make sure you leave at least 10 centimeters at the bottom of the stick or wire for grip.
Step 6. Wait for 24 hours for the fireworks to dry
Store fireworks sticks in a safe and dry place, away from sources of ignition. If you want, you can stick each stick or wire into the shoebox to keep the stick or wire upright while drying. However, this step is not mandatory.
- You can also place fireworks by putting them to sleep while they dry.
- Do not touch the mixture until it is completely dry. Otherwise, the "dough" or fireworks mixture will come off the stick or wire.
Step 7. Light the fireworks by burning the ends of a stick or wire coated in the mixture
Hold the uncoated end of the stick or wire. Point the tip of the mixture-coated fireworks directly at the fire and wait for the fireworks to ignite.
- Do not use lighters or matches to light fireworks to avoid burning your hands. It would be better if you use a candle to light the fireworks.
- Keep fireworks away from your body when they are lit to keep yourself safe.
Method 2 of 3: Making a Smoke Bomb
Step 1. Make a mold of any shape using aluminum foil
Your smoke bomb can be made in any shape you like. For tablet or disc smoke bombs, cover the bottom of the soda can with foil, then lift the can. The aluminum foil will keep its shape.
- You can also use balls, rectangular objects, or any other simple design you want.
- Shape the foil so that the mold opening is facing up, then set the mold aside.
Step 2. Pour 130 grams of sugar into the pan
Measure out the sugar using a measuring cup to make sure you're using it deep, but make sure you don't start the heat right away.
As much as possible do not use a measuring cup for liquids because the measurements are different
Step 3. Add 200 grams of potassium nitrate
Add potassium nitrate to the pan with sugar. Use a wooden spoon to stir the two powdered ingredients together until they are evenly combined.
- Make sure the ingredients are evenly mixed. Otherwise, the bomb may not produce good smoke once you've finished making it.
- Spread the mixture on the pan once it is evenly mixed.
- You can buy potassium nitrate from an internet chemical store or some major supermarkets.
Step 4. Turn the heat to low while stirring the mixture with a spoon
Place the skillet on the stove that has been turned on to low heat and keep stirring the ingredients slowly. Eventually, the sugar will start to melt.
Keep stirring the mixture while the sugar melts and mixes with the potassium nitrate
Step 5. Remove the pan from the stove once the mixture has melted
When sugar melts and mixes with potassium nitrate, they form a watery precipitate. Once the mixture is melted and can flow easily over the surface of the pan, remove the pan from the heat and turn off the heat.
- Keep stirring the mixture while removing the pan from the stove.
- Move quickly. The mixture will harden as soon as the pan is removed from the stove.
Step 6. Pour the mixture into the aluminum mould
Be careful not to spill the mixture. Once the mixture has been added to the bottom of the mold (you can pour the mixture to the depth or thickness of the bomb you want), set the rest of the mixture aside.
- If you have any leftover mixture, you can make a new smoke bomb.
- Do not touch the aluminum mold to which the mixture has been added. The paper will become very hot to the touch.
Step 7. Cool the bomb, then remove it from the mould
Let the mixture sit in the mold overnight, then peel the foil to remove the smoke bomb. The bomb is completely flammable so you don't need a fuse.
- Do not light a smoke bomb indoors or breathe in the fumes that the bomb produces.
- Be careful when setting off smoke bombs as they may produce more smoke than you think.
Step 8. Light the smoke bomb by setting it on fire
This smoke bomb has no wick. To light it, simply burn one side of the bomb with a lighter or lighter, then place the bomb on the ground or a flat surface.
- Smoke bombs will not burn with a clearly visible flame, but keep the bomb away from flammable objects to maintain safety.
- Do not hold the bomb while the bomb is lit.
Method 3 of 3: Creating a Glow Snake
Step 1. Pour 1.5 grams of powdered sugar into a bowl
Measure out the sugar and pour it into a medium-sized bowl to allow the ingredients to mix easily. Make sure you use powdered sugar which is usually used to make strong.
You can grind granulated sugar using a coffee grinder if you don't have powdered sugar
Step 2. Add 0.375 grams of baking soda and mix with sugar
Use a spoon to make sure the flour, sugar and baking soda are evenly mixed before moving on to the next step.
Step 3. Make a sand dune and press the top inward
There's no specific calculation of how much sand to use, but prepare enough sand so you can make small mounds on a plate or baking sheet. Once the mound is made, press your index finger against the top of the mound to make a hollow.
- When you're done, the mound should look like a donut.
- Press the top of the mound until it reaches the surface of the pan or plate in the center of the mound.
Step 4. Wet the sand with a high-alcohol drink
Pour drinks with alcohol content above 40%. The higher the alcohol content in the drink used, the easier the fireworks will be lit. Drinks with very high alcohol content such as Bacardi 151 can be the best choice.
- If you don't have alcoholic beverages on hand, you can use other fuels such as lighter fluid.
- Pour in just enough drink to wet the sand without breaking its shape.
Step 5. Pour the sugar and baking soda mixture into a hollow in the sand
Use a spoon to fill the hollow in the center of the sand dune with the sugar and baking soda mixture. Again, this step does not require a specific dose. Simply fill the basin with a mixture of cave and sand to the brim.
- The fire snake has now been completed. To light it, simply burn the sand that has absorbed the alcohol.
- Do not add alcohol or fuel after the snake is lit. Otherwise, you could end up burning the water bottle or fuel.
Step 6. Burn the alcohol-soaked sand to light the fireworks
This fire serpent has no wick. Therefore, you need to take a match or lighter and burn the sand that has absorbed the alcohol. The sand will burn first, then the “snake” will spread or lengthen.
- Stay away from fireworks after they have been lit.
- Consider this place to burn fireworks. As the snake lengthens, it may become larger than the plate or baking sheet you are using. Therefore, keep flammable objects away until the fireworks go out.
Warning
- Read the applicable laws and regulations regarding the manufacture and use of your own fireworks before starting this project.
- Never hold a lit firework directly with your hands.
- Always wear eye protection when setting off fireworks.
- Have a fire extinguisher ready whenever you use or light fireworks.
