Childhood Memories of Our First Home made Firecrackers

[mr.e moose]

I should probably plead the Fifth but I am sure that the statute of limitations has run out many years ago. Forty plus years ago we got our hands on 4 commercial fireworks (the type used for Canada Day and the Fourth of July).

Armed with the sage advice that they were shot from a 4" sheet metal barrel we grabbed a chunk of dryer pipe and headed off to the bush behind our sub division late one night and dug it into the ground. Dropped one down the pipe, lite the fuse and ran. The propellant charge blew the pipe wide open and we had one of the big loud bangers go off on the ground. Every house in the neighbourhood had the lights go on and a few minutes later the Fire Department showed up. They took their axes to the doors of the Junior High because they thought that one of the boilers had exploded.

We high tailed it out of there only to return another night. Having scrounged a chunk of Sch 40 pipe I welded a base plate and a rebar spike to it and returned the next week with my cronies. The first shot off was a starburst, high in the sky and a perfect success. Next one was what I guess you would call a Chrysanthemum and there was a stirring in the neighbourhood, with one to go we hurried to get the last one off before the police showed up. Dropped it down the pipe lite the fuse and waited, there was a little thump and that was it. Figuring that it was a dud we decided to get the barrel out and get home before we got in to too much trouble.

As we were pulling the spike out of the ground I looked over and saw a orange glowing cylinder on the ground. I yelled get the F@ck out of here, and we all high tailed it out. Damn thing went off like the first.

The big difference between then and now was that back then we had experience with stuff like that, nowadays not so much.

Not saying that we were the sharpest tool in the shed back then, but we weren't distracted by Facebook and our pants were hitched up high enough we could run.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

Back in our adventurous youth, my brother made an interesting discovery.

Take a 4-gallon oil drum with the top cut out, as used by all the best workshops as a rubbish bin.

Invert this drum on a flat piece of lawn.

Stick the end of the oxy torch under the open end and turn on an oxygen-rich gas mix for about ten seconds.

Withdraw the torch and light it, then play the flame over the lower side of the inverted, gas-filled drum.

Shortly thereafter, the drum will leap about fifty feet into the air, accompanied by a VERY satisfying BANG,

It will then fall to earth with a CLANG, hopefully not onto the giggling idiots who just launched it.

In a suburban back yard, the din is impressive and the need for level ground imperative if you don't want to land the drum over the fence into the neighbour's washing, or on your own roof, cars, mum's flower-beds, etc...

The price of welding gas these days makes such fun and games a bit less attractive.

[CINDERS]

Just down from our house there was a very small park it had 1 small tree like no more than 50sq meters in area where our street met another one so this was the area designated for catherine wheels and rockets.
As usual we had a cardboard box full of the rockets and catherine wheels but I always kept a string of tomthumbs in my pocket which you could hold one on the very tip of you fingers and let it off with no injury showing how brave you were.

Anyway we were having a fat time tuppeny rockets going off catherine wheels spinning and the good old roman candle hissing and fizzing away with my occasional scaring of my sister with a tomthumb going off beside her.
Well we got rid of all our ground stuff including a few chases from my sister, the big moment had arrived the launching of the 2 shilling rocket as I brought it from pocket money I had the honour of lighting the touch paper.

Well my sister stuck her nose into the mix saying I was not pushing it into the ground enough and it would fall over I snapped back it was in deep enough.
So she went to mum and got her onside so I had no option but to push the stick it in very deeply, so I lit the touch paper and retired.
B*gger me the moment the touch paper got to the motor section a great gout of smoke and flames shot out with a very staunch hissing sound.
Now I for one just stood transfixed that it was alight and going well only problem was it was not moving anywhere into the sky but firmly planted on terra firma.
We all came to the same conclusion I think Mum, Dad, sis & me new once the motor had stopped it was only a fraction of time before the starburst head went off.
As fast as we could ran to a safe distance poor dad his legs were never the same after WWII could only hobble like a crab on tequila.

Well it was an impressive explosion a most satisfactory star burst at ground level only thing is there was a car yard on that corner as well.
All evidence was removed and nothing ever mentioned about the event especially when the car yard owner came into dads shop (On the same street 100 meters away) complaining about irresponsible kids & fire works.........

[emmagee1917]

Well , OK , here goes :
My best friend from my school days had announced he was going to put on a fish fry . Invited a ton of folks from farms around his . Problem was , he was not catching fish from his own lake at near the rate needed for the fry .
I had just come back from a camping trip and had an empty propane lantern bottle , one of the old style tall , skinny screw-on types . I also had a fresh pound of a shotgun powder given to me that I had no use for .
Well , I hacksawed the top threads off , poured in the powder , still had a ton of room , so topped it off with 4F priming powder ( I'd never prime that many flintlocks in my life ) , stuck in a spark plug , sealed it with a tube of clear silicone , rigged a pair of electrical wires to it with a piece of bailing wire to hang it from , and went to his lake that night .
He had a little skiff and a wire fence was strung out across the middle of the lake . We rowed out and hung the cylinder from the fence , about 6 feet under , upside down . Rowed back to shore and touched the wire ends to his truck battery . Heard a muffled UMMPH an a shake in the ground . A pillar looking a lot like a hot water heater with out a skin ( and about a 40 gallon size ) rose out of the water , held for a second , then collapsed back down . Was not at all what I expected to see . He collected a skiff - o - fish in a few minutes .
Problem solved .
I guess it's true - no problem can't be solved with the proper application of some high explosives.
Chris

[painter777]

I think Mum, Dad, sis & me

A family memory you'll always have.

Well , OK , here goes

Yep....... That's how it starts, and Here hold my beer !

Feel like I was there, Thx for sharing Guys

Charlie

[HENRY B]

one more . maybe 30 years ago i and my helper where installing a new a/c system at a skating rink. We were welding the copper lines outside ,next to the condensing unit, which was located next to a large brick wall. We just got back from lunch. We both had large drinks in paper cups. I drank all my coke and only had ice left in the cup. It had a plastic lid and plastic straw in the cup.So with that I said to my helper watch this. I then took the welding rig and shot oxygen and acetylene thru the straw into the ice. I then lite the straw. It burned for about 5 sec and then blew up. The sound came off the brick wall,back at us next to the unit, for at least 20 min my helper kept saying i cannt hear anything iam deaf!! Luckily his hearing returned that day . To this day i have both eyes and all ten fingers. thank you lord