Robert Jones

“ To fire sky rockets, under water, you must have stands made as usual, only the rails must be placed flat, instead of edge ways, and have holes in them for the rocket sticks to go through; for if they were hung upon hooks, the motion of the water, would throw them off; the stands being made, if the pond is deep enough, sink them at the sides, so deep, that when the rockets are in, their heads, may just appear above the surface of the water; to the mouth of each rocket, fix a leader, which put through the hole with the stick ”

“ Rolled stars are commonly made about the size of a musket ball, though they are rolled of several sizes, from the bigness of a pistol ball, to one inch diameter; and sometimes they are made very small, but then they are called sparks; great care must be taken in making of stars, first, that the several ingredients be reduced to a fine powder; secondly, that the composition be well worked and mixed together. Before you begin to roll, take about a pound of composition, and wet it with the following liquid, enough to make it stick together and roll easy ”

“ Having rolled and dryed your cases, fill them in the following manner: first put in a little meal powder, and then a star, on which ram lightly a ladle or two of composition, then a little meal powder, and on that a star, then again composition, and so on till you have filled the case. Stars for fire pumps should not be round, but must be made either square, or flat and circular, with a hole through the middle; the quantity of powder for throwing the stars must increase as you come near the top of the case, for if much powder be put at the bottom, it will burst the case. ”

“ You are to observe that there need not be any port fires, at the bottom of the globe within four inches of the spindle, for if there were, they would have no effect, but only burn the wheel; all the port fires, must 164 be placed perpendicular from the center of the globe, with their mouths outwards; and must all be cloathed with leaders, so as all to take fire with the second case of the wheel; which cases must burn two at a time, one opposite the other. When two cases of a wheel begin together, two will end together ”

“ To prepare your chest, you must lay a quick-match, in all the grooves, from hole to hole; then take some sky rockets, and rub them in the mouth, with wet meal powder, and put a bit of match up the cavity of each, which match, must be long enough, to hang, a little below 154 the mouth of the rocket; your rockets and chest being prepared, according to the above directions, put the sticks of the rockets, through the holes in the top and bottom of the chest, so that their mouths may rest on the quick-match in the grooves ”

“ Ballóón wheels are made to turn horizontally, they must be made two feet diameter, without any spokes, and very strong, with any number of sides. On the top of a wheel range and fix tin pots, three inches diameter and seven inches in height each, as many of these as there are cases on the wheel; near the bottom of each pot, make a small vent, into each of these vents carry a leader from the tail of each case; some of the 198 pots load with stars, and some with serpents, crackers, &c. As the wheels turn, the pots will successively be fired, and throw into the air a great variety of fires. ”

“ The large rocket must have only half a diameter of charge rammed above the piercer, for if filled to the usual height, it would turn before the small one takes fire, and entirely destroy the intended effect; when one rocket is headed with another, there will be no occasion for any blowing powder; for the force with which it lets off, will be sufficient to disingage it from the head of the first fired rocket. The sticks for these sort of rockets, must be a little longer than for those headed with stars, rains, &c. ”

“ Horizontal wheels are best when their fells are made circular; in the middle of the top of the nave, must be a pintle, turned out of the same piece as the nave, two inches long, and equal in diameter to the bore of one of the cases of the wheel; there must be a hole bored up the center of the nave, within half an inch of the top of the pintle ”

“ Cut it in pieces about one or two feet long, then split each piece in four parts; scale off the bark and hard knots, and dry them in the sun or in an oven, then make in the earth a square hole, and line it with bricks, in which lay the wood, crossing one another, and set it on fire; when thoroughly lighted and in a flame, cover the hole with boards, and fling earth over them close, to prevent the air from getting in, yet so as not to fall among the charcoal, and when it has lain thus for twenty-four hours, take out the coals and lay them in a dry place for use. ”

“ When your rockets and sticks are ready, lay the rockets in the grooves in the sticks and tie them on. Those who, merely for curiosity, may chose to make rockets of different sizes, to what I have expressed in the table of dimensions, may find the length of their sticks, by making them for rockets, from half an ounce to one pounds sixty diameters of the rocket long; and for rockets above one pound, fifty or fifty-two diameters will be a good length; their thickness at top 96 may be about half a diameter, and their breadth a very little more ”

“ Common port fires are intended purposely to fire the works, their fire being very slow, and the heat of the flame so intense, that, if applyed to rockets, leaders, &c., it will fire them immediately. Port fires may be made of any length, but are seldom made more than twenty one inches in length; the interior diameter of port fire moulds, should be ten sixteenths of an inch, and the diameter of the former, half an inch. ”

“ Before you tie on the cases cut the upper part of all their ends, except the last, a little shelving, that the fire from one, may play over the other, without being obstructed by the case. Wheel cases, have no clay drove in their ends nor pinched, but are always left open, only the last, or those which are not to lead fire, which must be well secured. ”

“ When you would have a broad-side given, let a leader be carried to a cracker, placed on the outside of the ship, which cracker must be tied loose, or the reports will be too slow; in all the ships put artificial guns, at the port holes. ”

“ The charge of rockets must always be drove one diameter above the piercer, 86 and on it must be rammed one third of a diameter of clay, through the middle of which bore a small hole to the composition, in order that, when the charge is burnt to the top, it may communicate its fire, through the hole, to the stars in the head: great care must always be taken, to strike with the mallet, and with an equal force, the same number of strokes to each ladle-ful of charge ”

“ For mortars of six, eight, or ten inches diameter, the serpents should be made in one and two ounce cases, six or seven inches long, and fired by a leader, brought out of the mouth of the mortar, and turned down the outside, and the end of it covered with paper, to prevent the sparks of the other works from setting it on fire. For a six inch mortar, let the quantity of powder for firing be two ounces ”

“ Signal-rockets are made of several sorts, according to the different signals intended to be given: but in Artificial Fireworks, two sorts are only made use of, which are one with reports, and the other without any thing, except the charge; but those for the use of the Navy and Army, are headed with stars, serpents, &c.——​Rockets which are to be bounced, must have their cases made one and a half or two diameters longer, than the common proportion, and after they are filled, drive in a double quantity of clay, then bounce and pinch them, after the usual manner, and fix on each a cap. ”

“ Take a pound of camphor and melt it in a pint of spirit of wine over a slow fire; then add to it a pound of gum-arabick that has been dissolved; with this liquor, mix one pound of saltpetre, six ounces of sulphur, and five ounces of meal powder; and after you have stirred them well together, roll them into stars proportionable to the rockets for which you intend them.
Of the Colours produced by the different Compositions.
As variety of fires adds greatly to a collection of works, it is necessary that every artist should know the different effect of each ingredient ”

“ These leaders will hold the wheel steady while the sun is fixing up, and will also be a sure method of lighting both cases of the wheel together. A sun thus made is called a brilliant sun, because the wood work is entirely covered with fire from the wheel in the middle, so that there appears nothing but sparks of brilliant fire; but if you would have a transparent 213 face in the center, you must have one made of paste board, of any size; the method of making a face is, by cutting out the eyes, nose, and mouth, for the sparks of the wheel to appear through ”

“ I would not advise any one who makes rockets for his private amusement, to ram them solid, for it requires a very skilful hand, and an expensive apparatus for boring them, which will be shewn herereafter. ”

“ Driving of rockets solid is the most expeditious method, but not so certain as ramming them over a piercer, which I have found by experience.
Of Moulds for Wheel Cases, or Serpents.
Fig. 12. represents a mould in which the cases are drove solid; L the nipple [3] , with a point [4] at top, which, when the case is filling, serves to stop the neck, and prevent the composition from falling out, which without this point it would do; and, in consequence, the air would get into the vacancy in the charge, and at the time of firing cause the case to burst. ”

“ Secondly, that with long necks the stars will be thrown to a great height, and will not fall before they are spent, or spread too much; but, when made to perfection, will rise and spread in such a manner as to form exactly a wheat-sheaf. ”

“ In tying on the rockets, place their heads on the opposite sides of the cross stick; and their ends on the opposite sides of the long stick, then carry a leader from the mouth of one, into that of the other. When these rockets are to be fired, suspend them between two hooks or nails, then burn the leader through the middle, and both will take fire at the same time. Rockets of one pound, are a good size, for this use. ”

“ By this method may be made a crown, which is done by having the hoops bent in the form of a crown. Sometimes globes and crowns, are ordered so as to stand still, and the wheel only to turn round; but when you would have the globe or crown to stand still, and the wheel to run by itself, the block of the wheel must not be so long, nor the spindle any longer than to just raise the globe a little above the wheel ”

“ Signal sky rockets without bounces, are nothing more than common sky rockets, closed and caped: rockets of this sort are very light, therefore do not require such heavy sticks as those with loaded heads, for which reason, you may cut one length of the rocket, off the stick, or else make them thinner. ”

“ There are different sorts of vertical wheels, some having their fells of a circular form, others of an hexagon, octagon, or decagon form, or any number of sides, according to the length of the cases, you design for the wheel: your spokes being fixed in the nave, nail slips of tin, with their edges turned up, so as to form grooves for the cases to ly in, from the end of one spoke to another ”

“ A rose piece may be used for a mutation of a regulated piece, or fired by itself, this piece makes the best appearance when made large; if its exterior diameter be six feet it will be a good size; fig. 4, shews the manner it appears before it is fired; let the exterior fell be made of wood, and supported by four wooden spokes, all the other parts on which the illuminations are fixed, must be made of strong iron wire ”

“ The performance of the principal part of fireworks depends much on the compositions being well mixed; therefore great care ought to be taken in this part of the work, particularly in the compositions for sky rockets. When you have four or five pounds of ingredients to mix, which is a sufficient quantity at a time (for a larger proportion will not do so well) , first put the different ingredients together, then work them about with your hands, till you think they are pretty well incorporated; after which put them into a lawn sieve with a receiver and top to it ”

“ When the rocket is fired, and arrived to its proper height, it will give fire to the case at top, which will cause both rocket and stick, to spin very fast, in their return, and represent a worm of fire, descending to the ground. ”