JoeRatman
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A repost from the Pyro Universe forum.
The Crackling Centipede
October, 2004
By Joe Zastrow
Have you ever wanted to have a string of noisy firecrackers or a bright, loud and long crackling effect in your fireworks show, but you didn't because firecrackers were illegal in your state or you didn't want to spend the money for a large roll of firecrackers? The "crackling centipede" can give you that effect, inexpensively, using "safe and sane" magic whips.
I wanted to have a two minute crackle effect in one part of a show that I was giving. Firecrackers are illegal in my state. I used the "crackling centipede" to solve the problem.
Supplies:
About 10 feet of fast visco fuse with 1.0 seconds/inch burn rate.
About 11 feet of 18 inch wide aluminum foil.
About 10 boxes of magic whips (12 per box, 10" whips).
Black electrical tape.
Scotch or masking tape
Ruler or measuring tape.
Magic marker
Magic whips are thin tubes of cellophane paper that contain crackle material. They are generally considered novelty items in many states, so they are legal in many states. They come in lengths from 10"-30", but the ten inch variety seem to be the easiest to find. A ten inch long magic whip gives a bright and loud crackle effect for about 7 seconds.
Unroll about two feet of aluminum foil from the roll, shiny side up! You might it easier to remove the roll of foil from the box, but then you will need something to keep it from rolling away. Do not cut the foil! Unroll about 1 foot of fuse from the roll and straighten it out. Do not cut the fuse. Lay it the long way, in the middle of the shiny side of the foil about 12 inches from the end. Starting at the end of the fuse, mark six dots on the fuse two inches apart. Take two magic whips and bend the fuses, one inch from the end and at 90 degrees. Lay them down one on either side of the fuse, perpendicular to the fuse and at the first mark. The bent fuses should point towards the roll of foil. Many magic whips have a cardboard or paper base inside the cellophane tube. This base should be down to get the best effect.
Take a piece of black electrical tape and wrap it tightly around the two fuses of the magic whips and the fuse. Use the methods described here. These are the "legs" of the centipede.
Take another two magic whips and place them at the next mark (2 inches away) on the fuse. Attach them to the fuse as you did the first two. Continue adding all the whips from one box (6 pairs of legs) to the six marks. Make sure the centipede is centered on the aluminum foil 12 inches from the end. Tape the fuse at the first and sixth legs. Tape each leg at the edge of the foil. If you don't want the legs hanging off the foil, you can bend the whips a bit to make them fit better.
Unroll another foot of fuse. Mark six more marks 2 inches apart from the last mark on the fuse. Fold the 12 inches of aluminum foil over the top of the 12 magic whips. Press down firmly so the fuse and whips are immobilized. Unroll another foot of foil from the roll.
Now add another box of whips to the centipede as you did before. Make sure you tape each leg at the edge of the foil and tape the fuse at the first and sixth legs.
When you are done with the 2nd box, unroll another foot of fuse and add six more marks, 2 inches apart to the fuse and then fold the 12 inch end of foil on top of the 12 magic whips and press down firmly. Then unroll another foot of foil from the roll. Continue this process for nine boxes of whips.
At the tenth box of whips, if you want "nearly" two minutes of crackle, only put down four pairs of whips. This will make the fuse 114 inches (114 seconds) to the last two whips. These last whips will burn for seven seconds, giving you a burn time of 121 seconds. If you don't need it that exact, use up all the whips. Cut the foil from the roll. If you are going to use an electrical igniter, attach it now, at the end of the fuse. As before, fold the 12 inch end of foil over the last set of whips and press firmly. You should now have a small 18"x12" foil package. Put the foil package in a garbage bag for storage and transportation.
When it is time to ignite your centipede, remove it from the bag and set it down on a hard surface, such as asphalt, cement or a board. Carefully unroll it and then ignite it. Most of the time, 3 pairs of magic whips will be crackling at the same time.
Putting the centipede on the foil serves several purposes. You only have to work with a two foot piece of foil and centipede at a time. This will fit nicely on a card table as you construct it. When you are done, you will have a small package (18"x12" and a few inches thick) for easy storage and transportation. Transporting a full 10 foot long centipede is tricky. If you just put the centipede in a bag without the foil, it will get very tangled and whips can fall off as you untangle it. The folded foil and tape keep the centipede legs immobilized and prevent tangling. Lastly, the shiny surface of the aluminum foil increases the brightness of the flashes and crackles.
Variations:
Add crackle balls, crackle ground spinners or crackle jumping jacks or small strobes at various points along the fuse, to add some variety. Attach a long enough piece of fuse to these items, so that they can be off the foil and away from the whips. Attach the other end of the fuse to the fuse of the centipede. Fold them into the foil package, but unfold them off the foil when you unroll the centipede. Here are pictures of an unrolled centipede with spinner.
You can lengthen or shorten the centipede depending on how long of a crackle effect you need. The total crackle time will be:
"total crackle time in seconds" = "fuse length in inches" * "1.0 seconds per inch" + "7 seconds"
You can put the whips closer together (1-1.5 inches apart) for more crackling or further apart (3 or more inches) for less. Don't put them more than 7 inches apart or you will have a lull in your crackle.
You can also use normal visco fuse (burns 2.5 seconds per inch), which will give you a shorter centipede and you will need fewer whips. Don't put them more than 2.8 inches apart or you will have a lull in your crackle. For a 2.5 inch per second fuse the total crackle time is:
"total crackle time in seconds" = "fuse length in inches" * "2.5 seconds per inch" + "7 seconds"
For more crackling effect use fuse with a faster burn time (0.5 seconds per inch) or use longer magic whips. Then more whips will be burning at any given moment. For 0.5 seconds per inch fuse, the 1.0 or 2.5 seconds per inch, in the above equations would be changed to 0.5 seconds per inch. For longer whips, the "7 seconds" in the above equations would be changed
to be the burn length in seconds of the longer magic whip.
Instead of using regular fuse, get some crackling fuse to add more crackle.
Here is the centipede in the fire zone ready to be fired electrically
The Crackling Centipede
October, 2004
By Joe Zastrow
Have you ever wanted to have a string of noisy firecrackers or a bright, loud and long crackling effect in your fireworks show, but you didn't because firecrackers were illegal in your state or you didn't want to spend the money for a large roll of firecrackers? The "crackling centipede" can give you that effect, inexpensively, using "safe and sane" magic whips.
I wanted to have a two minute crackle effect in one part of a show that I was giving. Firecrackers are illegal in my state. I used the "crackling centipede" to solve the problem.
Supplies:
About 10 feet of fast visco fuse with 1.0 seconds/inch burn rate.
About 11 feet of 18 inch wide aluminum foil.
About 10 boxes of magic whips (12 per box, 10" whips).
Black electrical tape.
Scotch or masking tape
Ruler or measuring tape.
Magic marker
Magic whips are thin tubes of cellophane paper that contain crackle material. They are generally considered novelty items in many states, so they are legal in many states. They come in lengths from 10"-30", but the ten inch variety seem to be the easiest to find. A ten inch long magic whip gives a bright and loud crackle effect for about 7 seconds.
Unroll about two feet of aluminum foil from the roll, shiny side up! You might it easier to remove the roll of foil from the box, but then you will need something to keep it from rolling away. Do not cut the foil! Unroll about 1 foot of fuse from the roll and straighten it out. Do not cut the fuse. Lay it the long way, in the middle of the shiny side of the foil about 12 inches from the end. Starting at the end of the fuse, mark six dots on the fuse two inches apart. Take two magic whips and bend the fuses, one inch from the end and at 90 degrees. Lay them down one on either side of the fuse, perpendicular to the fuse and at the first mark. The bent fuses should point towards the roll of foil. Many magic whips have a cardboard or paper base inside the cellophane tube. This base should be down to get the best effect.
Take a piece of black electrical tape and wrap it tightly around the two fuses of the magic whips and the fuse. Use the methods described here. These are the "legs" of the centipede.
Take another two magic whips and place them at the next mark (2 inches away) on the fuse. Attach them to the fuse as you did the first two. Continue adding all the whips from one box (6 pairs of legs) to the six marks. Make sure the centipede is centered on the aluminum foil 12 inches from the end. Tape the fuse at the first and sixth legs. Tape each leg at the edge of the foil. If you don't want the legs hanging off the foil, you can bend the whips a bit to make them fit better.
Unroll another foot of fuse. Mark six more marks 2 inches apart from the last mark on the fuse. Fold the 12 inches of aluminum foil over the top of the 12 magic whips. Press down firmly so the fuse and whips are immobilized. Unroll another foot of foil from the roll.
Now add another box of whips to the centipede as you did before. Make sure you tape each leg at the edge of the foil and tape the fuse at the first and sixth legs.
When you are done with the 2nd box, unroll another foot of fuse and add six more marks, 2 inches apart to the fuse and then fold the 12 inch end of foil on top of the 12 magic whips and press down firmly. Then unroll another foot of foil from the roll. Continue this process for nine boxes of whips.
At the tenth box of whips, if you want "nearly" two minutes of crackle, only put down four pairs of whips. This will make the fuse 114 inches (114 seconds) to the last two whips. These last whips will burn for seven seconds, giving you a burn time of 121 seconds. If you don't need it that exact, use up all the whips. Cut the foil from the roll. If you are going to use an electrical igniter, attach it now, at the end of the fuse. As before, fold the 12 inch end of foil over the last set of whips and press firmly. You should now have a small 18"x12" foil package. Put the foil package in a garbage bag for storage and transportation.
When it is time to ignite your centipede, remove it from the bag and set it down on a hard surface, such as asphalt, cement or a board. Carefully unroll it and then ignite it. Most of the time, 3 pairs of magic whips will be crackling at the same time.
Putting the centipede on the foil serves several purposes. You only have to work with a two foot piece of foil and centipede at a time. This will fit nicely on a card table as you construct it. When you are done, you will have a small package (18"x12" and a few inches thick) for easy storage and transportation. Transporting a full 10 foot long centipede is tricky. If you just put the centipede in a bag without the foil, it will get very tangled and whips can fall off as you untangle it. The folded foil and tape keep the centipede legs immobilized and prevent tangling. Lastly, the shiny surface of the aluminum foil increases the brightness of the flashes and crackles.
Variations:
Add crackle balls, crackle ground spinners or crackle jumping jacks or small strobes at various points along the fuse, to add some variety. Attach a long enough piece of fuse to these items, so that they can be off the foil and away from the whips. Attach the other end of the fuse to the fuse of the centipede. Fold them into the foil package, but unfold them off the foil when you unroll the centipede. Here are pictures of an unrolled centipede with spinner.
You can lengthen or shorten the centipede depending on how long of a crackle effect you need. The total crackle time will be:
"total crackle time in seconds" = "fuse length in inches" * "1.0 seconds per inch" + "7 seconds"
You can put the whips closer together (1-1.5 inches apart) for more crackling or further apart (3 or more inches) for less. Don't put them more than 7 inches apart or you will have a lull in your crackle.
You can also use normal visco fuse (burns 2.5 seconds per inch), which will give you a shorter centipede and you will need fewer whips. Don't put them more than 2.8 inches apart or you will have a lull in your crackle. For a 2.5 inch per second fuse the total crackle time is:
"total crackle time in seconds" = "fuse length in inches" * "2.5 seconds per inch" + "7 seconds"
For more crackling effect use fuse with a faster burn time (0.5 seconds per inch) or use longer magic whips. Then more whips will be burning at any given moment. For 0.5 seconds per inch fuse, the 1.0 or 2.5 seconds per inch, in the above equations would be changed to 0.5 seconds per inch. For longer whips, the "7 seconds" in the above equations would be changed
to be the burn length in seconds of the longer magic whip.
Instead of using regular fuse, get some crackling fuse to add more crackle.
Here is the centipede in the fire zone ready to be fired electrically
