Passfire
Volume 2, Issue
12
Tool Tip... Page 1
Low Cost 4" Comet Pumps
Introduction:
This project was designed around two guiding principles: 1) bigger is better
and 2) pyro hobbyists have no money. Many of you have probably been
wanting to make large comets, but have been denied this endeavor due to a
lack of affordable tooling or the ability to make the tooling yourself. The tool
shown here can be made from parts readily available in most hardware
stores, with a price tag below $20 for all materials. The method of comet
pump making shown here can be adjusted for any size comet you want, be
they hollow core or solid. All without the need for large, expensive chunks of
metal, machine tools or wood lathes.
Figure 1 shows a wooden 4" comet pump that I turned on a lathe. However, I
figured that most people don't have a wood lathe and if they did, they wouldn't
need me to tell them how to make something as simple as a 3-1/2" diameter
cylinder with a hole through the middle! The sleeve shown in Figure one is a
segment of 4" PVC that has been reduced in diameter so that the I.D.
measures 3-1/2". The procedure for doing this is shown below.
Figure 1: A wooden comet pump
Those that do have a wood lathe have the advantage of being able to turn a
turned on a lathe. custom profile such as a sphereical spindle base, which is necessary when
making large comets that can be attached to ball shells. The comet pump
described in this article makes comets with flat surfaces on both ends, which
works fine for stand alone comets and comets that can be attached to
canister shells.
Making the Sleeve:
The pump shown here is made using two segments of PVC, as shown in
Figure 2. The idea of using PVC sleeves to pump comets is definitely not
new, but it presents a problem when the standard diameters of available PVC
do not match the comet diameter that you need.
Since there is no PVC with a 3-1/2" inside diameter, it becomes necessary to
Figure 2: 4" PVC outer sleeve and shrink down a segment of 4" pipe. Start with a 9" long segment of 4" PVC that
3" PVC inner piston. has a 1/4" wall thickness. Mark two points on the outside edge of one end that
are 1-3/8" apart. This is the segment of pipe that you will need to remove. You
will need to mark guide lines down the side of the pipe as shown in Figure 2.
This is easily done by laying the pipe on it's side next to a thick piece of wood
that runs the length of the pipe, using the wood as a guide when drawing the
lines.
The tricky part is making the two cuts to remove the unwanted segment of
pipe. The easiest tool to use for this is a thin kerf Japanese hand saw, as
seen in Figure 3. A bench vise is really handy for holding the pipe while you
are sawing. As you make the first cut, the pipe will want to close in and bind
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the saw. About halfway through the cut it becomes necessary to wedge a
chisel into the gap to hold it open while you cut. Making the second cut is
easier and should not require this step.
Once you have cut out the thin strip, clean up the edges with sand paper or a
deburring tool. Next you will want to use three pipe clamps to pull the pipe in
and close the gap as much as possible. Make sure that your 3" I.D. piston
pipe still fits easily inside the sleeve when the gap is closed. The piston pipe
is also a 9" long segment of 3" PVC which also has a 1/4" wall thickness,
making the O.D. equal to 3-1/2".
Figure 3: Reducing the diameter of
the 4" pipe to 3-1/2" I.D.
Once the sleeve gap is pulled in as close as you can get it, and it looks like
the piston will fit inside with no problems, place the sleeve in an oven set to
250 deg. for about 15 minutes. This will soften the plastic and cause the pipe
to maintain it's new diameter once the pipe clamps are removed. Allow the
pipe to cool fully before working with it, as it will be very pliable coming out of
the oven.
Figure 5 shows a perfect fit of the reduced 4" pipe with the 3-1/2" O.D. piston
pipe inside of it. If there is a lot of space around the inner pipe, you can
always slice off another thin strip from the pipe with your saw. However, if the
sleeve is now too small to allow the piston to fit inside, you will have to start
over using a narrower gap such as 1-1/4" next time.
More...
Figure 4: Pipe clamps used to close
the gap prior to heating in oven.
Figure 5: After heating the sleeve
should fit snugly over the piston
pipe.
Copyright © 2002-2005 Passfire Labs, LLC.
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Volume 2, Issue
12
4" Comet Pump Page 2
Building the Base:
Since this comet pump is for producing hollow core comets, it is necessary to
use a base similar to a rocket spindle. The base is nothing more than a block
of wood that holds a 3/4" metal which is cut to 10" long. I prefer a solid piece
of aluminum bar stock, which can be found in most scrap yards for only a few
dollars. Hollow tubing can be used, but the top end must be plugged to keep
powder from falling into it while loading the sleeve. This is easily done by
stuffing a wad of paper into the end and then filling over top of it with hot glue.
The base is made from a 6" square piece of 3/4" thick plywood and a 3-1/2"
Figure 6: Plywood base, 3-1/2" dia. diameter disk also made from 3/4" plywood. Plywood is preferred over solid
wood because it will not split under pressure.
disk and the 3/4" aluminum rod.
Use a compass when marking the circle to cut for making the disk so that you
will know the exact center point. You will drill a hole here later, so mark it with
an X. The disk can easily be cut on a band saw or router table. If you have
neither of these you can use a saber saw, saws all or similar hand held tool to
try and cut the circle. Or you can just find a friend with wood tools and have
him make it.
The wooden disk is simply glued to the middle of the square base using wood
glue and a C clamp, as seen in Figure 7.
Figure 7: Attaching disk to base Once the glue is dry, you will need to drill a 3/4" hole about 1" deep into the
using wood glue and C clamp. base using a spade bit. Use of a drill press is the best way to insure that the
hole is exactly perpendicular. Drill presses come in handy for all sorts of pyro
applications, so if you've been thinking about buying one then now you have
one more reason!
The spindle rod should fit snugly into this hole, but there is no need to
permanently secure it in place. Just press fitting the rod in place allows you
the ability to interchange it with shorter rods for making cavity comets, which
are comets where the core does not go all the way through the comet.
Making the Rammer:
While the glue is drying on your base, take your 3" PVC piston pipe and drill a
bunch of 1/4" holes through the sides as shown in Figure 8. The purpose of
Figure 8: Perforating the piston
these holes is to allow the plaster that will be poured inside to have a firm grip
pipe with 1/4" holes.
on the walls, insuring that there is no chance the core could ever break loose
from the outer pipe. Do not worry about precision spacing with the holes, just
randomly perforate the pipe with them.
Once your base is completed, you will use it for the mold when pouring the
rammer. You will need to prepare the spindle rod by rolling two turns of kraft
around it to increase it's diameter slightly. Be sure to leave 1" exposed from
the end so that you can insert it back into the base. Next you will need to roll
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another two turns of wax paper around the kraft paper so that the spindle and
paper can be removed from the mold when it dries. Since nothing sticks to
wax paper, you will have to secure the two turns in place using heat to melt
the wax together. I do this by heating a chisel with a blowtorch and then
rubbing the hot metal over the seam to seal it down.
Place a piece of wax paper over the base and then press the spindle back
into the hole through the wax paper. You will also need to roll a few turns of
kraft around your perforated rammer pipe in order to minimize liquid plaster
from running down the sides. Figure 9 shows the base and rammer prepared
for pouring.
First slide the sleeve onto the base over top of the wax paper. Next you will
Figure 9: Base and rod are need to wedge the rammer into place. The two turns of kraft will increase the
diameter so that it no longer easily fits into the sleeve, so you will need to use
protected with wax paper.
a screwdriver to pry open the sleeve until you can push it down into place.
Figure 10 shows all components ready for the pour. Be sure that the spindle
sticks up higher than the rammer and sleeve, otherwise it will get buried under
plaster.
More...
Figure 10: All pieces in place and
ready for pouring the core.
Copyright © 2002-2005 Passfire Labs, LLC.
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Volume 2, Issue
12
4" Comet Pump Page 3
Pouring the Plaster:
While there are a couple of fillers that could be used to pour this mold, the
easiest one to work with by far is Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty, shown in
Figure 11. This yellow powder is simply mixed with water like plaster of Paris,
but unlike plaster of Paris it dries so hard that it is difficult to even sand it. This
stuff is so strong I have even heard of people using it to plug the bottoms of
mortars! It dries fast and is easy to wipe from places where it is not supposed
to be.
Another substance that can be used, and will also never crack under
Figure 11: Mixing Durham's Rock pressure, is fiberglass resin diluted heavily with sand. This is a bigger pain to
work with and also requires more skill to properly prepare. It must be diluted
Hard Putty in a cutoff milk jug.
at least 50% by volume with sand, which conserves resin and also helps
prevent excessive heating as the resin dries. The mess, fumes and difficulty
of cleanup makes this method unattractive.
You will need the 4 lb can of Durham's to make enough to fill this mold. I
prefer to mix this putty in a modified milk jug, shown in Figure 11. The thin,
flexible jug allows you to easily crack off the dried leftovers and remix a new
batch between applications. It will take two batches of the size shown in
Figure 11 to fill the mold. If you work fast enough you can mix the second
batch without cleaning the jug from the first batch.
Simply add water and stir with a spoon until a creamy consistency is reached.
Figure 12: Piston is filled to the top
It should not be thin enough to be poured, rather you should have to scoop it
with water putty. into the mold. You don't want it too thick either or it will not settle into the
holes and air may get trapped between lumps.
Fill all the way to the top of the pipe, then clean off the end of the spindle so
that it is not buried in putty. Figure 12 shows the finished pour.
After about 20 minutes the putty will reach a semi-dried state where it is still
soft enough to scrape but solid enough not to deform or run. At this point you
want to remove the sleeve and pull the rammer off the spindle. Unwrap the
kraft wrapper and use a thin metal blade to shave off any putty that squirted
out the holes. Also clean up the ends of the rammer as much as possible,
because it is much easier to trim off the putty now than when it dries. The
paper tube left inside the rammer should slide out, leaving only the wax
paper. Try and pull out as much of the wax paper as you can. If some wax
Figure 13: Complete 4" hollow core paper gets stuck inside the cavity wall then don't worry about it.
comet pump for under $20!
Figure 13 shows the completed comet pump set. The exposed wood on the
base should be protected with varnish, krylon or other sealer so that the pump
can be hosed off after use. It is a good idea to seal the exposed plaster on
both ends as well, since it will absorb water.
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The end of the rammer that is very flat should be the end that gets pressed
from above when pressing comets. Ideally both sides of the rammer will be
flush and flat so that you don't have to worry about which side to press
against.
Note that both top and bottom of this pump must be sandwiched between at
least 5" square metal plates, which will distribute the pressure evenly so that
the pump does not get damaged. For more information on how to use this
pump, see the 4" comet article in this month's issue.
Listen to what Rocky sez!
Copyright © 2002-2005 Passfire Labs, LLC.
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