Skylighter Fireworks Tips
June 4th, 2007 -- Issue #81

HOW TO ATTACH ELECTRIC MATCHES TO VISCO FUSE

About this time of year we get lots of questions about attaching electric matches to consumer fireworks. Here’s how to do it.

The Problem:
Electric matches made using Skylighter’s Electric Match Dip Kit (GN5050) and Ematch Blanks (GN5040) put out a good amount of fire and can directly light visco fuse when connected end-to-end. But just taping the electric match to the visco is not 100% reliable, so the connection technique is critical. Here's a little trick that works quite well for me and has given me 100% ignition so far.

Materials needed: Consumer fireworks Electric matches Roll of clear packing tape or masking tape. Roll of quickmatch (GN3001) or Super-Fast Firecracker Fuse (GN1205) Razor blade

Assembly:

Figure A: Cut visco at an angle Figure B: Slide quickmatch over fuse Figure C: Insert electric match Figure D: Tape electric match in place

Cut visco at an angle. Cut the device's fuse on a sharp angle (as seen in figure A). This will expose more of the fuse's black powder core. If your device comes with a long visco fuse attached, you may want to cut it down to about an inch to reduce ignition delay. Create a quickmatch sleeve. Using a razor blade, cut a length of quickmatch about 1 inch longer than the fuse supplied with the consumer firework device. Note: It's best to cut quickmatch with a razor blade or anvil cutters. Quickmatch can ignite from the friction of scissors cutting through it. Slide quickmatch over device's fuse. Carefully slide the device's fuse into the center of the quickmatch sleeve. Slide the quickmatch sleeve all the way down so it covers the firework’s entire fuse. Insert electric match into quickmatch. Outside and away from people, hold the device so it is pointing away from you and any flammable material. Insert an electric match into the open end of the quickmatch to a depth of an inch (as in Figure C). You may need to slide back the electric match's protective plastic cap. Note: Removing the protective cap may make inserting the match easier, but can cause ignition by friction. Insert the match's head slowly and gently. Tape quickmatch, and electric match to device. Secure the electric match to the side of the firework with clear packing tape covering both ends of the quickmatch, as in Figure D. Add a couple of extra wraps of tape to secure the electric match in place. The tape serves two purposes: 1) It confines the burning gasses, increasing the burn rate. 2) It secures the match in place. Tip: If you've never done an electrically fired fireworks display, just imagine people moving about in complete darkness with dozens of wires all around. It's inevitable that if you don’t completely secure each and every electric match someone will trip on "that" wire and pull the electric match free causing a misfire.

How does it work?
When the electric match fires it sparks for only an instant. If the sparks and fire do not directly hit the visco's black powder core, the match may fail to ignite the device. The blackmatch in the quickmatch prevents this problem by carrying the fire forward, and increasing the amount of fire given to the visco fuse. This ensures that the slightest spark from your ematch will pass fire to the visco. The quickmatch’s outer paper wrap directs the fire downward through the tube like a flamethrower, lighting everything in its path, including the visco.

"But, I live too far away to pick up quickmatch..."
Having quickmatch on hand does make this process faster, but all you need to make this work is blackmatch and a homemade tube to direct the fire. Skylighter's GN1205 is a great source of blackmatch, unless you want to make your own.

Don't tell me you've never tried GN1205 Super-Fast Paper Firecracker Fuse.

What is GN1205, Super-Fast Paper Firecracker Fuse?
Well it's our fastest, shippable fuse. It burns at 1 foot per second! It consists of 3 strands of blackmatch with a light tissue paper wrapping. This tissue paper wrapping gives it a controlled fast burn great for chaining candle batteries, adding leaders to homemade festival balls, even chaining up your finale.

Figure E: How to remove blackmatch from Super-Fast Firecracker Fuse Figure F: Insert blackmatch into tube

Harvesting blackmatch from GN1205. Gently peel the tissue paper off of the Super-Fast Firecracker Fuse as shown in Figure E. Make a thin walled tube. You'll need a thin walled paper tube to hold the blackmatch, visco and electric match all in place. For this cut a 3 x 3 piece of copy paper, and roll it on a 3/8th inch dowel or anything about that diameter (a Bic pen works well). Use glue or tape to keep it closed. Insert blackmatch into thin walled tube. Insert 6 strands of blackmatch into a thin walled paper tube (as seen in Figure F). If the blackmatch is long, cut it flush. Continue by following quickmatch instructions above. The proceeding tip provided by, Brian P. Skylighter

FREE SUPERFAST PAPER FUSE: ENDS JUNE 9, 2007

Superfast Paper Fuse is great stuff. It looks like paper firecracker fuse, only thicker. Firecracker fuse is about 1 mm thick. GN1205 Superfast Paper Fuse is 1/8 inch thick and contains several individual strands of black match.

Firecracker fuse burns at about 2.2 seconds per inch. But Superfast Paper Fuse burns at 3 seconds per meter!

While not as fast as quickmatch, it is certainly a viable replacement for it in many situations. You can chain shells together with it. You can use it in place of quickmatch as a leader on individual shells. And you can harvest black match strands from it to be used for cross matching or for connecting electric matches to visco fuse.

Best of all, it can be shipped to you anywhere in the US.

All in all, this is a great fuse, and a must for any pyro’s toolkit.

Now you can try it free. Just order $150 worth of anything from Skylighter between now and June 9, 2007, and get two rolls of GN1205 Superfast Paper Fuse free. Click here for details and fine print.