Ping Pong Ball

I was expecting a "Sal and Richard" joke.

On Fri, 22 Sep 2006 16:24:48 -0400, "Darrell D. Mobley"
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How do they id their balls? Hope they don't use those metal stamps that you have to wack with a hammer. And only one ball near the target - that's got to hurt too. 8-(
Phil

Philip Stein wrote:
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The probably lost points for having both balls near the target... ;-)

you make nitrocellulose lacquer out of them but you can use smokeless powder from shotgun shells ,you dissolve it with acetone and dip igniters in it you can add aluminum or crushed sparklers liked mentioned to get a better light
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Doesn't the smokeless powder contain nitroglycerin as well?
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*Double-base* smokeless is nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin,I believe. Single-base is AFAIK stright nitrocellulose. I think you'll find most smokeless propellants sold are double-base.

Thanks everyone, for the responses. I had no idea they were so "lightable". I always thought ping pong balls were made of plastic, and that it was just about using the melted plastic like a resin to hold the flammable additive together... a binder of sorts... seemed kind of a funny thing to use.
Now it makes sense.
Cheers!
~ Duane Phillips.
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Be careful who you tell, or the BATF may start regulating our balls.
(Ping pong balls, I mean....)

Malcontent wrote:
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Ummm,
They are not so lightable. I used straight PP lacquer and you get nary a spark out of them. The modern balls have combustion inhibitors.
The thing with using these is that they are a great base to ADD stuff to like thermite, powdered metals, smokeless powder (that's one I've never heard of) powdered sparklers and get great results with minimal effort.
A nice task to work on in the dead of winter. You can safely test them too with a reasonable indoor area like a garage.

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------------------- Yeah, sure...do that...with the emphasis on DEAD. Just another example of how, if the powers that be take all of our 'legally manufactured' items away from us, we will find a way to kill ourselves off one at a time trying stupid stuff we heard about that 'might' work, just cause someone said it will.
I hope you are a hermit, have no family, and live WAAAY out in the country so you don't blow anyone else up when your garage blows a substantial crater into the earth.
Kevin

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Have to disagree with you one this one. People have been (and continue to) tinker with chemical concoctions that go pop, bang, or boom for thousands of years. There are hundreds of 'tried and true' formulas that are routinely employed by rocketeers, pyrotechnicians, and backyard geeks across the country.
Now, I'll agree that if someone rushes in blindly, refuses to utilize proper saftey equipment or practices, and believes themselves to be invulnerable, they might well blow themselves up, posion themselves, or burn the house down... but that's simply Darwin in action, and has nothing to do with any level of regulation. But it is through tinkering, experimentation, and repurposing that gains in knowledge are made. Limiting activities to those items that are commerically available or "legally manufactured" means no gains, no new knowledge.
Kevin OClassen
"Against stupidity, the [very] Gods themselves contend in vain."                 Fredrich von Schiller     

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And that's EXACTLY what the JBGTs are encouraging. All I can hope is that WHEN it happens, they get dragged thru the muck for causing it like FEMA just did.