I neede one of these!

[skeez]

[WW]

looks like fun. We used to put dry ice and a small amount of water in a liter pop bottle and cap it.. and run. this made a loud explosion. now that is illegal as it is called an explosive.

[Mark & Juanita]

this was for the MythBusters video where they did the same thing with coffee creamer.

[-MIKE-]

That's how magicians do the big puffs of flames in their acts. They have a little bladder and tube (think mini turkey baster) filled with powder (usually, corn starch). They palm it, light the match, squeeze... and poof!

[Mark & Juanita]

Slick.

[Maxwell Lol]

Classically it's Lycopodium, but that's hard to get.

[Casper]

That was cool but I swear I heard the sirens from here!!

`Casper "Only two things are infinite... the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

[Casper]

I'll stick to flash paper. ;)

[-MIKE-]

My magician buddy mentioned the "real" stuff and that sounds familiar. He also said that it was difficult to get or just too expensive, so most "non-pros" use the starch. I'll never remember that word. :-)

[Charlie Groh]

...grain-silo explosion, anyone?

cg

[Maxwell Lol]

Flash paper is a lot more dangerous that Lycopodium. Try putting a match to a pound of each.

Flash paper is more fun, agreed.

[Toe Dipper]

collection...

[scritch]

Is there actually a documented case of a PVC dust collector exploding? I can find no such case on the Web, and have found many sites that similarly have found no such cases.

I use PVC ductwork, and have stopped worrying. What I do worry about is finishing with certain flammable products, e.g., varnish or shellac, and I open up the garage doors when applying those finishes.

Toe Dipper wrote:

[Mike Marlow]

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:39:32 -0800, scritch cast forth these pearls of wisdom...:

Scritch - you hit it on the head... the PVC/explosion alarm has long been put to bed as irrelevant. Toe Dipper's post has nothing to do with the matter. That clip was of an intentionally ignited blast of sawdust. Notice - they used a road flare to ignite the dust and then had to blow it out with huge force in order to get it fine enough to ignite. Apples and Giraffes.

As for the finishes, keeping ventilation in the room is always adviseable from the standpoint of your own breathing, but you will likely never come close enough to building up enough fumes to cause an explosion with anything you finish in your shop. I generate a lot more fumes and mist in the air when I'm painting a car than you will ever generate on a woodworking project, and I have an open pilot propane furnace in the garage. Not so unlike a million body shops around the world. The biggest problem I have is blowing dust around if my filters aren't kept clean. And that doesn't even touch the topic of the solvents I use.

The biggest favor you can do yourself is use a good respirator. No matter what you're spraying - use a good respirator. Don't buy the junk they sell in the Big Box stores. Go to an autobody supplier and get a good 3M disposable model. Keep it sealed in the bag when you're not using it. They do have a lifespan.

[mwbrown42]

In 8th grade I lived in Redding, Connecticut. In science class, we went into the forest across the street and harvested some lycopodium plants. We dried them, collected the powder and set off explosions in a coffee can with a candle and bicycle tire pump. It was simply awesome. Today the teacher would be put in prison. Mrs. Marshall was the best science teacher I ever had.

Mike Brown.

[Mark & Juanita]

You just had to go and start that, didn't you.

[B A R R Y]

This guy does a great job supporting a lack of PVC grounds: