We have all most likely visited a professional fireworks display at some point in our lives. We have marveled at the brilliant, seemingly endless flashing lights in the sky timed to a medley of patriotic music. The problems with this otherwise rapturous experience are, sadly, numerous. First, you have to drive to the park or lake where the fireworks display is destined to take place, which means you must wade your way through an interminable stream of traffic like a trout swimming upstream, well, more like a trout swimming up Niagara Falls. Then you have to find an uncomfortable spot somewhere in the middle of about six million other spectators where you can sit and be slowly eaten alive by a variety of insects living in the grass who find you to be a delicacy. If you can hear you radio over the horde of children running around, kicking dirt and grass onto your blanket, you might be able to enjoy the show for a short while, at the end of which, you have to navigate your way back through the traffic. What if you could get the professional firework show experience at home, where you and your friends could sit back, relax, and fully enjoy the pretty lights to music they would enjoy, without all of the hassle? Well, believe it or not, a professional fireworks show is not that hard to attain. It just takes a little work, and a little expendable cash (which you will save by not spending money on the battery style fireworks which give you a canned fireworks experience).
This home fireworks show will consist entirely of mortar shells, also known as canon shots. These are the spherical fireworks with very long wicks that usually come with a tube from which to launch the mortar. Generally, these fireworks can be found fairly cheap when bought in large variety packs without the tube. Go on a shopping spree, picking out a variety of mortar shells, looking for shells that provide different colors and styles of firework. By large and small, loud and bright. Variety is absolutely essential in a fireworks display.
After you have bought the fireworks themselves, you need to pick up a few other items for your display. You will need; several large pieces of plywood, anywhere between twenty and forty feet of PVC pipe large enough to fit your mortar shells (be sure to allow the mortar shells a little room to move, otherwise they’ll explode inside the PVC pipe), fifty to one hundred feet of cheap copper cable (the two wire kind), and enough model rocket igniters to match the number of mortar shells you want in your show.
Cut all of the PVC pipe down to one and one half foot sections which you will arrange on the pieces of plywood, saving one piece for a control board. Be sure to firmly glue the piping down, I would recommend gorilla glue or some heavy duty caulking. These will be your fireworks show batteries.
Now, remove all of the wicks from your mortar shells and stick the model rocket igniters, these can be found at almost any hobby shop, into the hole left by the wick. Make sure to put the bent side into the hole, leaving the two wire ends sticking out. You are going to attach twenty foot lengths of wire to these rocket igniters and lower the mortar shells into the PVC pipe now affixed to the plywood boards.
When putting the mortar shells into the PVC pipe launchers, be sure to think about what you want your fireworks display to look like when you are done. Remember what mortar shells you bought and try to think about where and when you want those shells to be launched in your show. It’s a good idea to have your music picked out so you can start to arrange your shells to match the music. Also, it might be a good idea to test shoot one of each mortar shell so you can see it, and time how long it takes for it to explode after launch.
Once you’ve arranged your shells in the launchers, arrange the opposite ends of your wires, in sequential order (meaning the wire that leads to the first shell you want to launch is on the far left of the board and the second is just right of that, and so on), on the piece of plywood you have set aside as your control board. You will want to tape or glue the wires down and strip the ends. Now you will want a power source, I recommend a car battery (just to be sure you have enough power, but it is probably overkill). Run a wire from the positive side to one of the wire ends for each of your mortar shells. Then run a wire from the negative end and leave it loose. To launch, you will simply complete the connection for each mortar by touching the loose wire, the negative wire, to the end of the wire, not already attached, for each mortar. This will cause the rocket igniter to flare red hot and burn which will set of the mortar shell.
It is always good to do a trial run-through before the big day. Invite a few friends over for your trial, so its not a complete waste, and remember where you had problems and what parts of the music required more or less shells in succession. These home fireworks shows can be as complicated or simple as you want to make them, but they are always fun and your friends will be amazed. Let your friends buy the canned fireworks batteries, but you will impress them with a wholly unique show you built yourself.
