Getting ready for the fourth of july

[.Cheese.]

I'm starting early this year for the fourth.  I've got a lot of aerial repeaters and aerial shells.

Some of the refillable shells I'm going to buy some pipe to use as tubes, but I was wondering if anybody knows anything about the thickness needed, or if cardboard tubes are better (and if so, where I can get them).

Also, I'm planning to build a remote detonation system so I can set it all off as a show, and will use Nichrome wire around the fuses to start them.... anybody familiar with a good source for nichrome wire, say 34 gauge or above (thinner)?

[.Cheese.]

btw - I'm very familiar with pyrotechnics from working as a magician for quite a while... so this isn't anything really new... just a minor deviation from the usual stuff.  I'm used to working with flash powder, paper, cotton, etc... and all kinds of additives, as well as the typical pyro effects like gerbs, airbursts, various mine type effects, etc.

[danny]

Find a store that sells model rocket supplies.  The remote igniters are a piece of nichrome wire encapsulated in basically a matchhead.  Tried and proven technology.

[.Cheese.]

I had thought about that.  I used to be into model rockets when I was a kid.  The Estes ignitors worked really well.  I'll check around town.  I was going to just get some nichrome and make the electric matches myself, but maybe your idea is easier.  I bought some extra green fuse at the fireworks store so I can check how well the ignitors work.

[.Cheese.]

came across this super cool video using the music from Disney's Haunted Mansion and some others related.

Very cool effects all done with consumer grade fireworks.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gDsEhb-SvOI

[Daniel964]

That was a pretty neat video.