Shell Assembly, page
4

Part 4, Final Fusing & Lift
Charge

Using a razor blade, slice the Time Fuse in half to
a depth of about 1/4"

You'll need some Crossmatch
(Black Powder coated cotton string) for the next step. Its manufacture is
described in the Basic Components section.

Rock the blade back &
forth to open up the time fuse and insert a 3" long piece of Crossmatch. Push
the Crossmatch in so it's level with the top of the Time Fuse.

Using some good quality thread (or better yet, dental floss), wrap a
few turns around the Time Fuse & Crossmatch securing them together. Tape the
loose ends of the thread to the shell casing.

Flip the shell over, dip the fuse ring (that came with your shell
casing) in some solvent and insert it in the top hole. The fuse ring will
support the shell as it is loaded into the Mortar.

Lay the shell on its side and run a 4 foot length (approximately) of
Quickmatch through the Fuse Ring, around the shell ending at the Time Fuse. The
Quickmatch doesn't have to actually touch the Crossmatched Time Fuse. They will
both be inside a pouch of Lift Powder (granulated Black Powder) and will ignite
simultaneously. Tape the Quickmatch to the shell casing every few inches so it
is secure. The Quickmatch needs to be about 18" longer than the Mortar you will
be using to fire your shells out of.

The final step is to add a pouch
filled with Lift Powder (coarse granulated Black Powder). We use homemade Lift
Powder although commercial FFG or FFFG Black Powder can be used. If commercial
Black Powder is used, the amount of lift charge is cut just about in half due to
its faster burning speed. Directions for making Lift Powder can be found in the
Basic Components section. Lift charges are as follows:

Lift
Charges
( in grams )

4"
Shell

6"
shell

8"
shell

Homemade Lift
Powder

60

100

200

Commercial Black
Powder

35

60

100

These lift charge amounts should only be
taken as a "ballpark" figure. There are many factors which come into play in
determining the amount of lift charge to use; relative "strength" of the Black
Powder, particle size, etc. One additional parameter is the length of the
Mortars. Just as a point of reference, our 4" Mortars are 24" long and our 6"
Mortars are 36" long.

A small pouch must be attached to the bottom of the shell to hold the
lift charge. For the smaller 4" shells "Solo" cone shaped paper cups can be
used. They're cheap and easily obtainable. Regular paper cups cannot be used
because they're coated with wax making it difficult to attach them to the
shell.

Larger shells require that you fashion a pouch out of paper. A single
sheet triangular folded with the ends trimmed and taped makes an excellent
pouch. Of course any design can be used just as long as it can be attached to
the shell and it doesn't leak out the Lift Powder inside.

The pouch is filled with
the appropriate amount of Lift Powder and then securely taped to the bottom of
the shell.

Completed Aerial Shells showing a size comparison between a 6" shell,
4" shell and 36D breasts.

Always remember to tear off 12
to 18 inches of paper off the end of the Quickmatch fuse for delay before
launching. As stated before, Aerial Shells are complex and
dangerous fireworks. Although this description of the assembly procedure is
complete, many of the potential problems and warnings have not been addressed.
Never attempt the construction of these devices unless you are licensed and have
been properly trained to do so.