Anthony W wrote:
Dan wrote:

I would also light them with homemade fuses made from heavy cotton
string soaked in a solution of black powder and watter then rolled in
fine black powder. I got fuse instructions out of an old book on
armaments.

Tony

Fingers? We don't need no stinking fingers.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

Making fuse is dangerous? It was all out in the open and the worst I
could have gotten was a burn. I used the same black power that I used
with the muzzle-loader pistol that I had back then and it was way more
dangerous than my exploits in home made fuses.

Tony

An unexpectedly fast burning fuse can toast one's fingers while
testing. If you want to see a test of relative burn rates between
smokeless and black powders burn a spoonful of each. Use a blowtorch to
ignite the black powder. It will burn fast enough to extinguish the torch.

It was also a commentary on some of the other clever moves I have
seen and done. I have a series of photographs of one fool using his
buttocks to launch an oversize bottle rocket. The last picture shows a
significant amount of charring.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired