Basic Formulas

Here are a few basic formulas used in pyrotechnics. They can be changed to achieve the effect that you want. There are also many variations of these formulas. I only include here the basis of each, but I encourage you to experiment. If you have a formula that has worked for you and wouldn't mind putting on this page for others to see please email me. Or if you would like to see a formula here, you can also email me and I will see what I can do. Having said that here are some basic formulas.
Note: the percentages are by wieght

Black Powder

Fuel	Oxidizer	Amount
	Potassium Nitrate	75%
Charcoal		15%
Sulfur		10%

Simply mixing these ingrediants together is not like commercial black powder, but instead is refered to as "meal powder". Commercial black powder is a similiar (or same) formula, but has been moistened, pressed into hard "cakes", and then ground to various sizes that we know it as. For that reason it burns much more quickly than meal powder. Some pyro compositions require black powder rather than meal because of this. For example, roman candles use black powder as a bursting charge, however rocket-type compositions and fountains need more of a meal power type composition to give a more gradual "pushing" effect.

Flash Powder

Chemical	Formula 1	Formula 2
Potassium Perchlorate	66%	70%
Aluminum Flakes	33%	30%

This Potassium Perchlorate/ Aluminum mixture is only one of the many flash mixtures, but it is the safest and most widely used flash compostion so it is basically the only one I use. The most commen use of flash is in flash crackers (ordinary "firecrackers"), but it has more uses than that. It can be used for salutes or a bursting charge for larger shells. It is probably the most dangerous composition used in pyrotechnics and must be handeled with extreme care. It can even be set off by static electricity so extreme caution must be used in making and using it. Do not store or make large amounts of it at a time. There are many different formulas for flash powder, but this is all I have here. This formula is much safer than the Chlorate/Sulfur types of the old days, but still must be handeled with care. For more information about flash visit WNYPA's page about flash

Rocket Compositions

Chemical	Formula 1	Formula 2
Potassium Nitrate	63%	75%
Charcoal	26%
Sulfur	11%
Sugar		25%

The amount of chemicals in the first formula should be changed around to fit your needs. As a general rule, use more Potassium Nitrate to make it faster, and more charcoal to make it slower (that doesn't mean you shouldn't change the sulfur amount). The Potassium Nitrate/Sugar composition is also a pretty good smoke composition that burns fairly hot.

Whistle Composition

Chemical	Basic Formula
Potassium Perchlorate	70%
Sodium Benzoate	30%

There are other formulas for whistle that use Gallic Acid or Potassium Picrate. Gallic Acid is expensive and Potassium Picrate is dangerous so this is the only one that I have here. Sodium Benzoate is very "sticky" which can make it hard to work with. If you try to make a whistle make sure the ingrediants are finly ground before you mix them. The composition then must be pressed pretty hard into a tube leaving a gap at the top of the tube. NEVER RAM WHISTLE MIXES. For more information visit WNYPA's page about whistle