Isn’t it fun when you find a way to get fire into school? For the final project in my Physics class, we were supposed to make a sort of Rube Goldberg machine that transferred energy a certain amount of times, as well as used a certain amount of simple machines, etc, etc. The machine I made, through a complex process, shot a flaming arrow down the science hall (note: there is no better way to attract half the people in the school to one place than with flame and moving pointy objects, preferably combined).
Anyways, I have a question to ask of the pyrotechnics and researchers of BA. I’d like to know how to make a good flaming arrow. I need to know both the fuel combination and methods for attaching the flaming object (cloth) to the arrow. I’ll be shooting the arrows in a sandy camping ground with next to no one around, so it doesn’t matter if it’s safe, as long as it doesn’t explode in the archer’s face or anything.
if you have a wood arrow, you could try soaking it in lighter fluid. than let it dry, and shoot it through a flame (Zelda 64!) or light it before firing.
WARNING! UNTESTED! SPEED OF BURNING UNKNOWN! it could be gone before it lands, or light whatever you shoot on fire. i don’t know. :eek:
Shooting through a flame would be a lot safer, plus some people would say it looks cooler. The problem would be that the arrow may pass through the fire too fast to light itself.
If you do use cloth, dont use nylon or synthetic. Too much molten plastic kind of rubbishy stuff produced.
Go for very tightly wound cotton. The tighter the better; then wrap it with some bare wire to hold it.
You want it to wick off the fuel rather than consuming the cloth or whatever.
I believe kerosine is the standard thing to use, but I am not sure. Definitely cleaner burning than motor oil, and more combustible.
Ok capn oblivion, NEVER use gasoline for this kind of stuff
Psudonym, it would burn fast if you lit it directly, would not recomend
Azecraze, many people don’t have random kerosine in their house, but it would work just as well. I don’t know how tightly you can tie wire though. might want to use standard string, (non-synthetic)
kerosene has a distinctive smell too, so that’s cool. It is a safe, non-explosive, and dirty enough to provide a visible yellow flame when burned in open air. Lighter fluid is refined kerosene, but will not provide the smell or smoke, and will give you a less visible flame.
If you can turn off some of the lights, the contrast is enhanced.
All burning liquids need a wick so that air/fuel mixture provides a combustable gas. The looser the wick (rag wrapped around arrow) the more surfaces there are and hence a bigger flame.
With arrows, you don’t want the flame to blow out when the arrow is launched, so provide some sort of airfoil to cup the air (the arrow cone can do this).
For dramatic effect, pre-dial 911 on your cell phone (turned off of course) before launching - and pretend to put her on hold while you try something.
If you are south of the Mason-Dixon line, be sure to yell “Hey y’all, watch this!” - it’s the southern legendary “famous last words” and to be technically accurate, must be preceded by “Hey Hon, hold my beer.”
A bucket of water at the destination is a good idea.
You don’t need a pointy end, and you teacher will feel better if you just use a dum-dum arrow (a tennis ball, golf ball, rock - something with mass) that would bruise rather than maim or kill.
If you dissolve styrofoam coffee cups in gasoline or kerosene, you will wind up with a sticky flamable goo. You’ll need more styrofoam than you expect, unless you’ve done it before. Make it thick enough to not drip off the arrow.
that would be pritty simaler to plastic filler used for making plastic modals without seems.
carnt you find out what was used for flaming arrows in the past?
I wouldn’t use cloth soaked in a fluid… I’d go for cloth soaked in a (barbecue)gel of some sorts (they tend to burn in a more controlled way imo)… But that is pure gut feeling. And attach the cloth with (metal) chicken wire or similar.
I guess I wasn’t quite as clear on my request as I thought I was. I’ve already done the physics project (which turned out pretty good). Now I’m wanting to find more dangerous (and more fun) recepies for flaming arrows that I can test at a campsite, and as I said, it’s a very sandy campsite with few (if any) others around, so safety isn’t a concern (I’ll be visiting the site around the end of July). @IanC: Actually, it would be a lot more fun if the arrow dripped fire while in the air. @hessiess: Traditionally, they used boiling tar, but you can’t exactly buy tar at your local grocer.
@IanC: Actually, it would be a lot more fun if the arrow dripped fire while in the air.
Not if it sprays burning oil everywhere. When you fire something very quickly it isn’t going to drip like it would if it was still. I wouldn’t be suprised if it threw a lot of oil backwards. Once things are burning with oil or similar it’s tricky to put them out. I’ve ended up in a slightly sticky situation when I needed a largeish flame to light a coal so used a tealight candle (tiny little thing) and made the flame a lot bigger. T’was very hard to put out.
Test it first, just cover it with water and see where the water goes.
EDIT - general advice, don’t do it. Seriously. Shooting fire, oil, teenagers, it’s likely someone will get hurt. Take this from someone with a fair few nasty burn scars still visible on his arms.
Don’t do it. full stop. period. end. timberophmandi. sofffpifaohfouahfouahfoufoaofiahoaifhouihf. Nitro is your best bet, if you plan to injure yourself, the parent, all within a few meters… in other words… DON’T DO IT!