On this page you will find every type of firework described with a picture and will be told how to make them with ease. If you do decide to make them, be careful and use safety precautions wisely. Please note that I accept no responsibility for any injuries that may be caused and any decision to make these fireworks are on YOUR part!
ROCKETS
These are the most traditional and most recognised of all the fireworks. You light the fuse and they soar into the air with a loud woosh before exploding into a number of different effects depending on the type of rocket. My favourite is the maroon rocket that soars high into the sky before exploding with a bright flash and a single very loud bang. These cost around 12 pounds each though. To make them you need a substance called Flash powder. This is white and burns very quickly indeed. You can get this substance by opening up other rockets, catherine wheels or whistling fountains. Next get an empty tube and make sure it can be sealed tightly. Shove in the flash powder compacting it into the tube. Warning! If it is too compact then it will just explode, you will need to experiment. Once the tube is full, get a thick washer or a small nut that is just a bit wider in diameter than the tube and jam it into the top of the tube. The small hole through the centre of the washer will allow less oxygen to get to the powder so it will go higher. Next cut about 5cm of fuse. You can get fuse from other fireworks, roman candles have a very long length of fuse so you can pull that out. Push the fuse through the hole in the washer/nut and into the flash powder a good way. Tape the fuse in place and seal the top with some masking tape. Next, get a stick, preferably a used rocket stick and tape the powder tube firmly upside down to the stick so that the fuse points down. Then your ready to launch. ONCE LIT, RUN AWAY INCASE OF AN ACCIDENT! To make stars come out when it is in the sky, before you put the flash powder in, get some black powder rings out of a roman candle (the rings make the stars that are ejected out of a roman candle), then put them into the bottom of the tube and then cram in the white powder e.t.c FUN BUT BE CAREFUL!
FOUNTAINS
These fireworks when lit, emit a spray of coloured sparks into the air. They are also the easiest and safest firework to make yourself. To make a fountain, first get a cardboard tube. Next, open up an existing fountain and get out the black powder. Black powder burns much more steadily and has colour to it. Fill the tube up with black powder, no need to compact it in. Then find a washer/nut to fit in the end of the tube with a small a hole in as possible, the smaller the hole the higher the sparks will go. Get some fuse as before and push into powder through hole in washer/nut. Seal it off with masking tape. Place on flat ground and let her go!
BANGERS
These fireworks are probably the most fun but are also just as dangerous. You light the fuse and it goes off with a very loud bang. Other variations include having a spray of sparks followed by the bang. The are tricky to make and you will need to practise sealing the tube well. To make a banger, all you need is a small tube. Get some flash powder from a catherine wheel, rocket, whistling fountain or another banger and cram it into the tube as hard as you can, compacting in as tightly as you possibly can. Do this until the tube is full. Now get the washer/nut and shove it in the end and push in the fuse, seal really well with strong tape. Use a washer/nut with a small a hole as possible and seal it up good. Now light the fuse and get away fast! For a bigger bang use a bigger tube. To add sparks just cram the tube about half full of really compacted flash powder and then top up the tube with uncompacted black powder. The black powder sprays out as sparks before igniting the flash powder creating the bang. MAKE SURE THE FUSE IS LONG ENOUGH AND GET AWAY FAST!
CATHERINE WHEELS
Catherine wheels are very pretty to look at but are not that easy to make. They spin round very fast emitting a coloured spray of sparks. To make it, simply repeat the steps for a rocket making sure the flash powder is compacted but not so that it will just explode, it takes a lot of trial and error. Once you have the tube sealed and with a fuse, tape it tightly to an old catherine wheel frame or get a thin piece of wood, a long rectangle and tape the tube adjacent to the length of the wood. For a better effect, make two fountains and tape one on each end of the piece of wood facing in opposite directions so that the force they produce is in the same direction in order for it to turn round. Join the two fuses with another, longer length of fuse (get from roman candles) and tie in a knot to the two smaller fuses on the fountains making sure that the fuse length from the point you light it to the fountain is equal for both fountains or they will ignite at diferent times. If you want them to ignite at different times then do so for a time delayed effect. LIGHT FUSE AND STAND BACK!
ROMAN CANDLES
Roman candles are fun but very difficult to make and to get to work properly. They eject or fire a number of stars into the air with a small bang as it fires the stars. To make you must get a long, thin tube, preferably an old roman candle tube. Get enough length of fuse to be able to touch the bottom of the tube, run up the inside and out of the top. Do this first or you will never get the fuse in afterwards. Now cram flash powder into the bottom of the tube really compact it in tightly as for a banger until about a centimetre depth is reached. Then get some black powder and pour about a centimetre depth on top of the flash powder and compact slightly. Then pour another centimetre depth of flash powder on top of the black powder and compact hard again. Then pour on some black powder and repeat this until the tube is full. Do not use a washer/nut this time but seal the end with tape. The candle should eject puffs of sparks out of it. This is difficult to do and may not work so don't expect too much.
MINES
Mines are quite spectacular fireworks because they erupt suddenly and shoot stars into the air. They are tricky to make well and need a lot of patience. To make, get a tube like the ones pictured above and get lots of flash powder. Cram the flash powder into the tube until the tube is about 3/4 full. Make sure the flash powder is really tightly compacted into the tube as hard as possible. Next, pour some black powder on top of the flash powder and compact slightly filling the tube to the rim. Do not fill the whole cross sectional area of the tube with black powder but leave a space so that the fuse can get down to the flash powder without touching the black powder. Use tissue to do this bu pushing in the fuse surrounded by tissue and then putting in the black powder. Again do not use a washer/nut but push the fuse into the flash powder and seal the end with tape really well. Light fuse and stand well back, should go bang and eject sparks into the air. GET WELL AWAY!