Old flares

[Stemar]

Yes would you care to explain, without swearing and insults if possible, why carefully dismantling a flare would be dangerous compared to, for example, oxyacetylene cutting and welding. A difficult task because there is no rational answer.

All I'm going to say on the subject is that there's a reason that firework and munitions factories used to be built with very strong wall and very light roofs. Yes, most of the roofs stayed on, but...

BTW, I think the law in question is that of Sod.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

All I'm going to say on the subject is that there's a reason that firework and munitions factories used to be built with very strong wall and very light roofs. Yes, most of the roofs stayed on, but...

BTW, I think the law in question is that of Sod.

Gunpowder mills fascinate me both as an ex chemist and an amateur industrial archeologist.

The kind of materials used in flares are low explosive granules. To make them actually viable as a usable explosive the grain size would be need to be much reduced, and my some of my very old flares leaked a highly congealed compound. Its the reason ammonium nitrate fertiliser is sold in large granules as very hard for ne'er do wells to mill down. Fine flour or cocoa powder is however an excellent explosive if dusted into the air of a warehouse but fairly safe in the galley.

Grain size is used to control propellant rates in cannons, as the idea is not to blow up the barrel.

Percussive explosives such as nitroglycerine are a different matter and the easily made unstable ones are terrifying.

 

[LittleSister]

Fred Drift Alert!

I am reminded that my neighbour friend made a 'gun' out of a piece of thin copper tubing, bent over and hammered flat at one end, with a very small slot hacksawed into it near that end. The tube was fixed by nails bent over it, IIRC, on to the top of a piece of scrap wood. He would push a bit of a banger firework's paper fuse into the slot, empty the contents of the banger into the copper barrel, tamp it down, and then pushed an airgun pellet down on it as a 'bullet'. The fuse was then lit with a match, and the gun aimed. It worked. We were both under 9 years old at the time, but only I was terrified of the whole thing exploding in his face.

 

[Adios]

Simple flares are not explosive and cannot set themselves off on their own. The lighting mechanism is akin to a match, one should be careful with that end. Carefully indeed is the way to dismantle. Rocket flares are a different kettle of fish. Simple flares are widely used by truckers and others in USA to give illumination to incident and its only in the UK that they are treated like explosives likely to be misused by ne'er do wells.

I had a bit of fun with the security at the Harwich ferry terminal when I was going to Holland with gear to bring a boat back. He droned on bored through the usual questions "are you carrying any knives, guns, weapons, explosives..." I said "Well I do have a bag of explosives" and reached over to get a bag that had the flares in and handed it to him without explanation. Most excitement he'd had in months probably as he gingerly took the bag and peered in keeping his face away from it

This was before 9/11 and you can get in trouble if making jokes about things like that but not if you actually do have something classed as explosives for a legit reason. I wasn't allowed to take them on the ferry though, they wouldn't hold onto them for me until the other side even. They are really not that volatile I said, and you'll already have some on board. I had to pick them up from Harwich police station when I got back.

 

[Gary Fox]

I had a bit of fun with the security at the Harwich ferry terminal when I was going to Holland with gear to bring a boat back. He droned on bored through the usual questions "are you carrying any knives, guns, weapons, explosives..." I said "Well I do have a bag of explosives" and reached over to get a bag that had the flares in and handed it to him without explanation. Most excitement he'd had in months probably as he gingerly took the bag and peered in keeping his face away from it

This was before 9/11 and you can get in trouble if making jokes about things like that but not if you actually do have something classed as explosives for a legit reason. I wasn't allowed to take them on the ferry though, they wouldn't hold onto them for me until the other side even. They are really not that volatile I said, and you'll already have some on board. I had to pick them up from Harwich police station when I got back.

Was he searching your bag anyway? If you hadn't mentioned the e-word, you could have taken the flares without any problem.

 

[Adios]

Was he searching your bag anyway? If you hadn't mentioned the e-word, you could have taken the flares without any problem.

It was one of those honesty not being the best policy moments. I stupidly expected to be allowed to take them or that they'd hold onto them for the duration. But no, safety flares were sure to cause a disaster. I still smile at the memory of the look on his face so it was probably worth it.

 

[sfellows]

Which reminds me of trying to bring a corded sander through Nice airport back to the UK. Security stopped me from doing so.

Clearly I was a major risk and was going to Sand the Pilot to Death (or threaten the Cabin Crew with the same).

Of course, a sharp pencil would inflict much less damage.

 

[Gary Fox]

I flew to Norway once for sailing, and my carry-on bag was checked by myself, then X-rayed and rummaged at Heathrow before boarding the plane.

Unpacking my stuff on the yacht, I found my sailing knife, a large bright red, stainless serrated lock-knife, in the pocket of the carry-on bag, having been missed by both humans and machines!