How to Make BLACK MATCH

In this section you will learn how to make your own black match/quick match fuse.  Fuse is extremely useful to use when connecting fireworks for a display.  The process is relatively easy, but somewhat messy; so don’t be wearing your favorite clothes or shoes.  The mixture we’ll be using WILL stain clothing.  Making this stuff is legal - it is only fuse, not an explosive. 

This page is Copyright 2002 by Colin Bradley.  You may link directly to this page or print out this page for your own personal reading, but you may not publish it or put it on any other site.

You will need the following materials

-black powder
-dextrin (see below)                                                                                                               
-cotton string (NON-WAXED - it must turn to ash when burned, not melt into a plastic mess)
-2 plastic containers (see below)
-wood scraps
-1/4" dowel

Making the Machine

The method I use to make black match employs the use of a "machine" which draws string through a liquid solution of black powder.  It's easy, efficient, and keeps your hands fairly clean of messy black goop.

First, obtain a small, plastic container used for storing food.  You can get them at Wal-Mart, "Rite-Aid", or any other miscellaneous crap depot for dirt cheap.  Drill a couple holes on opposite sides, near the bottom, just big enough for your dowel to pass through and be about a half-inch from the bottom of the container.  See the picture on the right for reference.

Now you need to make holes for the string to pass through.  Using a drill bit that's the same diameter as the cotton string, drill two holes about 1 inch apart right under the lip of the container.  On the opposite side, drill another hole that's slightly larger (big enough for two strings to comfortably pass through).  All of these holes should be oriented 90° off from where the dowel passes through - that is, two separate strings should be able to enter the two holes, go down and under the dowel, and come up and back out one hole.

The last step in making the machine is to create a frame for the string/container assembly.  I used a 1 foot length of 2x2, and drilled two holes about 4" apart.  I glued two scrap pieces of dowel into these holes (each about 5" long) to serve as posts to hold the rolls of string.

On another 1 foot length of 2x2, use epoxy or some other high-strength glue to attach the plastic container to one end.  Attach the string-holding piece of wood to the opposite end using "Liquid Nails" or wood glue, so you end up with the thing pictured on the left.  Be sure that the side of the container with two holes is facing the dowels.

This completes the construction of the "machine", and now you're ready to begin making black match.  You need a place to wrap the wet match strings around so they can dry, such as two small trees, a swing set, a mailbox, or whatever.

Preparation

Before you start, be sure that there is no rain in the forecast for the next couple of days.  Make sure that the drying area is free of anything flammable or anything that might be damaged should the fuse accidentally ignite while drying.  ONLY DO THIS OUTSIDE.

First, prepare the machine.  Put the two spools of string on the dowels, and run both strings into their seperate holes, under the dowel in the container, and back out through the single hole.  Tie them together with a big knot so they can't slip back out.

For the fuse composition, you'll need dextrin, black powder, and water.  Dextrin is a pyrotechnic binding composition used to hold mixtures together.  In this case, it’s used to hold the black powder onto the string.  It's crucial that you have enough dextrin in the mixture, or else the black powder will simply flake off the string when it's dry  You can buy big bags of it from pyrotechnic dealers, or make your own. 

To make dextrin, spread an entire box of corn starch out on a cookie sheet and cook it in the oven at 400° for about 2 hours, stirring it every 20 minutes or so with a spatula to keep it from burning.  When it's done, it will be light yellow/gold in color.

Now mix the ingredients in the other plastic container (not the one attached to the machine).  The formula is 20 parts black powder with 1 part dextrin.  If you don't have access to a scale, you can measure by volume - mix 4 tablespoons of black powder along and 1/4 teaspoon of dextrin in the container.  Note:  I usually make twice or three times this much.  Begin adding hot water while blending the mixture until it has about the same consistency as tomato soup.  The water must be hot in order for the power grains to completely dissolve.  Do not drink the mixture.  

Take the hot black power mixture and the machine over to the drying area.  Attach the outcoming strings (the ones you tied in a knot) to the tree/mailbox, and carefully pour the black powder mixture into the container on the machine.  It should completely cover up the dowel that the strings go under.   Now slowly begin walking backwards towards the other drying post.  As you do this, the strings will come off of their rolls, enter the container, go under the dowel and become coated with the mixture, and emerge as one fuse. (see diagram, right)  Yes, that's right, ONE fuse.  Don't separate the strings.  Two strings coated in black powder are much more reliable than one - notice in the picture to the left  that the powder completely fills in the gaps between the two strings.  Because of this, there's a lot less of a chance that the fuse will burn out when lit.

Keep walking at such a rate that the strings moves through the mixture at about 2 inches per second.  When you get to the second post, just wrap the string around it and head back towards the first one.  Occasionally you may have to add more water to keep the black powder solution from thickening up too much and not adhering to the string.  When the level of solution drops to where the dowel or the fuse start coming out with bare patches, it's time to add more solution or stop making fuse.  If you want to stop, just continue walking to whichever of the two posts you're closest to, tie it off, and cut the string.  Take the string rolls completely out of the machine and wash it out well with water.  

After about a day, you can begin using your new fuse.  Sometimes it's dry enough to be used after just a few hours of drying, but this isn't recommended.   It may seem brittle on the outside, but that’s ok.  Notice in the picture below how it is stiff and bends at sharp angles.  When you bend it, some chunks of dried powder may fall off, but it's alright.  Try to avoid handling it too much, though.

You now have black match fuse that will burn at about once inch per second.  It's great for connecting multiple fireworks together, or adding extra lengths of fuse to fireworks for a longer delay.  Click here to learn about connecting black match to other types of fuse. If you want to learn how to turn black match into fast burning quick match, click here.

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