Chinese firecracker stitching machine - video

[Jon]

Chinese firecracker stitching machine. This video is like a prequel for one of those common "Chinese fireworks factory exploding" videos. 31-second video:

[PJs]

It must have gone off after :31. Cool machine with the jiggler chute. Bet they have to clean it carefully.

[VinnieL]

The flash powder those are made of is extremely sensitive to shock and static electricity. It is really no wonder those factories blow-up. Looking in the background to the large cardboard tubes one wonders whether they were filled or empty of flash powder. Attended an explosives school as a cop where we were told evidence in the form of several cases of real M-80's were no longer needed for court were dropped down an old mine shaft . The plan was to drop them all down and throw a stick of dynamite in on top to detonate them. Every box exploded from the shock as they struck the bottom of the mine.

[Frank S]

The real M80's Like VinnieL said are nothing to play around with. My Grandpa would get a box of them from the County extension agent every so often to set off in the corn and Milo fields to scare off the birds. Krackels would descend on the fields in what looked huge black clouds of them. Between them crows and the the mocking bird( Tx state bird) they could strip the grains from the heads of the Milo in seconds and do more damage to a corn crop than insects could if if the field didn't get sprayed properly.
My Grandpa felt that the M80's were too dangerous to light and throw so he devised a kind of rudimentary catapult He would ball them in a fist full of clay pull the catapult down with 1 hand then light the fuse and release the clay added plenty of extra mass to propel the explosive a couple hundred feet.
rthey may be as loud as a 1/4 stick of dynamite but nowhere near as much power He also had an old 8 ga black powder shot gun that he often carried on his tractor.
I wasn't aware of them being sensitive to shock as well but that is probably more likely to happen as they age
I think one can still get M80's today but probably not the real ones with over 3 grams of powder.
Most pyrotechnics use specially prepared bag charges today for fireworks displays.

[VinnieL]

Oh and I also forgot to note that the fuse material does not burn at a consistant rate. One may burn extremely slow and the next on might go off a second after lighting it. It is not like safety fuse made for use with dynamite and other explosives. That is how people blow off fingers and hands with the stuff.