Nearholmer Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Times have changed. We used to do all sorts of fire-related stuff* as kids, but fire is very unfamiliar to most children these days, so I’m not sure they’ve got the measure of it. * Our best effort by far was to make a mortar, using a yard of pipe propped up at about sixty degrees on some bits of wood, with a small fire under the lower end. Into this we would drop old paint tins, ones with a bit left inside, and the lid firmly stuck on with paint. After about ten seconds, there would be a loud bang and the paint tin would fly out. We got in a degree of trouble after launching one over a line of trees c60ft high into the front garden of a house beyond. 7 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Yet we can go down the local supmarket very November and buy proper explosives. Andy 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheatley Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 57 minutes ago, SM42 said: Yet we can go down the local supmarket very November and buy proper explosives. Hexamine is the starting point for RDX, and from there Semtex and C4. Your local nail bomber is going to have to buy an awful lot of penny bangers to match the explosive power of a couple of ounces of that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hodgson Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 3 hours ago, Bernard Lamb said: I have always been curious as to just what security procedures are in place for an air attack on Downing Street.😃 Bernard Larry the cat. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 7 minutes ago, Wheatley said: Hexamine is the starting point for RDX, and from there Semtex and C4. Your local nail bomber is going to have to buy an awful lot of penny bangers to match the explosive power of a couple of ounces of that. The whole reason we buy them is to celebrate what 30 odd tons didn't do to 400 square yards of Central London. What chaos could a kilo of powder create in a confined space? J remember some years ago, someone stole a firework ( mortar type) from the display at Trentham Gardens. The advice to whomever took it was not to light it as you needed to be 400 yards away when it went bang and no-one could run that fast Andy 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheatley Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 (edited) 15 minutes ago, SM42 said: J remember some years ago, someone stole a firework ( mortar type) from the display at Trentham Gardens. The advice to whomever took it was not to light it as you needed to be 400 yards away when it went bang and no-one could run that fast Which type you presumably can't buy in Sainsburys. Edited February 23 by Wheatley Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 17 minutes ago, Wheatley said: Which type you presumably can't buy in Sainsburys. No, but there is some fairly hefty stuff out there. Andy 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 To be honest those fireworks mostly just make a loud noise and coloured flashes. I've travelled in tour trucks with a ton of pyrotechnics in the back. All perfectly legal and documented. Unfortunately most venues won't touch pyro with a bargepole now, they just want those glitter cannons! I feel sorry for the poor saps that has to clean it all up the next day.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 4 hours ago, Flying Pig said: Yeah, 14 year olds get funny ideas. Good thing I was 12 when my Mamod arrived. 14 ? At 15 I was entrusted with the Likamobile- 5 gallons of petrol at 55 psi of air... JPsteamcar92 by Peach James, on Flickr Well before that, I'd been running the 2" traction and roller...and teaching one of my mates how to drive too... and other people's engines too (this is summer of 1990, so I was 13. And no parent around at all...) My super schmoe, having a go in 2015 (so 10 years old): And to bring it back almost full circle- here I am at 12 or so, with the #9 plant that was "mine", with a spirit burner. I have the other one (with the vertical coal boiler) as well... I got my Wilesco D-16 when I turned 7. Along with a small supply of Esbit fuel for it. It still runs (or did the last time I tried), and is downstairs along with a traction (converted to meths), and a mamod boat engine. There's also a kit built D6 down there that belongs to my super schmoe...and a wide range of other similar incendiary devices that might or might not sprinkle fire when run :) (2" traction engine, 2" steam wagon (1 g, it's an overtype...), 3/4" Caribou railway engine (at work right now),3/4" "Thing" railway engine (3.5" gauge) 4" traction engine, 5" gauge DHR D type that needs finishing...). I'd agree- much adeu about not much reality. Glad that things aren't that silly yet here in Canada- one can still buy various things to make various things if one is daring enough here ! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 13 hours ago, Nearholmer said: Times have changed. We used to do all sorts of fire-related stuff* as kids, but fire is very unfamiliar to most children these days, so I’m not sure they’ve got the measure of it. * Our best effort by far was to make a mortar, using a yard of pipe propped up at about sixty degrees on some bits of wood, with a small fire under the lower end. Into this we would drop old paint tins, ones with a bit left inside, and the lid firmly stuck on with paint. After about ten seconds, there would be a loud bang and the paint tin would fly out. We got in a degree of trouble after launching one over a line of trees c60ft high into the front garden of a house beyond. Golden syrup tins were the favouite back in my time. Stuffed with various chemicals. We did manage to clear the canal with one example. A further experiment was with iodine. Disolved in various substances it gave a powder that was very unstable. We were unable to detonate it and put it in the dustbin. Dustbin got full, somebody pushed down the contents, purple smoke everywhere accompanied by a loud ctacking sound. Unfortunately for us, somebody present knew what it was and we got a severe bollocking. Back in those days Brocks Fireworks was near Hemel, They made display fireworks as well as the domestic type. They also supplied the military type hnown as thunder flashes. I came across these while in the Army Cadets. Bernard 1 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
009 micro modeller Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 20 hours ago, 30801 said: TBH, with the sketchy oversight Amazon applies to things sold on their site you could just order a live bomb and add No 10 as a delivery address. Of course, if it was an incendiary bomb (as used in the Blitz - not explosive but flammable when broken open and exposed to the air) it could be activated by being lobbed over a high fence onto a hard concrete floor, which I understand is the normal delivery method used by some couriers for Amazon and eBay items… 😅 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators AY Mod Posted February 24 Moderators Share Posted February 24 During Plymouth Docks area evacuation yesterday I did think about the truck drivers and imagined them dressed like The Hurt Locker. That illusion was shattered when I saw a couple of blokes in boiler suits and caps putting strops round the bomb to lift it with a telehandler. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 30801 Posted February 24 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 24 10 minutes ago, AY Mod said: During Plymouth Docks area evacuation yesterday I did think about the truck drivers and imagined them dressed like The Hurt Locker. That illusion was shattered when I saw a couple of blokes in boiler suits and caps putting strops round the bomb to lift it with a telehandler. At 500kg it probably doesn't matter what you're wearing... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 1 hour ago, AY Mod said: During Plymouth Docks area evacuation yesterday I did think about the truck drivers and imagined them dressed like The Hurt Locker. That illusion was shattered when I saw a couple of blokes in boiler suits and caps putting strops round the bomb to lift it with a telehandler. I would presume, at that point, that the detonator would have been removed/isolated. Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
didcot Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Just a thought, but what's in fire lighting tablets? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 30801 Posted February 24 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 24 42 minutes ago, didcot said: Just a thought, but what's in fire lighting tablets? Parrafin I think. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deeps Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 21 hours ago, Bernard Lamb said: I would presume, at that point, that the detonator would have been removed/isolated. Bernard Looking at the corroded state of the bomb I suspect that detonator removal would have been a hammer and chisel job. Any volunteers? Much better to bypass that bit and carefully move it to a safe area for a controlled explosion. Out of interest, the route taken to the ferry ramp took the lorry past significant parts of the Royal Dockyard, including the Vanguard Class refitting dock. I do not know if there was a boat in the dock at the time but I should imagine that the precautions in the yard were quite extensive. Before I retired I was a design engineer in the yard and the route also passed my old office. When I worked there I had a 15 minute walk from a car park to the office, largely along the route, and I would occasionally study the adjacent housing as I passed to estimate the various rebuilding work undertaken after the blitz. It was extensive, testament to the amount of destruction due to the focus on the dockyard target. Be in no doubt, there will be quite a few bombs as yet undiscovered under the surface, so if you live there go easy when engaged in a bit of gardening! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hodgson Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 5 hours ago, Deeps said: Out of interest, the route taken to the ferry ramp took the lorry past significant parts of the Royal Dockyard, including the Vanguard Class refitting dock. avoiding speed bumps, I imagine. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tomparryharry Posted February 25 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 25 On 24/02/2024 at 00:17, SM42 said: No, but there is some fairly hefty stuff out there. Andy What? In Sainsburys? Sainsburys Local; Territorial; and Intercontinental. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted February 29 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 29 (edited) On 25/02/2024 at 17:30, Michael Hodgson said: avoiding speed bumps, I imagine. Nah, probably best to just put your foot down and get there quick before the bloody thing blows up… Edited February 29 by The Johnster 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted February 29 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 29 So got a few to replace with Meth burners. Steam car, and a couple of traction engines (not mine). My TE is meths as is my 2 cylinder engine Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 30801 Posted March 1 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted March 1 There's a petition to sign now... https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/657782?fbclid=IwAR1D5SGBpvTH_CejL0Ruag0-fCmiSSUb1GYVmjiIxeLcNL2_vGHcUQSG_KY Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnofwessex Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 How about a protest rally? Drive our engines into London, block the roads good and proper! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted March 24 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 24 On 23/02/2024 at 16:16, Coldgunner said: GCGQ - Is that the Gauge O Guild militant wing? Splitters…. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 6 hours ago, johnofwessex said: How about a protest rally? Drive our engines into London, block the roads good and proper! The rail division are gonna have their work cutout getting there. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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