Fireworks Principles and Practice. 3rd Edition by Ronald Lancaster.pdf

FIREWORKS

Principles and Practice

3rd Edition

The Reverend Ronald Lancaster

M.B.E. M.A. (Durham) F.R.S.C.

and

contributions from

Roy E.A. Butler M.A. (Cambridge)

J. Mark Lancaster

B.Sc. M.B.A. (Exeter) M.I.Exp.E.

Takeo Shimizu D. Eng. (Tokyo)

Thomas A.K. Smith M.A. D.Phil. (Oxford)

CHEMICAL PUBLISHING CO., INC.

New York, N.Y.

Chemical Publishing Co., Inc.

New York

ISBN 0-8206-0354-6

1st Edition, 1972

2nd Edition, 1992

3rd Edition, 1998

a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permis-

sion of the publisher and copyright owner.

Printed in the United States of America

Preface to the

Third Edition

The idea of this book took place thirty years ago, and it is gratifying

that it still has a place in the firework world.

The original intention was to produce a straightforward description

of firework manufacture in the Western World. It was an attempt to

describe what had happened in the past and to make suggestions for

good practice at the present time.

It was also an attempt to be fairly basic and thereby not offend friends

and competitors in the trade who had to make an attempt to make a

living at fireworks. Amateurs have wonderful enthusiasm and like true

scientists need to know everything—for its own sake. They also want

to share findings with everyone else. However, this is in complete

contrast to commerce, where survival may depend on the quality of

the product or the price at which it might be produced. Needless to say

this "edge" can be very costly in terms of hours of research and capital

expenditure.

Recent years have seen the decline of the Western firework industry.

The story is the same for almost every country where it has become

uneconomical to make small fireworks compared to the price at which

they can be bought from China. In the U.K., for example, there were

ten manufacturers of small-shop fireworks in 1960, but there are none

left in 1998. In the U.K. only Kimbolton Fireworks makes a full range

of display fireworks with two other firms making special effects for

the stage, etc.

Much of the material from the Far East is cheap and only partly

reliable. It is also a boon to the ever-increasing numbers of unspecial-

ized (and often legally ignorant) importers who bring in and distribute

explosives in much the same way as bananas. The Civil Service, in the

Fireworks Principles and Practice

U.K. at least, has been less than effective in the control of these illegali-

ties in latter years. It was not so in the past, and while the EEC gets

the blame for most things, it is clear that some of our partners in the

EEC are much better 'at looking after their own' than is the case in

the U.K.

This industrial decline is a great tragedy, but it is generally agreed

that there will be a place for the present for those manufacturers able

to make a good quality product. Those people willing to make this

capital outlay need a Civil Service which creates a level playing field.

In 1998 a high profile manufacturer is constantly bombarded with rules,

regulations, bureaucratic nonsense, and more and more costs at every

stage. Every sizeable company has to employ unproductive safety ad-

visers, subscribe to suppliers of safety information, make space for

records and risk assessments. No one can deny that the simple desire

for good health and safety management is laudable. In reality it has

become a burden with those working in it leaving no stone unturned

and sometimes reaching absurdum as they justify their existence. In

the meantime companies disappear or transfer their production to the

Third World. All this time, the importers increase in number and have

the financial gain.

It is difficult to predict what the next few years will bring. Importa-

tions from the Far East will increase, but it is clear that there are far

too many Chinese exporters. Most of them are selling much the same

products, and it is always more important to remain competitive than

to produce superior products. A Chinese supplier may well sell the

same products to several people in a limited market—a policy doomed

to a very limited lifespan for obvious reasons.

Once again I am grateful to the many friends who have helped to

make this edition possible. In particular to friends mentioned in Chapter

1 who have filled out the details about the firework scene in their own

countries.

I would particularly mention Dr Takeo Shimizu (b. 1912) whom I

have known for over thirty years and who has been absolutely prolific

in his research for the firework trade. What would we have done without

him?

Mention must also be made of the late Chris Philip who died in

January 1998. The importation fireworks in the U.K had always been

a major problem because of the prohibition on the admixture of chlor-

ates and sulfur. However, Chris Philip set out to challenge a somewhat

negative attitude towards importation at that time. A total ban had been

easy to control, but his success then has done no favours to the home-

Preface to the Third Edition

based industry some thirty years later. It has not shaken the Government

into being more proactive in controlling the quality of what can be sold

from abroad up to 1997 either.

Nearer home I am grateful to Mark Lancaster, Dr Tom Smith, Tony

Cardell, Roy Butler, and John Bennett, the Editor of the excellent U.K.

magazine 'Fireworks'. This magazine has done so much to encourage

an interest in fireworks and to keep some of the history intact. Lastly,

to my wife Kath who has always maintained that I eat and sleep fire-

works and talk about them in bed—sometimes.

Ronald Lancaster

7, High Street

Kimbolton

Huntingdon

Cambs PE18 OHB

U.K.

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