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Re: [TowerTalk] cadwelds

To: Larry DiGioia N8KU <towertalk@longwire.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] cadwelds
From: "Roger (K8RI)" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:07:21 -0400
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Larry DiGioia N8KU wrote:
> Can anyone help straighten me out on the "newer" Cadweld one-shots?
>
> I got a quote from RF Connection that includes rental of a machine to 
> fire them... I am a pyro guy from way back, and should be able to pull 
> it off without the machine, but they insist "no way."
>   
Pay your local electrical supply house a visit and see what they have to 
say.  It's probably a new safety feature to keep people from  trying to 
light the things with a match.

I can't  imagine having to rent a device to fire them, but I'd have to 
see one.

The "old ones" used a small igniter charge placed on top of the regular 
charge.  A barbecue igniter worked just fine with those. Cost per charge 
was around $8 to $10 USD depending on where you went.

The only real problem with  the old style was the way they shipped the 
igniter charge.  The main charge and igniter were both in a small 
plastic container about the size of the plastic containers for 35mm film 
cartridges.   The bottom of the canister had a number of ribs with the 
igniter charge packed in between the ribs.  You'd pour the main charge 
into the ceramic form, put the funnel shaped top on and then tap on the 
bottom of the container while holding it over that funnel shaped top.  
The problem was the igniter charge  would often work its way out of the 
area between the ribs and mix with the regular charge so you'd have no 
igniter charge. In those cases I just used my oxyacetylene  torch for an 
igniter which worked just fine.  So would a bunch of match heads and a 
fireplace match (one of those foot long matches )

If you have many to do it might pay to just get  a graphite mold and 
roll your own.

Roger (K8RI)
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