Electronic Fireworks Igniter/Detonators

Shows how some household things can be used to make some handy "detonators" for fireworks.

This is for informational purposes only, I refuse to be held responsible for any accidents or illegal activity as a result of people using this information. By reading this you accept that you will use this information responsibly, and not do anything stupid/illegal with it.

You will need the following:

Some speaker wire (very cheap to buy, you need about 5-8 cm for each detonator)
Some steel wool (The really fine stuff, usually theres some hiding under the kitchen sink, but it has to be the fine stuff, the heavier stuff doesn't work)
Scissors
A wire stripping tool

Cut the wire to the desired length, It doesn't matter how long, but about 7cm usually does it

Seperate each wire, and strip about 1/2 cm of each of them on one end (photo 1)

Use the scissors to carefully cut through the insulation of the wire (but not the wire itsself) to allow you to strip both wires without seperating them on the other end (photo 2)

The end of the wire which is not seperated is the end used with the wool for the detonator.

9V batteries go nicely with steel wool, its very easy to start the whole ball of wool burning real quickly without even trying. Try out the batteries you'll be using with the wool to see how many strands the battery can set off at once.

Now, get a single strand of steel wool, and wrap it around one of the wires on the end of the length of wire where they aren't seperated. wind it round several times to make sure it doesn't come off.

Then wrap the strand around both of them twice. This gives you 4 strands which will be melted, usually the battery can handle this easily and works every time (for a standard square 9v battery).

Now wind it round the other wire like you did with the other one, and bend both of the wires outward, and down till they're bent round 180 degrees. Trim off any of the excess wool with the scissors.

Now they're ready to use. To use simply put them in whatever you want to ignite, and allow the current from the battery to flow through.