The Anarchist Cookbook (73 page)
otherwise, the projectile may jam. Copper or aluminum piping is usually smooth enough, but
it must also be extremely thick to withstand the pressure developed by the expanding hot
gasses in a cannon.
If one uses a projectile such as a COý cartridge, since such a projectile can be made to
explode, a pipe that is about 1« - 2 feet long is ideal. Such a pipe MUST have walls that
are at least 1/3 to « an inch thick, and be very smooth on the interior. If possible, screw
an endplug into the pipe. Otherwise, the pipe must be crimped and folded closed, without
cracking or tearing the pipe. A small hole is drilled in the back of the pipe near the crimp
or endplug. Then, all that need be done is fill the pipe with about two teaspoons of grade
blackpowder or pyrodex, insert a fuse, pack it lightly by ramming a wad of tissue paper
down the barrel, and drop in a COý cartridge. Brace the cannon securely against a strong
structure, light the fuse, and run. If the person is lucky, he will not have overcharged the
cannon, and he will not be hit by pieces of exploding barrel. Such a cannon would look like
this:
__________________ fuse hole
|
|
V
________________________________________________________________
| |_____________________________________________________________|
|endplug|powder|t.p.| COý cartridge
| ______|______|____|____________________________________________
|_|______________________________________________________________|
An exploding projectile can be made for this type of cannon with a COý cartridge. It is
relatively simple to do. Just make a crater maker, and construct it such that the fuse
projects about an inch from the end of the cartridge. Then, wrap the fuse with duct tape,
covering it entirely, except for a small amount at the end. Put this in the pipe cannon
without using a tissue paper packing wad.
When the cannon is fired, it will ignite the end of the fuse, and shoot the COý cartridge.
The explosive-filled cartridge will explode in about three seconds, if all goes well. Such a
projectile would look like this:
___
( )
|C |
| M|
| |
| |
\ /
[] <--- taped fuse
[]
[]
! <--- Bare fuse (add matcheads)
ROCKET FIRING CANNON
A rocket firing cannon can be made exactly like a normal cannon; the only difference is the
ammunition. A rocket fired from a cannon will fly further than a rocket alone, since the
action of shooting it overcomes the initial inertia. A rocket that is launched when it is
moving will go further than one that is launched when it is stationary. Such a rocket would
resemble a normal rocket bomb, except it would have no fins. It would look like the image
below. The fuse on such a device would, obviously, be short, but it would not be ignited
until the rocket's ejection charge exploded. Thus, the delay before the ejection charge, in
effect, becomes the delay before the bomb explodes. Note that no fuse need be put in the
rocket; the burning powder in the cannon will ignite it, and simultaneously push the rocket
out of the cannon at a high velocity.
___
/ \
| |
| C |
| M |
| |
| |
|___|
| E |
| N |
| G |
| I |
| N |
| E |
|___|
REINFORCED PIPE CANNON
In high school, a friend and I built cannons and launched COý cartridges, etc, etc.
However, the design of the cannon is what I want to add here. It was made from plain
steel water pipe, steel wire, and lead.
Here is a cross section:
_______
| |
| xxxxx_____________________________________________ 2" ID pipe
| |_________________________________________________
| | ... . . . . . . . . <- steel wire }
| | _____ } 3/4" ID pipe
this | | | xxx______________________________________}_________________
wire | | | |__________________________________________________________
holds | |. . | |
it up |>|....| |
in the| | | |__________________________________________________________
cooker| | | xxx________________________________________________________
| | |____ }
| | ... . . . . . . . . . } <- cast lead
| |_______________________________________________}_
| | _____________________________________________
| xxxxx
|_____|
We dug into the side of a sand pile and built a chimney out of firebrick. Then we stood the
assembled pipe and wire on end in the chimney, sitting on some bricks. We then had a
blowtorch heating up the chimney, so that the pipe was red hot. Then we poured molten
lead into the space between the pipes. If the caps aren't screwed on real tight, some of
the lead will leak out. If that happens, turn off the blowtorch and the pipe will cool enough
and the lead will stiffen and stop the leak.
We used homemade and commercial black powder, and slow smokeless shotgun powder in
this thing. After hundreds of shots we cut it up and there was no evidence of cracks or
swelling of the inner pipe.
2 12.Smoke Bombs by Exodus
One type of pyrotechnic device that might be employed by a terrorist in many way would
be a smoke bomb. Such a device could conceal the getaway route, or cause a diversion, or
simply provide cover. Such a device, were it to produce enough smoke that smelled bad
enough, could force the evacuation of a building, for example. Smoke bombs are not
difficult to make. Although the military smoke bombs employ powdered white phosphorus
or titanium compounds, such materials are usually unavailable to even the most well-
equipped terrorist. Instead, he/she would have to make the smoke bomb for themselves.
Most homemade smoke bombs usually employ some type of base powder, such as black
powder or pyrodex, to support combustion. The base material will burn well, and provide
heat to cause the other materials in the device to burn, but not completely or cleanly.
Table sugar, mixed with sulfur and a base material, produces large amounts of smoke.
Sawdust, especially if it has a small amount of oil in it, and a base powder works well also.
Other excellent smoke ingredients are small pieces of rubber, finely ground plastics, and
many chemical mixtures. The material in road flares can be mixed with sugar and sulfur
and a base powder produces much smoke. Most of the fuel-oxidizer mixtures, if the ratio
is not correct, produce much smoke when added to a base powder. The list of possibilities
goes on and on. The trick to a successful smoke bomb also lies in the container used. A
plastic cylinder works well, and contributes to the smoke produced. The hole in the smoke
bomb where the fuse enters must be large enough to allow the material to burn without
causing an explosion. This is another plus for plastic containers, since they will melt and
burn when the smoke material ignites, producing an opening large enough to prevent an
explosion.
---SIMPLE SMOKE---
The following reaction should produce a fair amount of smoke. Since this reaction is not all
that dangerous you can use larger amounts if necessary
6 pt. ZINC POWDER
1 pt. SULFUR POWDER
Insert a red hot wire into the pile, step back.
---COLORED FLAMES---
Colored flames can often be used as a signaling device for terrorists. By putting a ball of
colored flame material in a rocket; the rocket, when the ejection charge fires, will send
out a burning colored ball. The materials that produce the different colors of flames
appear below.
COLORMATERIALUSED IN
RedStrontium SaltsRoad Flares [Strontium
Nitrate]Red SparklersGreenBarium SaltsGreen Sparklers [Barium
Nitrate]YellowSodium SaltsGold Sparklers [Sodium Nitrate]BluePowdered
CopperBlue Sparklers Old PenniesWhitePowdered Magnesium -or-Firestarters
AluminumAluminum FoilPurplePotassium PermanganatePurple Fountains Treating
Sewage
2 13.Firecrackers by Exodus
A simple firecracker can be made from cardboard tubing and epoxy. The instructions are
below:
Cut a small piece of cardboard tubing from the tube you are using. "Small" means anything
less than 4 times the diameter of the tube.
Set the section of tubing down on a piece of wax paper, and fill it with epoxy and the
drying agent to a height of 3/4 the diameter of the tubing. Allow the epoxy to dry to
maximum hardness, as specified on the package.
When it is dry, put a small hole in the middle of the tube, and insert a desired length of
fuse.
Fill the tube with any type of flame-sensitive explosive. Flash powder, pyrodex, black
powder, potassium picrate, lead azide, nitrocellulose, or any of the fast burning fuel-
oxidizer mixtures will do nicely. Fill the tube almost to the top.
Pack the explosive tightly in the tube with a wad of tissue paper and a pencil or other
suitable ramrod. Be sure to leave enough space for more epoxy.
Fill the remainder of the tube with the epoxy and hardener, and allow it to dry.
For those who wish to make spectacular firecrackers, always use flash powder, mixed with
a small amount of other material for colors. By crushing the material on a sparkler, and
adding it to the flash powder, the explosion will be the same color as the sparkler. By
adding small chunks of sparkler material, the device will throw out colored burning
sparks, of the same color as the sparkler. By adding powdered iron, orange sparks will
be produced. White sparks can be produced from magnesium shavings, or from small,
LIGHTLY crumpled balls of aluminum foil.
Example: Suppose I wish to make a firecracker that will explode with a red flash, and
throw out white sparks.
First, I would take a road flare, and finely powder the material inside it. Or, I could take
a red sparkler, and finely powder it.
Then, I would mix a small amount of this material with the flash powder. NOTE: FLASH
POWDER MAY REACT WITH SOME MATERIALS THAT IT IS MIXED WITH, AND
EXPLODE SPONTANEOUSLY! I would mix it in a ratio of 9 parts flash powder to 1
part of flare or sparkler material, and add about 15 small balls of aluminum foil I would
store the material in a plastic bag overnight outside of the house, to make sure that
the stuff doesn't react. Then, in the morning, I would test a small amount of it, and if
it was satisfactory, I would put it in the firecracker.
If this type of firecracker is mounted on a rocket engine, professional to semi-
professional displays can be produced.
---SKYROCKETS---
An impressive home made skyrocket can easily be made in the home from model rocket
engines. Estes engines are recommended.
Buy an Estes Model Rocket Engine of the desired size, remembering that the power
doubles with each letter.
Either buy a section of body tube for model rockets that exactly fits the engine, or make
a tube from several thicknesses of paper and glue.
Scrape out the clay backing on the back of the engine, so that the powder is exposed. Glue
the tube to the engine, so that the tube covers at least half the engine. Pour a small
charge of flash powder in the tube, about « an inch.
By adding materials as detailed in the section on firecrackers, various types of effects can
be produced.
By putting Jumping Jacks or bottle rockets without the stick in the tube, spectacular
displays with moving fireballs or MRV's can be produced.
Finally, by mounting many home made firecrackers on the tube with the fuses in the tube,
multiple colored bursts can be made.
---ROMAN CANDLES---
Roman candles are impressive to watch. They are relatively difficult to make, compared to
the other types of home-made fireworks, but they are well worth the trouble.
Buy a « inch thick model rocket body tube, and reinforce it with several layers of paper
and/or masking tape. This must be done to prevent the tube from exploding. Cut the
tube into about 10 inch lengths.
Put the tube on a sheet of wax paper, and seal one end with epoxy and the drying agent.
About « of an inch is sufficient.
Put a hole in the tube just above the bottom layer of epoxy, and insert a desired length of
water proof fuse. Make sure that the fuse fits tightly.
Pour about 1 inch of pyrodex or gunpowder down the open end of the tube.
Make a ball by powdering about two 6 inch sparklers of the desired color. Mix this powder
with a small amount of flash powder and a small amount of pyrodex, to have a final
ratio (by volume) of 60% sparkler material / 20% flash powder / 20% pyrodex. After
mixing the powders well, add water, one drop at a time, and mixing continuously, until a
damp paste is formed.
This paste should be moldable by hand, and should retain its shape when left alone. Make a