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Mortar RackTo go along with my (currently in progress) Fireworks Launching System, I have built a set of racks for the mortars from which the fireworks will be launched. My goal was to put as many mortars around my launching board as I could without having to run 6 miles of wire.For you math guys out there, the optimal way was to use a circular rack. Unfortunately my carpentry skills aren't up to snuff for that. So, I chose to go with a hexagon that would be easy to create with 6 equilateral triangles. I went to my local Home Depot and bought the following items: 1) 4' x 2' x 3/4" plywood (2) 2) 4' x 2' x 1/4" plywood (4) 3) 1" x 4" x 8' pine board (5) 4) Drawer Handles (6) 5) Latches (6) 6) Box of 1.5" screws (1) 7) Box of 2" screws (1) After measuring and calculating the size I would need, I cutr three 21" equilateral traingles from the 3/4 ply:   As you can see, they line up pretty well. You may click on any imagefor the big version, btw. The next step was to build up the side supports of each rack base. I used the 1/4 ply and cut 2 sides for each base, approximately 14" x 18":   When put together, I was a little worried that the sides wouldn't line up very well. I pushed them together and threw a couple mortars on to get an idea:  I forged ahead though and began installing the mortar supports. I first cut the 1x4s in half to 1x2. The reason I did this was that the 1x4s were cheaper than the 1x2s. Then, I cut a top support and a bottom support the same length with a 60 degree angle on the ends:   As you can see, the first row has 9 mortars in it. I continued on, doing 4 rows of mortars and 5 rows of supports. All supports are glued and screwed so I shouldn't have any issue with them coming apart. The mortars I am using are fiber glass and are those sold by Colin on PyroUniverse.com:    As you can see, each rack will hold 25 mortars, meaning my hexagon will have 150 mortars supported. Which is a good thing since my firing board will support up to 156 tubes. The extra six will be cakes or something like that. I also attached the drawer handle so I could carry it around easily, and voila! the first rack was done. Now I only had 5 to go. It took the better part of 2 days (approximately 8 hours), but in the end I had all six finished. I still have three steps left: 1) Finish attaching handles 2) Paint black (maybe) 3) Install Latches The latches are the 'fence gate' type that have a hinged metal strip with a slot cut in it for one side and a metal loop on the other. This will allow me to latch the six pieces together and either put in pad locks (for cement launches) or metal rod pounded into the ground for grass/dirt launches:    I currently only have 80 mortars, but I have another 40 coming and will probably end up ordering another 40 before the 4th. Overall I am extremely pleased with the way they turned out. If I had to do it all over again, I would have been more precise with my angles and cuts, as they don't fit QUITE as snug as I would have liked, but there is no concern about the stability of the whole system. Once I lock them together they will be quite sturdy. I also would have done a better job of measuring the mortars and left a smidge more space between the mortar support rows. Some of the mortars are slightly larger at the base and are a REALLY snug fit. I should have just enough space to place the firing board in the center. As you can imagine my wife's first response was "Where are you going to store that?" Fortunately I have some space under my garage stairs that I will clean out and use. The design I used makes for easy storage and transport. Feel free to comment on ways to make it better! david@davidbroome.com
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