If you’re going to put on a big show, you need a sturdy surface to set the various fireworks elements on. Of our 216 channels, 10 will be used for fuel mines, another 50 for mortars, leaving over 150 for individual cakes and other elements. In addition to providing a stable, flat, fire resistant surface, we also have to consider how to handle rain (like 2024).
Our plan is to have three 4’x4′ platforms per controller, or almost 50 sq ft of area for the elements associated with each controller. The platforms will be 7/16 OSB reinforced and lifted off the ground by 2×2 material:
For ease of moving and carrying the platforms we will cut 2 handholds on two sides. Looking around we found these:
They are intended to reinforce cardboard box handholds and protect people from paper cuts, but with a mas board thickness of 0.563″ they work perfectly for our 7/16″ OSB an will allow us to handle the board without gloves.
(18) 4’x4′ platforms, (18) 18-shot mortar racks, (4) 6″ fuel mines, (4) 8″ fuel mines, and (2) 10″ fuel mines, grouped by controllers (red, purple, blue, teal, green, and yellow) and positioned to be covered by 20’x20′ tarps in the event of rain between set-up and time to fire.
As we set-up and put the various fireworks out on the boards we thought it might save time if we only had to identify which elements go on which channels 1 time. As the team unpacks the fireworks and sets them out we will have them label them with the color and channel number, making it easy to identify when it’s time to attach the initiators.
