WARNING AND DISCLAIMER:  If you are underage, then consult with your parents or guardians before attempting any of this.  Making the items described below  can result in injury or death to you or people in your vicinity. Some things mentioned here may be illegal to make in your city, county, state, or country so check the laws that apply to you before you attempt anything described here.  

Blue Lift

This is an experiment in using a lift that doesn't produce the flame front that BP does. The lift in this case is Shimizu Blue Star #2 from page 216 of Fireworks the Art, Science and Technique. This is a chlorate mixture so proper precautions should be taken when making it and when using it. While it hasn't been tested with heavy loads, it might act like H3 which detonates when  the loads are fairly big. For small mortars (3" or 4") the blue lift might be an interesting solution.

The blue star mix was wetted with water and riced through a 12 mesh screen. About 75 percent more Blue Lift was used than BP  - Blue Lift burns slower than 2FA.

In this shot you can compare the relative blue color with the red color of the 2FA lift in the picture to the right. Note the reflection on the ground here and then on the ground in the photo on the right. Click on the above picture to see the blue lift in action.

The 2FA color is much more red than the blue lift. There are also more debris and sparks. Click on the above picture to see the 2FA lift fire.