re: MURICA!!! Who else is ALL IN on the 250 July 4th!?!

My 69 YO self loves a good FW show. Wish I was there to see it.

ohh yeah baw. should be a hell of a day!

We've got family coming into town. Then we're heading over to a neighbor's house that afternoon to kick off the festivities.

Naturally, everyone else already claimed the easy stuff to cook or bring, so they asked me to make a pot of jambalaya. Wouldn't have been my first choice for an America 250 celebration, but you've gotta give the patriots what they ask for.

So it'll be a morning by our pool with the family, trying to get the kids down for naps so they aren't complete terrorists by fireworks time, cooking a pot of jambalaya while keeping my mother-in-law as far away from the kitchen as humanly possible so she doesn't ruin the jambalya, then loading up the jamby, a case or two of beer, and a car full of people to drive a couple streets over. Wife has already volutneered to drive home, so the fireworks won't be the only thing getting blasted.

Here's my shirt, but I'm cutting the sleeves off it so it's more authentic.

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How does one do this? I do a big celebration every new years and i'd prefer just 1 big show than running around the yard with lighters.

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You can find some tutorial videos on YouTube about how to fuse and the materials you'll need. I prefer tape over zip ties, and I secure all my cakes to plywood boards for safety. Fuse burn rates widely vary so you'll need to buy several different fuse types and know basics about each box you buy (time and number of shots to be able to time fuses). It gets complicated the more boxes and mortars you add but the basics are the same. Biggest risks are misfires where the tape/zip tie connection doesn't light the box. But those are rare.

Electric firing systems are best for really big shows because you can accurately time all shots in your show and coordinate music. But that can be a big investment. I'd do it if I went this big every year.

Here's a good site that explains some basics about fusing shows. LINK

Do you use rocket motor igniters to light them? I know people with big budgets like that who screw all their fireworks to OSB then wire them up and sit back and just press buttons.
I like to carry a map gas torch and also make my own fireworks with stump killer, charcoal and sulfur and add in other stuff.

you buy fuse, to string them together.

I use hot glue on cardboard to expand the base

metal duct tape for all fusing

I buy a crapload (10-20 packs) of the cheap roman candles in the pack of 10 and make a monster block. run the fuse back and forth

duct taped together

and light and step back with the spectators

I’m in but in all honesty it seems like the bicentennial in 1976 was bigger. But I was on 10 at the time and very impressionable.

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I'm going to be staying at Key West

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My fav place in the country! Say hello to Eden for me