Smoke Balls

[GrayKat58]

Kind of an off the wall subject, but I was wondering if anyone knew the technique for making the little spheres that you commonly find for smoke balls. I have my own smoke mixtures and would like to try to make some mini smoke pots (grandkids love them). It appears to be made of some kind of clay compound. Possibly it's a machine process that doesn't lend itself to producing by hand. How do you get the powder inside the ball?

I'm sure I could make something with ping pong balls, aluminum foil or small ball shell casings, but what fun would that be?

[displayfireworks1]

If you making you own smoke mixture you can just place it in almost anything "Safe" like a paper Dixie Cup etc and get a better longer effect. However, now that you mention it, I'm curious how they encase the smoke balls. Curious if they are similar to Cherry Bombs with cup sets, sawdust and water glass? A word of caution , if you setting off anything homemade , even a smoke mixture around children or any audience, never rule out a sudden explosion. That is why its best to use cardboard , paper etc. Clay is not always the best for experimentation or first time homemade creations. I have seen homemade fountains and even smoke formulation just go boom be careful using clay.
Years back at a pyro event I was standing near by when someone set off one of those Crazy Robot type fountain firecrackers. When the firecracker part went off a piece of clay hit me just above the knee and hurt like hell. I remember thinking if a small child was standing where I was it would have hit him in the face at that level.

[GrayKat58]

Yep, we keep the wee ones at a good distance. Typically, I make a LARGE smoke device ala the ones shown on Tech Ingredients. I've also tried the scented ones, but so far I haven't found them to be worth the extra effort. Most likely the TNT-style balls wouldn't be worth the extra work either. I was mainly curious as to how they could be made.