A star is the bright burning objects you see ejected from Roman candles, shells, mines etc. consisting of a pyrotechnic composition fashioned into pellets. The pyrotechnic composition is mixed with a binder and a small amount of solvent to make a doughy mass which is then fashioned into stars. The usual methods are to make the composition into a flat pancake or sausage and cut it up into stars ("cut stars"), pushing it through a tube with a dowel, cutting it off at regular intervals ("pumped stars") or rolling cores of lead shot coated in fire clay in a bowl of the composition ("rolled stars"). Cutting and pumping produce cubic or cylindrical stars, while rolling produces spherical stars. Pumped stars are the most suitable for Roman candles, because it is easy to get the correct width. The stars are often dusted with a primer, usually meal black powder, to ensure ignition. Pressed stars involve the composition being pressed extremely hard into a mould with a hydraulic press or similar.