a few black powder questions

[jballs918]

well all its been about 4 years or so since i posted but the thought of homemade black powder has gotten me really thinking. from what i have read i will have to go with the wet method just due to the fact that i dont have a ball mill. with this in mind i have a few questions i want to knock out before i even think about starting this.

question number 1: does it matter what percent the isopropyl alcohol is. from what i have seen it come in 50, 70, 91, and 99 percent. does this really matter.

question number 2: screen size and what is it made of. im kinda clueless on this the only thing that i have found was some from skylighter. but these are like 36 dollars. what size do i need.

question number 3: stump remover for kn03 yes or no. what i have read it is 100% kn03. any issues here

im sure as this thread continues on i will have more questions, thanks again for your guys time.

[rupe01]

Hi Jballs918. I figured that someone more knowledgeable than me would already have answered you, but since no-one has, I will give it a go from my limited knowledge. I have only made one batch of black powder so far, but that worked out really well to my surprise. The best help that i have found so far from YouTube was a guy called BrushHippie with this video and the part two. He makes it look really simple and easy and has good tips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKB8c4VLbw0

For your questions:

1. Any of the isopropyl alcohol works, as does plain water. Your choice.Whatever you use just has to evaporate anyway.
2. Screen size recommended is i believe around 14 or 16. I use a spare window screen that i had laying around and its handy to have the frame already attached.
3. Yes, stump remover is fine as long as its a powder, not beads or pearls. If you happen to get them by mistake you can always powderize them in a blender. Just make sure it doesnt have any anti-caking additives. One of the best places to buy all your ingredients i have found is hobbychemicalsupply.com .

Good luck! Its a lot of fun to make your own BP and way cheaper than buying it ready-made! One thing i would recommend is to buy a ball mill. They are very cheap from Harbor Freight (mine is a double chamber one for $43). Thats a good investment since it does not require the more dangerous methods of mixing and pounding. And just use your lead balls inside the mill. Oh and i used 5% dextrin also, introduced for the last 20mins in the ball mill.

[Texantothecore]

I am not sure the alcohol plays much of a role and boils off at 180 degrees so I would be careful. Black powder has been made without it for hundreds of years. Just a thought.

[mooman76]

I have been wanting to give it a try myself and may try it soon. Is there anywhere local I can get sulfur? I'll have to figure out what wood to use I can get around here. I was thinking of trying Desert Willow.

[rupe01]

Yes, you can just go to any Home Depot or Lowes, etc and buy Flowers of Sulfur. Its used as a garden pesticide. And KNO3 is available there too, as Stump Remover. And yes you can make your own charcoal and experiment. I did and I used some cedar from some trimmings from trees that we grew for posts. Just make sure that you use softwood charcoal though. Not the hardwood for the BBQ. It must burn quickly. I will say however that turning your own charcoal to powder is a real pain and nasty (just because its so dusty and gets everywhere including up your nose, in your eyes etc), so i am definitely going to buy mine next time! I learned my lesson there! But experimentation is what makes it fun!

[Boz330]

If you are going to make your own charcoal the ball mill is almost a necessity. I initially grind mine in an old meat grinder to get it in a form to easily ball mill. I couldn't find any black willow for my first batch and just cut some thumb size willow off of a road rite-a-way. Turned out to be sandbar willow, worked just fine. The deer below fell to that sandbar willow. BTW the KNO3 for that powder was Spectracide stump remover. Try what you have available.
A kitchen strainer from Walmart is 16 and for the screen method works fine and is cheap.

Bob

[OverMax]

Making B/P is pretty easy. But making good shoot-able powder is a whole different ball game. The best thing you could do for knowledge. Spend some time reading that Black Powder thread here in Muzzle Loading. Unbelievable amount of knowledge written & posted on it. By the way you missed one ingredient. Gum Arabic.

O/M

[Texantothecore]

There is another thread which is quite good. Search for "Diy bp gurus".

[rupe01]

Gum Arabic? Good to know.........i hadnt heard about using that before, thanks!

[dondiego]

Gum Arabic is not needed if you use dextrin as a binder. Dextrin is cheaper and can be made from starch.

[rupe01]

Ah, i see now......it is used as a binder. Thats what i used the dextrin for.........but now i am reading that using a binder slows the bp down and is only really needed for pyrotechnic bp and not for handgun/rifle bp....??

[dondiego]

You should only use a small percentage of binder and it shouldn't slow it too much. It surely helps keep your granules tight.

[rupe01]

OK thanks dondiego. I used 5% but i might cut that down to 3% next time.