My homemade black powder

[Texantothecore]

Fly please reconsider. I am just starting up again after a long hiatus and will probably need your expertise. Thanks. Mike

[fishingsetx]

Before you leave a question.
I am using a dessicator (160 degrees) to dry my pucks for 24 hours before grinding but all I am getting is powder. Most of the other successful producers allow the pucks to dry in air. Is it possible to overly dry the powder?
I beginning to think that getting them to ambient hydration levels may be more productive. Any experience with this?
My next series of test will be to dry it in the dessicator, break into grinder friendly chunks and let them set in the garage for a few days to rehydrate (Houston) and then grind them to 3fg.
Does that sound like a good way to go?
Thanks

I also use a dehydrator and sometimes run mine for 2 days or more although I try to take them out after 24 hrs. No temp setting, but going off feel, it feels like it is close to 160 or so. My pucks come out hard as glass with 6 ton press and pressing them to aboht 1/4" thick. I would guess that you arent adding enough water to your green mill or not mixing it in good enough before pressing your pucks. I like to get a small drop or two out of each puck when I press it. If not, my pucks tend to be soft and easily crumbled.

I add the dry green mill to a bowl that is big enough to hold about 4 pucks worth of mill with room to mix without spilling and use a lee powder dipper to add one dipper of water (dont remember the size off hand but it changes slightly with each bat h of green mill). Then I cut in the water, press the mix into the bowl with a spoon, scrape off thin layers and cut again. I do this till I dont get small dark spots when scraping and the powder is a uniform color. I look for a certain consistancy in the mill before pressing it (you'll know it after a few batches). If I press it and the puck easily crumbles by hand, the mill is too dry and I add a tiny bit more water and mix again. If I get excess water seepage when pressed, its too wet and I add a small amount of dry mill and remix. Once I get solid glass like pucks without too much water seepage when pressing, I try to stick to the same amounts of water/mill. Thats why I use the powder dipper to measure the water. With all that being said, id rather a little too much water than not enough.

Guns have only two enemies: rust and politicians!

[fishingsetx]

how thick are you guys compressing your pucks? I'm using fly's compression die @ 2"

I have two ways to run it.

1. I use a craft paper puncher to punch 2" circles of wax paper and spoon in 1 tbsp of air-float, lay a paper down, 1 tbsp, paper, 1 tbsp, paper, etc.
2. Dump like 5 tbps in there and stomp it.

the first way gives me, per cycle in the press, 4-6 thin pucks. The second way gives me one thick puck.

The thick puck seems to make harder powder, which makes me think the powder quality will be better. The thinner powder is MUCH MUCH easier to deal with in grinding, but makes me wonder if I did not drive out as much moisture as the thicker puck.

I guess I am asking, if you make thick pucks, how do you deal with the initial grind before the coffee mill? I'm using a mortar and pestle, it's just not good enough (I need a hammer, it's tedious). If you make thin pucks, how do you keep production up? do you just press one at a time and deal with a very slow process?

I want my pucks about 1/4" thick compressed. I can turn out enough pucks in an hr or two to fill my dehydrator. When dried, crushed, ground, and sifted, this comes out to about 1/2-3/4 lb of powder and about 3-4 hrs worth of actual work with the vast majority of time spend breaking up and grinding the powder.

After I sift out the fines, the good stuff goes into my tumbler without and media and I add a few puffs of graphite powder. I then tumble it for about 24 hrs to coat and polish the powder. Then I sift one more time to remove excess graphite and any fines from damaged powder grains. Ive never noticed a problem with ignition or burn rate due to this and the powder flows MUCH better.

Guns have only two enemies: rust and politicians!

[Texantothecore]

I cut way back on water the last time but the bucks come out very hard. I am using a Hario grinder that has been adjusted per the video so that it is straight. I use a 3/8" socket to loosen and tighten the central nut on the grinding assembly. Needle nose pliers just did not work for me at all.

[Boz330]

I used graphite early on and it helped feeding through a measure. I'm not sure if just tumbling the powder might not work as well by knocking the corners off of the grains, which should help get more in a confined space like a cartridge case.
redhawko, thanks for the compliment but for the most part I learned a lot from Fly and then just did a little experimenting on my own. Unlike most here my original intent was to use my powder in a cartridge rifle for hunting. I do use it in my ML as well and have taken several deer from both with it.

Bob

[Eddie2002]

After reading the thread twice and paying almost $30.00 for a pound of Goex I decided to give rolling my own a try. It looks like my local Lowe's has stump remover and the 90% sulfur powder in stock which is all I need right now to get my feet wet.
Already have a cookie tin loaded with some cedar on my redneck tire rim grill cooking down and have a bunch of imperfect round balls to toss into the tumbler.
The plan is to make a few smaller batches till I get it right. I'm not planning to compress the mix, just sift it for starters and try it in a front stuffer. Thanks for all the advice and tips in the thread.

[swamp]

After reading the thread twice and paying almost $30.00 for a pound of Goex I decided to give rolling my own a try. It looks like my local Lowe's has stump remover and the 90% sulfur powder in stock which is all I need right now to get my feet wet.
Already have a cookie tin loaded with some cedar on my redneck tire rim grill cooking down and have a bunch of imperfect round balls to toss into the tumbler.
The plan is to make a few smaller batches till I get it right. I'm not planning to compress the mix, just sift it for starters and try it in a front stuffer. Thanks for all the advice and tips in the thread.

Sounds like you are hooked. I only have made 2 or 3 1 lb batches and quite satisfied with the results. I press and grind. I tried my powder in a new to me Renegade and it worked great.

I think you will enjoy it.
swamp

[Eddie2002]

So far the charcoal is turning out well. After the charcoal had cooled down I broke it up into smaller pieces and then bagged it in quart freezer bags. These got crushed in a vice two or three times which reduced the chunks into much smaller pieces before I dumped them into the tumbler. Crushing the charcoal in baggies keeps the dust down a bit. My tumbler is powered by a DC motor that has a gear reduction head on it, collected a bunch of them off retired equipment back when I worked in the medical field. The motor spins a 5 gallon bucket at about 45 RPM with 12 volts DC and is made for extended running. The charcoal and lead balls are in a one pound plastic powder jar wrapped in a piece of inner tube for traction which rotates as the bucket spins. It sounds a little hokey but so far it's working. I have the tumbler plugged into a regular light timer which is set for a 4 hour run.
I'll use the same setup with different plastic bottles to grind the sulfur and KNOH into fine powder before combining them for the final milling. Think a 1/4 pound or less would be a good starting batch.
Still need to pick up the other two ingredients of the mix. Hope to have a small batch completed by the end of the weekend.

[Eddie2002]

potassium nitrate, my mistake looks like I've forgotten my high school chemistry. The 90% sulfur is all that is available around here, I've looked everywhere. If the test batches work I'll place an order to DudaDiesel but right now I'm testing my manufacturing procedure to see if it works.
Just lost the AC in my truck so need to concentrate on getting that fixed first.

[Eddie2002]

So far the ball tumbler is doing a nice job on the charcoal. I just sifted the charcoal and have about 3 ounces that has a consistency of confectioner's sugar. 3 ounces is enough for a pound which is my target amount.There are a few slightly larger grains but the majority is very fine. Picking up the potassium nitrate today on the way home from the repair shop.

[Eddie2002]

Quick follow up, I picked up the sulfur and stump remover from the store today. Also ran by Good Will and found a full sized mixer for five dollars which worked great on grinding up the potassium nitrate into real fine powder. The sulfur already comes as a fine powder so I used it straight out of the container without any further processing.
This afternoon I mixed a 1/4 pound of materials together and dumped it in the ball mill. After 1/2 hour I scooped a small spoon full out and lit it. The mixture burned quickly but didn't go poof like commercial powder does. Probably because it needs more mix time and compressed into granules. I took another small amount of the mix and added a little water to it so it just barely clumped and then screened it forming around a 2 F powder, once dry I'll see how it burns. I have the granules drying under a lamp in the shop.
The rest of the mix is in the ball mill set to run for another four hours. So far making black powder has been pretty simple with the most important thing being keeping the components separate until the final mix and just being real careful. It has taken me about six months to get up the nerve to give it a try. I'm real curious to see how this first batch turns out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
It's a shame Fly is gone, this thread has gotten quite without him.

[Fly]

I,m back Eddie I just took advice from some of my friends to let what was said go. Sorry guys this thread will be fine with or with out
me. This thread is not about me at all. I,m just another one of you trying to help folks as you do also. Eddie sounds like you are on your
way. The thing I see now is to mill that meal powder as fine as baby powder. How ever long it takes. Different ball mills take different times.

I built my own & it can do a batch in two hours. When I used a Harbor Freight tumbler it took 6 hours. Mill it real fine & it should go poof.

Good luck & keep us posted! Fly

[Eddie2002]

Fly, good to see you are back. I've had to take a break from other forums "Just Because" also. I just tried the powder that was screened and dried under a lamp and it went Poof not fizzle. I'm cautiously optimistic that everything is working right and the powder will propel a round ball down the range. Need to finish the batch and get a weight to volume factor compared to Goex.

[square butte]

Fly - Thank You Sir - You are a much valued person here

[Whiterabbit]

My air float powder when piled on a bench goes poof at the same speed as finished powder. If yours does not, I would suspect more ball milling needed.

It could also be an ingredient issue. I stopped using garden store sulfur because it was 10% clay.

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Glad to hear your powder is doing better. When it's really dry try to crunch it in your fingers. When I did it your way my powder instantly turned back into air-float. Once I started compressing the powder into pucks and grinding into 3F, it was happy days. If your powder doesn't hold up, I woudn't bother moving forward till you got a nice tough grain, however you plan to do it. I like compression best (compared to screening it wet or using dextrin)

[Whiterabbit]

I got my 12 ton air actuated press in the trunk, got it at lunch today, so I'm happy like a kid in a candy store. No more pumping the press down into place by hand, I'm pushbutton now!

[Fly]

I have that same pump WR. Only down side it sounds like a jackhammer (wink).

Fly

[Eddie2002]

I ran the ball mill for 6 hours last night. The mix looks real fine and a small scoop flashed and burned quickly. Next is taking a small amount, damping it and screening it. I think the powder is ready for the next step.
I've enough stuff kicking around the shop to make a small puck press and I'll work on it over the weekend.

[Boz330]

Glad you're back Fly.
It looks like an arms race around here with you guys getting so mechanized, hell I'm still using the bench vice, but then I'm not making that much powder to justify more stuff in my shop which is already overcrowded.

Bob

[Fly]

Eddie if you plan on screening it you must use a binder. Dextrin 5% is explained in the thread.

Fly