My homemade black powder

[LAGS]

@ Markopolo.
I have been making my own black powder for a couple of years now, and try to make about a pound a month If not more.
I just pressed another pound of powder into Pucks today with Dies I got from Fly earlier this week
I Dabbled with fireworks when I was Much Younger.
But I think that now that I just Retired, I am going to do what my Grandfather did for the last 20 years of his life.
He shot almost strictly Black Powder and built his own black powder rifles from Scratch.
That included the barrels.
But I may not get that involved, but it is a nice hobby and something to keep me busy.
Making my own powder is just the icing on the cake.
It is better to have the knowledge and ability, then to sit around and rely on other people to provide you with what you need at a higher cost.

And this Forum has made it possible to talk and interact with people that have the same frame of mind towards keeping a part of history alive for future generations.
You cant know where you are going, If you don't know where you came from.

[LAGS]

@ Indian Joe
That is a great Idea.
I have the same grinder, and may make a similar set up.
I may place it to drop into a set of Stackable Seive screens, like we use for sifting dirt samples for Dust Control Evaluations on the construction sites that I managed.
That way, you will have the powder screened into 4 different grinds when I get done grinding.

[Vettepilot]

What weight of meal charge in a 2" pressing die like Fly's in order to come up with 3/8" pressed pucks?

Thanks,
Vettepilot

[swamp]

I use stackable screens. To catch what gets through they are set in a large shallow glass bowl. It fits them perfect. Use the same bowl when screening my milled ingredients. Screen them through a 100 mesh . I am screening for 3F powder.
swamp

[swamp]

I use a Fly die and press into pucks. I have been use 20 and 50 mesh screens. What stays on the 50 I keep. I compared what I get to Goex 3F and the grains are very close. I just got a 30 mesh and am going to try that the next time I do powder. In total I have 20, 30, 50, and 100 mesh screens. The 20, 50 and 100 came in a set.

Right now I am only using 3F. Everything else gets reprocessed.
swamp

[swamp]

Markham,
Keep an eye on Amazon. I got my three screen set on sale for a pretty good price. They are listed as gold mining screens.
swamp

[Markopolo]

At Markham

Hmmmmm... I never actually timed it.. I usually do it while I am doing something else... when the smoke stops comming white out of the whole, is when I check things... if you look at the bucket next to the Dutch oven, I am also melting a pile of junk boolits and such... then I dip out with a ladle into ingot molds. I usually combine activities ... in this pic it is about done...


I imagine less then an hour... for both bucket and charcoal. I think I was shooting archery with some chemistry kids while it was cooking.. gotta take advantage of a good day to do lots of different stuff... every once in a while I look up and check the fire level and how much smoke.. the kids I was shooting archery with were in my chemistry class at school. We were making “rocket fuel”... BP using the CIA method.. it was a semester project and had a great time making BP gunpowder in the school.. MSDS, Nozzles, and so on. try that one in the lower 48 schools these days.. kids learned how to make BP, fuses, how to test them for burn times, and make a lot of stuff go boom... all in the classroom... good participation!!!

Marko

[LAGS]

I too use a Dutch oven for making my Charcoal.
It works great.
I also use a 3 gallon metal paint can with the metal lid with a screw on cap for the vent.
I need to make a flap to cover or regulate the size of the hole in the lid on the Dutch Oven
You close it down a bit at times, or for different kinds of wood.
A small piece of flat metal , pivoting on a screw will do the trick.

I am going to look into the Stackable Screens some more.
Price is no object for me.
I am more concerned with the durability an what the screens are made of like Brass or stainless steel.
These screens are going to be strictly for Sifting and sorting Ground powder, and running Dried Screen Pressed powder thru for size grading.
I will keep using the old kitchen strainers for actually Pressing the screened powder, then dry it

[LAGS]

@ Vettepilot
The first pucks I pressed yesterday, I used 2 Tablespoons of Moistened powder and got pucks about 1/4" thick
in a 2" Die from Fly

2 Rounded tablespoons of moistened powder made pucks about 3/8" thick.
But it is too cold and rainy here today to have much luck getting the pucks to dry very quickly.
I am going to look into building a Puck Dryer for the Colder months here.
In the summer, the pucks dry in the 110 degree sun very quickly.
And we have no shortage of those in the Arizona summer as you know.

I need to make the dryer out of some kind of Box with a Fan ducted to it, or even try a food Dehydrator.

[Fly]

I will throw out two ideas for drying. I have one of those Ronco plastic beef jerky dehydrators that works great in the winter. There are other company's
that make them & there cheap, maybe amazon? Another option is a ole crock pot just leave the top off. It works very well & can get one really cheap at
a thrift store. Just some thoughts!

Fly

[Markopolo]

@ Vettepilot
The first pucks I pressed yesterday, I used 2 Tablespoons of Moistened powder and got pucks about 1/4" thick
in a 2" Die from Fly

2 Rounded tablespoons of moistened powder made pucks about 3/8" thick.
But it is too cold and rainy here today to have much luck getting the pucks to dry very quickly.
I am going to look into building a Puck Dryer for the Colder months here.
In the summer, the pucks dry in the 110 degree sun very quickly.
And we have no shortage of those in the Arizona summer as you know.

I need to make the dryer out of some kind of Box with a Fan ducted to it, or even try a food Dehydrator.

Cold and damp??? But.... You live in Arizona??? Humidity 0, rain rare???

[Markopolo]

Why not one of these food dehydrator???


The trays are stackable

And you can regulate the temp down low...

I use them all the time for all sorts of wild foods... I love the fact you can drop the temp down to a mere 95f.. should be a great temp for BP Pucks, but I personally don’t Puck around.I am a CIA method guy. and you can use them for drying granular as well doing the cia method.. it comes with a fruit roll up sorta tray to dry liquid juices that would hold grains nicely without them falling through the cracks. And you can stack as many trays as you wanna... plus the unit isn’t sealed, so if there was a fire, it is not a sealed unit... no pressure...

Just an idea...

Marko

[Hotfxr]

IndianJoe; That grinder setup is a thing of beauty, I love it. Simple yet effective. I will be making something similar soon. Thanks for sharing.

As for breaking up the pucks, after pressing I wrap them in two layers of butcher paper, tape and date them, then throw them into a wooden box for a couple of months. When it's time to grind I just take out the wrapped pucks and beat them with a spiked meat tenderizer then tear off the paper and pour into a container to then pour into the grinder.

[Hotfxr]

For screens, I made stackable squares. pour the ground powder in the top then at each layer brush the powder through with a chip brush. I don't remember what sizes I used but I have cannon grind, 2ff, 3fff, and 4ffff. What doesn't fit the top screen goes back into the grinder, what falls to the bottom is re-pressed and ground again.

[LAGS]

I already have a dehydrator for making jerky.
Maybe it is time to retire that one to being a Puck Dryer and get me a new one.
The Wife has 5 Crock Pots and a half dozen Dutch ovens, ( We both are very good cooks).
But I did by my own Dutch Oven for making my powder and another for smelting lead.

I do have Ample funds to buy whatever I want, and never have to consult the wife about what I want to buy.
But part of this hobby is about doing things with your own two hands, like some of us have shown in the thread.
"Why Buy, If you know how to Build", is what I say.

I may just look into buying the screen I need and spend a little time building Exactly what I need.
I just retired, so Time, I have plenty of.

BTW
it is Raining in Arizona today.
But in Arizona it is a Dry Heat.
It is also a Dry Rain.

[Vettepilot]

@ Vettepilot
The first pucks I pressed yesterday, I used 2 Tablespoons of Moistened powder and got pucks about 1/4" thick
in a 2" Die from Fly

2 Rounded tablespoons of moistened powder made pucks about 3/8" thick.
But it is too cold and rainy here today to have much luck getting the pucks to dry very quickly.
I am going to look into building a Puck Dryer for the Colder months here.
In the summer, the pucks dry in the 110 degree sun very quickly.
And we have no shortage of those in the Arizona summer as you know.

I need to make the dryer out of some kind of Box with a Fan ducted to it, or even try a food Dehydrator.

Thanks to all on the info. I recently bought a couple of those infrared heat lamps that I am going to make an (indirect) heater with a fan on it for drying the pucks.

Also, on the screen questions, I bought a couple of screens fairly reasonable off ebay for screening the powder. Look up "Sieves". Mine are bowl shaped and have green plastic frames. Don't have the link on this 'puter. I'll try to post it later.

I also have a dutch oven made up for cooking charcoal. I installed two quarter inch pipe plugs in the lid to allow recapping it after cooking. I also installed a cheap barbecue thermometer in the lid. Supposedly 600 degrees or so makes the best coal. Who knows, but the thermometer was cheap. I am going to use mine on top of a turkey fryer burner.

Thanks,
Vettepilot

[freetrapper]

I use these gold prospecting classifiers and plan to use them for BP when I gather everything I need to make it. Free shipping if you buy a few. Eight bucks or less apeice. https://www.amazon.com/SE-GP4-50-5-5...roduct_details

[LAGS]

@ Markham.
That is the exact screens that Maricopa County Dust Control uses to test the dirt on the construction sites that I worked on.
Thanks for locating where I can get them.
They are a little more quality than what is needed for our hobby, but they would last forever, and very accurate.

They have to have that quality for the County to be able to issue us a $10,000 fine for Blowing Dust or just the potential to have blowing dust if the wind comes up or equipment is driving around the dirt site.
And that is no joke. Dust control is a serious issue here in our dry climate and they check the sites at random very often.

[LAGS]

Those High Class "Scientific " Sifting screens are the top of the line, and way more than what we need for what we do.
If we were doing this hobby Commercially, and we needed to have some kind of Quality Control, then that is the way I would go .
But Indian Joe is correct,
This is not about Wasting money on Things that Exceed the level of what we really need to get a simple job done.
That is not only throwing your money around, it is Throwing your money Away.
Do like I do, and spend your money Wisely.
Then you will have the funds to set aside for other "needed" expenses

To explain the Mesh Sizing.
The wires are the Count per inch like 40.
The other number is the size of the Holes between the wires, and what size will pass thru.
That gives an indication of the Thickness of the Wire.
( same count of wires per inch, the Thicker the wire Gage, then the smaller the holes between the wires)
So for what we do, use the second number for the size of sorted material you want to pass thru or retain on the screen.
This is not Rocket Science.

[Markopolo]

So for 3f, 2f, what are the sizes of the mesh on that?