My homemade black powder

[Boz330]

Bob have you filled your tags yet. If so I love pics!

Fly

Not yet although I got a couple tree rats this weekend with the trade gun and HM.
Regular gun season doesn't open till the 14th and I will be out with the roller and HM. I am planning on using a modern gun with a scope in the evenings to extend my hunting time. I just can't see those iron sights as well anymore when the sun is setting. Once the freezer is filled then it is HMBP all the way. There is still a ML season in Dec. as well.

Bob

[Fly]

WOW Bob that's a very nice looking stock!

Fly

[Boz330]

WOW Bob that's a very nice looking stock!

Fly

Treebone Carving from NM.

Bob

[Fly]

I just made up more powder pressing corning dies. PM me if you want one.


Fly

[Hotfxr]

Since no one responded to my request for advice on about reducing the float powder I had after grinding and screening I had to figure something out on my own. What I came up with is this; I bought an additional grinder that was about $6 cheaper than the Hario one, just to compare them (they are virtually identical, by the way). So what I tried is after breaking up the pucks, I first ground them very large so that about 25% of the powder didn't go through a 6 mesh screen. Then I have the other grinder set to a finer grind and ground down everything on top of the 6 mesh screen. It has cut down the float by about 20% (by my best guess) and is also giving me more 2f by volume than I was getting before. However I feel that even this is too much and I am at a loss as to reducing it more. Or am I wrong in my assumption and the amount of 4f and lower is normal? Just to try something different, on this batch I took the float and just wet it down (with spray starch, very little) and it is sitting in the press right now. I want to see what it will do without milling it again. Again, since cannon powder is not so detail oriented and very forgiving of powder that is not so consistent, at least nothing will go to waste.

[Fly]

I want to see more cannon shooting pic,s Bud.

Fly

[Huvius]

In reading Greener"s "The Gun and Its Development" it says that 500degF is the optimum temp for making charcoal.
Has anybody here altered the temp other than just putting the retort on an open flame.
I am planning on a dedicated oven for PC boolits but this too could be done in a controlled manner in the oven as long as we vent the gasses, which will be easy enough.

[Fly]

I just cook mine in a retort. But I do have a laser surface heat temp gage. It shows 650 degrees or so.

Fly

[Hotfxr]

I want to see more cannon shooting pic,s Bud.
Fly

You mean like this?






Way too much fun. I now have over 60 one ounce powder packets (Cannon grind double wrapped in foil) a bucket of golf balls, a few plaster projectiles, and borrowed 4 X 8 trailer and we are heading up to a ranch in Hat Creek on Tuesday for some long range practice.



Real fun.

[Fly]

I love it! We want another video of your Tuesday shoot.

Fly

[Hotfxr]

I love it! We want another video of your Tuesday shoot.

Fly

Doesn't it always work out this way, looking forward to a nice long trip into the mountains, the day before we leave the trip gets cancelled due to weather. There are only so many places to shoot a cannon here on the West coast, and they are dwindling away as we speak. Hopefully we can get to shoot it somewhere over this holiday.

[Boz330]

Since no one responded to my request for advice on about reducing the float powder I had after grinding and screening I had to figure something out on my own. What I came up with is this; I bought an additional grinder that was about $6 cheaper than the Hario one, just to compare them (they are virtually identical, by the way). So what I tried is after breaking up the pucks, I first ground them very large so that about 25% of the powder didn't go through a 6 mesh screen. Then I have the other grinder set to a finer grind and ground down everything on top of the 6 mesh screen. It has cut down the float by about 20% (by my best guess) and is also giving me more 2f by volume than I was getting before. However I feel that even this is too much and I am at a loss as to reducing it more. Or am I wrong in my assumption and the amount of 4f and lower is normal? Just to try something different, on this batch I took the float and just wet it down (with spray starch, very little) and it is sitting in the press right now. I want to see what it will do without milling it again. Again, since cannon powder is not so detail oriented and very forgiving of powder that is not so consistent, at least nothing will go to waste.

I figure that 40% of my ground powder is too fine to use. I just re-wet it and press it again. I don't bother to mill it again and I can't tell any difference in performance.

Bob

[Hotfxr]

I figure that 40% of my ground powder is too fine to use. I just re-wet it and press it again. I don't bother to mill it again and I can't tell any difference in performance.

Bob

Thanks. Now at least I know that I am not an insane person, at least as far as my powder making goes. If what you and I have at the bottom of the sifting boxes is normal, then as you have gleaned from your experience, I will try just re-wetting and pressing too. Just out of curiosity, have you found your re-pressed pucks yield about the same percentages of grain sizes that the original did?

[Fly]

I always just threw the extra in the ball mill with the next batch. But I will try that also Bob.
I,m for easy, & that's easy.

Fly

[LynC2]

Nobade and I are trying out some different wood for our next batch of powder. In this part of the world (the SW) we are limited by what woods are available that can make a decent powder. I managed to get a bit of desert willow and gave Nobade some too. We both have made a batch of BP using it and are just waiting for the pucks to dry out and to find the time to shoot it. I also made a smaller compression die that should increase the powder density over my larger die. Hopefully in the near future we will have some numbers on it if the weather cooperates.

[Fly]

I always just threw the extra in the ball mill with the next batch. But I will try that also Bob.
I,m for easy, & that's easy.

Fly

Funny you bring that up. I was sent some willow to test from Cal. Coyote, willow & Scoulers, willow. I,m going to chrono them.
I wonder if what you have is ether one of these?
Fly

[Nobade]

This desert willow is mostly used as an ornamental tree. People plant it in their front yards, and the city uses it to decorate the road medians and along sidewalks. I felt fortunate that Lyn found some, because most of the time people don't want you cutting up their decorative trees. It does look like it will make good powder, we'll see in a week or so when the pucks dry. I made up 1300 grams of powder, so I hope it will work or I'll be building a lot of black powder rockets to use it up!

-Nobade

[Hotfxr]

Ok, I may have gotten a bit carried away with pressing my pucks. Maybe.



It could be I don't know my own strength.



Alright, I think there is a chance I am using too much pressure.



I guess I will tone it down just a bit from hereon forward.

[Nobade]

That's cool! Maybe a bit too much water?

-Nobade

[Hotfxr]

That's cool! Maybe a bit too much water?

-Nobade

Yeah, a bit too much water and a bit too much pressure. Kind of like an abstract sculpture though. I broke the "wings" off and took them outside and lit them. Even though there was no drying time, they flamed right up, go figure.