My homemade black powder

[Avenger442]

I finally got a chance to load some of my home made into some 44 cartridges. After shooting 44 magnums they felt like 22s.

But at 15 yards they did this . I only loaded nine rounds in case they were duds. For seven of the nine you see holes in the target. Two went low probably due to my loading technique. I'm going to try some more powder and 25 yards.

At least I know I can make powder now.

[Hellgate]

I was in the garden center at a department store and they had charcoal for sale in bags for repotting/planting house plants. Whatttya think about that as a source of charcoal for making BP. It did not say on the bag what the origin was.

[Boz330]

I was in the garden center at a department store and they had charcoal for sale in bags for repotting/planting house plants. Whatttya think about that as a source of charcoal for making BP. It did not say on the bag what the origin was.

If you don't know the wood it was made from I'd pass, it would be a **** shoot at best. Make it yourself it really isn't that hard.

Bob

[Fly]

I,m with Bob. Remember charcoal is everything in BP. Bob uses tree of heaven & swears by it. I use black willow
which is very good also. But with out getting into a long thread, let me recommend this for something simple.
Get a bag of cedar mulch & make your own charcoal. Cedar works pretty well. But that hardwood charcoal I
don,t recommend. Hard wood charcoal is for fireworks sparks in stars.

Fly

[Tracy]

I made a small batch today using Spectracide Stump Remover, 90% dusting sulfur (both from Lowes) and unknown charcoal mined from my burn pit where I had been burning brush. Milled it 3 hours in my HF ball mill, then tested 15 grains in a New Orleans Ace pistol. Worked great.

[mold maker]

Making BP isn't rocket science, it's ancient history, although they're related.
Obey all the rules and using the best ingredients you can find will produce totally useable results.
While less than optimal materials will produce less than optimal results.
An online search will find the purest, (99%+) chemicals and your home made charcoal is the way to go. Finding the correct wood is the hardest part of the project. Harvesting it during the Spring and early Summer makes for easier bark removal. Cooking off the volatiles with the correct temps produces superior charcoal.
Lots of info on CB and the net will both confuse and enlighten you. Ignore the naysayers but pay very close attention to the safety advice from those that have lots of experience.
Like casting and hand loading, it is only as safe as you make it, but it was the way our ancestors fed their families. If they did it safely with the equipment available then, we can surely do it today.

[Boz330]

I made a small batch today using Spectracide Stump Remover, 90% dusting sulfur (both from Lowes) and unknown charcoal mined from my burn pit where I had been burning brush. Milled it 3 hours in my HF ball mill, then tested 15 grains in a New Orleans Ace pistol. Worked great.

The deer in this picture fell to BP made with Spectracide Stump remover and CC from some finger size willows I cut alongside the highway. My first attempt at BP 5 years ago.

Bob

[Fly]

You guys thinking about making your own powder need to jump on this sale on Amazon
for this ceramic bur coffee grinder. This is CRAZY CHEAP.


https://www.amazon.com/DuraCasa-Manu...8250335&sr=1-3


Fly

[Whiterabbit]

bummer. I paid more than five times that price a couple years ago. Ah well, at least mine is well seasoned now.

[square butte]

I wonder if the burr is ceramic like the Hario

[Plane340]

I just replied to this subject on another thread. I used to be very confused why some materials suggested Hardwood and others suggested Softwood. It is my experience that what is meant when a hardwood is called for, what is meant is wood from a deciduous tree. That being said, I do usually use willow because it is common where I live and easy to identify.

I notice that there is some discussion about ball milling powder. It this has already been discussed then just ignore, but are those who are ball milling aware of what the critical rotation speed calculations are? If not, this is extremely helpful information in turning your ball mill from something that produces so-so BP into a ball mill that gets the job done right.

[Fly]

Man to Question at one time (wink). First Yes that is a ceramic bur grinder. You will NEVER find one that price again.
I bought one for my coffee. Truly that thing retails for $50 & to get on for $8 one would be a fool to not buy one.

Sorry I,m not calling anyone a fool, just a figure of speech. But I had to take a double look at that price.
65 RPM is a great number for any ball mill. It lets balls to fall on meal & not cling to wall with higher rpm.
Fly

[Hotfxr]

Man to Question at one time (wink). First Yes that is a ceramic bur grinder. You will NEVER find one that price again.
I bought one for my coffee. Truly that thing retails for $50 & to get on for $8 one would be a fool to not buy one.

Sorry I,m not calling anyone a fool, just a figure of speech. But I had to take a double look at that price.
65 RPM is a great number for any ball mill. It lets balls to fall on meal & not cling to wall with higher rpm.
Fly

I have three of them now. Each one decreased in price. Last one was just over $8. And I think it was the best of them, although I think they are all made in the same factory somewhere overseas where they eat a lot of noodles.

[Plane340]

I agree that 65 rpm is probably a reasonable speed for the size of mill that most people on this forum would be using, but to claim that 65 is some magical number is misleading at best. It does matter when scaling a project up or down. My current mill requires a rotational speed of 78 rpm. With the pulleys and rollers that I had on had I settled on approximately 75 rpm. The milling time required was greatly reduced and the BP quality improved.

http://www.pauloabbe.com/size-reduct...critical-speed.

Once critical speed is determined, run your mill as close to 65% of critical speed as possible.

[Fly]

Thanks for that thread, there is some great info. I book marked that.

Fly

[Tracy]

My current mill requires a rotational speed of 78 rpm.

You could listen to big band music while you mill!

[Fly]

Dam big band music? & I thought I was OLD! (Wink)

Fly

[swamp]

What about the boogie- woogie music?

[SSGOldfart]

I finally got a chance to load some of my home made into some 44 cartridges. After shooting 44 magnums they felt like 22s.

But at 15 yards they did this . I only loaded nine rounds in case they were duds. For seven of the nine you see holes in the target. Two went low probably due to my loading technique. I'm going to try some more powder and 25 yards.

At least I know I can make powder now.

Any idea what speed/ velocity? Your getting? My home made is faster than Graff&sons brand, just not as even in size,I'm Calling it 2.5 F. Wonder if a change in primer might make a difference??

[Avenger442]

Any idea what speed/ velocity? Your getting? My home made is faster than Graff&sons brand, just not as even in size,I'm Calling it 2.5 F. Wonder if a change in primer might make a difference??

Do not have a way to check the speed. They were moving fast enough to hit close to point of aim. Not bad for first attempt. Loaded some with more powder and the same bullet. Hope to shoot them Wednesday.