My homemade Golden powder!

[LAGS]

If that is Iron Oxide " Rust " I would say , Do Not ever try adding Aluminium powder to your mix to try and make it more flammable.
That could make it burn much hotter.
Rust mixed with Aluminium will burn thru steel.
It could turn it in to Thermite.

[dtknowles]

If that is Iron Oxide " Rust " I would say , Do Not ever try adding Aluminium powder to your mix to try and make it more flammable.
That could make it burn much hotter.
Rust mixed with Aluminium will burn thru steel.
It could turn it in to Thermite.

It would not be Thermite but it would be an explosive not a propellant. Flash Powder is Potassium Nitrate and Aluminum.

Tim

[Hellgate]

Way back when one of the first subs came out called Black Canyon powder I used to load it into .357 cases by filling the case 3/4 full then taking a dowel and firmly crunching it down to essentially make a plug of powder then I filled the case to the rim and seated the 158gr bullet on top. It was clean shooting and non fouling but corrosive to brass. It was a gray color the consistency of kitty litter and upon long exposure to humidity would gradually turn brown then black and weaken to where it was pretty useless. So, I'm wondering if the golden powder needs or is helped by a fair amount of compression as with Black Canyon?

Another powder that was contemporary with Blk Canyon was Black Mag III. It was a tan color of FFFg size and did not need compression to work like black powder but without the fouling. It was more stable. I liked it but it went off the market. I wonder if it was GP due to its tan color?

[Sandro_ventania]

OK, now we're getting somewhere. I just loaded five rounds of 45 acp with 1.6cc of the new crimson powder, and every round cycled the action and was plenty accurate. These feel about like my regular black powder loads and are quite energetic. Fouling is slightly more than the golden powder, the cases had some black flakes in them but they still clean right up with water. One patch moistened with moose milk followed by a dry patch cleaned the barrel. No leading despite the dry lubed bullets. This is getting interesting!

As an aside, it is lightly raining, 50 deg, and about 100% humidity. The smoke is excellent! I lit off what was left of my first attempt at golden powder all in one pile, and it smoked up the whole neighborhood for quite a while. They're going to wonder what I am up to here.

I tested a new ratio today...70-30. And this time some nitrate residue appeared, (small white balls) and I didn't find it as vigorous, so I think 65-35 is the maximum. For a crimson powder perhaps a good ratio would be 60-35-5

[Sandro_ventania]

Perhaps the best way to press is hot. Pour it while still hot, looking like melted cheese, into the mold and apply pressure. (a plastic film on the pan should prevent it from sticking). leave under pressure until it cools to harden.

[LAGS]

Maybe if you press it when it might still be soft and a little sticky.
You might try putting a release agent on the die like paste wax to keep it from sticking to the die.
The paste wax shouldn't contaminate the powder when you grind it up.

[dverna]

There is a lot of knowledge on this forum. I am impressed.

[dondiego]

It would not be Thermite but it would be an explosive not a propellant. Flash Powder is Potassium Nitrate and Aluminum.

Tim

Flash powder is potassium perchlorate and aluminum. Not KNO3.

[dtknowles]

Flash powder is potassium perchlorate and aluminum. Not KNO3.

There is more than one kind of flash powder and I make flash powder with Potassium Nitrate, and it is definitely explosive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_powder

Tim

[dondiego]

There is more than one kind of flash powder and I make flash powder with Potassium Nitrate, and it is definitely explosive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_powder

Tim

Yea, I've tried it with KNO3 and it didn't work for me. NO flash. I have tried a lot of mixtures.

[dondiego]

There is more than one kind of flash powder and I make flash powder with Potassium Nitrate, and it is definitely explosive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_powder

Tim

Hey dt, thanks for that link though. It was a good read!

[dtknowles]

Yea, I've tried it with KNO3 and it didn't work for me. NO flash. I have tried a lot of mixtures.

Maybe the problem is your aluminum powder. This is what I used. Blinding flash and good report.



I ball mill the KN03 and Sulfur like it was black powder then I mix in the aluminum carefully by hand in a bowl. Never ball mill the aluminum with any oxidizer.

Tim

[Super Sneaky Steve]

Just when I feel like I have a good grasp on BP something like this comes along and it's very interesting, but there's much that hasn't been covered yet.

Like, how easily does it ignite? Will a flintlock set it off?

What are the pressures like? Maybe no one knows but I know I can use a lot of BP safely, not sure about this.

Is there an equivalent to BP as far as power goes? Even though density is different, maybe there's a correlation by weight?

I really don't think compressing it in liquid form will get you anywhere. That liquid is water and water can't be compressed.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

Another question I was thinking of. We know it's weaker if not cooked enough, but what happens when it's cooked too long?

What if the heat is higher or lower?

I've got my Vitamin C and Iron on order so I'll contribute to the experiments as soon as I can.

[Sandro_ventania]

Just when I feel like I have a good grasp on BP something like this comes along and it's very interesting, but there's much that hasn't been covered yet.

Like, how easily does it ignite? Will a flintlock set it off?

What are the pressures like? Maybe no one knows but I know I can use a lot of BP safely, not sure about this.

Is there an equivalent to BP as far as power goes? Even though density is different, maybe there's a correlation by weight?

I really don't think compressing it in liquid form will get you anywhere. That liquid is water and water can't be compressed.

What we know, percussion is 100%. Flint may have some flaws. It is as safe or more safe than BP. The potency is similar to BP by weight (some say it is a little more, others a little less, perhaps due to the proportions or quality of the components), by volume it is less dense, so it is necessary to increase the dose. I always like to weigh my loads, so I don't see a problem. When it is in the pasty phase, changing color, there is no more water, the two components are merging. Join the fun, it's easy and cheap to try and we can achieve great results. Has anyone tried it with citric acid?

[lead chucker]

Very interesting. Just what i need another thing to experiment with. I will wait until others have tested and figured out the ups and downs. Lots of questions with this like is 3f the same as BP, measuring it by weight or volume can it be compressed , shelf life? Is this something new or has it been around for a while. I'm still trying to improve my BP which seems pretty good so far.

[Swineherd]

OK, now we're getting somewhere. I just loaded five rounds of 45 acp with 1.6cc of the new crimson powder, and every round cycled the action and was plenty accurate. These feel about like my regular black powder loads and are quite energetic. Fouling is slightly more than the golden powder, the cases had some black flakes in them but they still clean right up with water. One patch moistened with moose milk followed by a dry patch cleaned the barrel. No leading despite the dry lubed bullets. This is getting interesting!

As an aside, it is lightly raining, 50 deg, and about 100% humidity. The smoke is excellent! I lit off what was left of my first attempt at golden powder all in one pile, and it smoked up the whole neighborhood for quite a while. They're going to wonder what I am up to here.

Nobade, congrats on the successful 45acp cartridges! What's your cleaning method like?

[Nobade]

Nobade, congrats on the successful 45acp cartridges! What's your cleaning method like?

Thanks. Cleaning the cases involved decapping them and shaking them in a tub with water in it and letting them air dry. Cleaning the gun was a wet patch with moose milk, a dry patch, and an oil patch. Wiped the breech face down with another moose milk patch. There's not much fouling there.

Later I shot some of the crimson powder in my 32 cal caplock. That didn't work so well. I would get a couple of normal shots then some very weak shots. I tried different compression, different patch lube, and anything else I could think of and nothing helped. Then I tried some of the new batch of black powder I have drying and it was all back to normal. When I got a weak shot I also had somewhat of a tracer effect, the powder was burning in the air. I haven't seen this happen in larger bore guns but in the little 32 it seems that the entire charge does not ignite every time. More experimentation is needed...

[barrabruce]

I wetted the leftovers from my first batch and re-fried them. It turned out more dark coffee colour.
It sparked off easily and real quick with a dark red flash and filled the garage with smoke.

So off I go and make a new batch.
Turned out darker than the first lot but when I tested it , it wouldn’t ignite. Must of had some moisture in it.
Another boil off and things worked much better.
Loaded some 30-30 cases with a 2.3 yellow Lee scoop. Filled up to the inside of the neck a little.
Pp’ed bullet seated. Some lubed some dry.
To be tested at some time in the future.
Pretty hot and tropical atm with a million %humidity.

[2TM101]

Another question I was thinking of. We know it's weaker if not cooked enough, but what happens when it's cooked too long? What if the heat is higher or lower?

Cooking GP too long makes it a dark brown color, but I don't think it works better than the golden stage. By the time it starts turning golden there is no water so with more cooking you run the risk of ignition and I don't think gain anything. Lower heat it doesn't change color, I got a lot of grey stuff that way. Higher heat may get it to the ignition point before it has all blended.

If you just use the coffee grinder shown in the video you will have nothing but 5F. I use the same grinder I use for BP and get the same sizes, with the advantage that nothing goes to dust, the smallest I get is 5F. 5F is fine (pun intended) but you may want larger sizes later.

Golden powder may be too fluffy to use cartridge guns alone but I found a solution. I've been doing "Duplex" loads in 38 special - with one (yes, 1) grain of 700X and then Gp on top of it. Slower to make but fun to shoot, sound like smokeless and look like black powder. I can even use up the bad lot I made (stopped before it went yellow) by using 2 grains of 700x instead of 1. I am still saving on my commercial powder and not wasting anything, even my mistakes.