Home made BP Guys

[Boz330]

Skylighter has a sale on prilled potassium nitrate for $.89 a pound. The small print is that you have to order $40 worth of something else and get 10lb of the KNO3 by the end of the day (13th).

Bob

[Lee]

That's a good price. Just remember that prilled means in little balls. You'll most likely (?) need to grind it up fine to make black powder with it. Unless you do the dissolve in water and mix recipe for making. Once dissolved, it should be good to go.

[x101airborne]

If you order enough from Skylighter they stuff your order with it for free. I cannot tell you how many pound I have gotten and not ordered it. That is why I am interested in making my own powder.

Heck, I have so much KNO3 that I use it as nitrates to burn stumps.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Like the price , shipping is what gets expensive , does your local farm and feed store carry the prilled?

[Fly]

Boz Harry every now & then comes up with a buy.But unless you really need 40lb
Here in a good deal on 10lb & not prilled stuff.I have used it in the past & is 99% pure.

http://www.hobbychemicalsupply.com/servlet/the-Oxidizers/Categories

Fly

[Fly]

Like the price , shipping is what gets expensive , does your local farm and feed store carry the prilled?

My problem in Okla we have no dealers for Potassium Nitrate.

Fly

[felix]

Yes, you do, in Tulsa. Harcros Chemicals. ... felix

[Fly]

My problem in Okla we have no dealers for Potassium Nitrate.

Fly

Well I thank you for that.I will sure check them out:drinks:

[x101airborne]

Your local feed store should have it. It comes in prill form for drilling into stumps. I think it is just called stump remover. Avaliable in one pound and five pound cans.

[Boz330]

Before I discovered other sources I got some prilled from Walmart as Spectracide stump remover. Supposed to be 99% and that was what was in the powder that I killed my deer with last year. It might also be available at Lowe's and Home Depot. It does run about $5 a pound though.

Bob

[historicfirearms]

I too bought some spectracide stump remover but now I don't know where to get sulphur locally. I checked at my local grain elevator but no joy. Where do you guys get sulphur without ordering it online?

[Fly]

I too bought some spectracide stump remover but now I don't know where to get sulphur locally. I checked at my local grain elevator but no joy. Where do you guys get sulphur without ordering it online?

Just kill two birds with one stone.Buy your sulfur & Kno-3 from these folks.
There surfur is cheap also.
http://www.hobbychemicalsupply.com/s...ers/Categories

Fly

[waksupi]

I too bought some spectracide stump remover but now I don't know where to get sulphur locally. I checked at my local grain elevator but no joy. Where do you guys get sulphur without ordering it online?

Most greenhouses should have it for sale this time of year. It is used as a soil amendment.

[Longwood]

Heck, I have so much KNO3 that I use it as nitrates to burn stumps.

Hilarious!:bigsmyl2: :veryconfu

[AR-15 Cowboy]

What would be a good substitute for sulfer?

[Boz330]

You don't need the sulfur but it lowers the flash point of the BP. I have used sugar but don't know how much that would lower the flash point, if at all.

Bob

[Longwood]

[QUOTE=Boz330;1677048
It might also be available at Lowe's and Home Depot. It does run about $5 a pound though.

Bob[/QUOTE]

Home Depot,,, No gots,,, Lowe's,,, $5.97 a pound.
It went up lately, last year it was about four bits cheaper.
Just cost me $23.88 plus the governors Gouge for 4 cans.

[Fly]

What would be a good substitute for sulfer?

I don,t understand why someone wanting to make there own BP doe's
not just order the ingredients over the net.The web sites that are posted
are some of the best prices & there is nothing illgal to any of it.:bigsmyl2:

Fly

[AR-15 Cowboy]

I don,t understand why someone wanting to make there own BP doe's
not just order the ingredients over the net.The web sites that are posted
are some of the best prices & there is nothing illgal to any of it.:bigsmyl2:

Fly

The prices are good, it's the shipping that gets you. The shipping to my zip code is $14.40 for one pound of Potassium nitrate. And they can't ship the sulfur or charcoal with it. To buy one pound of potassium nitrate would be $4.50 plus $14.40 shipping or $18.90. One pound of Willow charcoal is $8.50 and one pound of Sulfur is $4.50 plus shipping of $14.14 (they can ship those two together) or $26.64. The only way to really save money with them is to buy the potassium nitrate in 10 lb. lots.

[Boz330]

You might try your local drug store or fertilizer dealer. Around here since there is no longer sulfur in diesel, that is starting to show up as a deficiency on soil tests for farms. It is also used for some ornamental plants and bushes.

Bob

[Longwood]

The prices are good, it's the shipping that gets you. The shipping to my zip code is $14.40 for one pound of Potassium nitrate. And they can't ship the sulfur or charcoal with it. To buy one pound of potassium nitrate would be $4.50 plus $14.40 shipping or $18.90. One pound of Willow charcoal is $8.50 and one pound of Sulfur is $4.50 plus shipping of $14.14 (they can ship those two together) or $26.64. The only way to really save money with them is to buy the potassium nitrate in 10 lb. lots.

I got ten pounds of 99.9 sulfur delivered to my house for a little over $30 last year.
I would not order something like charcoal unless it filled a Flat Rate box.

[jh45gun]

Most Pharmacies used to carry sulfur not sure if the still do. Be worth checking out. They also used to sell potassium nitrate but I would suspect it would be more expensive than other places.

[Fly]

The prices are good, it's the shipping that gets you. The shipping to my zip code is $14.40 for one pound of Potassium nitrate. And they can't ship the sulfur or charcoal with it. To buy one pound of potassium nitrate would be $4.50 plus $14.40 shipping or $18.90. One pound of Willow charcoal is $8.50 and one pound of Sulfur is $4.50 plus shipping of $14.14 (they can ship those two together) or $26.64. The only way to really save money with them is to buy the potassium nitrate in 10 lb. lots.

Well I forget not all people don't make there own charcoal.So charcoal cost
me 0.I bought 10lbs of surfur a few years back $13 & no more than you you use
it will last for a long time.

I buy my KNO-3 in 50 lb bags for $40.You are right on on shipping, but even
thow 50lb cost $30 to my door, it makes it about $1.70 lb.I can make a lb
of BP for less than $2 a IB.
Fly

[AR-15 Cowboy]

I probably need to order large quantities. I worry about storing it. And I would make my own charcoal, but theres no willow trees around here. Just oak and mesquite.

[Fly]

Cowboy Eastern cedar works very well also.Go to home depot & buy cedar
mulch, it is cheap & makes very good charcoal.

Fly

[Longwood]

There has been a lot of discussion on this site about what wood to use.
Cotton wood is also said to be pretty good but one guy tested some against white maple and said the cotton wood burned very dirty in comparison.
Someone recommended it so I bought a few white cedar fence slats at Home Depot and that is going to be my next batch.
I may order some white maple charcoal if I can find who it was that told me he had some.

[Longwood]

I probably need to order large quantities. I worry about storing it. And I would make my own charcoal, but theres no willow trees around here. Just oak and mesquite.

Store the ingredients un-made, then make small batches of powder with the ingredients.

[AR-15 Cowboy]

I do have a few western cedars on the ranch. I'll try making up a batch with that.

[Boz330]

Just get some branches about the size of your finger, strip the bark off and put in your retort. I have eastern cedar all over my farm but I'm still working on the willow I cut last summer. It is amazing how far that stuff goes.

Bob

[Fly]

I have never used the western cedar but don't see why it would not work.As Boz said strip
the bark.Yea Cotton wood burns very fast, but just to dam dirty for me.

Fly

[daschnoz]

I don,t understand why someone wanting to make there own BP doe's
not just order the ingredients over the net.The web sites that are posted
are some of the best prices & there is nothing illgal to any of it.:bigsmyl2:

Fly

2 words ... paper trail.[smilie=1:

[Boz330]

2 words ... paper trail.[smilie=1:

There are so many trails available if they want to find you that those won't make much difference.
Examples; hunting license, NRA membership, NMLRA membership, any gun mag subscription, any yellow sheet on a gun purchase, CCW, membership here. Unless you go completely off of the grid, you can be found. You can still probably be found just depends on what they want you for.

Bob

[Longwood]

I cast about three pounds of balls from Linotype.
Do you guys think it will work OK for milling the components using the CIA method?

The charcoal I already milled in a large tumbler so I won't be milling it, only mixing.

http://www.pyroguide.com/index.php?title=Black_Powder_Manufacture

I would like to make very small batches in a Harbor Freight tumbler.
I have some round brass stock that I can make balls from with a lathe.
Would brass be better. Less likely to contaminate my powder?

[Fly]

Brass works great also.Fill your barrel haft full of ball or brass.The biggest mistake
most make is not putting in enough balls.I would still put the charcoal in when milling.
Fill 1/4 powder & 1/4 air space.

It should take abut six hours with that mill.
Good luck & keep us posted.
Fly

[Boz330]

3 pounds doesn't sound like much. I think that I use more than that and I also have one of the Harbor Freight tumblers. I just cast those out of WW mainly because I have plenty. That tumbler is perfect for about 4oz batches.

Bob

[AR-15 Cowboy]

Do you guys granulate your powder after you make it or just use it milled?

[Longwood]

3 pounds doesn't sound like much. I think that I use more than that and I also have one of the Harbor Freight tumblers. I just cast those out of WW mainly because I have plenty. That tumbler is perfect for about 4oz batches.

Bob

With 1/2 lb of KN03 and the balls, it is half full and weighs 4.1 pounds..
Is that full enough.
I did a booboo last evening and spilled my freshly milled KN03 all over my shop floor.
DOH![smilie=b:

4oz batches sound pretty good to me for now.
I love shooting muzzle loaders but right now, all I am planing on shooting it in is one 45-70. I don't know how I am going to like shooting black powder in cartridges.

I have a Scott Murray tumbler with wide and narrow drums that makes dust from ground up charcoal in a hurry but it may be a while before I make that much powder at one time.
I have a big piece of bronze that I can see a cannon inside of.
I just need to chuck it up in the lathe and get it's jacket off, and the hole unplugged.;-)

[Boz330]

With 1/2 lb of KN03 and the balls, it is half full and weighs 4.1 pounds..
Is that full enough.
I did a booboo last evening and spilled my freshly milled KN03 all over my shop floor.
DOH![smilie=b:

4oz batches sound pretty good to me for now.
I love shooting muzzle loaders but right now, all I am planing on shooting it in is one 45-70. I don't know how I am going to like shooting black powder in cartridges.

I have a Scott Murray tumbler with wide and narrow drums that makes dust from ground up charcoal in a hurry but it may be a while before I make that much powder at one time.
I have a big piece of bronze that I can see a cannon inside of.
I just need to chuck it up in the lathe and get it's jacket off, and the hole unplugged.;-)

I fill the tumbler half full of .50cal RBs. Then 150grams KNO3, 30grams Charcoal and 20grams sulfur. I tumble between 4 and 6 hours. I found that tumbling any longer tends to cake the powder to the ends of the tumbler and no longer grinds it.
After that I dampen it and press it into cakes. When they are dry I break them up and sieve them for granulation. The fines go back in the tumbler and repeat the process.

I have been using my powder mainly in my 40-65. Not match grade stuff but way more than acceptable for hunting. I also shot it in my 40 ML and it shot very well in that at 30 to 50 yrds. I did try my powder in a BPCRS match at 300yd and hit 12 out of 20 with 2 more of the shots missing by an inch or less. I didn't consider that bad at all. A good match for me is 18 to 20 a so so match is 15 to 18.

Here is a golf ball cannon my buddy built. I'd kinda like to build a beer can mortar, much more economical powder wise than a real cannon.

Bob

[Longwood]

[QUOTE=Boz330;1697472]I fill the tumbler half full of .50cal RBs. Then 150grams KNO3, 30grams Charcoal and 20grams sulfur. I tumble between 4 and 6 hours. I found that tumbling any longer tends to cake the powder to the ends of the tumbler and no longer grinds it.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Me;
Do you open the drum occasionally and scrape out the powder that has caked into the corner?
I used to work in a cement plant and the stuff they milled was very dry.
Do you think drying the sulfur and KNO3 would be a a good idea?
----------------------------------------------------------------

After that I dampen it and press it into cakes. When they are dry I break them up and sieve them for granulation. The fines go back in the tumbler and repeat the process.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Me;
I saw where it can be milled in two steps with a mixture that will not explode so since I am in no big hurry, will probably do the milling that way.
Do you use alcohol?
If so, do you cool it?
I was doing this over fifty years ago and I seem to recall reading then that wood alcohol is best but really do not know for sure.

[Boz330]

[QUOTE=Boz330;1697472]I fill the tumbler half full of .50cal RBs. Then 150grams KNO3, 30grams Charcoal and 20grams sulfur. I tumble between 4 and 6 hours. I found that tumbling any longer tends to cake the powder to the ends of the tumbler and no longer grinds it.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Me;
Do you open the drum occasionally and scrape out the powder that has caked into the corner?
I used to work in a cement plant and the stuff they milled was very dry.
Do you think drying the sulfur and KNO3 would be a a good idea?
----------------------------------------------------------------

After that I dampen it and press it into cakes. When they are dry I break them up and sieve them for granulation. The fines go back in the tumbler and repeat the process.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Me;
I saw where it can be milled in two steps with a mixture that will not explode so since I am in no big hurry, will probably do the milling that way.
Do you use alcohol?
If so, do you cool it?
I was doing this over fifty years ago and I seem to recall reading then that wood alcohol is best but really do not know for sure.

It sounds like you are trying to use Atom73's process, mine is different from that. I haven't tried his process yet. Mixing all at the same time hasn't given me any problems but it is milled fine enough in the 6 hours that I don't try any longer. I do mill it outside. I use rubbing alcohol mixed with water to dampen the mix.

My powder gives me 75fps less velocity than Swiss in my 40-65 for a case full.

Bob

[Longwood]

[QUOTE=Longwood;1697759]

It sounds like you are trying to use Atom73's process, mine is different from that. I haven't tried his process yet. Mixing all at the same time hasn't given me any problems but it is milled fine enough in the 6 hours that I don't try any longer. I do mill it outside. I use rubbing alcohol mixed with water to dampen the mix.

My powder gives me 75fps less velocity than Swiss in my 40-65 for a case full.

Bob

Thanks Bob,
I am not trying to kill dinosaurs or launch Moon rockets so I will try your method first.

PS,
Nice cannon.
I have made a few but not any pretty ones like that.
I believe a golf ball mortar or bowling ball launcher from an oxygen tank will be first.
I bet I get in a bigger hurry as soon as I see the homemade black powder test the first time.:bigsmyl2:[smilie=p:
I started a small one a couple of weeks back but I have priorities right now.

[Boz330]

[QUOTE=Boz330;1697825]

Thanks Bob,
I am not trying to kill dinosaurs or launch Moon rockets so I will try your method first.

PS,
Nice cannon.
I have made a few but not any pretty ones like that.
I believe a golf ball mortar or bowling ball launcher from an oxygen tank will be first.
I bet I get in a bigger hurry as soon as I see the homemade black powder test the first time.:bigsmyl2:[smilie=p:
I started a small one a couple of weeks back but I have priorities right now.

I'd like to claim credit for it but the guy pictured with it is the builder. We have been skydiving, hunting and shooting buds for 53+ years.

Bob

[Fly]

[QUOTE=Longwood;1697963]

I'd like to claim credit for it but the guy pictured with it is the builder. We have been skydiving, hunting and shooting buds for 53+ years.

Bob

If you guy's have been bud,s for 53 years, that means your getting
to be a ole fart!(WINK)[smilie=f:

Fly

[Longwood]

Well,,,
I have a bunch of powder made and drying. I will screen it tomorrow.
Do you know the diameter of a golf ball?
I think I will make a golf ball mortar first.
I like these that I saw someplace.