Making Black Powder

[djohns28]

It just seems natural.. getting into casting and touching off and old "smoke pole" with a patched round ball is just plain cool. But to add to the thrill/insanity, who all makes their own powder? It seems like a relatively straight forward process, but it also seems like the kind of thing that that could go real wrong real fast. Here are some questions I have..

1. Obviously ingredient purity is important. Where are you sourcing your ingredients and how pure is "Pure enough"

2. Charcoal. There seem to be some varied opinions on coal selection. I have read about using all kinds of charcoal, from lump hardwood cooking coals to activated carbon from the fish tank care section of the pet store.. someone please expound...

3. Batch consistency. No two cakes are the same despite using the same recipe. Is BP the same way? What are some ways to mitigate inconsistencies? I'm thinking larger batches (1/2 pound at a time) would reduce the small batch variances as well as give some extra to proof the powder.

4. How do you proof the powder to know how much to use?

5. Do you trust it? A teaspoon of powder in a mini cannon is one thing, but are you willing to load a home brew BP into a gun and actually have faith in it not blowing your face off?

****Disclaimer****
I have never used a black powder firearm to hunt game. I do not plan on using BP (store bought or homemade) to hunt game. I do not intend to use it for making explosives (including fireworks). I will not be selling it. I will not allow others to use it. I will keep it labeled as home made so it does not get used as factory made. This will simply be an experiment. I will most likely destroy any remainder should this be successful.

[Minerat]

There is a long sticky on this topic that will absorb your life if you let it.:bigsmyl2: Check it out
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?103852-My-homemade-black-powder

[Dieselhorses]

You got a lot of reading to do! What's up with disclaimer :)? I use BP to hunt game all the time as it is very accurate and humane in some calibers.

[djohns28]

I might at some point, but i usually see more hogs and coyotes than deer. Really like my 243 for those quick follow up shots on multiple targets...

[Winger Ed.]

. Charcoal. There seem to be some varied opinions on coal selection. .

I'd read awhile back that one of the things that made British BP so preferable was that they used willow wood to make their charcoal.

[M-Tecs]

Folks have been making their own BP for 500 years. Done properly it's as good as anything you can purchase. Done improperly not some much. Kind of like most other things. As to danger that is mostly in the milling process and again that can be mitigated if done properly.

[Boz330]

Read the thread in the Muzzle Loading forum, It will answer all of questions. The 1st few pages will give you the recipe and how to do it on the cheap. I jumped on board early 9 years ago. I use it in a cartridge rifle and ML. I have taken a number of deer and squirrels with it and shot it in friendly competition out to 500yrds.

Bob

[john.k]

Biggest (actually second biggest) mistake made is to use impure ingredients ......government are cunning ,and so arrange about 10% inert material in easily available nitrate and sulfur The combination of the two additives means the powder cant make powerful you know whats.....You need pure grade chemicals ,like reagent grade ,which are quite expensive.

[Dapaki]

Biggest (actually second biggest) mistake made is to use impure ingredients ......government are cunning ,and so arrange about 10% inert material in easily available nitrate and sulfur The combination of the two additives means the powder cant make powerful you know whats.....You need pure grade chemicals ,like reagent grade ,which are quite expensive.

I vehemently disagree that reagent grade chems must be used. I have made BP that is quite robust from floor sweeping KNO3 from a defunct glass manufacturer, flowers of sulfur from a greenhouse supplier and charcoal from a willow that we took down in my sisters yard.

We use the analog of the baseball test on BP, it involves a mortar, a base ball and 1 oz (exactly) of BP. In this test, tree stump remover (KNO3) and dusting sulfur for roses have been used in conjunction with Eastern Red Cedar airfloat charcoal for a flight time in excess of any commercial BP.

[djohns28]

I vehemently disagree that reagent grade chems must be used. I have made BP that is quite robust from floor sweeping KNO3 from a defunct glass manufacturer, flowers of sulfur from a greenhouse supplier and charcoal from a willow that we took down in my sisters yard.

We use the analog of the baseball test on BP, it involves a mortar, a base ball and 1 oz (exactly) of BP. In this test, tree stump remover (KNO3) and dusting sulfur for roses have been used in conjunction with Eastern Red Cedar airfloat charcoal for a flight time in excess of any commercial BP.

This seems like a very effected proofing test.. did you find the baseball?

[Dapaki]

This seems like a very effected proofing test.. did you find the baseball?

One can make fun of the test but as an analog, it is very effective and yes, the baseball always comes back down in the field and is shot on a day with high clouds and still air if possible.

[GregLaROCHE]

Making some myself has been on my mind for years. I’ve bought the components, but still lack high grade charcoal, that seems to be the most critical part. There’s plenty to be found out about the process on this site. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Dapaki]

Making some myself has been on my mind for years. I’ve bought the components, but still lack high grade charcoal, that seems to be the most critical part. There’s plenty to be found out about the process on this site. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Make the charcoal yourself, it is simple to do, costs very little to make the TLUD container, the wood should be free or at a slight cost if buying pet bedding and it's actually fun to do!

This video shows a simple 1 gallon can method:
https://youtu.be/njgEA-201mo

[Boz330]

For Charcoal I've been using Tree of Heaven, it is an invasive species that grows very fast. It has outperformed the 2 different types of willow that I have tried.
In this country high quality KNO3 and Sulfur are not hard to get. My 1st batches of BP were made with Spectracide stump remover for KNO3. The powder was good enough to shoot all of the way through this deer with a BPCR.

Bob

[GregLaROCHE]

I couldn’t get the video to play.
I need to get out in the woods to find the good wood for charcoal and then buy or make a tumbler.


Make the charcoal yourself, it is simple to do, costs very little to make the TLUD container, the wood should be free or at a slight cost if buying pet bedding and it's actually fun to do!

This video shows a simple 1 gallon can method:
https://youtu.be/njgEA-201mo

[shaune509]

2 things I question in that vidio.
1] pine shavings are not the best for charcoal, cheap yes good not so much.
2] he's not to smart doing the fab and burn in open toe foot ware. Whats the current thing o'ya proper PPE.
Shaune509

[Dapaki]

2 things I question in that vidio.
1] pine shavings are not the best for charcoal, cheap yes good not so much.
2] he's not to smart doing the fab and burn in open toe foot ware. Whats the current thing o'ya proper PPE.
Shaune509

Not so, commercial charcoal is made from hardwoods, pine has more VOC's and provides greater energy. Eastern Red Cedar has even more, Paulownia, even more!

Here is a great page showing charcoal testing for BP. http://www.wichitabuggywhip.com/fireworks/charcoal_tests.html

[swamp]

I get my nitrate and sulfur from DUDA Diesel. Charcoal I make with Willow and Tree of Heaven. Just finished grinding the last of the Willow. Next batch will be Tree of Heaven.
swamp

[djohns28]

Well, I found Spectracide and 90 percent sulfur from a big blue box store. Had some mesquite lump charcoal at the house and a rock tumbler from our favorite cheap Chinese tool outlet. Ground up the charcoal and sifted it with the finest sifter I could find. Weighed out the components and put them in the rubber rock polisher can with some cast lead 38 cal bullets (no lube) to make an impromptu ball mill. Let it run about an hour and a half. Tested a small sample and it didn't ignite right away like i thought it would, but when it did ignite it went quick!! It burned with a pinkish hue and made tons of smoke. There were some little white balls left behind and some of what appeared to be really grainy soot if that makes sense?? They looked like pepper flakes but were all black. After it got good and dark I did another burn test to show my wife and it seemed to burn slower. I may just make some small firecrackers out of it. Or maybe now I have a reason to build a cannon??

[Boz330]

I would think that Mesquite charcoal would be too hard to make good gunpowder. You really need a fast growing tree to make the best powder. You should be able to find Tree of Heaven in TX. That stuff grows so fast you can stand and watch it grow.

Bob

[Babbott213]

I wonder how well Privet would do for charcoal for BP? It’s a fast growing tree/shrub that seems to be taking the Southeast over. I have hundreds of them here on the property now.


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[Claypipe]

Should you decide to do the following, you do so at your own risk to life, limb and/or property. Read thoroughly three times.

River willow makes the best charcoal for this endeavor. Cut it, strip the bark, set it in the sun to dry. Clean out a metal latex gallon paint can with hot water and ammonia. Be sure it is spotless. Drill a small 1/8" hole in the center of the lid. load the can up with willow sticks, set it on an out door barbecue grill, and let it cook. A jet of hot gases will issue forth from the hole in the lid. Don't have the grill too near to any structures, or your self, in case the lid decides to fly off. You will know that the batch is done, when there is no longer any gases issuing from the hole in the lid. Use the first batch of charcoal in your grill to prepare the second batch for your use in this endeavor.

PLEASE NOTE: a person performing the follow tasks should wearing a personal grounding device, to prevent static discharge.

A rock tumbler, a box of .50 lead balls, that have been degreased with Dawn dish soap, will work nicely as a powder mill. Make sure that it is grounded to prevent static electricity from building up. 24 hours to mill charcoal, allow to set 6 hours for dust to settle, add next ingredient, repeat, add third ingredient, repeat. You now should have serpentine powder. To corn your powder, you need to add that final secret ingredient, and perform the final procedures of sifting and grading your work.

[Vdubman27]

Oh great now another thing I want to do lol

[303Guy]

I've made black powder once or twice. I won't brag about my first attempts but I can advise on what not to do. Like drying it in the kitchen oven.

Ok. so I got more savvy and made some decent stuff that I loaded in my 44 mag which worked but I suppose I should have compressed the stuff in. Also in my shotgun which worked quite well. I do not recall ever trying it in my Brit. I can say that cleaning the guns was a bit more labor intensive than with smokeless.

My source of charcoal was simply BBQ left overs. I just selected the black unburned bits, bearing in mind that those bits had been heated. I crushed it up somehow, added the other ingredients plus some water to make a paste, ground it all further then dried it (not in the oven). I have no idea how it would have compared with store bought black powder.

[fishingsetx]

BP is really easy to make once you have a few proper tools. The stuff I make is almost identical to the goex I have, maybe just slightly hotter.

As for ingredients I use, they are easy to find except you will need to source the sulfur. I get it at work when the truckers unload, they always spill a bit on the ground so there is usually a couple pounds laying around.

For the salt Peter (kno3), I buy stump remover from tractor supply. Just check the msds for the brand you are looking at and verify its 100% kno3.

For charcoal, I use red cedar pet bedding chips, a gallon paint can with a hole punched in the lid, and a crawfish cooker. Heat it over the burner, light the smoke coming out of the hole, and when it cant be lit anymore, its done.

Measure and grind the materials seperately in a ball mill,

mix them for a couple hrs in the mill

press the milled/mixed powder into pucks using a press and die

Break up the pucks and grind them in a ceramic coffee grinder

Sift them through a couple screens for size

I also toss the sifted powder back into the mill with no mill balls and add a little graphite and tumble for a couple hrs then sift again.

For a mill, I use a harbor freight rock tumbler with some 1/2" copper tubing cut into 1" pieces and filled with lead.

For a press, I use a harbor freight bench top press

For a puck die, I bought one from a guy on here.

I bought the sifting screens and coffee grinder from amazon.

It's not a hard process, just takes time.

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