Homemade black powder

[Hannibal]

I know there is a thread in the Classics and Stickies about this. I've read as much of it as I could but it's deviated into tangents so much that it's hard for me to locate specifics. If anyone reading this feels otherwise then that's fine, my wish is NOT to kick the hornets nest.

Having said that, my attempts thus far have been only somewhat successful. I wonder if the amount of water I'm adding is either too much or too little to properly distribute the ingredients. Can someone please explain what consistency I need to look for? I've read the cautions about adding too much water, but I suspect I'm not adding enough. How can I tell apart from an incomplete burn? And is tap water vs distilled water a bad thing?

Thanks in advance.

[rancher1913]

why are you adding water making black powder.

i do lightly mist the completed powder for corning but thats all.

[Hannibal]

That's what I've been doing as well, but as I stated the burn is slow and there's a considerable amount of residue left behind.
I may have an ingredient issue, but before I start down that path I'm trying to be sure that I'm not getting the powder mixture either too damp or not damp enough. This is why I'm asking my questions.

Apologies, I worded my original post poorly.

[KenH]

I think the most important part is what charcoal are you using? That seems to be the most critical part of the mix. Also, are you using a hydraulic press? Just what is your procedure?

I know what you mean about the "real" thread - with almost 400 pages it's easy to get lost.

[rancher1913]

i use a 20 ton press and only use enough water to barely get the parchment paper damp after pressing, in other words very very little

[Pioneer]

Just enough moisture to kill the dust when stirring it.

[Hannibal]

Thanks for the help. Sounds like I'm doing it about right so far as adding moisture. Time to re-evaluate ingredients.

[rancher1913]

a good dedicated ball mill is essential, and keep it cold when running. i try and make my powder in the winter months.

[deltaenterprizes]

How did you measure your ingredients? By volume or weight?

[Hannibal]

By weight. My understanding is that things can vary too much if measured by volume.

[Hannibal]

a good dedicated ball mill is essential, and keep it cold when running. i try and make my powder in the winter months.

I used a small rock tumbler with a rubber drum and rubber coated lid. Reject .44 cast bullets were used as I didn't have any round balls on hand apart from .32 caliber. I didn't think those would be heavy enough. Ingredients were a very fine powder much like talc after running.

[HWooldridge]

I used a small rock tumbler with a rubber drum and rubber coated lid. Reject .44 cast bullets were used as I didn't have any round balls on hand apart from .32 caliber. I didn't think those would be heavy enough. Ingredients were a very fine powder much like talc after running.

How long did you run it? I have found 12 hours is about right with the small rock tumblers.

[rancher1913]

I used a small rock tumbler with a rubber drum and rubber coated lid. Reject .44 cast bullets were used as I didn't have any round balls on hand apart from .32 caliber. I didn't think those would be heavy enough. Ingredients were a very fine powder much like talc after running.

you really need round balls or small cylinders to get a good mix, cast bullets work but not well, you need the weight.

[Hannibal]

It's been a while so I can't say for sure. I can't imagine that letting it run any longer would have resulted in a finer powder. It's like fly ash.

[Nobade]

Are you using good pure nitrate and good charcoal? Any more good sulfur is easy, the other two take some doing. 75-15-10 right? After milling are you pressing it into pucks let dry then granulate?

[Hannibal]

Are you using good pure nitrate and good charcoal? Any more good sulfur is easy, the other two take some doing. 75-15-10 right? After milling are you pressing it into pucks let dry then granulate?

The ingredients are probably the issue. I just wanted to make sure that my process was correct before changing things. IE-ingredients.

[Tradbowhunter]

I have made alot and the biggest thing I have noticed is what KenH said you need good charcoal. Hard wood charcoal is NOT what you want for fast powder. I've been using red cedar and its pretty darn fast stuff

[Abert Rim]

Have you watched the Youtube series by Hoffman Reproductions?

[Hannibal]

Have you watched the Youtube series by Hoffman Reproductions?

No, I'll look into that. Thanks!

[missionary5155]

What about caliber .65 or larger RB cast of WW for the milling?

[LAGS]

I use .75 balls cast out of Monotype.
I also have used .60 Monotype balls as well as .54 cal balls cast out of harder lead , even Wheel Weights.
Years ago I was able to ball powder with .50 cal balls.
So basically any size you use works.

[brasshog]

PM sent

[FrankJD]

I've just entered the black powder making "sport" and from what I've gleaned off the Huge black powder thread in the muzzleloading board, it's the charcoal that matters most.

KNO3 (potassium nitrate) is the oxygen for the fuel (charcoal), and sulfur is an "igniter".

Since charcoal is the fuel, it needs to be of the right wood and char value. Hardwoods are typically unacceptable for making Good BP. Here's an online vendor that sells BP sporting BP powder quality charcoal - https://www.fireworkcharcoal.com/collections/all

All 3 ingredients need to be separately ground to "air float" quality - meaning each ingredient powder is so fine that slightly disturbing it makes it "smoke".

I use #2 alloy cast balls - .440, .530, .600 - in the HF rock tumbler. The longer the tumble, the better the results.

Good BP for muzzleloaders can be made by just screening the meal powder as it comes out of the tumbler and with enuf water added to make it clay-like. The right screens are required to sift out to 2F and 3F. The results will be 20-25% less potent (less dense) than the commercial powders and require that much more for a gun load - if 70 grains of GOEX was used, perhaps 85 grains of homemade will be required.

The best BP can be made via compressing the slightly damp meal powder. This ups the BP making to a new and more expensive level, but the results may render commercial quality BP for a fraction of their cost in materials.

https://i.imgur.com/7BfrxZR.jpg

[Hannibal]

I've just entered the black powder making "sport" and from what I've gleaned off the Huge black powder thread in the muzzleloading board, it's the charcoal that matters most.

KNO3 (potassium nitrate) is the oxygen for the fuel (charcoal), and sulfur is an "igniter".

Since charcoal is the fuel, it needs to be of the right wood and char value. Hardwoods are typically unacceptable for making Good BP. Here's an online vendor that sells BP sporting BP powder quality charcoal - https://www.fireworkcharcoal.com/collections/all

All 3 ingredients need to be separately ground to "air float" quality - meaning each ingredient powder is so fine that slightly disturbing it makes it "smoke".

I use #2 alloy cast balls - .440, .530, .600 - in the HF rock tumbler. The longer the tumble, the better the results.

Good BP for muzzleloaders can be made by just screening the meal powder as it comes out of the tumbler and with enuf water added to make it clay-like. The right screens are required to sift out to 2F and 3F. The results will be 20-25% less potent (less dense) than the commercial powders and require that much more for a gun load - if 70 grains of GOEX was used, perhaps 85 grains of homemade will be required.

The best BP can be made via compressing the slightly damp meal powder. This ups the BP making to a new and more expensive level, but the results may render commercial quality BP for a fraction of their cost in materials.

https://i.imgur.com/7BfrxZR.jpg

Given my position in the learning curve, I think this is an excellent summary.

I thank you all for your input. I'll be putting this information to use very soon.

Thanks again!