Sorry, I can't answer that because I've always removed the bark first.
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So, I've read that tumbling powder with scraps of denim, (blue jean material) is a good way to polish it, but haven't tried polishing any powder yet. Those of you that have polished powder, how are you doing so, and for how long? Sounds like it might be worthwhile for powder for cartridge loading.
It might also be a viable way to possibly convert 1f or 2f to 3f...
Thanks!
Vettepilot
I just tumbled my 1f for about 15 minutes to a half hour.
All I wanted was to knock the corners of the crushed powder to break off.
But if you Tumble longer , you can end up with lots of 3f ball powder.
I might try the fabric tumble also.
I tumbled mine for about 12 hours. No media, just the powder. It didn't get any smaller, but the tumbling did remove a bit of dust. It also changed color and was more grey looking compared to the non tumbled powder. And it packed considerably tighter in the powder measure.
I tumbled mine for about an hour. I was scared of breaking the grains, my first time, but they held up very nicely. I didn't use the denim either, and considered doing it. I think I will the next time. I bet it would actually help polish the grains.
Does it pour better when polished?
Yes.
The powder doesn't clump together in a spout.
My main reason for tumbling the powder was.
If not tumbled,
Over time , the powder rattling around in the container will knock off any soft corners of the grains.
Thus making dust in your sized powder.
It should make for a more consistent measurement .
I have 3 different mesh strainers. 10,20 and 40. Whatever goes through the 10 but not through 20 would this be Fg? Whatever goes through 20 but not through 40-FFg?
Would this be Fg? Attachment 297253 Attachment 297255
FFg? Attachment 297254 Attachment 297256
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I believe I have the same screens.
Anything that catches on the 20 screen goes back for regrind. The 30 screen catches 2F, the 40 screen catches 3F, anything else is fines for me.
30:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KFS0QBU
20:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K3725WQ
I can't find the 40 screen now, but this seems similar:
https://www.amazon.com/ASR-Outdoor-S.../dp/B06XJDPB5T
The truth is, you're probably close enough to workable for your own use. Here's what I use, and it's from the most commonly stated chart, and Goex info.
I screen mine with these mesh sizes and it comes out well compared to Goex:
Pass 12 screen but stay on 16 = Fg
Pass 16 screen but stay on 30 = FFg
Pass 20 screen but hold on 50 = FFFg
Pass 40 screen but hold on 100 = FFFFg
Vettepilot
You were posting while I was writing Mailemaker. ;~)
This type is what I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's more pricey, but I like the size, and the fact that it's shallower. They sit well in a 5 gallon plastic bucket too.
Vettepilot
Thanks guys. I know after looking at it enough, all the sizes will be branded into brain lol. I have to get the 30 mesh. The powder I thought was FF looked exactly the size of some Pyrex FFa. (Not sure what “a” stands for).
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Here ya go:
http://firearmshistory.blogspot.com/...ain-sizes.html
That whole series is nice, worthwhile reading...
The quick answer is that they are two different grading systems, and sizing. The "fg" we are familiar with is "sporting powder" for shooting. The "FA" system is different, and is for blasting or fireworks.
Vettepilot
We can use most grades so we go Fg= 12-16, FFg = 16-22, FFFg 22-40, FFFFg = 40 - 100, ----those screen sizes are what I could easily find at the time, have bought a couple extras and will change FFFg so it runs 22-50, ------anything goes through the 100 goes back in the mill - have accumulated excess FFFFG - some of that will need reprocessed too. I think its easy to get too pedantic on the actual screen numbers - wire thickness makes a lot of difference too and nobody thinks of that - my FFg goes in a cartridge gun I am looking for the best out of so narrow screen range and shake it hard = low ES numbers. Whatever works is fine.
We shot a lot of Goex 5FA ug -------ungraphited ---- knew a bloke used to buy it from the fireworks manufacturer 2 x 25lb plastic bags in a carton - I accumulated a stash of it - still got a couple kilos left - I bet it was the same powder cept they didnt pack it in little cans. shot about 5% quicker than FFFg goex - the fireworks place blew up (there was a hole in the ground there you could bury a 40foot container in - cant remember - I think one person perished?) - that was right around when the Moosic plant went up - we had to switch to chinese cracker powder, some was as good as it gets - most was dirty burning stuff - had the energy - just needed to be right on the ball with your lube and cleaning - that stuff came in 4FA and 5FA - I used to put it over the screens to grade it out. It looked decent powder - interesting the clean burn stuff was light grey colour and maybe no graphite, a bit low energy but nice stuff to shoot. Other stuff was much darker - true "blackpowder" hard, well formed grains, shiny and dense. Makes me wonder whether there is a connection between that lighter colour and a cleaner burn?
Interesting that we have different definitions of granule sizes but I think all that matters is what works in our guns regardless of whether it fits industry standards of sizing.
This is my current screen stack:
Attachment 297271
I dump two pucks worth of ground powder at a time onto the top screen and turn on the vibrator for a minute or two. What stays on the 16 screen gets re-ground. What's on the 20 screen I consider to be 2f, what's on the 40 screen I call 3f, the 60 screen has my 4f and fines drop on through to the pan at the bottom for re-pressing. It seems to me the resulting granule sizes are close to the Goex I was using before I started making homegrown.
When I first started making powder I was using my 3f in all my flintlocks and only using the 4f for priming. Anything bigger than my 3f I was regrinding. I've since started saving the 2f size as it should work in my guns although I haven't tested it yet since I just started saving it instead of regrinding it.
My goal at this point is to get as big a percentage as possible of usable powder on the first run through without regrinding or repressing. To that end I've already been testing my excess 4f as main charge instead of only priming powder, with good results. If I also get good results with my 2f size then I will have probably 80%+ of usable powder on the first pass. After breaking the pucks with the grain mill very little is too big for the 16 screen. There's still going to be some fines to repress although the grain mill has decreased them from my former method.
Now that the weather is starting to break I will spend a lot of time at the range and I'm always looking for things to keep the shooting interesting. I have a couple projects to work on. I want to chronograph loads of similar volume using 2f, 3f, and 4f as main charges and compare those results in all my flintlocks which have 5 different barrel lengths.
Normally I do all my shooting offhand but I'm also planning on some bench shooting with all those sizes and barrel lengths to see how accuracy is affected.
None of this testing will be by the book scientifically but should be a fun project to keep me occupied for a while. When the weather is nice I can spend all day at the range and often I'm the only one there so I can set up however I want.
Moving on to a completely different subject, I've run several batches through my HF tumbler that I modified with a DC motor and it's working well so I think I'm going to do the same mod on the other one I have. It's still working with the original motor and belt setup but I figure I'll upgrade it now instead of waiting till it breaks.
I know some of you have put a lot of research, testing and effort into making the perfect charcoal. I'm not at that level and I'm satisfied with how my charcoal that I've been making from HD cedar fence pickets works. It so happens that a friend is the manager of a building materials distributor and he knows I've been making cedar charcoal. He had his guys cut 2 ft off a bundle of cedar 1x lumber to satisfy a customer who wanted 14 ft instead of 16 ft length. He asked me if I wanted those cutoffs as they are scrap to him. So I'll be getting a couple hundred pieces. I will make up a separate batch of powder for testing using that cedar but I can't imagine why it wouldn't work just as well as the fence pickets since I'm pretty sure it's the same type of cedar.
mmb617 could you give some more details of your vibratory sifter setup? Where did you get your screens? How did you make the vibratory setup? Are the screens attached to the table somehow? Does your bottom "screen" have a solid bottom?
My stackable screens don't come with a bottom that is solid. I just bought one with a heavy wire mesh and will cut out a disk of plastic and hot glue it in place in the bottom to make a "catch pan".
Steve
My goal was to find screens that would result in the same grain size of Goex.
https://i.imgur.com/av303C9.jpg
Pretty much the same here. Hold on 12 gets reground, hold on 20 gets used in bullet firing rifles and cartridges. Hold on 40 is used in everything else, and hold on 50 is priming powder. Pass 50 gets re-pressed.