My homemade black powder

[LAGS]

@I E.
I think you may have a point about the Goex being glazed powder with Graphite.
But when I have misfires,
It is from not igniting the flash powder , not from flashing and not lighting the main charge.
That is why I asked about a higher sulfer content powder that ignites easier.
But I will try making some 4f with Balsa Wood charcoal.
It is just the suggested ratios that others can possibly provide to help me get it right, the first time.

[Brimstone]

On the matter of priming powder...LAGS question got me thinking about the flinters and the new powder. That powder was fast fast fast. Ignition was percussion fast when it went. But the powder was tailor made to burn cool, that means when used as a priming powder the IR emission was low and as such many flashes failed to light the charge. Swiss is actually fairly hot burning compared to Goex and much more so than homemade being worked with now.
I noticed the Swiss as a priming powder was slower to light off in the pan thanks to that ultra heavy graphite coat but once it went the heat emission was higher and main charge ignition was near 100%. I think 1 failure IIRC.

If this holds true in the direction it seems to be pointing then unglazed 4F in the hottest burning ratio one can make should in theory improve main charge ignition further still. In theory a hot burning charcoal in a 77% or 78% nitrate ratio should burn very hot. I can't predict how fast it'll touch off and as mentioned, that matters too.
IE also mentioned lower compression density to speed it up, also effects burn temperature. It'll burn hotter still. I think a lower density, possibly screen corned high nitrate ratio priming powder might be a thing to test.

[DoubleBuck]

Thanks to everybody for the comebacks on the stuck jag. Several good ideas.
I'll maniac on it and see what it takes. When I get it, I'll let y'all know how.

[Linstrum]

Thanks, DoubleBuck, for Linstrum's post location. I am currently burning off a carefully weighed 100 grain sample of coarse crushed Quaking Aspen charcoal. The ash is snow white. I will have an ash % tonight.
jmh54738

Edit: The ash weighed in at 5.4 grains, which equals 5.4%

Hey, jmh54738, thanks for reporting what your quaking aspen ash content came out at.

From what you reported about your quaking aspen black powder performance when you did velocity tests, how well it did makes it a keeper. As long as it doesn't cause any problems that can't be dealt with, then I'd sure keep on using it.

One thing you could do is another ash assay. The layer of charcoal on the tin can lid has to be very thin for air to get to all of it, and the charcoal has to be swept around every few minutes. When I do ash assays, I've never had ash that was white by the time I got done with it, it has always been light gray from getting stirred around a lot so it got "dirty" from all the stirring while it was burning down. But yes, pure ash is usually snow white.

When pure ash isn't snow white, it is usually just barely noticeably pink from trace amounts of iron oxide in it. Plants need iron, too, remember Popeye telling us to eat our spinach because it has iron in it? Bluto ate nails instead, though.

[ChrisPer]

Off topic question for you muzzle stuffer shooters;
We talked about dribbling a few grains of powder in the flash hole and try to shoot it out and I've thought of trying to somehow glue the ramrod back in the brass fitting, let it set up and try to pull it, but I'm thinking that is a real long shot of working.
Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

I imagine you already fixed this, but allow me to say that I do this a lot - regularly, I or one of my guests forgets the trivial detail of putting in powder first.
If its a flinter the touch hole actually can let you dribble in a little powder using a fine wire prod to fiddle with it and keep it moving.
For a percussion one, its dead easy pull the nipple and get a quarter teaspoon of powder in then put the nipple back. Bang and done.
The CVA breech plugs are not made to be removed just cause you want to.

[LAGS]

If, the bore is plugged in a rifle that I own and already shoot , I do the powder drizzle method and shoot out the plugged bore.
But I never will try it on a barrel that I am not 100% positive on what is in the bore.
Say I buy a barrel that has a ball stuck down the bore.
And the guy who sold it had loaded it with the say Wrong Powder like Smokeless.
Me setting off the existing charge could be a Disaster.
Or say the jag that is stuck down this bore got tweaked over in the bore.
There could be a minor chance that when you try to shoot it out , if jams more as it shoots out the bore.
That could cause a Ringed Bore.

[jmh54738]

Hey, jmh54738, thanks for reporting what your quaking aspen ash content came out at.

From what you reported about your quaking aspen black powder performance when you did velocity tests, how well it did makes it a keeper. As long as it doesn't cause any problems that can't be dealt with, then I'd sure keep on using it.

One thing you could do is another ash assay. The layer of charcoal on the tin can lid has to be very thin for air to get to all of it, and the charcoal has to be swept around every few minutes. When I do ash assays, I've never had ash that was white by the time I got done with it, it has always been light gray from getting stirred around a lot so it got "dirty" from all the stirring while it was burning down. But yes, pure ash is usually snow white.

When pure ash isn't snow white, it is usually just barely noticeably pink from trace amounts of iron oxide in it. Plants need iron, too, remember Popeye telling us to eat our spinach because it has iron in it? Bluto ate nails instead, though.

Right on, Linstrum. While the undisturbed ash was snow white in the beginning, it was light grey after repeated stirring to get air to the charcoal.

[Inebriated Eremite]

IE also mentioned lower compression density to speed it up, also effects burn temperature. It'll burn hotter still. I think a lower density, possibly screen corned high nitrate ratio priming powder might be a thing to test.

The lighter density wood type used will mill down to a smaller particle size and should therefore make it ignite easier. Not much more but a small improvement. But it depends how hot the powder burns with said wood type. Something that is super light might burn cool but fast or hot and fast.. High nitrate depending on how the mixture reacts, non glazed so the corned powder has jagged edges that light more readily and non graphite coated. Compressed as light as possible but just enough to be able to puck or just hand puck and screen to 4F. I think it's worth testing.

[indian joe]

The lighter density wood type used will mill down to a smaller particle size and should therefore make it ignite easier. Not much more but a small improvement. But it depends how hot the powder burns with said wood type. Something that is super light might burn cool but fast or hot and fast.. High nitrate depending on how the mixture reacts, non glazed so the corned powder has jagged edges that light more readily and non graphite coated. Compressed as light as possible but just enough to be able to puck or just hand puck and screen to 4F. I think it's worth testing.

I have a different take on this
if a flinter is built right = coned touch hole liner right close to the pan, a flash in the pan = pan ignites but main charge dont - should be a never happens event .
still leaves pan powder ignition as a potential fail (damp cold weather, flint getting tired etc )
so the story I read was increase the sulphur content for priming powder = lower ignition temp of the powder - so a more feeble spark will still set it off - that would be where I would go first for specialised primer powder .

[jmh54738]

Linstrum, I feel that knowing the ash content of the charcoal is quite reasonable, and I will run another sample of the Quaking Aspen charcoal. Today, I gathered a batch of an unidentified woody material from my woods. This woody shrub grows in a clump, the center trunk being about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and ten feet tall. It seems to die back every year. A cluster of 1/2" diameter plants which will be this year's growth are very green just under the bark, then a 1/16" thick layer of sap wood, with the center being a spongy pith. I will document the plants growth for identification.
The bark was easily removed from last year's 2 1/2" diameter dead growth. Both the sap wood and the heart wood is very soft and light. The center 5/16" diameter contains a soft spongy brown pith. I am going into this detail because the ash content of the charcoal is 1.8%. I am hoping that this will make an even better BP than the Aspen. What has been the ash content of your best charcoals??
Whereas the Aspen ash broke down to a fine powder during the ash assay cooking and stirring, the ash from this unknown charcoal retained considerable fluffy volume, shifting around slightly on the can lid, just from the air currents, though not a speck was lost
So, now I will process this charcoal and make a 1/2# batch of BP and run velocity tests and examine for fouling. What then remains is for me to determine the identity of this woody plant, which is quite common in my woods.
jmh54738

[Vettepilot]

Off topic question for you muzzle stuffer shooters;
A friend of mine built a Thompson Center Renegade kit rifle, about 30 years ago. It came with a wooden dowel ramrod, with a pressed fit brass threaded end, and had a brass jag attached. He had only shot very few shots, and was running the jag down the barrel. At the bottom, it got tight, stuck, and a hard pull made the PRESS FIT!!! brass come off the ramrod, which has been stuck for that 30 years. He made a wall hanger out of it and I talked him into giving me the rifle, to get that jag removed and cleaning the rifle up, to set him back up with it. It is a beautiful little rifle and I bet it will shoot great.
My question is, has anyone experienced a like situation, and if so, how did you remedy it? I looked into removing the breech plug, and don't relish going there as it may be nearly welded in, from time and corrosion.
I do believe that if the threads are the same (1/4" x 28), I can put a grease zirk in place of the nipple, and pump that mother out, with grease. That may take a minute, and most of a tube of grease, but I can't seem to come up with a more simple solution. If I could adapt something to that nipple hole, I think hydraulic pressure from something would work as good or better, but I can't think of something to adapt to it. Like a power steering hose adapted down, or something. We talked about dribbling a few grains of powder in the flash hole and try to shoot it out and I've thought of trying to somehow glue the ramrod back in the brass fitting, let it set up and try to pull it, but I'm thinking that is a real long shot of working.
Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. If anyone has experience unscrewing a breech plug, that would be a simple fix, if it is doable. Thanks in advance.

Whatever you do, don't ".... dribble in powder and try to shoot it out"!!!!

The grease gun is by far your best bet, and will likely work great. To make it easier, shoot a bunch of the viscous grease in, then follow with thick oil to take up some of the volume and make things easier, then finish with pressure from the grease gun.

It might be helpful to watch the video done by YouTuber "Johnny's Reloading Bench" for hints.

Hydraulic pressure is powerful, useful stuff for sure. I seriously doubt if air pressure will do it... Gluing the rod back in is a sure fire "fail" as well.

Vettepilot

[DoubleBuck]

Houston, the Eagle has landed!
One 1/4 x 28 thread grease zirk and about 55 pumps of Caterpillar Molly Grease, and walah!
It was a jag and patch that hadn't seen light in 30 years.
I had to use my needle on the zirk, because I wasn't bright enough to put a 45° or 90° zirk in the nipple hole, and a grease gun head was too large a diameter to fit. Didn't think about the angled zirks, until it was a done deal.

[LAGS]

Looks like someone was using Too Large of a patch , and that is why it got stuck.
And I see that the tip of the ramrod does not have a cross pin to hold the top on plus the glue.
Good work.
Now clean her up and give us a report on how it shoots.

[DoubleBuck]

Whatever you do, don't ".... dribble in powder and try to shoot it out"!!!!

Vettepilot

No, that was a passing thought, not a viable alternative. haha. Especially when I saw the inside of the barrel, I had already decided that grease was the way to try. And, that combo was TIGHT all the way to the bore. I'm gonna let it set until tomorrow and let the cleaning begin.
I have shot a couple of balls out that I forgot to put powder under, but it never was a serious thought on this.

[DoubleBuck]

LAGS;
When we were discussing it the night he gave it to me, he said if he'd known they didn't cross pin it, he would have done it. Never thought until it was too late. He said the rifle had less than ten shots through it. It was a shame he learned a lesson the hard way. He tongue oiled the stock for hours, and did browning on the barrel. It will take a minute, but I bet it comes out nice. I'm already trying to figure out how NOT to give it back to him. haha

[LAGS]

I would say that 90% of the ramrods sold or come with kits will not have cross pins.
I have seen many people pull the tip off the ramrod trying to pull a ball out of the barrel when they forgot to load the powder.
I would advise all of you to check your ramrods to prevent this type of situation happening.
You can install your own pin with a drill motor or drill press and some brass rod.
I usually use 1/16 or 3/32" brass rod that I pick up at a hobby or hardware store.

[Vettepilot]

Nice work Buck

Vettepilot

[Inebriated Eremite]

I have a different take on this
if a flinter is built right = coned touch hole liner right close to the pan, a flash in the pan = pan ignites but main charge dont - should be a never happens event .
still leaves pan powder ignition as a potential fail (damp cold weather, flint getting tired etc )
so the story I read was increase the sulphur content for priming powder = lower ignition temp of the powder - so a more feeble spark will still set it off - that would be where I would go first for specialised primer powder .

Oh I thought he was wanting a faster powder that would flash faster having the shortest hang time possible. Increasing the Sulphur to 12-15 should make it ignite easier. I don't know how much more you can go with diminishing returns or side effects but it's worth a good test.

[LAGS]

I think I will make up a pound of 4f with Balsa Charcoal and up the sulfer to 12% and drop the other two chemicals by 1% each.
That should make my powder ignite easier as well as flash better with the Balsa Charcoal.
But so far , the flashing wasn't the issue.
It was getting it to ignite more consistent.

[Brimstone]

A main charge that is easier to light off (more sulfur) or a priming charge that burns at a higher temperature or both.