My homemade black powder

[Swineherd]

I watched the utube guy making his tp powder and him checking his density. No matter how I press when I’m done grinding and throw a 50 gr measure it is never weighs 50gr. always 46-47 gr. My 80gr. is 76 gr. I’d like to know what I am doing wrong?
Graysmoke

Are you moistening your meal before pressing?
I wasn't doing that for a long time. When I started misting with distilled water just until there is no dust from stirring, I get significantly higher densities.

[Trapper-Jack]

You are getting about the same density powder as I am. I'm adding 4.5% water to my meal. With that I get a little water pressed out from under my mold. If I add more than that it will be dripping off the base plate. Normally my ground 2F powder will go 92 to 95% of Goex. I'm using a 20 ton jack to press my pucks with.

[DoubleBuck]

The only powder I have got full density on, is 'brown' charcoal powder. It will press much more density into the pucks than normally cooked 'black' charcoal. I think I have satisfied my curiosity as to why this happens, but will leave my thoughts out. No powder has pressed pucks with a density over 1.8 g/cc. My general density is 1.7 g/cc +-. The two types of Toilet Paper I have checked had densities in the 1.5- 1.65 range, and I was trying to get it as high as possible.
Looking forward to HamGunner's densities on his slow cooked TP brown charcoal. I bet they are higher, but could be mistaken. The last two batches were made with 4% moisture and one of them I had to cut back to 3+%, as the humidity was over 75% while preparing the powder. The pucks were very hard and brittle, but did not produce the higher density powder I was hoping for.

[Trapper-Jack]

I've watched most of Jake's YouTube videos about his powder. Somewhere in the back of my mind I seem to remember he once said that if he pressed his powder twice, as in press it, break it up and press it again, he got higher density. My 92-95% powder seems to be doing well for me and my wife so I am good with only one pressing. My last testing against Goex over the chronograph showed that they are about the same velocity. This is 75/15/10 blend. I plan on bumping the nitrate to 77/13/10 and see what that does.

[HWooldridge]

FWIW, I have been making 77-15-10 - I simply calculate the necessary weights for the normal recipe then I add two more parts of nitrate. Easy math and just enough to sweeten the mix if I use a bit too much water when I press pucks.

[HamGunner]

My two best powders, Black Willow and my Sassafras Black Powder, have both given me right around 94% density compared to the same volume of Goex. I really doubt one can get 100% with the tools and procedures that we are using. I am satisfied that it takes time and lots of pressure to get to the commercial density.

I have been quite happy with my best powders so far and their velocities measured with like weights of Goex have been just about a match up so far.

I got lazy today and did not compress my TP meal, but will likely do that tomorrow and get the ball moving a bit more. I spent most of the day casting round balls and tinkering in my shack.

[Graysmoke]

Yup I’m wetting just enough to stop dust. I get a small amt of water squeeze out when pressed, I might be concerned over nothing cause goex used to throw
78gr with my 60-120 measure according to my old notes of load information. I started checking my load workup notes so I jumped the gun on my question sorry. I remember weighing all charges after getting an average of 5 charges, so only the ball, patch or lube was the only variable. Besides it fires great and if I have to up the volume to equal goex then I will.
Still cheaper and good ignition so….
Graysmoke
Thanks gents!

[Trapper-Jack]

Just to satisfy my curiosity this afternoon, I measured out 100 grains of Goex 2F and weighed it on my RCBS balance beam scale. It weighed 100 grains. I poured it into a little plastic container and put it in my dehydrator that I dry my pucks in. After an hour it had lost about a grain. I'll let you know what it weighs tomorrow. I'm guessing it has some moisture in it.

[Graysmoke]

You know it never crossed my mind, mine, as most, is dried before grinding! I know it is dry cause it is tough to grind when a good chunk gets to the plates.
Graysmoke

[indian joe]

Are you moistening your meal before pressing?
I wasn't doing that for a long time. When I started misting with distilled water just until there is no dust from stirring, I get significantly higher densities.

I got 92% to 94% of old Goex density
doubt you will get much better than that
1) different charcoal (willow here)
2) different pressing method
3) they tumble and graphite coat - both of which add density in the way the stuff packs in a measure
4) does it really matter ? I get very close to identical velocities with a measured charge so energy per weight is a little better to compensate for the decreased density . also believe its cleaner in the gun (a big plus)

[indian joe]

Yup I’m wetting just enough to stop dust. I get a small amt of water squeeze out when pressed, I might be concerned over nothing cause goex used to throw
78gr with my 60-120 measure according to my old notes of load information. I started checking my load workup notes so I jumped the gun on my question sorry. I remember weighing all charges after getting an average of 5 charges, so only the ball, patch or lube was the only variable. Besides it fires great and if I have to up the volume to equal goex then I will.
Still cheaper and good ignition so….
Graysmoke
Thanks gents!

If you getting juice when you press = too much moisture added ...if you cut back to no juice then need to be more thorough in mixing the dough

[DoubleBuck]

I took a 50 grain measure and filled it with 3fff Cottonelle TP Powder, which had a puck density of 1.598 grams per CC. It was tumbled for 12 hours. I tapped it down a couple of times and it weighed 45.2 grains, or 90.4% of the commercial marks. It was hard to get more density at the puck, for that particular batch of charcoal. Once again, I wish I had made more 2ff, which I could have also compared. I have zero commercial powder to check it against.
At that density, it may not be a great success for pistols or cartridges, but density can be increased a bit more. Hopefully some more tricks will be learned to make it somewhat better. I do love the way it performs.

[Trapper-Jack]

I weighed the 100 grains of Goex 2F this morning after it being in the dehydrator all night. It weighed 99 grains, losing 1% of what I expect to be moisture. I'm thinking that that amount of moisture could easily be absorbed out of the air even though it's been sealed up in a powder can. I'm using hybrid willow for my charcoal like Indian Joe and as he said - 92 to 94% is about as good as it gets.

[Nobade]

It's a big day! My new treadmill/ball mill is running it's first batch of powder. I tested it out last night making airfloat charcoal and it did great, so now is the real test. When I bought this house it came with the broken treadmill in the shop. I immediately knew what I wanted to do with it, but it's taken a bit to get it finally done. It spins way faster than my old tumbler mill and sounds like it is supposed to. Hopefully this is another step up in the quality of my powder.

[Sandro_ventania]

You're going to laugh... but I don't have many problems, because my powder is much better than any powder I find for sale here. Here BP is not sold as gunpowder... it is sold as powder for Afro-descendant rituals... so you can imagine the quality...kkkkk!!!

[Nobade]

You're going to laugh... but I don't have many problems, because my powder is much better than any powder I find for sale here. Here BP is not sold as gunpowder... it is sold as powder for Afro-descendant rituals... so you can imagine the quality...kkkkk!!!

That is funny!
Where are you anyway?

[Sandro_ventania]

Brazil !!!! Land of CBC (Magtech), Taurus and Rossi! Country unfortunately dominated by Democrats.

[HamGunner]

I finished grinding and screening my Great Value (Wal-Mart) TP charcoal black powder to 3F, so I compared the density with both my 3F Sassafras and some 2004 3F Goex that I still have.

Sassafras is 93 % of the weight per volume of Goex.
Great Value is 89 % of the weight per volume of Goex.

My old can of Goex could perhaps have a bit of extra weight from absorbed moisture, but it has been tightly sealed when not being directly in use. But I was hoping that the TP powder would be at least a bit closer to the density of my Sassafras. Appears to be somewhat lighter for sure.

Will be a while before I can get some velocity comparisons of the three. Winter has gotten here, so unless we get a nice warm day, I will probably be staying close to the fire.

[LAGS]

I don't totally agree with just weight comparisons.
Gold doesn't weigh as much as lead.
But they probably both can be used for casting Boolits.
I would only care which one performed good or even better than the other.
A lighter charcoal could lighten the total weight of your powder mix.
So let's see how it performed.

[Sandro_ventania]

For me the real comparison has to be by weight. BP may be the best in the world, if you don't compress it well, you will classify it poorly. The compression level does not tell you whether the BP is good or bad. That's why it's fair to compare them with equal masses and measure the speed. Then check whether it is dirty or clean.