My homemade black powder

[Vettepilot]

I made some charcoal from a cedar fence board. Tumbled and pressed it into powder. I tested density of both the 2f and 3f compared to the GOEX powder I have. Both came at 90 percent of GOEX. I tested both the 3f GOEX and my powder in 32 S&W in a S&W 1 1/2 with a 3 1/2 inch barrel. GOEX ave. velocity was 455 fps with an 84 grain bullets. My powder average velocity was 395 fps with the same bullet. So, this new powder is like maybe 87% of GOEX. I guess this is my best powder yet. I have some questions about these ballistics as the powder charge weight and performance is less than I expected. I guess I should fire some factory ammo. I have both modern and ancient ammo.

I am going to talk more about this in Black Powder Cartridges.

Tim

Your weight is 10% under Goex.

Your velocity is 13% under Goex.

Coincidence? No.

Adjust your charge up a bit, and have at it. Good to go...

And a 3 1/2" barrel is really short to get much velocity, especially with black powder.

Vettepilot

[dtknowles]

Your weight is 10% under Goex.

Your velocity is 13% under Goex.

Coincidence? No.

Adjust your charge up a bit, and have at it. Good to go...

Vettepilot

Yeah, I get it. Can't cram more powder into the small case. It was just a check to see if the powder was crap or halfway decent. Needed a way to compare that was quiet so I can test in my backyard.

I wanted to see if the cedar charcoal was an improvement over the Starlighter charcoal I used in my last couple batches.

Next up is making balsa charcoal.

Tim

[Vettepilot]

But balsa is very expensive.

You might try to find Black Willow, Tree of Heaven, Palownia, Sassafras, Alder Buckthorn, etc. Hopefully one or more of those is available in your area.

Also, you can compress your powder in the case, a lot. More than you would think.

Good luck,
Vettepilot

[KenH]

OK, my pucks are getting better now. Today I made this setup to press the pucks. I finally realized I had an old 4" drive wheel from my 2X72 grinder I no longer needed so I bored the center out to 1.997" ID. Yep, those two holes you see are where the setscrews help wheel to motor shaft. They are above where the powder is pressed so not a problem.

I had a bit of 2" aluminum rod I turned to 1.994". That made a decent fit without danger of galling as it's pressed thru.


I had some fines left from my last batch of BP - the batch I posted the tests on a couple days ago. 3 heaping teaspoons made the pucks you see here. Good solid pucks. I'll let them dry overnight and maybe get to grind and screen them tomorrow.

The plastic ring on bottom is used to press puck out.

Thanks to all for all the help.

[HWooldridge]

OK, my pucks are getting better now. Today I made this setup to press the pucks. I finally realized I had an old 4" drive wheel from my 2X72 grinder I no longer needed so I bored the center out to 1.997" ID. Yep, those two holes you see are where the setscrews help wheel to motor shaft. They are above where the powder is pressed so not a problem.

I had a bit of 2" aluminum rod I turned to 1.994". That made a decent fit without danger of galling as it's pressed thru.


I had some fines left from my last batch of BP - the batch I posted the tests on a couple days ago. 3 heaping teaspoons made the pucks you see here. Good solid pucks. I'll let them dry overnight and maybe get to grind and screen them tomorrow.

The plastic ring on bottom is used to press puck out.

Thanks to all for all the help.

That’s the same basic setup I use - except mine has a brass plunger. As you said, makes good dense pucks and no fooling around with the setup.

[LAGS]

On your die.
You should have red locktited some screws made out of the same material as the body into those holes before you bored it out.
That would give you a deeper die body so you can space and stack the pucks to press more at one time.
Just a suggestion.
But your set up looks good and it seems to work for you.

[indian joe]

That’s the same basic setup I use - except mine has a brass plunger. As you said, makes good dense pucks and no fooling around with the setup.

last picture looks like you have got moisture spots on your pucks - that used to bug me - so when I get it dampened to the right consistency I clump it into balls and grate the balls back through a window screen mesh sieve, then press it, one more step but dont take long and the spots go away - couple other blokes are stashing the dampened powder for a few hours to "cure" in plastic bag - same end result - different track to get there. This all comes about from the spots of water misted into the dry meal at the start of mixing and if it doesnt happen I bet you got too much water and dribbles when its pressed - other words its a GOOD sign of right amount of water added but just not thoroughly enough incorporated to be even. Maybe dont matter but it bugged me and is an easy fix.

[LAGS]

Thank you Joe.
Those kind of wet spots is why I started screening my dampened meal.
I am glad that others do the same kind of procedures that I have tried.

[HWooldridge]

last picture looks like you have got moisture spots on your pucks - that used to bug me - so when I get it dampened to the right consistency I clump it into balls and grate the balls back through a window screen mesh sieve, then press it, one more step but dont take long and the spots go away - couple other blokes are stashing the dampened powder for a few hours to "cure" in plastic bag - same end result - different track to get there. This all comes about from the spots of water misted into the dry meal at the start of mixing and if it doesnt happen I bet you got too much water and dribbles when its pressed - other words its a GOOD sign of right amount of water added but just not thoroughly enough incorporated to be even. Maybe dont matter but it bugged me and is an easy fix.

I tend to use the bag approach and leave the pucks sealed up for several days. The moisture seems to balance out and the spots dissipate.

[KenH]

Yep, those spots in my photo on the pucks are damp spots I'm sure. There was one puck that had damp on the press after pressing - not "water", just damp. As hard as the pucks are I think it's sorta ok. I'd not thought about screening the meal after misting to better distribute the water, but that does sound like a good idea.

I thought about making a couple of aluminum screws to turn in the holes. Where the hole is located will give about 3/8" thick puck if desired. A 1/4" puck seems to be hard enough to break up by hand. I'm a VERY small production here, more of a "wanna learn to do it" rather than planning to do lots of shooting.

[LAGS]

With a taller die.
You can still do 1/4" pucks with spacers and press several pucks at one time.
I sometimes do 4- 3/16" pucks at once using plastic milk bottle material for spacers.

[dtknowles]

But balsa is very expensive.

You might try to find Black Willow, Tree of Heaven, Palownia, Sassafras, Alder Buckthorn, etc. Hopefully one or more of those is available in your area.

Also, you can compress your powder in the case, a lot. More than you would think.

Good luck,
Vettepilot

I am not buying balsa; I intend to use scrap balsa I already have. Not even the good stuff I have but just the scraps and small pieces. I have pounds of the stuff just taking up space in my shop. I used to make model airplanes.

Yes, the powder does compress a lot. I have maxed out on compression and even think I might be overdoing it. Is there a point where you are compressing too much?

Tim

[HWooldridge]

I suspect balsa will char at a fairly low temperature. I might start with 500F as the top end and see how it looks after it stops smoking from the can. Good luck - you might generate the "bestest" black powder ever seen!

[KenH]

With a taller die.
You can still do 1/4" pucks with spacers and press several pucks at one time.
I sometimes do 4- 3/16" pucks at once using plastic milk bottle material for spacers.

That's a good idea using plastic milk jugs. I'll bet a 3/16" puck will break up easier than a 1/4" also.

[dtknowles]

I suspect balsa will char at a fairly low temperature. I might start with 500F as the top end and see how it looks after it stops smoking from the can. Good luck - you might generate the "bestest" black powder ever seen!

I am still barely a beginner so I am not expecting "bestest" I might even wait on working with the balsa until I have more experience.

How do you know when you have the char just right. On my lost char with the cedar, I am not sure I cooked it enough and I am sure it was not evenly cooked. I cut it up into 4" x 1/2" x 3/8" ish sticks and stood them up in a soup can on a rack in the bottom of my pressure cooker and the bottom of the sticks were more charred than the top. I am thinking I need a taller rack and maybe cook them on their laying down not standing up. I broke them up with a pair of side cutters, so they were crunchy, but the bottoms were crunchier than the top. I ground them in a coffee grinder, and they are in the ball mill now.

Tim

[LAGS]

You are correct that you should do things to make the wood char more evenly when cooking.
When I first started.
I put the wood in a paint can and laid it over on its side on the fire.
Every once in a while I rotated the can.
That seemed to char the sticks like you are doing a little more evenly.
Mine came out so even , you could use them for Artist Charcoal for drawing pictures.

[Brimstone]

Paint cans and a gas grill works well. Paint cans and a well tuned gas grill with heat control/gas flow baffle plate makes perfect charcoal.
My charring grill is a 3 burner $100 grill with sheet steel baffle in place of the main grill, has 1/2" holes drilled in 2 rows around the edge to permit heat to flow in a controlled way. It isn't fancy. Looks ghetto. But it stays at 590F and I know it does because I added 3 thermometers to to it and use a digital one too.

[HamGunner]

I have been trying out an 8 quart pressure pan without the gasket, for charring. Have a separation plate on the bottom that keeps the wood from touching the pan and I fashioned a circular weld wire cage for the sides so I have close to an inch of airspace separation from the sides and bottom of the pan at least. My wood has been about the same as DTknowles at 4"-6" x 1/2" ish sticks that I stack laying down in alternating layers.

I finally figured out that if I drilled the appropriately sized hole in a piece of wood and place my temperature gauge stem down through the pans top air vent and embed it into that piece of wood, that I get a decently accurate indication of the charring temperature.

Using a fish cooker outside on my deck for heat, I keep the flame down so that it does not heat up too fast. By the time the wood is showing 550 degrees, the smoke is really venting out. The wood usually reaches a point where it likes to suddenly spike up in temperature, so one has to keep an eye on it and really be on your toes to regulate the flame.

As soon as the smoke starts to slow down, I quickly check the progress. Once it looks like it is cooked uniformly, I quickly dump the wood into an airtight metal container for cooling, as the pressure pan is not sealed and would soon allow oxygen inside the pan once the wood stops venting gas.

My last batch that I done just recently, looked really good. It is half & half, well seasoned Black Willow and Buckthorn (Rhamnus Caroliniana). Awaiting my ordered new pulley wheels for my mill to give this batch a try. Already have every thing weighed out to do about 2 1/2 lbs. and hope to end up with around 2 lbs. and some left over fines.

I will oven dry both the sulfur and the Potassium Nitrate this time prior to milling. Seems to help prevent excess clumping.

[Brimstone]

Nice

[KenH]

With a taller die.
You can still do 1/4" pucks with spacers and press several pucks at one time.
I sometimes do 4- 3/16" pucks at once using plastic milk bottle material for spacers.

After breaking up the pucks I did I see even more why for thinner pucks. One of my pucks at .415" thick. Hard to break up - I think 3/16", or even 1/8" pucks would work better and be easier to grind in my Amazon coffee grinder.