My homemade black powder

[Vettepilot]

I bought a single red cedar picket from one of the local box stores and it seemed to make good clean charcoal - but I haven't made any powder yet. Waiting for warmer weather.

You might try the big bags of red cedar pet bedding for 4 bucks a bag from Walmart. A bag makes a bunch of charcoal, and cooks easy and quick due to it being all uniform curly chips. I really like using it. Cook it, mill it with a little hand held coffee grinder, and good to go...

It's a bit deceiving. The bag doesn't look all that big, but it's tightly packed in there. I never actually measured/figured it out, but I would guess a bag would make 6 pounds or more of BP.

Edit: Probably more as I think about it. I think I've made 2-1/2 lbs. of powder out of the current bag, and it's only down about 1/4 from the top.

Vettepilot

[DoubleBuck]

They log it for paper around these parts and it grows back thick. Long and straight with few side branches ( easy to peel). Whole big stands right by the road, 2-3" Thick.

Charlie;
Given that, I would have to give it a try! A small retort (like a 1 quart paint can) would be quick to make you a small test batch.

[HWooldridge]

You might try the big bags of red cedar pet bedding for 4 bucks a bag from Walmart. A bag makes a bunch of charcoal, and cooks easy and quick due to it being all uniform curly chips. I really like using it. Cook it, mill it with a little hand held coffee grinder, and good to go...

It's a bit deceiving. The bag doesn't look all that big, but it's tightly packed in there. I never actually measured/figured it out, but I would guess a bag would make 6 pounds or more of BP.

Edit: Probably more as I think about it. I think I've made 2-1/2 lbs. of powder out of the current bag, and it's only down about 1/4 from the top.

Vettepilot

Great suggestion - I have been considering that also since we have a Tractor Supply right around the corner and they sell a similar product. Like you stated, it is heavily compressed in the bag so there is a lot of volume there. I also liked the fact I would not have to cut up a bunch of pieces - the chips are already a good size.

[Vettepilot]

Yeah, that saves a fair amount of work, and the chips cook up really nicely. Fast, and even. I think you'll like them.

Vettepilot

[Vettepilot]

Has anyone actually measured the RPM's of the Harbor Freight mini mill? Mathematically, it comes out to 70 RPM's, but that's at the rated motor RPM, and loaded actual jar RPM is likely lower. I think people have reported lower than 70 with these little guys. I can't actually test mine since the motor's burnt up.

In putting a much better motor on mine, I'm going to fire up the lathe and just make a new drive pulley the size needed for the RPM's I want. I wonder how one can figure how much difference there will be from no-load, to loaded RPM's???

Or it could be that's not much of a factor normally, and the Harbor Fteight mill only turns slower than rated speed because the motor is weak?? Dunno!!

Input appreciated, to keep me from having to make multiple pulleys!

Thanks!
Vettepilot

[HighUintas]

I havey HF Mill running with a single drum at 82-84rpm and it doesn't overheat.

Anyway, I like that info Linstrum gives us. I think he's right on about the extra creosote in our lower temp charcoal causing clumping. I noticed in my high temp charcoal I had zero problems with clumping

[Vettepilot]

I havey HF Mill running with a single drum at 82-84rpm and it doesn't overheat.

Anyway, I like that info Linstrum gives us. I think he's right on about the extra creosote in our lower temp charcoal causing clumping. I noticed in my high temp charcoal I had zero problems with clumping

Is that un-modified and turning those rpm's, or with the drive roller size increased with hose or something to speed it up??

The low temp charcoal might be a factor on the clumping. I think that might be around the time I started having issues; when I started using lower cooking temps and times. Just can't remember darnit.

Vettepilot

[HighUintas]

Yes that is with a bunch of silicone tubing and electrical tape on the drive roller! If I put any more on there, my drum will be hitting the side panel of the housing!

[DoubleBuck]

Vettepilot;
My double drum with a loaded single drum ran 45 RPM. With the hose mod it runs 62.

[almar]

i have a timeline with pictures, i dont clump till 8 hours. Then i break it up and it doesn't clump till 12 hours which is when i call it quits. I run a big 7 inch ID mill at 60 RPM pretty hard. At 8 hours the powder isn't good. You need to push it! no mercy! I also use a grain mill now to break up the pucks. If you are too cheap to spend 75$ on it this isn't for you but i just granulated 2 lbs of powder in 30 minutes. Sometimes you have to spend cash to get good enough returns on your investment.

[HWooldridge]

i have a timeline with pictures, i dont clump till 8 hours. Then i break it up and it doesn't clump till 12 hours which is when i call it quits. I run a big 7 inch ID mill at 60 RPM pretty hard. At 8 hours the powder isn't good. You need to push it! no mercy! I also use a grain mill now to break up the pucks. If you are too cheap to spend 75$ on it this isn't for you but i just granulated 2 lbs of powder in 30 minutes. Sometimes you have to spend cash to get good enough returns on your investment.

Which model of grain mill are you using, Almar? I just did a quick look and prices are all over the place.

[almar]

Which model of grain mill are you using, Almar? I just did a quick look and prices are all over the place.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

it seems prices have increased

[ChrisPer]

Well I just pucked all my meal (3 mill batches) plus last batch fines plus most of my 4F. Feels gooood. Now drying them. I like the look of that malting grain mill; I think the coffee grinder I am using makes it too fine so moving towards something with a snips action like the nippers I used. My puck buster isn't holding up and will fall apart soon. Maybe I should make a cast bronze one.

[maillemaker]

When you use the malt mill do you install/use the hopper or leave it off?

Steve

[almar]

I prefer to leave it on. Thin pucks about .1 to .12 thick are crushed instantly to a coarse size (1f) and everything smaller, thicker pucks don't work well. The mill is bolted down on a raised structure to keep it from moving and to give clearance for a container and the mill handle. When all the pucks are crushed, which takes about 2 seconds per puck and one at a time, pour the grains on the screen stack and pass the grains that are too large in the mill again with the hopper and the mill at a finer setting. This takes seconds. No more busting up pucks with a hammer and its much faster.

[HWooldridge]

I don’t want to get off topic here but once someone has mastered BP production, how are you storing it and in what amounts? I have kept up to 10 lbs of Goex in the house but I split it so only 5 lbs in one place. My primary concern has always been a structure fire igniting a large quantity and making a bad problem worse.

On the other hand, I could build a powder magazine in the shop or the barn and not be too worried about fire but the next issue would be excessive humidity we experience at certain times of the year.

[mmb617]

I'm looking for some clarification here, I'm not looking to argue. A while back I asked about using a grinder with stainless steel conical burrs since SS is supposed to be non-sparking. The consensus here was pretty much don't do it. It's not safe. Part of that conversation was this post:

I use a cheap ceramic grinder and its manual as well. When i have large batches to process, i remove the handle and attach it to a battery drill, i remove the canister and let the grinds fall directly on the screen. If you are going to use that thing, at least make sure that the powder isn't falling into a tightly sealed container, do small batches and keep it far from other powder.

That was posted 3 weeks ago. I suppose you've upgraded your equipment since then, since I now see these two posts:

I also use a grain mill now to break up the pucks. If you are too cheap to spend 75$ on it this isn't for you but i just granulated 2 lbs of powder in 30 minutes. Sometimes you have to spend cash to get good enough returns on your investment.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

it seems prices have increased

What strikes me as odd is that from the description on Amazon that mill uses stainless steel rollers. So are SS rollers safe but SS burrs are not? Why?

I prefer to leave it on. Thin pucks about .1 to .12 thick are crushed instantly to a coarse size (1f) and everything smaller, thicker pucks don't work well. The mill is bolted down on a raised structure to keep it from moving and to give clearance for a container and the mill handle. When all the pucks are crushed, which takes about 2 seconds per puck and one at a time, pour the grains on the screen stack and pass the grains that are too large in the mill again with the hopper and the mill at a finer setting. This takes seconds. No more busting up pucks with a hammer and its much faster.

Don't get me wrong. If this is what you are now using and it works well I want to buy one. The pucks I'm making now with 30 grams per 3 inch puck are right at 4mm thick so a little over the thickness you are using but that's easily adjusted. If I went to 22.5 grams per puck I should be right at 3mm or 0.12 in thickness per puck.

Currently I break up the pucks in a SS bowl using a brass punch then run them through a manual grinder set on coarse then a small electric grinder set on fine. Both those grinders have ceramic burrs. The system works but it's tedious and the electric grinder keeps breaking off the pins that hold the outside burr ring in place. This is the part of the process I think has the most room for improvement.

I think I'll go ahead and order that mill. If it works for you it'll work for me and I'll willing to gamble that relatively small amount of money for what should be a significant improvement.

So thanks for the headsup!

[mmb617]

I don’t want to get off topic here but once someone has mastered BP production, how are you storing it and in what amounts? I have kept up to 10 lbs of Goex in the house but I split it so only 5 lbs in one place. My primary concern has always been a structure fire igniting a large quantity and making a bad problem worse.

On the other hand, I could build a powder magazine in the shop or the barn and not be too worried about fire but the next issue would be excessive humidity we experience at certain times of the year.

Good questions and I'll be waiting to hear other thoughts on this matter. I've been keeping most of mine in plastic containers that seem to be airtight, stored in the shop building where it's manufactured. That building is far enough away not to endanger my house if there were ever a fire. But I am somewhat concerned whether the powder is adversely affected as the shop is not climate controlled, so the humidity is at times pretty high and temps vary a great deal from summer to winter. I guess if I had containers that I was certain were airtight that wouldn't be a concern.

[almar]

The rollers are stainless but they don't touch each other. The rolling is very slow as well, by hand. A coffee grinder grinds, this thing crushes. I just cant see how this could possibly make a spark. I bought this some time ago but didn't use it until recently because you really need to build a structure to keep it bolted down and i didn't have the time or patience at that time. The structure I have now is still very basic and temporary. When the puck thickness is good, they just get sucked down between the rollers, if they are a little too thick, they don't and you need to push them. If they are much too thick, it just doesn't work. I really despised the whole hammer and grinder portion of the process and this takes care of that. I'm still learning about it but its a pretty easy thing to master. A few things that are draw backs but nothing to bad is that the powder sticks to the roller, especially when the pucks aren't fully dry. You need to rub it off or it eventually falls off. The other thing is the importance of puck thickness.

puck going in on its own in the coarse setting. One at a time.


end product, coarse and fines, the unwanted large grains are simply dumped into the hopper and crushed again. You can fill the hopper as much as you like and it will process the larger grains at this point. Make sure to adjust the setting BEFORE you dump in the grains.

[HWooldridge]

I'm looking for some clarification here, I'm not looking to argue. A while back I asked about using a grinder with stainless steel conical burrs since SS is supposed to be non-sparking. The consensus here was pretty much don't do it. It's not safe. Part of that conversation was this post:



That was posted 3 weeks ago. I suppose you've upgraded your equipment since then, since I now see these two posts:





What strikes me as odd is that from the description on Amazon that mill uses stainless steel rollers. So are SS rollers safe but SS burrs are not? Why?



Don't get me wrong. If this is what you are now using and it works well I want to buy one. The pucks I'm making now with 30 grams per 3 inch puck are right at 4mm thick so a little over the thickness you are using but that's easily adjusted. If I went to 22.5 grams per puck I should be right at 3mm or 0.12 in thickness per puck.

Currently I break up the pucks in a SS bowl using a brass punch then run them through a manual grinder set on coarse then a small electric grinder set on fine. Both those grinders have ceramic burrs. The system works but it's tedious and the electric grinder keeps breaking off the pins that hold the outside burr ring in place. This is the part of the process I think has the most room for improvement.

I think I'll go ahead and order that mill. If it works for you it'll work for me and I'll willing to gamble that relatively small amount of money for what should be a significant improvement.

So thanks for the headsup!

In general, 300 series SS is non magnetic and non sparking, while 400 series steels are magnetic (and presumably might spark). IIRC, the magnetic tumbling pins are usually made from 420.