My homemade black powder

[2TM101]

I normally keep about a dozen old Goex cans filled to the brim with home made on hand and I just recently finished shooting two cans of my home made and then I poured three more cans of home made into some old smokeless powder cans, re-labeled them for Black, and gave them to a friend of mine. So now I have five empty Goex cans to refill. I might have to make up two batches to get caught back up.

I guess TP is what I will do as I do not have any seasoned wood on hand anymore. Still planning on trying some Osage Orange when I come across some to cut up. Will maybe do some of that next time I guess.

For all my shooting from .32 cal. up to .50 cal., I have settled upon <20 & >40 for all but my flash pan powder. If I had a 30 and a 50 screen then I might separate it out for a more refined use with some finer for the .32 cal. and perhaps for the .36 cal. C & B revolvers, but it works decent enough as it is.

Any container with a recycle code of 2 is good. Find a friend who is into Protein shakes. Theose containers are nearly identical to gunpowder bottles.

I stopped using wood entirely. Go through your wardrobe / towels / bedsheets for anything worn out that is 100% cotton. One pair of jeans makes enough charcoal for about 20 Lb of powder, and its even better than toilet paper. And basically free as you can always convince your wife you need new sheets & towels.

I still sort my powder into seven different grades because thats just part of the fun. But then when I run out of the right size I just use the closest stuff I still have some of. Even if it gets to where I am firing shotguns loaded with 1C. Hey, it worked during the French Revolution (they used canon powder in everything)

[greyhawk]

Ham;
I'll send you a box of Punkin' Spice Hedge if you'll test it!
This was pretty interesting to me. But then, I'm pretty easily entertained.
I picked up five or six of these patches. They were shot with 75 and 80 grains, soaked with 50/50 Dawn Dish Soap and Distilled Water. I placed a card on top of the powder, as a moisture barrier, more or less. When I found them, they were perfectly folded in half, with the card barely touched. And, they were flash dried with barely a tinge. Even the frays were not scorched. Also, according to them, the Pellet powder is actually burning pretty rang dang good.
Attachment 340480 Attachment 340481

hm,mmmm dish soap and water ---takes me full circle back to where I started with my first ML. you have made it work but in my humble opinion it comes dead last of a long list of things a feller might use for patch lube --been there done that - could not shoot a ten shot target without pulling up to clean somewhere along the way. I switched to moose milk (5:1) and have never deviated from it - shoot all day - clean it when your done......

likely the only reason this worked for you is cuz you figured out the value of a backer patch/overpowder wad - that is the simplest fix for wrecked patches using too heavy loads - I did this using a smaller calico backer patch in a 54 CVA that I shot for several years with 120 grains of FFg Goex ---yeah a hero load and likely the last 20 grains were not doin much but that thing shot soooo good (aint broke dont need fixin came to play there)
A juice box wad like you are doin woulda been easier I guess -----I just about bet you woulda burnt those patches up good with 80 grains of your powder and no wad......................................

[HamGunner]

Pumpkin Spice BP.

Last year, my Son came by for a visit and gave me his left overs from a 12 pack of Pumpkin Spice beer that he and a friend tried out around Halloween. I tried one and then knew why he gave it to me. I did manage to drink one or three over the next week or two, but the rest of it got poured down the drain.

I never have been a real drinker of any sorts, but back when I was a young'n and kicking up my heels a bit, I remember buying the cheap stuff as us farm boys never had much money. The cheap stuff was certainly not the best, but it did beat Pumpkin Spice Beer.

[BPJake]

Pumpkin Spice BP.

Last year, my Son came by for a visit and gave me his left overs from a 12 pack of Pumpkin Spice beer that he and a friend tried out around Halloween. I tried one and then knew why he gave it to me. I did manage to drink one or three over the next week or two, but the rest of it got poured down the drain.

I never have been a real drinker of any sorts, but back when I was a young'n and kicking up my heels a bit, I remember buying the cheap stuff as us farm boys never had much money. The cheap stuff was certainly not the best, but it did beat Pumpkin Spice Beer.

That just sounds gross. They're out of control, every fall it's a plague of pumpkin spice everything. It's for fu$#ing pumpkin pie, which is not even that good you don't need to put it in ANYTHING else.

But I digress. Rant over lol

[almar]

PumpkinSpice_2.0oz_2000x2000_v1.2_2_1080x.jpg

[BPJake]

PumpkinSpice_2.0oz_2000x2000_v1.2_2_1080x.jpg

[BPJake]

My 2 runs processed. I now have graphited and naked in both 2f and 3f, and that set both in 77-13-10 and 76-12-12, this will be for serious quantitative testing with the chrono and counting swabs.

Time to find out which direction to continue on. No pumpkin spice this time lol.

20250909_005222 (Large).jpg

[Graysmoke]

Vettpilot, I remilled, repucked, reground all my powder screened and passed 20 held 30. I went to the range today, a big improvement from before. My prior method of screening left dust in the mix thats where I got deviation in poi. The 3f is a bit bigger than goex, not much but looking closely I can see a bit of difference. I put 8 in a 3” bull at fifty yds. Pulled #10 low left. First clean bbl shot was as usual tad low right, all in all a good day. 80 grs. 3 f TP charcole 75 15 10 mix, 54 cal. .530 ball pillow tick .016 my lube beef tallow, real mink oil, beeswax mix.
GraysmokeIMG_8779.jpg

[BPJake]

thats some nice shootin Graysmoke

[Vettepilot]

Yep, good shootin' Greysmoke! Dialed in, it looks like.

Vettepilot

[DoubleBuck]

That does look very good!

[printedboolits]

Been working on gathering all the tools to make some black powder, and finally have everything sorted. Made pyro grade black powder a bunch of times long ago for fireworks, but this is my first time making stuff specifically for firearms.


After cooking up some charcoal - I'm wondering how much brown is too much. My first batch of charcoal was pretty surprising, but I decided to make some powder out of it anyway.


I'm using a PID controlled kiln. It works pretty well, holds temp dead on. Only issue is it's a top heating kiln, and currently has no circulation. That means even after running it at 575 for a couple hours, the stuff at the bottom of my paint can isn't as cooked as the top. I've been flipping the can after two hours, and then running it for another two.






Here's what the paper looks like after the full amount of cook time.





It tears apart incredibly easily, and seems to be very consistent. However, I was very surprised what it looked like after milling overnight. (Rebel 17 Tumbler 1/3 full of brass balls on converted treadmill). It's basically cocoa powder in color.



It's even lighter when mixed with nitrate and sulfur. This is 1000 grams of 77-13-10 milled for 72 hours.




I'm using one of those ebay "30" mm press dies. 3D printed a little collar insert that lets me get the exact density I want (1.75g/cm3) if you dump in 20 grams of powder. The collar is handy. You can see the gap at the bottom, and you can also twist it back and forth when you get close. You'll feel it grab when you're at the correct depth.

[printedboolits]

Whoops, looks like there's a limit of 10 pictures per post.

I ground up 120 grams worth of pucks with a Corona Corn Mill, and sorted stuff by size.

1Fg Goes through 10 Stays on 20 (Wish I had a 12 mesh screen instead, only have a 10)
2Fg Goes Through 20 Stays on 30
3Fg Goes through 30 Stays on 50
4Fg Goes through 50 Stays on 100


Here's some unglazed 2F cottonelle vs some 3F swiss. It is very brown looking.




I glazed all the 3F for 5 hours and it's closer to black. Probably just the shine.

Cottonelle 3Fg


Swiss 3Fg



Burnt the two piles from the pictures before and can't tell any difference in speed. They seem to be identical. Not sure if the scorch patterns on the paper are an indication of anything. The Cottonelle is a bit more diffuse, and the Swiss is darker.




Just got a Rangecraft Velocity Pro chronograph in the mail yesterday, and I plan to get some FPS comparisons done soon.

[HamGunner]

You have done good, Pilgrim. And to be honest, that is well beyond Pilgrim grade BP. I am betting that it will give Swiss a run for it's money. Certainly grain per grain weighed out.

The charcoal looks great.

[dondiego]

WOW! Good job!

[printedboolits]

You have done good, Pilgrim. And to be honest, that is well beyond Pilgrim grade BP. I am betting that it will give Swiss a run for it's money. Certainly grain per grain weighed out.

The charcoal looks great.

Oh good, was hoping I didn't undercook things too far.

Thanks guys! Making quality black powder has been made pretty easy with Everything Black Powder's youtube channel and this thread. I just spent a year slowly gathering everything needed so I could start out without taking any short cuts. Lots of free stuff, and things I already had. Brass balls were not cheap though, and I've been buying some here and there when they go on sale.

Going into this, the only things that weren't really clear were the charcoal color, and whether or not I milled things long enough. I went for 72 hours as I wasn't sure if the volume I was making (1000 grams or 2.2lbs) would slow the process way down. Don't see much info here about batches much above 200 grams.

If this stuff tests out well, I'll puck up and grind the rest. If not, maybe I'll try milling things a bit longer.

Think I'll test things out with an 1860 Army. Don't have any long rifles ready to go at the moment, but could also use an Remington 1858 Carbine. The 16" barrel on that might have some useful information. I will weigh out all the charges on my powder scale to make things as even as possible.

[Vettepilot]

Oh good, was hoping I didn't undercook things too far.

Thanks guys! Making quality black powder has been made pretty easy with Everything Black Powder's youtube channel and this thread. I just spent a year slowly gathering everything needed so I could start out without taking any short cuts. Lots of free stuff, and things I already had. Brass balls were not cheap though, and I've been buying some here and there when they go on sale.

Going into this, the only things that weren't really clear were the charcoal color, and whether or not I milled things long enough. I went for 72 hours as I wasn't sure if the volume I was making (1000 grams or 2.2lbs) would slow the process way down. Don't see much info here about batches much above 200 grams.

If this stuff tests out well, I'll puck up and grind the rest. If not, maybe I'll try milling things a bit longer.

Think I'll test things out with an 1860 Army. Don't have any long rifles ready to go at the moment, but could also use an Remington 1858 Carbine. The 16" barrel on that might have some useful information. I will weigh out all the charges on my powder scale to make things as even as possible.

What a great start! Welcome to the forum, and yes, please keep us posted!

Good luck,

Vettepilot

[Sandro_ventania]

Oh good, was hoping I didn't undercook things too far.

Thanks guys! Making quality black powder has been made pretty easy with Everything Black Powder's youtube channel and this thread. I just spent a year slowly gathering everything needed so I could start out without taking any short cuts. Lots of free stuff, and things I already had. Brass balls were not cheap though, and I've been buying some here and there when they go on sale.

Going into this, the only things that weren't really clear were the charcoal color, and whether or not I milled things long enough. I went for 72 hours as I wasn't sure if the volume I was making (1000 grams or 2.2lbs) would slow the process way down. Don't see much info here about batches much above 200 grams.

If this stuff tests out well, I'll puck up and grind the rest. If not, maybe I'll try milling things a bit longer.

Think I'll test things out with an 1860 Army. Don't have any long rifles ready to go at the moment, but could also use an Remington 1858 Carbine. The 16" barrel on that might have some useful information. I will weigh out all the charges on my powder scale to make things as even as possible.

Great job, congratulations! Keep us posted, and if you could post a video on YouTube, it would be great to watch!

[DoubleBuck]

Yes, that does look very good! Congratulations! I bet it works VERY well. Looking at the flash marks from yours and Swiss, if I didn't know which was which, I would have chose yours.
Generally speaking, if the powder flashes and doesn't burn through paper, it is pretty fast. The lighter the scorch, the faster it burned. Both yours and the Swiss burned the paper, it appears, but only where you lit it. The center of the pile looks really great. And it looks like it was energetic, as well.
Melt some lead with it, and give us the report. I'm betting it will be a really good report.
And, yes, welcome to the forum and congratulations on the great start!

[printedboolits]

Went to find my empty powder cans so I'd have a place to stick the powder I'm working on, and thought maybe I should make a label.

Might have gotten a little carried away....




Need to order some full sheet sticker sheets for the printer now.