Video, Making and screening Black Powder

So I would imagine that "float" charcoal might not burn very fast?

brushhippie said:

http://www.hobbychemicalsupply.com/servlet/the-14/airfloat-charcoal-chemicals-pyro/Detail
This is what I am using now.

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Hey Hippie
go ahead and throw out two more links for the other two ingredients
then we can make it just like your mix.
we will call it Brush Hippies mighty muzzleloading mix

The standard formula for BP (75-15-10) can be varied for faster or slower burn rates:
Increasing KnO3 and decreasing C normally burns faster and vice versa.
example: 77% KnO3 13% C 10% S
Binders like Dextrin or Red Gum do slow the burn rate down a little bit but many like to use it. The alternative is to make thin "pucks" by pressing the green mix in tubes under a lot of pressure then breaking them up and screening for various sizes. Misting the powder with a 50-50 mix of water and Isopropol alcohol prior to pressing helps a lot also. Mist the powder lightly and mix it and keep misting until it has the consistency of slightly damp beach sand.
A good burn rate test is to take a 2-inch parallel wound "cardboard" tube (such as a 1-pound rocket tube cut into smaller sections) then press either with an arbor press or hammer ram a 1-inch column of powder into the tube. Light with a fuse and measure how long it takes to burn completely with a stopwatch.
No matter how you press it into the tube just be sure to do it the same way every time.
Two of the most important aspects of pyrotechnics is to keep precise notes and to keep your work space clean!!!!!
Good luck...and be careful!!!!

That was interesting. Thanks.

brushhippie said:

Gunsmith, I got all three at that site. As I recall I bought all three for less than 12 or 13 bucks I think with shipping it was under 30.
http://www.hobbychemicalsupply.com/servlet/the-37/potassium-nitrate-anti-dsh-cake-black/Detail
http://www.hobbychemicalsupply.com/servlet/the-1/sulfur-sulphur-black-powder/Detail
I see they have gone up a little, still not bad.

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Excellent Brudh Hippie
I guess the Dextern can pretty much be bought at any grocery store.

Sorry for needing the hand holding, but someone else asked this earlier and didn't see an answer. Your link to the KNO3 has both anticake and no-anticake varieties. I'm guessing we want the no-anticake? Just pure KNO3 without extra additives?

Already ordered some "black willow charcoal" from there (had to order separately from KNO3), which now isn't listed, guess I bought their last, but this was listed separately from their "air float charcoal". Hopefully will work ok. Is their airfloat charcoal made from willow? Doesn't seem to specifically say so on the site. In any case, if it's working for you, it should work for me!

And thanks for the input on storage and H2O vs EtOH, I'm all for following instructions of someone who's already put in the time and effort in experimentation.

here is the recipe for brushhippies Mighty Magical Muzzleloading mix...
Mix together:
75% = 150 grams KNO3
15% = 30 Grams charcoal
10% = 20Grams sulfur
Tumble/grind for a minimum of 6 hours or longer.

After tumbling/grinding the mixture for atleast 6 hours add the binder/dexterin (AKA corn starch). Add 5% of the total weight of the powder mixture recipe which this recipe is a total weight of 200 grams so this recipe will require 10 grams of dexterin to be added to the mix then grind/tumble for an additional twenty minutes.

How to make Dexterin:
get a cookie sheet and spread the corn starch evenly across the cookie sheet and Bake in the oven at 400F for three hours.

after all four ingredients are all mixed together empty the tumbling container on a screen with a tray with news papers underneath to catch the powder
(do not breathe in any dust!) and sift the powder to separate the lead balls, replace the balls in the tumbling container.


once the powder is separated dump your powder onto the tray, use a credit card or bondo spreader to evenly mix in water to the consistency of damp sand so that it can be balled up into pucks.
but not so damp that when you squeeze it into a puck that you don't squeeze water out.
once the powder has reached the right consistency grab a hand full of the mix and squeeze it into a puck and rub it through the screen evenly on the tray
(#16 screen makes FFFgranuals), do the whole batch then allow the water to evaporate.
a tip to help the powder dry faster
before screening the powder place news papers over the tray this will help absorb the water out of the powder grains.


you now have a batch of brush hippies mighty magical muzzleloading mix

EDIT: to make your screen measure the outside dimensions of your tray then cut 4 pieces of 3/4"X4" lumber accordingly you will want to make the lumber slightly larger so that it will fit through the tray on two of the parallel pieces you will need to add 1 1/2" to the total length of the wood in order to nail the pieces together. then start by stapling one side of the screen to the wood frame pulling it snug as you staple then pull the other side snug and staple then staple the other two ends tightly.
does that sound right BH?

ok fixed it

Hey BH
I saw another video on youtube where a guy was explaining how to make black powder and instead of using water he was using stale urine and his mix was the consistancey of bread dough it looked nasty.
I wonder what the purpose is for using stale piss and why he mixed so wet

brushhippie said:

Thank you Sir, never thought about puttin the recipe up here! duh

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well I figured with your video instructions and a step by step recipe it would be even easier to make.
I think it is simple enough now that even I can pull it off LOL.

Brushhippie!

Thank you for all this good stuff!

All I need now is a kid's rock tumbler that has a plastic barrel.

I found those on fleabay, but does anyone have a better suggestion?

the harbor freight model is the one I am going to get.
they have a double drum model too.

Thanks for the info BH, that's good to know.
I kind of like the one large drum better anyway
the double drum would probably be better for using it to polish two different types of metal parts and such.

Been meaning to post about the fruits of my labors and thanks to BrushHippie for setting me on the path towards making my own BP. Got the bug back in August when I first saw this thread, and quickly started accumulating the materials to make it happen. So far have made 2 batches using chemicals from Hobby Chemical Supply, including Black Willow Charcoal (was just listed as that, so thought it was the right stuff, wasn't their "Air float", so may not have been the best thing to get), the sulfur, and the KNO3 (No-anticake). My experience thus far......

So, before the thread got to the point of discouraging the HF double drum tumbler, I had already picked it up and started using it. For me, it's worked "fine" for both batches. I say "fine" because I do have some issues with my powder so far, but not sure that it has anything to do with the tumbler. My first batch, considering the manual lists 3 lbs as the limit for each drum, and the recipe makes 200 grams of powder, I subtracted 200 grams from 3 lbs, added that weight of lead .454 balls, and then the 200 gram recipe to each drum, which visually looked a little light on # of balls, but here it is running....
http://youtu.be/yzBbHa-566U

After I milled for 6 hours, I added dextrin, milled, wet, and screened. Looked good, definitely larger/fluffier granules than the 3F Pyrodex P I had (only BP/Sub I've ever used). And then went about trying to replicate BH's burn test to compare it to the Pyrodex.....
http://youtu.be/olQbPzMbr8Q

Was pretty encouraged, looked a tad slower than the Pyrodex, which looked slower than BH's homemade, but figured if it was at least similar to the Pyrodex which works fine in my pistols, it'd probably work too. Well, fast forward to range use......
http://youtu.be/KbrweZqkbHI
Ya, not much of a bang, just kinda went ppppttthhh. Ball went about a half an inch into the barrel. Tried several more times with 21 and 30 grain spouts on my flask, and no bang bang.

So first batch looks to be pretty unusable as is. Can I just throw it back in the mill, let it go awhile and try it again? Or will already having added dextrin mess with the milling process?

So.... then on to my 2nd batch. This time, since I thought that the # of balls the first time around looked a little light, and the tumbler seemed to handle it just fine, I added some more balls to each drum the 2nd time around. In addition, I tumbled longer, maybe 8 or 9 hours. Again, wet, screened, and let dry. These granules were even bigger, and starting to look a little wormy, think I might have gotten it a little too wet. You also might notice I didn't say added dextrin, milled, wet, and screened. Ya, later in the day I realized that I had never added the dextrin. How much might that mess me up? Should I put it all back in the mill, add the dextrin, and rescreen? Not sure about that. Anyway, back to the burn test.... and fair warning, I talk too much, saying most of what I just typed, burning starts at 1:45....
http://youtu.be/X0comdDE6QU
http://youtu.be/het1RsOBQ_Y

So my 2nd batch definitely at least in open air burns a heck of a lot quicker. Maybe either from the longer milling, or the extra balls, or both. So shot that at the range too, actually the same day as I shot the 1st batch, and it worked well. Don't have a video of that, as after futzing around with the first batch and having to take down the revolver several times to clear the stuck ball, I was tired of video taping my failure. But very pleased to actually have a working homemade BP.

So again, thanks to BrushHippie for the guidance and peaking my curiosity to give this a go. And appreciate any input on what to do with my 2 batches that each have their issues, ie 1st doesn't work, and 2nd works but doesn't have dextrin. Considering remilling the first and see how it does. Remilling and screening the 2nd with dextrin. Throwing it all together, milling it longer and rescreening, to come up with a larger amount of usable powder that all act similarly. In any case, have enough chemicals for several more batches, so we'll see what I can do, and hopefully with experience, will be making my own Holy Black and getting away from my old plow horse Pyrodex!!

Thanks BH! The first batch was definitely dried out, made it a week or two before the 2nd batch, and didn't even shoot either of them until a couple weeks after I made the 2nd batch (making the first batch a month or so old), and had them stored with some homemade deessicant packs (silica gel cat litter in a coffee filter), so don't think moisture had anything to do with it. Best as I can figure, I just needed a longer mill, or more balls. Think I'll throw it back in the mill, regrind and screen it, and hope it's salvageable. Don't have anything to lose, it's not worth anything at this point. Guess I'll just leave the 2nd batch alone and shoot it as is without any dextrin, and hope to remember in the future! As for the HF double drum tumbler, we'll see how it holds up over time. It did at least come with four or 5 replacement belts, and I went ahead and sprung for the replacement policy, b/c I'm not that naive to trust in HF quality over the long haul!