Home made black powder

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I make my own black powder and it's only about 10% less powerful than commercial powder. It ignites just as reliably and just as fast as commercial. I use a puck press and a dehydrator for consistent results. It took me some trial and error to get to where I am now as I originally had trouble getting my powder to flow well through my flask and pan primer but that's all been resolved. You have to be meticulous to do this properly and safely.

I couldn't find an online source for suitable charcoal so I make my own using cedar fence pickets which are readily available at my local Home Depot.

The bad news is I have close to $700 invested in my equipment and that's after I already had a 12 ton press on hand.

The good news is it costs me less than $4 to make a pound of powder. And I am not at the mercy of "supply chain issues".
Cutting out the supply chain is the objective since goex is no more
 
Appalachiannative and Blackpowderwarrior I'm only about 3hrs from you both, in Stuart VA, Patrick county not far from Mt. Airy NC.

I'm going to start making charcoal in the spring, using willow, cottonwood, and grapevine. My biggest hope is that the cottonwood makes good powder, as the confederates used it and liked it. I have a lot of cottonwood, but it takes a year to dry out enough to cook it right. I use Willow also, but I don't have a great supply of it on my farm. Same with grapevine.
As for compressing (corning) the powder, I don't bother with long guns and shotguns. I just use more powder by volume. It helps if you weigh your powder charges for consistency, between batches, even if you do compress it. There will be slight variations. I seem to get better consistency that way. Also, you may think your powder is dry and ready, but it really needs to dry out in a dry place for longer than you'd think. At first I thought my powder was getting more powerful over time, but it was really just getting dryer.
I noticed this as well in reference to the drying. At the stage where you wet and granulated do you use water, alcohol, or a blend of both? I just used un cut 70% isopropyl figured it would dry faster
 
A spray mist bottle with distilled water. I used 50/50 distilled water and 90% iso alcohol, but it didn't seem to make anything much better.

When making a batch of BP how much do you make @ a time? A 1 LBS batch or less?
Also have you thought about using any Pine? It's been widely rumored that GOEX uses pine tree charcoal.
But that's just a rumor Ive heard I have no way of knowing what charcoal they actually use.
 
When making a batch of BP how much do you make @ a time? A 1 LBS batch or less?
Also have you thought about using any Pine? It's been widely rumored that GOEX uses pine tree charcoal.
But that's just a rumor Ive heard I have no way of knowing what charcoal they actually use.

I know it used to be maple. Pine is mostly used for spark effects in fireworks.
 
When making a batch of BP how much do you make @ a time? A 1 LBS batch or less?
Also have you thought about using any Pine? It's been widely rumored that GOEX uses pine tree charcoal.
But that's just a rumor Ive heard I have no way of knowing what charcoal they actually use.
I heard goex was red maple. Could try asking hogdon
 
I have used pine 2x4 studs for a sulfurless black powder... 4 parts kno3 to 1 part charcoal (by weight)... I corned that powder so it would be more dense. I use it in brass shotgun shells. I have a double Mill from harbor freight, but I only use one can at a time for appx 1/2 lb of powder. I say appx because I add the fines from the previous batch to the new batch for milling. I use .60 round ball media that I cast from wheel weight lead.
 
The Charcoal will make or break your powder. Castboolits forum has the BEST write up gover over 150 pages. My charcoal of choice is red alder or paulownia (spelling?). Dont use pine....it makes a really dirty powder with so much fouling. I got my puck die from forum member Fly on castboolits. Very inexpensive and well worth it.
 
The Charcoal will make or break your powder. Castboolits forum has the BEST write up gover over 150 pages. My charcoal of choice is red alder or paulownia (spelling?). Dont use pine....it makes a really dirty powder with so much fouling. I got my puck die from forum member Fly on castboolits. Very inexpensive and well worth it.
Got mine from Fly also, but he is not in the forums anymore, and is generally not available.
 
Why wouldn’t a short piece of “big bore” steel plumbing pipe and a hardwood plunger work for pressing pucks?

Dirty Bob
Im sure it would work just fine..most folks are hesitant to use any steel for their puck dies due to sparks etc. So just use caution. Most people have had negative issues using PVC pipes etc as they cant withstand the pressure buuuuut where theres a will theres a way and us black powder shooters are a very creative bunch.
 
I ball mill the powder 24 to 48 hours before “pucking.” The mill incorporates to niter & sulfur mote consistently than pressure alone. Just remember too avoid steel tools around the powder. One spark can have an extremely negative effect on your morale. I go as far to keep a grounding strap on the mill and a second on my forearm to prevent static discharges.
 
Consider milling down your kno3 as fine as flour. Use sulpher flour and buy natural charcoal and mill it to flour consistency as well. Increase your kno3 slightly over recipe. Compress it, crush and screen it to a 3F consistency and try again.
 
Im sure it would work just fine..most folks are hesitant to use any steel for their puck dies due to sparks etc. So just use caution. Most people have had negative issues using PVC pipes etc as they cant withstand the pressure buuuuut where theres a will theres a way and us black powder shooters are a very creative bunch.
D'oh! Of course! I may try PVC with hose clamps as a reinforcement, just for fun. Heck, several layers of strapping tape are far stronger than most people probably think.

Thanks for the wisdom,
Bob
 
I wouldnt buy charcoal...you never know what youre getting and its the most important ingredient. Its very easy to name...all you need is a paint can. Willows (black willow being best of the willows), red alder (for those in the north west), paulownia ( makes THE best fastest and cleanest powder that beats Swiss its an invasive species that grows just about everywhere in the united states) are some of the best woods. Even the cedar chips used for pet bedding works extremely well. All these options make great black powder...but using random airfloat made from unknown woods is just a waste of materials. You can puck it and grind or push your moist "green meal" mixed with a hardener through a mesh screen...both will give great results if you use quality materials and charcoal is the most important. Id recommend doing some reading on the castboolits forum...their sticky is the best on the net and will answer any and all questions pertaining to making black powder.
 
I wouldnt buy charcoal...you never know what youre getting and its the most important ingredient. Its very easy to name...all you need is a paint can. Willows (black willow being best of the willows), red alder (for those in the north west), paulownia ( makes THE best fastest and cleanest powder that beats Swiss its an invasive species that grows just about everywhere in the united states) are some of the best woods. Even the cedar chips used for pet bedding works extremely well. All these options make great black powder...but using random airfloat made from unknown woods is just a waste of materials. You can puck it and grind or push your moist "green meal" mixed with a hardener through a mesh screen...both will give great results if you use quality materials and charcoal is the most important. Id recommend doing some reading on the castboolits forum...their sticky is the best on the net and will answer any and all questions pertaining to making black powder.

Its good to see you back man, hope all is well with you and your family.. How you adjusting out there? Joder! Alaska sure ain't Texas hermano!
 
I started making my own black powder a couple months ago and have fired almost 500 round balls through 4 different flintlocks since then. I see very little difference between my powder and commercial. It's all I use now.

I will agree with making your own charcoal as it's the only real variable, and it does make a difference in how your powder performs. You can easily buy 99% pure potassium nitrate and sulfur online but not charcoal that you actually know what it's made from. I've had good luck making mine using cedar fence pickets as they are readily available at my local Home Depot.

I bought my puck press from Woody's and it's a nice piece. Both the cylinder and piston are aluminum so no spark hazard.

The potassium nitrate I buy from the seed ranch is already very fine, as is the sulfur I found on Amazon so I don't pre-mill either of those. I do mill my charcoal for about 4 hours, which gets it really fine as well.

I run my ingredients in the ball mill for 8 hours and that seems like enough. I have a 12 ton press and max it out when pressing pucks. I also want to be sure they are dry before breaking them up so after pressing they go in the dehydrator for 72 hours.

I shoot my flintlocks a lot. I get to the range 3 or 4 times a week usually and now I never worry about running out of powder.
 
Its good to see you back man, hope all is well with you and your family.. How you adjusting out there? Joder! Alaska sure ain't Texas hermano!

Thanks! Adjustment was slow for my daughter...it stressed her mentally and physically as she is autistic. But the move was for her and she is now well adjusted. I love alaska and the people are great. Some of the best down to earth people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting...unlike most people in south texas who are very rude, materialistic, and very judgemental.
 
Thanks! Adjustment was slow for my daughter...it stressed her mentally and physically as she is autistic. But the move was for her and she is now well adjusted. I love alaska and the people are great. Some of the best down to earth people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting...unlike most people in south texas who are very rude, materialistic, and very judgemental.

Thats good brother, if its turned out better for your daughter and family then you definitely made the right choice. Some parts of texas are pretty rough.... I stayed in Houston and Corpus for a while... It was pretty wild to say the least!
 
"I don't pre-mill either of those. I do mill my charcoal for about 4 hours, which gets it really fine as well."

My own BP was kind of slow witted until I ran all three simultaneously in the ball mill (Bronze balls 5/8" diameter) with a table spoon of water per lb for 24 hours. Then, pressing the super fine powder under 5-10 tons in my home built cylinder with upper and lower pistons, the pucks seem almost as hard as granite.
A couple days ago I finally saw the grain mill I want to pulverize the pucks with; https://www.ebay.com/itm/174678866856?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
Most of the metal of the grinder that will touch the BP is either aluminum or stainless, click the photo thumbnails and you'll see the two corncob type crushing mill rolls, which are stainless. They can be adjusted to change the size of the particles. I've mentioned before a youtube video in which fireworks makers are grinding their pucks up with such a grinder, and I thought it was home made but now think it is a commercial grain grinder.

As with the ball mill I intend to operate it from a distance, cutting power to it and letting it sit a bit before dumping the balls and powder.

Likewise I hope to run the grinder outside where any mixture that somehow ignites will simply flair up without any part of my body in the pathway.

I think the best way to minimize accidents is to run small quantities, and remove the ground product to another place to screen them. 1 lb cans of BP are well known to be safe to store, but still I'll keep it in a place where it cannot start a fire, or get hot or wet.
This guy makes about 3 1/2" diameter pucks about 1/4-3/8" thick.
He doesn't seem to be too worried about the process, and his pucks break up easily making me think they should be harder. I figure the closer the microscopic particles are forced together the more powerful the corned powder will be, that translates into how hard the pucks are. But he may be making powder for lifting charges for fireworks mortars.

The whole idea behind this is to uncouple myself from commercial sources, as also is having the ability to make my own caps. In this way an overbearing government can never really take all my second amendment rights away.

Plus it's fun! :)
parts
  • :cuss:.
 
Here's that video of guys running pucks through a two roll corncob crusher. Notice how large the diameter or the pucks is and how thin they are. The grain grinder I bought looks just like this one but slightly smaller, there is an adjustment that allows you to open up the gap between the rolls, and I suspect that's why their pucks are so thin.
It seems to me that anything smaller than 4F granules is just wasting time because it needs to be rerolled in the ball mill and repucked, so ideally there shouldn't be too much fines.
 
In my operation granulating the pucks is the most tedious part. The pucks are very hard after pressing and drying and not easily broken up. I use a three step process by first breaking the pucks into roughly coffee bean sized pieces using a brass punch and stainless steel bowl. Those pieces go into a hand cranked ceramic burred coffee grinder set on course. That course grind then goes into a small electric grinder (also with ceramic burrs) set on fine, after which the powder is ready to screen.

Powder left on the top screen is bigger than 3f and gets reground. The second screen contains 3f, and the third screen has 4f. Anything below the third screen is finer than 4f and is repressed. So there is no waste.

If I were to guess I'd say a typical batch ends up about 60% 3f, maybe 15% 4f and 25% fines to repress. I'm getting more 4f than I need so eventually I'll repress some of that along with the fines.

When the weather is decent I shoot about 1/2 lb of powder a week and don't think I'll have any problem producing enough to supply that much.
 
I've heard that grapevine makes good charcoal. I've got a lot of sumac vines around my house that have a wooden texture. Thinking about making some charcoal with them. Any thoughts on this?
So many varieties of grapevines that its hard to tell which ones are better. I would use a chronograph to test FPS of different charcoal used.
 
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