1st diy Blackpowder Making

Bljacque · Mar 17, 2022

I'm embarking on my 1st blackpowder making attempt. I've researched fairly thoroughly & I'm reasonably sure that I've got most of the basics down including safety. However I would like to query the BP Forum with a couple of questions. Some BP makers call for ball milling all the combined ingredients dry in the ball mill. Some for ball milling just the sulfer & charcoal then adding potassium nitrate & either water or water & alcohol for additional milling wet. I see other recommendations for ball milling of the individual components separately & then combining with water or water & alcohol for final milling. I can understand the advantage of a wet mix both for safety & a more thoroughly incorporated compound. However, prior to making a choice, I'd be interested in hearing the opinions, rational & experiences of those members who've traveled the diy BP path already. My thanks in advance to any & all who choose to share.

Pete D. · Mar 17, 2022

I have always ball milled the three components together and wet

hawg · Mar 17, 2022

I would do all three wet with alcohol to speed drying. I would also press it into pucks before breaking it up and screening.

noelf2 · Mar 17, 2022

There are many ways, and all will swear by them. I mill all ingredients together, and dry. Far from the house. I only wet it before screening or compressing.

Darth-Vang · Mar 17, 2022

In my research, you could ball mill it dry. Given the media is metal free and non sparking. Also the container must be metal free. Given the nature of blackpowder(75/15/10 ratio): it will combust by heat and spark. When making blackpowder use what you know with a bit of common sense when dealing with blackpowder. As the saying goes “Know your enemy…”

.38 Special · Mar 17, 2022

I have not yet made any and am still deciding whether it is safe enough for my own situation. It certainly appears to me that wet milling is safer, but the big catch is that wet milling appears to result in relatively poor performance from the resulting powder, as apparently the KNO3 will crystalize into a larger, less efficient form as it dries. If I cannot make powder of at least the quality of standard Goex, I'm not going to bother.

Darth-Vang · Mar 17, 2022

.38 Special said:
I have not yet made any and am still deciding whether it is safe enough for my own situation. It certainly appears to me that wet milling is safer, but the big catch is that wet milling appears to result in relatively poor performance from the resulting powder, as apparently the KNO3 will crystalize into a larger, less efficient form as it dries. If I cannot make powder of at least the quality of standard Goex, I'm not going to bother.

Here’s to encourage you:

.38 Special · Mar 17, 2022

Darth-Vang said:
Here’s to encourage you:

There are several contributors to the specialist sites who have more-or-less blown themselves up while making bp. One of them who lived suffered through several reconstructive surgeries and was able to give a thorough description of the circumstances, and the general consensus is that his use of marbles during milling was the issue.

So yeah, I'm still thinking it over...

hawg · Mar 17, 2022

Darth-Vang said:
Here’s to encourage you:

If you press it into pucks it will be closer to factory powder but you have to use good charcoal like willow or grapevine.

.38 Special said:
There are several contributors to the specialist sites who have more-or-less blown themselves up while making bp. One of them who lived suffered through several reconstructive surgeries and was able to give a thorough description of the circumstances, and the general consensus is that his use of marbles during milling was the issue.

So yeah, I'm still thinking it over...

Marbles with swirls have metal in them and can spark. Just use lead balls.

Darth-Vang · Mar 17, 2022

.38 Special said:
There are several contributors to the specialist sites who have more-or-less blown themselves up while making bp. One of them who lived suffered through several reconstructive surgeries and was able to give a thorough description of the circumstances, and the general consensus is that his use of marbles during milling was the issue.

So yeah, I'm still thinking it over...

What Hawg said. Use lead. Grab a roundball mold. Use pure or close to pure lead. I’ve read some use lead alloy to prevent the balls from “denting” upon use. It works, plenty of guys saying they haven’t gotten an explosion yet. As been said, use common sense and science, and you should be okay, given you follow through with every step and double check the materials before proceeding. Never hurts to double check things. If you reload, then you can make blackpowder.

Officers'Wife · Mar 17, 2022

I generally add one tablespoon of water per pound of green powder.

.38 Special · Mar 17, 2022

JFWIW, my "marbles" comment was in regard to the video, which shows marbles being used.

In the bigger picture, my point is that there are all sorts of seemingly unimportant details that can get even experienced and knowledgeable folks into trouble. I'd hate to blow myself up and not even know why - especially when I already have a decade's worth of Swiss sitting on the shelf...

Bljacque · Mar 18, 2022

Folks I want to thank everyone for sharing their opinions, experience & concerns. The fact that our membership is comprised of independent thinkers is certainly verified in the inputs. I've got some ruminating to do but fully intend to try my hand at making BP. I'm not looking at ending the thread, as I think the various perspectives offer excellent insight to folks like myself & perhaps even those more seasoned. One of the many reasons I thoroughly enjoy THR. Again, my appreciation to all.

mmb617 · Mar 18, 2022

I've been making my own for a while now and really don't think there is one "right way" to do it. Opinions vary as to what's best and what's safest.

As it happens I was doing some chronograph testing just yesterday. My homemade gives me 90%+ of the velocity of Schuetzen for the same volume of powder. That's good enough for me. It also flows well and is no dirtier.

I ball mill all three ingredients dry in a HF rubber drum tumbler with FMJ .45 bullets as the media. There is no way a spark could occur so to my mind it's safe. I dampen the meal before pressing, then dry the pucks, grind and screen them.

As for the charcoal I've made mine out of cedar fence pickets with good results.

OP, feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions about the process I use.

Dirty Bob · Mar 18, 2022

I recently bought some 230-grain FMJ bullets for the same purpose. They're heavy, the copper can't spark, the shape seems good for tumbling, and they're not going to lose tiny fragments of lead into the powder. Not that hard-cast lead roundballs are much of a risk, either. Another option would be copper-plated 00 or 000 buckshot.

The important thing is to try making a small quantity -- maybe 100 grams -- of powder, and see how it works for you. I've made a few batches and am still learning.

frontiergander · Mar 18, 2022

depending on how hard your powder is, I run it through an adjustable flour mill and screen what comes out. Anything larger than 2f, goes back in.

Darth-Vang · Mar 18, 2022

Here’s a summary of what you need to start making blackpowder:

brewer12345 · Mar 19, 2022

frontiergander said:
depending on how hard your powder is, I run it through an adjustable flour mill and screen what comes out. Anything larger than 2f, goes back in.
View attachment 1066735

IIRC the Corona mills like that are tin plated cast iron, right? Doesn't seem like that would be non-sparking.

frontiergander · Mar 19, 2022

if cast iron sparked, they'd use it for frizzens.

frontiergander · Mar 19, 2022

also, you can get them in cast aluminum as well if you have worries about iron.

brewer12345 · Mar 19, 2022

frontiergander said:
also, you can get them in cast aluminum as well if you have worries about iron.

I use mine for grinding up corn and masa.

hawg · Mar 19, 2022

frontiergander said:
if cast iron sparked, they'd use it for frizzens.

Cast iron can spark but it can't be case hardened. Original frizzens were made from wrought iron and case hardened.

frontiergander · Mar 19, 2022

well if you dont run any metal on metal at a high rate of speed, im thinking you'll live

75 POUNDS into it.

Now lets talk about how plastic containers and black powder do not mix...

frontiergander · Mar 19, 2022

cast iron spark on an ANGLE GRINDER.

Officers'Wife · Mar 19, 2022

Darth-Vang said:
Here’s a summary of what you need to start making blackpowder:

Not bad, one small exception though... Niter is water soluble, that water squeezed out of the puck contains your oxidizer leaving less for your burn.

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