Gunpowder into a Paste
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MutinousDoug
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Umm...
Standard, modern priming mixes includes lead syphnate or potassium perchlorate. Not so much nitro cellulose or nitro-glycerine.
The priming mix is used to ignite the powder by sending sparks of hot metal (lead or potassium) to ignite the nitro-cellulose gas generant (AKA: the propellant).
The priming mix is ignited by friction (like striking a match, as mentioned above). The propellant is ignited by heat.
Making (effective) primers is as dangerous as making black powder in bulk and not to be approached casually.
As an aside, when I worked in ordnance, we used hexane to de-sensitize our priming mix while in storage or assembly and cooked it off afterwards at about 120f in very controlled conditions. While we had "Incidents" we had no injuries while I was there (but we gave up the effort of providing primers to the Gov't as un-profitable [and scary])
YMMV
doug
Standard, modern priming mixes includes lead syphnate or potassium perchlorate. Not so much nitro cellulose or nitro-glycerine.
The priming mix is used to ignite the powder by sending sparks of hot metal (lead or potassium) to ignite the nitro-cellulose gas generant (AKA: the propellant).
The priming mix is ignited by friction (like striking a match, as mentioned above). The propellant is ignited by heat.
Making (effective) primers is as dangerous as making black powder in bulk and not to be approached casually.
As an aside, when I worked in ordnance, we used hexane to de-sensitize our priming mix while in storage or assembly and cooked it off afterwards at about 120f in very controlled conditions. While we had "Incidents" we had no injuries while I was there (but we gave up the effort of providing primers to the Gov't as un-profitable [and scary])
YMMV
doug
I know the compotition of modern standard primer but to get the lead syphnate is quite difficult and more dangerous to make than I would like...
In fact I know a "survival" non corrosive priming mixture but I dont really know how to mix it yet ... (i know it need to be wet lol)
Yes those are fairly easy to make but one its toxic and the other worst... corrosive! lol
My plan B are the mercury fulminate mix
But I have to wait until the weekend to have some time ...
In fact I know a "survival" non corrosive priming mixture but I dont really know how to mix it yet ... (i know it need to be wet lol)
Yes those are fairly easy to make but one its toxic and the other worst... corrosive! lol
My plan B are the mercury fulminate mix
But I have to wait until the weekend to have some time ...
Doug
you seems to have some knowledge about priming mixtures ... where did you work? Can you explain something more detailed about making priming mixture ? like where did you get the components? Cost of components ? How much mix would be necessary to blow my house?(not a joke) and if a make my mixture in a limited qualitative for example for 500 primers what kind of danger I'm facing?
I have made some black gunpowder in the past but just for experiment since I don't have a muzzle loader...
you seems to have some knowledge about priming mixtures ... where did you work? Can you explain something more detailed about making priming mixture ? like where did you get the components? Cost of components ? How much mix would be necessary to blow my house?(not a joke) and if a make my mixture in a limited qualitative for example for 500 primers what kind of danger I'm facing?
I have made some black gunpowder in the past but just for experiment since I don't have a muzzle loader...
MutinousDoug
Member
Nick,
I worked for an outfit called OEA which stood for: Ordnance Engineering Associates. As you might guess, we made ordnance devices for mostly the Gov't but also contracted directly with aircraft manufacturers, etc. Most of what we built were small sequencing devices or single use devices such as time delays, pin pullers or various acuators. One of our subsidiaries specialized in detonation cord and shaped charge cord for cutting escape hatches on aircraft like the F-15 or F-111. We made the gas inflators for many commercial airliner escape slides.
From time to time we were contracted to manufacture ordnance primers like the M-24 for devices such as ours. Many of our devices used off-the-shelf propellants (many however not available [or useful] to the general shooting public) and some we had to manufacture or mix ourselves, such as delay and priming mixes.
I was more involved with the mechanical side of device and machine design, while the propellant mixes were the purview of our chemists and chemical engineers so my knowledge of energetic materials is not first hand.
Mixes and propellant that was considered a class I or II explosive was handled whenever possible in a slurry of hexane to desensitize it from friction and static electricity. Hexane is of course flammable but at least when it ignited, the operator had a few second to evacuate the station before the hexane burned off and the mix went high order.
All work was performed behind steel or plexiglass shields so that exposure was limited as much as possible.
The operators were never exposed to more than a few hundred primers or equivalent mix (probably less) at a time. When one batch was completed, it was pushed through a panel before a second batch was introduced to the assembly station.
When we got into making initiators for automotive airbags, where we made 10,000+ initiators a day, we had an incident and fire that resulted in about 5 lbs of zirconium potassium perchlorate (inappropriately stored in a work bay) go up. Even though the bay had only 3 concrete walls (the roof and back wall being a tin "blowout" panel). It cracked the 24" reinforced concrete side wall. Damage to the wall was from the shock wave produced by detonation and occurred before any pressure reached the blow-out panels which bulged but didn't actually blow out.
The operator had about 90 seconds to evacuate and was on the phone reporting the fire when the mix went high order.
I worked for an outfit called OEA which stood for: Ordnance Engineering Associates. As you might guess, we made ordnance devices for mostly the Gov't but also contracted directly with aircraft manufacturers, etc. Most of what we built were small sequencing devices or single use devices such as time delays, pin pullers or various acuators. One of our subsidiaries specialized in detonation cord and shaped charge cord for cutting escape hatches on aircraft like the F-15 or F-111. We made the gas inflators for many commercial airliner escape slides.
From time to time we were contracted to manufacture ordnance primers like the M-24 for devices such as ours. Many of our devices used off-the-shelf propellants (many however not available [or useful] to the general shooting public) and some we had to manufacture or mix ourselves, such as delay and priming mixes.
I was more involved with the mechanical side of device and machine design, while the propellant mixes were the purview of our chemists and chemical engineers so my knowledge of energetic materials is not first hand.
Mixes and propellant that was considered a class I or II explosive was handled whenever possible in a slurry of hexane to desensitize it from friction and static electricity. Hexane is of course flammable but at least when it ignited, the operator had a few second to evacuate the station before the hexane burned off and the mix went high order.
All work was performed behind steel or plexiglass shields so that exposure was limited as much as possible.
The operators were never exposed to more than a few hundred primers or equivalent mix (probably less) at a time. When one batch was completed, it was pushed through a panel before a second batch was introduced to the assembly station.
When we got into making initiators for automotive airbags, where we made 10,000+ initiators a day, we had an incident and fire that resulted in about 5 lbs of zirconium potassium perchlorate (inappropriately stored in a work bay) go up. Even though the bay had only 3 concrete walls (the roof and back wall being a tin "blowout" panel). It cracked the 24" reinforced concrete side wall. Damage to the wall was from the shock wave produced by detonation and occurred before any pressure reached the blow-out panels which bulged but didn't actually blow out.
The operator had about 90 seconds to evacuate and was on the phone reporting the fire when the mix went high order.
Cosmoline
Member
Worse than that. If you screw up you don't have hands anymore. Maybe eyes either. So the potential toxic effects of mercury or corrosive effects of perchlorates are the least of your worries. This sort of experimentation calls for a maximum of safeguards and a minimum of novelty. Other folks have already lost their fingers over the last 200 years. So it's not a bad idea to copy as precisely as possible, in as small a batch as possible, the conclusions that have already been reached regarding the best way to do this. It's not as fun as playing around with smokeless powder in the hopes of unleashing its inner nitro demon, but it's a lot safer. Really, it's the only way to go with this sort of thing.
I know that I'm facing a huge risk trying this that's why I'm going to limit my components to the very less minimum possible, Ill start with just enough to fill 10 or so primer to be in a safer manner
Do you really think that making the priming mix using mercury fulminate its safer than trying to make a paste from gunpowder ? I decide to start with turning the gunpowder into a paste because I knew that it explodes upon impact(also have quite a lot of it) and I though it would be more safe also since it seems to be less sensitive than most priming mixes...
PD: Before Many other people star to advice about the danger I'm taking here, please note that I'm aware of it
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