Home made black powder

[Owens]

At the first thought, this doesn't sound like a good idea. I am not saying do it. For those that have an enquiring mind and want to know though...

This link was sent to me. Found it very interesting. This guy seems to know what he is talking about.

www.musketeer.ch/blackpowder/homemade_bp.html

Hope it answers a few questions. It did for me. You may want to take a look at his information on his "proofing mortar".

Owens

 

[Tommygunn]

Many years ago when I was in high school I tried to make blackpowder. It didn't work, because while I knew the ingredients and the proportions, I didn't know the process of making it and preparing it.
Probably a good thing ... when I think back on it .... ;-)

 

[Aries-]

heh. wish i could make black powder up here. its hard to find goex these days.

but cant get pure sulfer or salt peter up here. its all mixed into a cream at the pharmacy. and any other powdered sulfer you buy has corn starch mixed with it to keep it from burning.

 

[Owens]

Should be able to get potassium nitrate from a chemical supply house. As to sulfur, try looking at a garden shop or an animal health shop. Someplace that livestock ranchers would buy their cattle remedies. I know my dad has gotten it and we would mix it into a slurry and add to other potions to use as a spray on our cattle for flies and such.

Just an idea.

 

[Geno]

Seems more economical to buy it. I mean, a good lawyer will probably charge you $100.00 / hour or more.

 

[Iggy]

You might want to read up on how many times the DuPont and other Powder mills blew up while producing black powder....

 

[Geno]

Oh yes! That is why we had an H4831 shortage a few years back...ka boooomie!

 

[Owens]

Ka Blewie!!!
Those accidents and such is EXACTLY why I don't plan to do such. I just thought it was an interesting read. Interesting process. The guy's page that the link is to also goes into all the details of making your own salt peter. He has evidently made quite a study of the process. But... the whole time I'm reading it, I wonder how much longer he is for this world.

 

[Steve499]

I've shot home made black powder given to me by a friend who made several batches back in the 70s. I wasn't inquisitive enough at the time to get the details of his manufacturing process from him since factory black was really cheap and I thought, even as a 20 something kid, that he was asking for trouble. But, he's still 'unblowed up' as far as I know ( we both moved away).

The power from each batch seemed to vary considerably and his home made powder produced more fouling than the factory stuff I was shooting then. I believe, however, if I could get SOMEONE ELSE to make it, I'd still prefer home made black of the quality his was to the subs out now, even though the subs are undoubtedly superior in most if not all ways. They still ain't black powder!

 

[ky_man]

Why bother to make it if you can buy it so cheaply? In my opinion, it's not worth the risk. Are you interested in making BP from a historical perspective? If so, hook up with a local BP club and I'm sure one of their members is actively making the stuff. Go to the NMLRA website and get a copy of the latest MuzzleBlasts magazine to find a local club. While you are on the NMLRA site, join up!

http://www.nmlra.org/index.asp

I made BP once or twice when I was a teen, and it "combusted" OK. I left some nice burn marks on my driveway that are still there years later, thanks to my experiments, and my folks were not surprisingly pi$$ed at the destruction of their property. Took way too long to manufacture in retrospect.

Commercial GOEX BP will "flash", not burn, in the open air because it has been properly manufactured.

Check out the book "Foxfire 5" if you are interested in the old methods of making black powder from sulfur, urine and tree branches.

 

[AntiqueCollector]

I think it's a very good skill to have, if for any reason (including heavy govt. restrictions) BP or even smokeless powder gets hard to get. That said, make a very small batch if you do it, not even a pound at a time IMHO, and read carefully about making it first. You won't get consistency but you can get okay powder.

 

[SWC Bonfire]

That was a great website. It's amazing the amount of information that is available on the internet.

 

[ky_man]

My only question for you, if you plan on making your own in a SHTF situation, is where are you going to get the raw materials? It would be better to stockpile pre-made BP in this case, as it lasts forever.

Alternatively, you can make propellant with other chemicals, including sugar and an oxidizer that may work in a pinch. For $15/can I prefer to buy it. My time is too valuable to waste making BP. But if you are the kind of person who prefers to make the shovel rather than dig the hole, go right ahead.

BTW, here's the Amazon link to Foxfire 5:

http://www.amazon.com/Foxfire-5-Inc-Fund/dp/0385143087

If you really want to know how to make it in a pinch, get this book. It shows you how to save your urine and process it to make potassium nitrate by filtering calcium nitrate through campfire ashes, etc. You would still need a source of sulfur!

 

[BigBlock]

I wouldn't think making a small batch would be that dangerous. If it's not in a confined space, black powder does not explode. Pour a little pile of it on the ground and light it, you'll just get a "woooosh" and some smoke. If that went off while you were making it in a small batch I think you'd only lose your eyebrows for a while...

 

[Joe Demko]

If you are in a situation where, somehow, making your own BP is a necessity, the lack of consistency in the final product is going to work against you. Knowing where your gun throws with a projectile of given weight is possible only with a propellant of known properties. Otherwise, each time you make a new batch of BP you have to sight in all over again. In a situation where you have to make your own BP, lead will also be at a premium I daresay. It probably won't be all that advisable to be making a lot of smoke and racket sighting in.
I've made my own BP as an exercise in chemistry. It was fun, but in the long run if you are worried about having powder the better plan is just to buy and properly store a heap of it now.

 

[ky_man]

Aires - powderinc.com sells goes, schetzen, swiss and kik for good prices. You can get GOEX black powder delivered to you for $18.40/can, including the shipping and hazmat fee, if you buy 5 cans min.


http://www.powderinc.com/catalog/order.htm


Buy 50 lbs of your favorite, and unless you shoot all day every day, this amount will last you quite a while! AT $11.75/can, you can't go wrong!

 

[Timthinker]

Some years ago, I purchased a small book on how to manufacture blackpowder and enjoyed reading it solely for informational purposes. One memorable line in that book stated that you should work with "survivable amounts" only in the manufacturing process. This should serve as a cautionary note to our do-it-yourselfers. Given the reasonable price of BP and its substitutes, homemade "holy smoke" is not worth the effort and risk in my opinion. If you feel impelled to do it anyway, remember to work with small amounts and wear protective eyewear.


Timthinker

 

[Tommygunn]

I was thinking about this thread and remembering the episode of STAR TREK titled "Arena" where Kirk was stuck on this planetoid with the Gorn, and found a large bamboo tube from which he made a primitive cannon, and then stuffed sulpher, charcoal, and saltpeter down the barrel separatly and managed to incapacitate the dinosaurian Gorn.
Um .... somehow I don't think his chemistry was quite right, there.

 

[jacobhh]

Thanks for that web address. I can't see trying it personally but
the subject comes up often enough it's nice to have info on it readily
available. In a SHTF scenario it's more practical to stash some modern
stuff for use in whatever is left of your own days and then maybe
bury some black for your children or grandchildren. Unfortunately if
you rely on your smokepole your going to be seriously outgunned by
the competitioion for many years. In the eventuality of government
ban you 're better off with the buried brand name stuff yourself and
you get to keep your eyebrows.

 

[DrLaw]

Why, don't you all know? Making your own black powder is super easy.

I saw Captain Kirk do it while fighting the 'Gorn' on TV. Even used a bamboo gun to shoot it in.

The Doc is out now

(wondering if Trekkies out there really think that is how easy it is)

 

[Tommygunn]

Why, don't you all know? Making your own black powder is super easy.

I saw Captain Kirk do it while fighting the 'Gorn' on TV. Even used a bamboo gun to shoot it in.

The Doc is out now

(wondering if Trekkies out there really think that is how easy it is)

:banghead: See post 18!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[campbell]

Amateur pyrotechnics is a lot of fun.

First, if you're going to grind your own blackpowder, do it properly with a ball mill using non sparking grinding media like hardened lead. Second, I would be leery of making your own ingredients. Order quality from a good supplier like Skylighter.

Like any other hobby, do some reading first. Look through the book section at Skylighter.

 

[alsaqr]

In the early 1970s i was an Army EOD man and had the pleasure of working with an old EOD soldier who was a real renaissance kind of guy. Bennie made high explosives from recipes in a book called "Explosives Like Grandpa Used To Make." He taught me how to make real corned black powder.

When black powder is made by just mixing the ingredients it is called serpentine powder and is not very powerful at all. Much of the force is lost through the cannon touch hole. The ingredients easily separate.

Grained black powder is called corn powder. To make corn powder the mixture has to be wetted to make a paste. Then a non-sparking wheel like a grind stone is rolled over it until it is dry. You end up with a big hard black cookie. Then it has to be broken up and sieved.

Do not attempt to make black powder, it ain't worth it. In about 1982 i was making a small quantity of serpentine powder for a bomb disposal class when it flared up and burned my arms pretty good. Had cotton gloves on that kept my hands from being burned.

Napoleon's army had black powder for cannon that was extruded into perforated grains like Pyrodex pellets.

 

[DrLaw]

See post 18!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My bad, I missed that one completely! :banghead:

The Doc is out and embarassed now.

 

[AntiqueCollector]

You would still need a source of sulfur!

The sulpher can be left out in a pinch, and it actually results in a powder that gives off less smoke and fouling, but is harder to ignite and not good for flintlocks, only a good percussion gun.