Homemade BP

[barnetmill]

I hate telling someone not to do something and as long as your are far away from me it is really not my concern. As had already been mentioned there is considerable danger from trying to make your own black powder. Technically it will likely be difficult to make a product as good as can you buy.

I have toured powder plants that made military smokeless powders which is different of course. However, it was interesting to see what measures they went to, to avoid sparks and the blast zones between different operations. There are many historical accounts of powder mills blowing up. How much do you think you can save and what is your time worth? Will your fire insurance cover the loss of structures from making your own powder? At least do not make the power anywhere near your house. Use a separate building and learn all you can prior to starting out.

Good luck

 

[scrat]

i have made it before i always take the necessary safety precautions. then i only make very small batches. nothing over 1/2lbs. My powder is wet 90% of the time until i am done.

 

[BlackNet]

This site is of interest. http://www.thegreenman.me.uk/pfp/bp.html Worth noting the ratio of the mix and that should affect fps and other areas as well.

 

[Pulp]

barnett, I highly doubt my 4 ounce batches will level the city block I live on. I've seen 1 pound cans deliberately set off, and it's really not that impressive. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to be astraddle of a can when it went off, but it's just not that big of a bang.

 

[scrat]

same thing here i usually make just enough to fill up a powder flask. then im good.

 

[MCgunner]

Probably a good idea to keep the stores of powder small. Good advice, guys. Thanks.

 

[Hawkeye748]

Suggest you use brass tools and gear instead of steel or iron in the process. Brass will not spark and can give you an extra measure of safety. You can put quite a bit of preasure on the BP this way.

I have made BP before and it worked okay, but I will buy it until I can't get it.

 

[alemonkey]

I was thinking about using some aluminum screen for the corning process, which I don't believe will spark.