MadMat Posted August 2, 2015 Posted August 2, 2015 (edited) Had a strange thing happen today after a ball mill run of some BP. I found hard balls of mill dust. They varied from approx. 1/4 to 3/4". They can be crushed between the fingers, but you have to squeeze like all hell to do it. Tried test burning a smaller one (1/2) it went up fairly quick. Test burning the powder; a line of it about the size of a cigarette burns up in less than 2 sec (as counted out) and leaves just a few pinpricks of residue. Anyone have this happen to them? This is only about the fifth batch of BP I've made, so I definately haven't seen it all. Edited August 2, 2015 by MadMat
LiamPyro Posted August 3, 2015 Posted August 3, 2015 Your chemicals are probably just slightly damp. I've had this happen when milling sugar, except the balls were larger and they encased my media, plus they were super hard (like ceramic).
Andres1511 Posted August 3, 2015 Posted August 3, 2015 I've had this too, they're probably indeed a little bit humid. I had to crush my balls between two wooden plates (OMG ).They were approximatly 1 inch.... But, the meal was fast !
MadMat Posted August 3, 2015 Author Posted August 3, 2015 Thanks. It just seemed a little strange, but I guess I am in for more of that as I go along. Just for shits and giggles I lit up another of the small "chunks" it burned fast enough to dance around, so I guess I will just crush up the balls, mix the whole mess up good and corn it.
fckiamdead Posted August 3, 2015 Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) Had a strange thing happen today after a ball mill run of some BP. I found hard balls of mill dust. They varied from approx. 1/4 to 3/4". They can be crushed between the fingers, but you have to squeeze like all hell to do it. Tried test burning a smaller one (1/2) it went up fairly quick. Test burning the powder; a line of it about the size of a cigarette burns up in less than 2 sec (as counted out) and leaves just a few pinpricks of residue. Anyone have this happen to them? This is only about the fifth batch of BP I've made, so I definately haven't seen it all.Moisture does that. To find out whey the ball/balls, then "dry it" and whey again. Regards Edited August 3, 2015 by fckiamdead
MadMat Posted August 3, 2015 Author Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) Actually, the mystery has been solved, its not moisture, and I dont think its very good. My girlfriend's son thought he was helping me out by loading the lead balls into my mill. Well, unknowingly, he put brand new balls that hadn't been cleaned of wax/oil yet. On the bright side, this meal burns pretty dam fast. I am wondering if there is a solvent that I could wash the meal out with that wouldn't dissolve the sulfur. Or maybe I'll just screen/grind (carefully!) everything, press it and see what happens. I'm kinda itching to try out my new press. I fabricated a fixture that fits on a hydraulic floor jack. Edited August 3, 2015 by MadMat
Mumbles Posted August 3, 2015 Posted August 3, 2015 Sulfur doesn't dissolve in much. You're mostly limited to carbon disulfide and toluene. Even toluene is pretty poor at room temperature. White gas or coleman's fuel (same things) should take care of all the oil if you're concerned. I'm not sure what works on the type of wax you use. Sounds like you're probably fine even with the little bit of oil or wax in there.
MadMat Posted August 3, 2015 Author Posted August 3, 2015 The wax/oil is whatever the manufacturer uses (I used 50 caliper lead balls for black powder guns). This was kinda disappointing since it was the first batch of BP I made with my homemade willow charcoal. I really wanted to get an idea of how this charcoal performed (dam Murphy's law strikes again). Then again, maybe this charcoal is real good and made up for the wax/oil contamination as this meal is pretty hot stuff.
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