usatrapper Posted November 26, 2009 Posted November 26, 2009 How do you guys make your BP, how do you granulate it? I make mine by mixing the composition in a tupperware container by shaking it and shaking it with the lid on. I then put it in my ball mill with 2 dollars worth of nickels. To granulate it i wet it with liquid laundry starch spray and then push it through a strainer.
Twotails Posted November 26, 2009 Posted November 26, 2009 (edited) Hmm, The spray works? I though only liquid would work. I mill each chemical in a coffee grinder (diffrent grinders for diffrent chemicals) then Put it into my ball mill, and granulate it with Red gum. Seems to suit my needs fine. Edited November 26, 2009 by Twotails
KruseMissile Posted November 26, 2009 Posted November 26, 2009 i screen my chemicals once with dextrin, throw into the mill, and then add a water/alcohol mixture to granulate. Once dry i screen it for the large, medium, and small size granules.
Arthur Posted November 26, 2009 Posted November 26, 2009 Try a cheese grater! Mix the dough of milled meal with a little water and grate through a cheese grater! They are easier to clean than a mesh and stronger too.
Seymour Posted November 26, 2009 Posted November 26, 2009 I'll second a cheese grater. I like the substantially sized grains that I get.
Ventsi Posted November 26, 2009 Posted November 26, 2009 I'll have to try this , do you guys just use the wet dough and just grate it trough the finer strain? I would think the grains would be pretty brittle b/c of their shape though the flakes could take fire a lot better.
Arthur Posted November 26, 2009 Posted November 26, 2009 (edited) Please don't use money as media! Firstly it's drastically inefficient second it could be a major offence -defacing coin of the state currency. Mill media is lead balls or chosen ceramic balls. Strongly suggest that you read ALL the other BP threads on the forum. There are several and all in great detail. Edited November 26, 2009 by Arthur
scarbelly Posted November 27, 2009 Posted November 27, 2009 ... it could be a major offence -defacing coin of the state currency. Any government agent that takes the time and effort to arrest someone for wasting two dollars worth of coins really is not doing their job properly. If they come into your lab/workshop, and that is your biggest worry - I think you have your priorities confused.
Richtee Posted November 27, 2009 Posted November 27, 2009 (edited) Any government agent that takes the time and effort to arrest someone for wasting two dollars worth of coins really is not doing their job properly. If they come into your lab/workshop, and that is your biggest worry - I think you have your priorities confused.No..I think THEY have THEIR priorities confused. You would be amazed.... Now they be in the door- Edited November 27, 2009 by Richtee
scarbelly Posted November 27, 2009 Posted November 27, 2009 I guess that's true when you take a look at all of the things the government does....
usatrapper Posted November 28, 2009 Author Posted November 28, 2009 (edited) I hope your joking.... lol anyone that finds that offensive is stupid because the money is not being wasted or damaged in any way. Edited November 28, 2009 by usatrapper
homebrewed77 Posted November 28, 2009 Posted November 28, 2009 Nickel's? how many month's does it take to come up with good BP? You could just grab a box or two of 50 cal round ball's..But hey...Thay's just me..I'm one of those "stupid people"....
usatrapper Posted November 28, 2009 Author Posted November 28, 2009 (edited) Nickel's? how many month's does it take to come up with good BP? You could just grab a box or two of 50 cal round ball's..But hey...Thay's just me..I'm one of those "stupid people".... Im not saying theres anything wrong with that method.. In fact its probobly better, I just cant get them, Edited November 28, 2009 by usatrapper
Arthur Posted November 28, 2009 Posted November 28, 2009 1/ If a LEO comes to your house looking for a bomb factory they will not be polite and discrete! If they do NOT find anything they will be pissed off and really looking and having a ball mill full of federal currency could be the only thing thay can find. 2/ coins or washers are really poor for mill media, you really do need spheres or cylinders, and you need dense ones as the milling happens where the media rubs together. If you cannot find lead musket balls or round lead fishing weights, then get some lead from a scrapyard and a musket ball mould or a fishing weight mould and cast your own.
homebrewed77 Posted November 28, 2009 Posted November 28, 2009 Im not saying theres anything wrong with that method.. In fact its probobly better, I just cant get them, Sure ya can get em..cabela's...Bass pro shop's..and local gun store's..cheaper then dirt dot com...Midwest shooter's...There's hundred's of place's...wallyworld...the list go's on and on.
Arthur Posted November 28, 2009 Posted November 28, 2009 To me there is a reason for the traditional methods, Mostly if you pick the most used method you are picking the one thet most people have tested before you, so it could be the safest. With pyro it's all about degree if it didn't burn we wouldn't want it, but we don't want to be burned.
BottomShot Posted November 29, 2009 Posted November 29, 2009 i screen my chemicals once with dextrin, throw into the mill, and then add a water/alcohol mixture to granulate. Once dry i screen it for the large, medium, and small size granules. Mine is very similar except that I don't screen my materials. Just add them to the mill. I mainly use those screen that you use in the kitchen to stop grease from splattering from a skillet to granulate.
Coldstl Posted November 29, 2009 Posted November 29, 2009 (edited) I read the comments on cannonfuse, and skylighter, about using nickles/quarters, and gave it a try. Then I bought some .50 cal lead shot and tried it as well. I made a green mix and divided it in half for this test. Half for the coin media, and half for the lead media. I ran the coin media trial for 14hours, and the lead media trial for 9 hours. The difference, IMO, was night and day. Using coins as media sucks. It is slower and left some tiny white residue (beads) behind. The lead media milled BP was noticably faster and didn't leave any residue. Edited November 29, 2009 by Coldstl
Swede Posted December 1, 2009 Posted December 1, 2009 We've been down this road with soft lead media before. Most round lead balls marketed as muzzle-loading projectiles are dead-soft lead, and they WILL erode at a terrific rate. If you have a decent balance or scale, try weighing 10 or 20 balls before and after milling BP, and calculate the amount of lead added to the BP. I think you might find that a kilo of BP has several grams of pure lead added to it. Think of the smoke... lead will vaporize and be distributed as lead oxides and possibly metallic lead in the smoke your display creates. People LOVE the smell of that smoke, and often go out of their way to get a good whiff. All I'm saying is that soft lead is not the best choice, IMO. Get some brass or better stainless steel rod, a hacksaw, and have at it. It is labor-intensive, but you'll have superior media and no toxicity concerns. Pyrotechnology has enough hazards without adding lead toxicity to the mix. Or, alloy the soft lead to make it hard, and it should work well with less erosion.
AdmiralDonSnider Posted December 1, 2009 Posted December 1, 2009 We've been down this road with soft lead media before. Most round lead balls marketed as muzzle-loading projectiles are dead-soft lead, and they WILL erode at a terrific rate. If you have a decent balance or scale, try weighing 10 or 20 balls before and after milling BP, and calculate the amount of lead added to the BP. I think you might find that a kilo of BP has several grams of pure lead added to it. Swede is right. The erosion is even more severe than he assumed. I´m currently using lead media bought in a gun shop in the czech republic. I´m usually milling about 130 grams of C/S and the scale constantly displays about 4-6 grams more after only two hours of milling! The eroded lead not only is toxic but also spoils composition ratios to a certain extent. I´ll try to switch to antimony hardened lead soon, although I guess I´ll have to cast my own.
BadDroid Posted December 2, 2009 Posted December 2, 2009 Back on the topic of ricing, I've heard somewhere that if you "grate" the lump of BP against screen, it will result in weaker granules, but if you rather push it through the resulting granules will be harder and more efficient.
dagabu Posted December 2, 2009 Posted December 2, 2009 Please don't use money as media! Firstly it's drastically inefficient second it could be a major offence -defacing coin of the state currency. Mill media is lead balls or chosen ceramic balls. Strongly suggest that you read ALL the other BP threads on the forum. There are several and all in great detail. Damn!! Then my buddy Val is going to the poky!! It is not against the law to deface coins, you cant make your own currency but you can destroy it any way you wish... legally. I agree with the rest, the shear idea is not viable, It will work but tumbling is by far more efficient. D
dagabu Posted December 2, 2009 Posted December 2, 2009 Swede is right. The erosion is even more severe than he assumed. I´m currently using lead media bought in a gun shop in the czech republic. I´m usually milling about 130 grams of C/S and the scale constantly displays about 4-6 grams more after only two hours of milling! The eroded lead not only is toxic but also spoils composition ratios to a certain extent. I´ll try to switch to antimony hardened lead soon, although I guess I´ll have to cast my own. If you cast your own, cut pieces of copper tubing and fill them with wheel weight lead, the copper is very resistant to wear and the lead provides the weight. D
Ventsi Posted December 2, 2009 Posted December 2, 2009 (edited) AFAIK defacing currency is not illegal, if however it lowers the value its illegal , like crushing/ melting coins. If however the currency is defaced in a way that the value of the said amount of currency is raised it is legal, say you drill holes through 50 pennies , make a necklace and sell it for $2, that would be legal.Don't take my word for it, but this I was told, and please take the time to research before saying :-"This is wrong , you suck! @#$%##" I would think that a whole bunch of jumbled up blackened coins within a pound of BP would definitely be considered lowering the value, unless you intended to sell them as collector's items(pun intended). Edited December 2, 2009 by Ventsi
dagabu Posted December 2, 2009 Posted December 2, 2009 Back on the topic of ricing, I've heard somewhere that if you "grate" the lump of BP against screen, it will result in weaker granules, but if you rather push it through the resulting granules will be harder and more efficient. BP: 75:15:10, all ingredients are blade milled, screened three times (20 mesh), add 4% Red Gum, 1% CMC, ball mill for 4 hours, Denatured alcohol until it will hold in a ball shape, add 10% water (activates the CMC) force through 1/4 hardware cloth. Lift, large shell break, rocket fuel, the works! D
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