My quest for the best black powder

[Fly]

I have only been in the hobby of pyrotechnics for about four months.What drew me to it was researching home made black powder.

You see I have shot muzzle loaders for years.Being bp is harder each day to find in gun shops I thought I would try my hand in making

my own.

 

Well in my search I found this great hobby & here I'm.I know there has been volumes written on this subject & I have most likely read

hundreds.Woods,Willow, Maple,Balsa ect.Corn,CVA ect.I have not & most likely will not try CVA bp.I have ball milled 12 hours at a

time, used willow & pressed my powder with out coming even close to Goex.

 

I have been testing my lift powder in a mortar & using a golf ball.It's not that I'm opposed to using Goex for lift, for I most likely will for

consistency from now on.But dad gum it, I know I can make better than I have been.

 

I know each of you have been on this same quest in the past.Can you share some of your know how on this subject.

 

Fly

 

 

[LittleOsama]

Did you make your own charcoal (if you bout it who knows what it actually might be). If you made it yourself then how did you charr it, you need to take it off the fire when there are no gasses at all coming from container (better yet 5 minutes after gasses stop). when i first started to make BP i also tried one willow that is growing next to my pond and it came out worst then BBQ charcoal . I dunno exactly why, maybe it's the wetly ground tree grew, maybe it was the wrong species of willow (there are over 400 different species in world and not all make good bp), maybe i charred it wrong then - who knows exactly, bottom line is i had no luck with it then and i haven't tried it again.

If you have that small commercial mill (and 50% of jar is filled with media) then for fast powder 12h is minimum, i'd suggest trying 24h. Altho i never used it myself i've seen a pretty good video review of it and it's all but efficient. Dry your components before milling if necessary (moisture makes it stick to sides of jar).

Add 5% water to your dry meal before pressing/ramming it.

Moisture also kills BP, so make sure you have dried it properly.

[Fly]

I have done everything to the letter I have read to do.I did not over cook it.But I made up some white pine & plan on trying that.It's

crazy,for all I have read & the reports I hear it must be my coal.There is a down silver maple down the road I may cut up & try

next.

 

But for now I'm going to work with this white pine.Your point on it may be the tree I used make's me think that may well be it.I know

the coal is everything in good BP.I have alot of black willow around & later might try another willow tree down the line.I will report back

my findings.

Fly

[Algenco]

could it be that you used "green" wood?

I haven'tcooked my first batch of coal yet, but I think well seasoned wood would be best

[LittleOsama]

What i meant to say about charring your own charcoal is that you better 'overcook' it. If there are still some gasses escaping it's not ready. While back i did some testing with same patch of pine tree i had. I made brown charcoal (undercooked so to speak) and other patch i made i let it char maybe 10 minutes after gasses stopped coming (most would possibly consider this over-charred).

Anyway here's how those charcoals behaved in BP:

'overcooked': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YIVZDRzobM

'undercooked': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kKLUiDF_qw

So if you make your own charcoal don't be concerned about 'over-charring', it's the opposite that kills your BP. There are of course lot of people who come and talk about volatiles etc, but i wonder how many of them are actually made BP or had a chance to compare theirs to commercial BP (based on what i've seen on youtube everything that burns faster then modern smokless gunpowder is labeled super fast homemade BP).

 

If you make (and share) a video of 1 meter linear burn test of some small grain Goex powder i can share my infinite wisdom about making BP trough msn or skype.

[optimus]

'overcooked': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YIVZDRzobM

'undercooked': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kKLUiDF_qw

 

Did you not do a test inbetween?

 

Like, 'normally cooked'?

[LittleOsama]

Did you not do a test inbetween?

 

Like, 'normally cooked'?

Define 'normally cooked'. To me it's when there are no gasses coming from tin can (no smoke/no flame/no colorless gas).

For the sake of science i can do a test. I char one can as usual and other will be removed from fire whenever most people think i should remove it. It will be same patch of wood and same temperature etc (as both cans will be side by side), only variable will be charring time. Later i will make make BP of those 2 charcoals and see what we have.

Edited July 18, 2010 by LittleOsama

[Mumbles]

It's impossible to overcook charcoal without trying. I've left it on the fire for at least an hour after it was "done" in the past. The charcoal comes out fine, and is often easier to crush as there is NO brown wood left. I've heard a lot of theories on what makes black powder good. Most are not substantiated with any real evidence. I've heard that white pine makes BP that just about approximated Goex, at least as far as firework usage goes. Approximately the same lift and break usage.

 

If your powder is caking at all in the mill, you may want to stop it every few hours to break it up. It will allow more efficient milling.

 

It sounds like you have appropriate woods. I'm sure you've said it elsewhere, but what is the source for your KNO3, Sulfur, and dextrin/binder? I believe charcoal to be the biggest variable, but every little bit helps from everything else.