taiwanluthiers Posted June 8, 2012 Posted June 8, 2012 Well, once I got the whole oxidizer deal settled (turns out it's easier to get KN, cheaply too) now I am turning to charcoals... I could order willow charcoal powder from suppliers on ebay, as well as some of the more exotic fuels/binders (to Taiwan) like Parlon, Magalium, etc. but I was wondering, Most of the charcoals used in Taiwan for BBQ's are usually made from either Acacia, Longan, or Lychee. Has anyone tried those charcoals and how do they work as far as black powder is concerned? I like to ask before I buy a bunch of them...
Potassiumchlorate Posted June 8, 2012 Posted June 8, 2012 I actually think that any charcoal would do with a really good ballmill, though softwood charcoal is the most reactive. Willow is probably the best to use, if you don't have a really effective ballmill.
Mumbles Posted June 8, 2012 Posted June 8, 2012 I've been having trouble finding much information on the properties of the wood itself. Generally the best performing woods are relatively light and come from fast growing trees. You may want to check around where you live and see what they use for general purpose building lumber. It usually fits the above criteria of being lightweight and fast growing. The the few species generally used around the US all make pretty good BP on par with commercial powder.
bob Posted June 8, 2012 Posted June 8, 2012 I actually think that any charcoal would do with a really good ballmill, though softwood charcoal is the most reactive. Willow is probably the best to use, if you don't have a really effective ballmill.I don't think this is true well I know this is not true I have tried about 12 diffrent kinds of wood and I have gotting some stuff that's pretty good and other stuff that does not even burn! so far 3 have burnt about as good as water and the rest have been ok but white poplar does seem to be good the best I have ever made Adam
mikeee Posted June 9, 2012 Posted June 9, 2012 The question of soft woods comes up again, I have another hobby which allows me a steady supply of cork "wood". Can anyone tell me if I can make a quality charcoal out of cork?Has anyone made "Pyro" charcoal out of cork wood, pretty soft wood/bark.I would like to know if it is worth a try.I will give it a try if anyone thinks it is worth the time!!! Mikeee
Potassiumchlorate Posted June 9, 2012 Posted June 9, 2012 (edited) I don't think this is true well I know this is not true I have tried about 12 diffrent kinds of wood and I have gotting some stuff that's pretty good and other stuff that does not even burn! so far 3 have burnt about as good as water and the rest have been ok but white poplar does seem to be good the best I have ever made Adam OK, I didn't express myself very clear. I think that, for example, pine or oak would be acceptable as lift or fuel for endburners, if the charcoal was first milled much longer than with softwood, say up to 12 hours or so. I have used BBQ charcoal, which did contain alder and willow but also birch, but it made it pretty well, when milled just one hour extra on its own after being crushed to 10 mesh or so. Birch is rather soft too, but it's not as good as alder and willow. "Coarsely" milled charcoal performs remarkably better in H3, though, for example. I have both grapevine and willow from FREAKYDUTCHMEN. Willow performs better in H3, and my H3 is only sieved together and moistened with water on the rice hulls and cotton seeds. Edited June 9, 2012 by Potassiumchlorate
pyrodundee Posted June 9, 2012 Posted June 9, 2012 Don't know if this will help? http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/wood-density-d_40.html I wasted ages on generic bbq charcoal - sorting for lightness, grinding,ballmilling for many hours and even went as far as compressing to 1.7g/cc and corning. This ended up with an ok result. Next I spent a few minutes collecting some fallen willow branches at the side of the road, charcoaled it in a tin on a portable gas stove and popped it in the ball mill. ONE hour in the mill beats the speed of the previous charcoal by a big margin, and the same treatment (extended milling and compressing/corning) gives me crazy fast bp that I am super proud of. I guess you could weigh some small offcuts of each timber you have available (standard sized pieces) and start with the lightest weight timber.
taiwanluthiers Posted June 9, 2012 Author Posted June 9, 2012 Too bad willow doesn't grow in Taiwan, otherwise I would have found some branches and charcoal that. The main trees here are fruit trees (there are a LOT of fruit trees with the most common bbq charcoal being Acacia, Longan, or Lychee) and then Lauan (a type of philippine mahogany) and a few others that are illegal to cut down. The softwoods that grow here are mainly Cypress and also Camphor. I guess I will give the normal bbq charcoal here a try (in America most charcoals are Briquettes which have been mixed with clay, otherwise its mosquite or pine) and see what kind of result it gives me. Otherwise I can order it... I mean it can't be illegal to ship charcoal especially if its solid as opposed to powdered. I bought some Al powder along with some other stuff (Kno3, sulphur, iron oxide) and all they have are 350 mesh. I mixed a very small test batch with the KP I got and it makes a very bright but not so fast flash. Used it to light some thermite I made. I was only making tiny quantities though, I need to make a ball mill before I can make more stuff. My instrument building isn't a hobby anymore, it's a job now.
Arthur Posted June 9, 2012 Posted June 9, 2012 What woods are used for the manufacture of your local resonant bodied string instruments? I'm thinking that in Europe things like fiddles and basses (string) are made from maple and pine, both make instrument panels and both make excellent charcoals for BP and other powders. If you have contact with makers of string instruments, their timber offcuts and carving waste may be just what you are looking for.
taiwanluthiers Posted June 9, 2012 Author Posted June 9, 2012 I don't know, for guitars and lute like instrument (such as the Pi Pa) that aren't crap mass produced instrument shaped objects, imported hardwood is used for the back and spruce is used for the top. I have plenty of them but I have not been in the business long enough to acquire a huge amount of them. Acacia is probably used as well. Logging is almost completely illegal in Taiwan due to the very high population density and the small size of the country.
Potassiumchlorate Posted June 9, 2012 Posted June 9, 2012 You can always buy some willow charcoal from the US or from Europe. That couldn't possibly be illegal.
taiwanluthiers Posted June 9, 2012 Author Posted June 9, 2012 Just horribly expensive once shipping is taken into account. Although I can probably order some other stuff that I can't seem to find at chem shops here like Parlon (no idea what it really is), Magalum powders, titanium powders...
Potassiumchlorate Posted June 9, 2012 Posted June 9, 2012 Just horribly expensive once shipping is taken into account. Although I can probably order some other stuff that I can't seem to find at chem shops here like Parlon (no idea what it really is), Magalum powders, titanium powders... The cost of charcoal pisses me off as well. I live in a country that consists of forests to >55% and I also have 100-150 trees right here in the garden. None of them are very good for really fast BP, though. So I order grapevine and willow charcoal over the internet, mostly from the Netherlands, where they have almost no forests at all. Quite an irony. But you must suffer for the art. Parlon is a kind of rubber, though it contains almost 70% chlorine, which makes it a good chlorine donor. Also, when you use pure magnesium, using the parlon as the binder will to a great degree, though not to 100%, protect the magnesium against corrosion.
taiwanluthiers Posted June 10, 2012 Author Posted June 10, 2012 The problem is in Taiwan there are language difficulties... like what is Parlon called in Taiwan (often there's a million names for one product and only one of them are in common usage). Took me a long time to figure them out sometimes.
Potassiumchlorate Posted June 10, 2012 Posted June 10, 2012 The problem is in Taiwan there are language difficulties... like what is Parlon called in Taiwan (often there's a million names for one product and only one of them are in common usage). Took me a long time to figure them out sometimes. Another name is pergut. Same with red gum. It also has many names: accaroides resin, red yacca gum etc etc.
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