Black Powder Thread #1

[Givat]

I thought it will be a good thing to open this thread again, so it will help to condense as much information on BP as we can.

 

And for my question, Do you use different mesh sizes BP as lift for different items or weights? If so what mesh for what use?

[Pretty green flame]

My BP granulation uses go as follows

 

10mesh for lifting aerial shells (mostly 2" ones, nothing bigger yet)

20mesh for lifting small cake inserts and roman candles

anything above that for breaking small shells up to 1.5" and anything larger is Meal D coated grass seeds.

 

BTW: Has anyone tried making BP out of Hemp rope charcoal. I recall reading something about it and it was supposed to make quite fast BP.

[FrKoNaLeaSh1010]

I once made charcoal out of a couple stems from female marijuana plants. I am pretty sure Hemp is the male marijuana plant however the female didn't really make any increase in speed noticeable. IIRC it burned with slightly more sparks and a little bit more residue left over than my ordered airfloat charcoal that is supposively willow. Speed was similar if not a little slower. This also might have been because it was my first time cooking up charcoal or not.

[competebeginner]

For those who are not sure what kind of charcoal to use I recomend alder. It burns very rapidly if you change the proportions of your bp to 70 20 10 and it is also very common as it is a weed tree

[Kilo_G]

If you want to make hemp charcoal, instead of breaking federal drug laws, you could look for a source of cheap hemp rope, just make sure it's 100% hemp and burn it down. May be pricey though, havn't checked hemp rope prices in a while.

 

EDIT:

 

Here is a place that has 100% unrefined raw hemp fiber:

 

http://www.hemptraders.com/cart/shopper.ex..._categories.htm

 

You may be able to find it cheaper but $200 (not including shipping and handeling) for 110lbs is a starting place.

[BigBang]

Would the rope/fibers be cooked the same way as regular charcoal? Due to the thinness of the fibers, I would think it might overcook itself very fast, producing possibly graphite.

 

And all I know hemp charcoal specifically being used for is H3. It would be more economical to just use willow or a "willow alternative" such as the above mentioned adler.

[Kilo_G]

It's also supposed to be the charcoal used in KP. I'm sure you could use it in a lot of things....something to play with if you're interested.

 

To tell you the truth I have no idea what the proper way to cook it is. That is something I would ask on rec.pyro. I'm sure someone there could answer that question.

 

Also, I'll bet that raw hemp fiber by the kilo/bale is cheaper than rope.

[FrKoNaLeaSh1010]

Well the plants were grown for other reasons.... Afterwards all I had was the stalks and it gave me the idea. I would also believe that the hemp rope or fibers would overcook or burn too easily instead of turning into charcoal.

[al93535]

I use:

 

6-12 mesh grains for lifting shells larger then 4".

12-16 mesh grains for all shells 4" and smaller.

16-30 mesh grains are used for break in small shells, as well as for priming fuses after they have been dipped in corning dust.

30-60 mesh corning dust is used for dipping primed fuses it, as well as rolling my primed stars in. This gives the stars a rough surface to make ignition easier.

[ZoSo357]

I was just thinking something, if you were to take black powder that was milled until it burned at a descent rate, and then corned it so that it burned really well, then you were to crush it and mill it again, would you be left with black powder that burned weaker than after corning it then just crushing it by hand?

 

It seems to me that the point of corning is to crush some of the potassium nitrate and sulur into the porous charcoal, and the reason behind milling is to make it as finely powdered as possible and increase the surface area, combining the two, would in one way, *seem* to make your BP superrior, but I was thinking, if you were to mill it the second time after corning, would it not tend to just shake and knock the granules around removing some of the sulfur and potassium nitrate which was crushed into the charcoal during the corning rendering your powder slower than just milling once, then corning? This seems plauseable. Basically what I'm getting at is, I like the idea of corning black powder for the speed, but I wan't to be able to get it back into meal form without getting all kinds of sizes.

[FrankRizzo]

Corning actually slows your meal down, but gives the powder consistent size and density which is important for reliability. The increased density allows for more powder to be put in a smaller area, which means more gas generated = more lift.

 

The part of the corning process that speeds up mill powder is the addition of moisture. Simply moistening your mill powder and making it into pulverone will speed it up.

[Givat]

The pressing process helps improving the BP too.

I think I saw a table in the book "black powder manufacture methods & technics" that showed the difference burne speed between different pressures whan pressing BP.

 

 

Bay the way, any one ever tried wheat bran coated BP as a break for shells? I can get it quite cheap.

[Von Bass`]

I once tried coating wheat bran and used it to lift small shells. I couldnt tell the difference between normal vermiculite that I use. Does anyone know if unmilled BP can be used in exploding fireworks instead of milled? I would expect that it dosent burn quick enough so that it would just flare out of the fuse hole.

[Pretty green flame]

I once tried coating wheat bran and used it to lift small shells. I couldnt tell the difference between normal vermiculite that I use. Does anyone know if unmilled BP can be used in exploding fireworks instead of milled? I would expect that it dosent burn quick enough so that it would just flare out of the fuse hole.

I can tell from experience that BP will not work well for bangs unless it's very finely milled or the banger device is iniciated electrically so no fuse hole is present.

 

So you are right, unmilled BP will act like a rocket burning through the fuse hole.

[Von Bass`]

right thanks, i wasnt all that interested in explosions anyway, more into colours and effects!

[FrankRizzo]

I once tried coating wheat bran and used it to lift small shells. I couldnt tell the difference between normal vermiculite that I use. Does anyone know if unmilled BP can be used in exploding fireworks instead of milled? I would expect that it dosent burn quick enough so that it would just flare out of the fuse hole.

Wheat bran, vermiculite, barley hulls, rice hulls, Rice Krispies®....they all work fine. Vermiculite doesn't burn though, so if the wind is blowing the wrong way, your spectators may get it in their eyes.

[Star_Roller]

Pressed Black Powder works best if you know what your doing.

I don't have really any mesh but mine is perfect for 2" shells I wouldn't change the size for the world I will get some pics to add to this post later.

[kwstag]

Hardwood charcoal is good... Use generic names for they do not have lighter fluid or other impurities added.

[MrBuzzard]

Hey guys, I just was looking through ebay looking for deals on ball mills (saw a 3lb for only 26 bucks brand new) when i came across one of these:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Thumler-Ultra-Vibe-Roc...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Now, my father has something similar to this except his is used for polishing ammunition. My question is if instead of using that fine course rocks, can i just fill it with steel ball bearings and use it as a ball mill?

[Mephistos Minion]

Don't use steel balls in a ball mill. It will make a spark and blow the whole thing to bits sending steel balls flying everywhere. Use only lead or brass in a ball mill.

 

That thing probbly would work on its side.

[Mumbles]

There are some stainless steels that don't spark. I was never able to get a good answer as to which ones these are. Steel media is good for crushing single chemicals and grinding metals, should you deem milling metals safe enough to do in the first place..

[aquaman]

In my old mill I just used Lead fishing weights. They worked fine for me.

[Star_Roller]

The problem with bear lead is its very maleable in large loads thats why I fill brass with it.

[aquaman]

I don't do heavy loads so it's all good for me. How do you melt you lead?

[Von Bass`]

you can use a blow torch and a crucible Lead melts at around 440 degrees C i believe (correct me if im wrong) Just make sure its all done outside or within good ventilation becuase leads an accumalative poison.