jaysgoh Posted March 22, 2013 Posted March 22, 2013 i char my balsa woods from rc planes until crispy .. i wonder .. now i smash or how i mill with mortar .. some of the particles are somthing like really fine and airfloat , but the shape look like needle but more shorter like around 0.1-0.2cm..the colour looks like flash powder greyrish .. i using 2.4charcoal and 10g of kno3 its does not ignite !
Mumbles Posted March 22, 2013 Posted March 22, 2013 You really need to do some reading on this topic. We're not here to hold your hand through every little step. If you can't find the appropriate information on how to do something so trivial as make a vaguely flammable composition, you probably are not fit for this hobby. Knowing where and how to find certain information or resources is critical in this hobby.
BlastFromThePast Posted March 22, 2013 Posted March 22, 2013 Grey charcoal sounds like it burned instead of cooking without oxygen. you might be needing to be more careful when cooking your charcoal. No oxygen!
Arthur Posted March 23, 2013 Posted March 23, 2013 There are so many tutorials on "making BP" on the web inc on this forum that you really have all the resources available to you. Balsa charcoal will make very fast BP so it's probably your charcoal making technique or your BP making technique.
mikeee Posted March 23, 2013 Posted March 23, 2013 Making your own charcoal, you should use the retort method or TLUD cooker method.The TLUD is very easy to build and use.The trick is shutting the oxygen off to the charcoal when it is done cooking of the volatiles.That is the same strategy used in the retort method is shutting off the oxygen to stop the burning of the charcoal.If you cook the wood/charcoal too long it will to turn to ash.If the charcoal is grey in color it has cooked too long.
jaysgoh Posted March 24, 2013 Author Posted March 24, 2013 i do a new batch ! its black colour but it does not burn or even ignite ! 10g kno3 and 2.4g balsa charcoal ..
jaysgoh Posted March 24, 2013 Author Posted March 24, 2013 ITS very hard to ignite ! i need to use blow torch blow the thing.. and it wont continnoues burn! it will stop .. gosh i am bored
schroedinger Posted March 24, 2013 Posted March 24, 2013 Maybe used cristal KNO3? Make a picture and it shut be easier to help you
jaysgoh Posted March 24, 2013 Author Posted March 24, 2013 nah , i did mill using mortar for kno3 nearly powder forms .. guys may i know wooden chopsticks are balsa or other woods ? i guess its charcoal problem .. i dont think so my formula is wrong ... or because of sulfur ? can i use the sulfur that ppl use it for camping to prevent snake ?
jaysgoh Posted March 24, 2013 Author Posted March 24, 2013 update , its only burn when i add powder sugar ... does not burn fast ! slowy burn
BlastFromThePast Posted March 24, 2013 Posted March 24, 2013 (edited) You're grinding your stuff with a mortar and pestle? Are you grinding them together or seperately? Also, I've used the 10 KNO3 2.4 C and I've not been having any ignition issues. However, because there's no sulfur, the KNO3 and C MUST be mixed very intimately in order for this composition to work. I could see you having problems with it not igniting. Do you have a coffee grinder? It's very easy to not mill them fine enough when using a M&P because of how meticulous and laborious it can be. Edited March 24, 2013 by BlastFromThePast
Oinikis Posted March 24, 2013 Posted March 24, 2013 how do you make your charcoal, and where do you get your KNO3? only KNO3 i am able to get is 60%-70% fertilizer. As everyone said, you may overcook the charcoal, turning it into an ash. how you exactly make your charcoal?
jaysgoh Posted March 25, 2013 Author Posted March 25, 2013 same method like youtbers , using a tin can poke few holes .. until its at firee ... some charcoal did not break well .. and some did crispy ... i gt my kno3 from supplier .. purity 97
dan999ification Posted March 25, 2013 Posted March 25, 2013 Your chopsticks are probably bamboo. Dan.
FlaMtnBkr Posted March 26, 2013 Posted March 26, 2013 You said the charcoal is needle like and 0.1 to 0.2 cm long? That isn't airfloat. That isn't even a powder. Pictures would really help if everything that has been suggested hasn't worked. Something is wrong and pictures would tell us what. If you can't get KNO3 and charcoal to burn this hobby might not be for you. I was 8 when I first did that, and was able to get a mix that would burn reliably. It was slow and wouldn't have been useful for anything, but it burned the first time I tried. From your posts this far I really don't think you're ready to be playing with chemicals and fire. Not trying to be mean, just honest.
taiwanluthiers Posted March 26, 2013 Posted March 26, 2013 Seriously I would not eat with a chopstick made of balsa. It is way too soft to last more than a few meals, so they are often made of a harder wood such as bamboo (the bamboo radical above the chinese character for chopstick should clue you in on that) or a hard wood such as rosewood/walnut (for fancier chopsticks). Esp. disposable ones are generally bamboo too. Also a simple mix of charcoal and kno3 does indeed burn rather slowly but if it won't even burn with good mixing then something's wrong... I mean even sawdust/kno3 should burn fairly well, but not fast. Do you even know what balsa wood is? it's a very soft and lightweight wood used for making model airplanes. In fact it is the lightest wood in the world. If its hard and rigid, it's not balsa.
jaysgoh Posted March 27, 2013 Author Posted March 27, 2013 i fly model airplanes , i crash my plane and i get some balsa piece to char , results still the same.
jaysgoh Posted March 27, 2013 Author Posted March 27, 2013 Heres the video after replace sulfur with sugar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AysvD7fz7Q
Seymour Posted March 27, 2013 Posted March 27, 2013 You are lighting tests inside, right next to a bowl containing the rest of the batch. I'm not sure what to say. Is this not obviously a bad idea? Several bad ideas. Also, sugar is not a replacement for Sulfur in Black powder. You need to take this hobby more seriously if you want to carry on experimenting with compositions. Find somewhere you can test safely for a start.
jaysgoh Posted March 27, 2013 Author Posted March 27, 2013 Sorry about that , will do it outdoor or a safe place .
Mumbles Posted March 27, 2013 Posted March 27, 2013 We've been over this before. You clearly don't care about safety or any advise we have regarding that. You also really don't seem to be taking this that seriously. From what I can tell you're basically relying on us to hold your hand and walk you through all of this without doing any work or research on your own. This usually adds up to one of three things, all of which scream toward giving up now before you seriously injure yourself or others. I mean, you even have Taiwanluthiers getting on your case. If that's not a sign, I don't know what is. 1
TYRONEEZEKIEL Posted March 28, 2013 Posted March 28, 2013 Your sulfur is probably impure and full of clay. When I first started making BP I used garden sulfur from the local nursery, and it did produce a burnable mixture, but very slow and very useless. I found out later that garden sulfur is so full of clay and other filler trash that it really muddies up the burn or even stops it altogether. I think you are really on your last leg here. Please post some pictures of each component up close and detailed so we can see how fine they are. Then post pictures of the final mixture. You are welcome here, but we are concerned for you and your safety. If you would like help, then please don't ignore it.
aaron2233 Posted March 31, 2013 Posted March 31, 2013 hey gohjiejing i had the same problem till i found a supplier very close to me and i have 99% kno3 99%sulfur you have to make sure you know what you are doing because you will blow off your hand im not joking i had my homemade ball mill explode because i wanted to speed up time and rush so be safe kind regards aaron
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