ever make your own black powder?

O

Ocraknife

New member
I know it's easy to find black powder but I think it would be interesting to make it (if it's legal).

Anyone here ever make their own? Was it difficult?

I know there aren't many ingredients but I understand getting the right consistency is difficult.
 
Yes, I tried it to see how it's made, and to see what homemade powder turns out like. To my disappointment, it was rather weak (it fired shots, but weak).

However, I did not have the proper tools for the job. You need a ball mill to make anything usable and I didn't have one, and you'll also need a press and mesh screens to make something close to commercial powder. With the right tools and good charcoal something more viable for shooting could be made. It has to be dried carefully and for a good amount of time.

It is not difficult, if you have the tools and a safe place to work in. Sourcing first grade chemichals is pretty easy, except for charcoal where it's best to make your own. The commercial stuff for grilling is not usable, leaves a strange residue behind and doesn't burn well.

I'll stick to commercial powder, myself, but it's fun to do as a, let's say, science project.
 
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I make black powder, It's not very hard.

Here's what you need

You need a ball mill $42 at horrible freight and you could get a fistful of dollars off with the 20% coupon (pun intended)

Get a black powder kit from hobby chemical supply

Window screen. They say to get 16 mesh (16 holes per linear inch) I think that's what mine is, I fold it over 3 times when i use it, I'll explain more about that later in the post.

for the media in the ball mill I use round balls, dont use steel balls or anything like that because it'll spark

A gram scale, they sell cheap ones, they probably arent that accurate. I have a 20 year old one that has a price tag on the box still and it was $90 at the time

Water. That's the hardest ingredient to find :)

The standard ratio of ingredients is 75% Potasium nitrate 15% Charcoal 10% Sulfur. You measure out the ingredients in grams. You could simply make a batch that is 75 grams potassium nitrate (Kno3) 15 grams charcoal 10 grams sulfur. I double that and make a batch that is 150 grams Kno3, 30 grams charcoal, 20 Sulfur. pour that in the ball mill with your round balls, and let it run for 8 hours (or more). One more ingredient you need is dextrin. This acts as your binder, which I'll talk more about in a minute. after the ingredients have been mixing for the 8 or more hours, put 5% dextrin in the ball mill. Which in the 100 gram batch will be 5 grams. put in the tumbler for 20-25 minutes, not to long because it'll damage the powder. After that you have meal black powder. Pour on a out the powder over a screen over a tray to remove the round balls.

The next step is to wet the powder. Get your self some trays, your going to need 2, and a spray bottle and squirt water on the powder lightly and mix it with a putty knife or anything like that. once the powder starts to clump up in your hand, your are done wetting the powder. Make your self a sifter, and staple the window screen to it. I have folded it over a few times so you can get powder grains that are the right size. You dont want to make FFFFG powder now, as that can give you dangerous results if used in the wrong guns. Now grab a handful of powder, clump it in your hand and rub it on the screen and it will sift into the tray below (Put newspaper on the tray so it can soak up the moisture). If you make the powder to wet (which I have done numerous times) the powder sticks in the screen. Keep repeating this process till your done. now bring the powder somewhere that's dry (in the house) and let it dry for about a day. What happens to me is that it cakes up when dry, but is very easy to break apart. When it's dry take a tablespoon and pour a line of powder on a block. Now light it, be careful and see how it burns.


This powder is very light compared to store bought, (say goex) so you need to measure your charges by weight rather than volume like you do in a powder measure.

This is the first method, I'll tell you the second method in another thread.

You may think for a few dollars more (haha) you can buy a can of powder, but this actully saves you a lot of money in the long run if you do a decent amount of shooting

Phew! I hope this helps, sorry for going on so long but there is a lot of steps that need mentioning. Ask me any questions you may have!
 
There is a megathread, I think over on castboolits, that covers it.

The key to making commercial grade powder is corning. Basically you get a cylinder and piston made (there is a guy that will make you one for $30) and use a hydraulic press to press damp powder into a pancake. Then you let it dry out. When done, it is kind of like a ceramic disk. Then you bust that up and screen it.

Testing results from some of the folks in the megathread result in powder more powerful and more consistent than Swiss.

This is on my to-do list for this year. I have everything but the press, and those are cheap from harbor Freight.

Powder around here is $26/pound. You can make it yourself for about $4 a pound.

Steve
 
Wow, that is great information! Thank you.

Want to do it for the sake of doing it not so much to save money. I've reading a book on early American rifles and it got me interested in process.

Okra
 
If somebody made their own powder, hunted around for free lead, and found and knapped their own flints, couldn't they theoretically shoot a flintlock for basically free or pennys on the dollar?
 
Yes.

Though you would probably be better off just buying a hundred flints and keeping them for the rest of your life.

But a flinter with your own powder - you can shoot damn near anything as ammo in an emergency. BBs, nuts, bolts, nails, etc.
 
Yes Model12Win. However, are the savings greater than it would be had one flipped burgers at McDs? It may be great if one is retired and looking for something to do or as a hobby to kill time. After all, Buckskinners pride themselves on self-sufficiency.
 
Yes Model12Win. However, are the savings greater than it would be had one flipped burgers at McDs? It may be great if one is retired and looking for something to do or as a hobby to kill time.
Click to expand...

Cost isn't the only metric - do you find the labor of making black powder more enjoyable than flipping hamburgers?

Having done both, I can say with confidence that even if the money were a wash I'd rather be at home making ammo for my own enjoyment than busting my hump for the abuse at a FF restaurant to earn the same money.

Steve
 
Harbor Freight had a sale yesterday on its 2-drum tumbler, so I bought it.

I'm now ready to make green powder. I need to get a hydraulic press and a puck to corn it.

Steve
 
Good for you Steve, if you have all the ingredients, try making the screened bp. I'm going to be compressing some bp today that I had in the tumbler. Going to try compressing the die under a truck with a floor jack. You need 1800 psi of compression. The puck die will be $26.80 shipped I'm pretty sure
 
Puck maker

I use the puck that I purchased from "fly" and it is great. I put it between 2pcs. of steel plates,slide it under my 350 dually on the concrete drive and use a floor jack to compress the puck die. Let the pucks dry for a couple days. Then grind them to my liking size wise. You do not want the puck to be over 1/4" thick.
The puck maker is FIRST class machining job.
 
It would be good not to let any family dependents know you are doing this sort of thing. And, also keep it from your life insurance carrier, but that could be problematic at a later date.
 
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