Powder's Dry..

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

I made me about 5 ounces of powder several days ago while I was sitting around here bored out of my skull. I just checked it again a few minutes ago. I think it's ready; probably been ready for a couple of days. I used airfloat this time, and cut back just a teeny bit on the sulfur. I also used just a teeny bit more alcohol to help get rid of the water a bit quicker. I'm in no hurry to shoot any of it. It's safe where I'vd got it. I'm certainly not going to dig out one of my spare guns and dirty it up, and my '47, '49, '58 revolver, and '58 carbine are loaded all the way around as usual so I would have to shoot one of them out in order to use the powder and I'm just not in the mood. I didn't leave out much of the sulfur since it act's as a fuel also. Anybody on here ever make it with reduced sulfur?....

 

[WV SCROUNGER]

Powder you say???

Sir...you are surely putting yer neck in a noose by discussing the manufacture of powder...Why dont ya know that it is a Felony in the whole
USA to make it?

 

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

And just where did you come up with that?....

 

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

XXXX..Double post..Sorry....

 

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

WV SCROUNGER..While I deeply appreciate your undying concern for my safety and well being I am still waiting patiently for you to tell me just exactly what part of your anatomy you pulled your last statement out of....

 

[truckdriver]

Ive never know it to be illegal to make powder. I have of at least 6 people, including the owner of the gun shop that make it for themselves just in town.

As far as selling, I don't know. But your all good if its for you.

 

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

Truckdriver..It's not illegal. I imagine it WOULD be illegal to make a large amount and sell it, especially without a license. I just made about 5 ounces and it's certainly not for sale plus I'm way out here in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming. I don't remember right offhand how many pounds a person is allowed to make and have in their possession at any given time, but I DO know it's one hell of a lot more than the piddling 5 ounces I just made. The powder must be secured in a safe place (steel safe or vault etc etc) and I know my little 5 ounces is locked up damn near as tight and as safe as the gold in Fort Knox..(If we have any gold left in Fort Knox)....

 

[BHP FAN]

Are you going to mix it 50/50 with Goex, or just use ''straight''?

 

[1KPerDay]

I'm guessing maybe Srounger was being ironic.

 

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

1KPerDay...Well, perhaps you are correct in your assessment. I went back and looked. He joined in 2007 so he's been around here for awhile...Alright Mr. Scrounger! You have been issued a reprieve! You are no longer sentenced to the 'know's everything but really don't know anything' world. If you were being ironic or sardonic I can certainly appreciate that because I know that if certain people in this country had their way it surely WOULD be a felony..Have a good day sir....

 

[frontloader]

Ive been thinking about mixing me some black without the sulfur.I just don't like the hygroscopic nature of it. whats your thoughts on ascorbic acid or sugar. let us know how it burns. frontloader

 

[Pulp]

Actually, you don't need the sulfur at all. Gunpowder made without it is called brownpowder, and has higher energy and much less smoke. It has a higher ignition temperature. Sulfur lowers ignition temp. I've never made any.

Concerning sugar based gunpowder, the sugar replaces the charcoal, not the sulfur. One of the forum regulars made some, but was not pleased with his results. I believe it is mentioned in this thread:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=347898

This was the thread that got me started making my own. Lot's of good information in it.

 

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

Pulp, do you think the #10 and the #11 Remington percussion caps would ignite 'brown powder' reliably? It has also occured to me that someday I may try powder made with Sodium Nitrate as opposed to the Potassium Nitrate. I have read that the U.S. Military used it for awhile....Sugar will certainly enhance any explosive but I believe that the clean-up of the burnt sugar from my gun may be more of a job than I would want to tackle....

 

[Bluehawk]

Charcoal;
It is not illegal to produce your own BP, strictly for your own use...the legalities you may suffer come under the heading of storage. It must be stored in an approved ATF magazine...very easy to make.
Under Federal law, you are allowed to have in your possesion up to 50 pounds of BP if you do not have an low explosives license. Local laws and ordinances normally specify much less.
Regarding sulfur content..I have always used the modern formula of 10%. Increasing/decreasing charcoal is what will slow down/speed up BP formulas usually...this is especially true in most rocket propellants using BP-type fuels.
There is a formula bouncing around today that uses red gum as an additive which is said to increase the burn speed of BP...you can probably find that on the Skylighter.com page.

 

[Pulp]

"Pulp, do you think the #10 and the #11 Remington percussion caps would ignite 'brown powder' reliably?"

I really have no idea, but I'm guessin' yes. Anyway,you wouldn't have that wonderful sulfur smell.

I ain't no expert, and I've never slept at a Holiday Inn Express, but personally, I wouldn't recommend the sodium nitrate formula. That's what they used in blasting powder. It may be perfectly safe, I don't know, but I'd do a lot of research before trying it.

 

[JCT]

+1 on making your own BP.....I haven't bought any store bought for 3 or 4 years now. Get willow wood for free for charcoal and get high grade KNO3 and Sulfur averaging $3 a pound..... sure can't complain for $3 a pound BP.....but then I end up using more ( especially on July 4th when we light off 2-3 pounds at once )

 

[Bluehawk]

JCT
where can ya buy KNO3 at $3/lb??
In reference to brown powder...the only one I have ever heard of was made strictly from coconut charcoal. Sulfurless charcoal is of no advantage when it comes to sporting powder unless of course you are short on sulfur or have no means to get any. The formula for that is: 70% Pot Nitrate.....30% charcoal to start with...you can decrease the charcoal and increase the nitrate as you experiment.
Sodium nitrate...has been used as a substitute for Pot nitrate but to no real advantage and much harder to find these days unless you buy it from a pyrotechnic dealer.

 

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

I will study up on it. I'm interested in why the military came to be using it (sodium nitrate) and even more interested in why they stopped using it and went to (or back to) potassium nitrate....

 

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

Thank you BlueHawk. I checked on what you posted here. You were correct. Well, brown powder is out the window unless it is a dire emergency and just can't do any better. So is the sodium nitrate. Hell, I don't shoot much anyway as a whole. Do a little hunting and that's mostly 3 to 4 shots a year to get what I refer to as my winter meat and I alway's end up giving a lot of that away because it's just more than I can use. Might pot a couple of bunny rabbits and a few squirrels here and there and of course keep ready for home defense. Nothing much in the way of home defense happens way out here hardly ever but when it does happen it's for real. Shoot my guns out now and then just to clean them and put fresh charges in them and they don't really need that. They stay good to go. I have no interest at all in shooting a scrawny assed ol' pararie dog or some mangy assed ol' coyote. Hell, they're not bothering me. Besides, I shoot Triple Seven and I'vd got a damn good supply of it and several more pounds on the way to me right now, and a few pounds of different powders around here. I just make a few ounces of 'real' powder every now and then just to be doing it, although what I make shoot's good, I will say that....

 

[Jim Watson]

I recall that the advantages of sodium nitrate (Chile Saltpeter) in gunpowder are that it was cheaper in those days and that it is more energetic than potassium nitrate. Its main disadvantage is that it is more hygroscopic than potassium nitrate and will wet itself out of action.

 

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

Jim Watson. That's about what I gathered on my little bit of research here while most of ya'll were in the bed asleep....

 

[desidog]

I'm interested in why the military came to be using it (sodium nitrate) and even more interested in why they stopped using it and went to (or back to) potassium nitrate....

IIRC, the sodium- is much more corrosive than the potassium-, and was eating up the equipment at a phenomenal rate.

 

[Oyeboten]

Was the Military use of the Sodium Nitrate for Ordinance or Small Arms?

And, when was this, anyone know?

 

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

Oyeboten....It was used in the manufacture of gunpowder from around the middle (for sure) on up unto the last of the 19th century. It was used where ever the application of gunpowder was needed. As desidog stated, it was purported to be extremely hard on all types of equipment that required the use of gunpowder.... You eat it every day....

 

[ofitg]

Well, now you guys have done it. I decided to try making my own BP. The supplies are on the way.