How to make Black Powder

general discussions of the explosive kind.
tmacklin
Space Ensign
Space Ensign
Posts: 287
Joined: Sat, 09 Apr 16, 11:56 am

#1 How to make Black Powder

Post by tmacklin »

Well, actually, it's just another FAKE POSTING by Uncle Ted, just to see if Bernie actually reads stuff on his own forum. Ha, ha, LOL!!! :lol:
User avatar
bernomatic
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 1169
Joined: Tue, 29 Mar 16, 03:55 am
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Contact:

#2 Re: How to make Black Powder

Post by bernomatic »

O gee, another Spam poster. I should delete all his postings, especially the one with the link to his website. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Chief Cook -n- bottle washer
tmacklin
Space Ensign
Space Ensign
Posts: 287
Joined: Sat, 09 Apr 16, 11:56 am

#3 Re: How to make Black Powder

Post by tmacklin »

Congratulations! You passed the test!

Now, on to making Black Powder. The black part comes from the charcoal which is the fuel part of the mixture. Actually, black powder isn't really black at all but more of a dark gray. And it's not really a "powder" either. It's granular, much like common table salt or sugar. We'll discuss the process of making charcoal from wood at a later date. :shock:
User avatar
luke strawwalker
Space Admiral
Space Admiral
Posts: 1543
Joined: Thu, 07 Apr 16, 04:45 am

#4 Re: How to make Black Powder

Post by luke strawwalker »

Where do I get pure stump remover??? LOL:) OL J R :)
My MUNIFICENCE is BOUNDLESS, Mr. Bond...
tmacklin
Space Ensign
Space Ensign
Posts: 287
Joined: Sat, 09 Apr 16, 11:56 am

#5 Re: How to make Black Powder

Post by tmacklin »

luke strawwalker wrote:Where do I get pure stump remover??? LOL:) OL J R :)
Bernie has it...down in his basement. He'll deny it, but he's got a stash...down in his basement. :shock:
tmacklin
Space Ensign
Space Ensign
Posts: 287
Joined: Sat, 09 Apr 16, 11:56 am

#6 Re: How to make Black Powder

Post by tmacklin »

If one doesn't mind a bit of work, sulfur can be extracted from Sulfur/Salt blocks available at your local farm and ranch supply house. These blocks are roughly 97% salt (sodium chloride) and 3% elemental sulfur (S) so a 50 pound block will yeild about 3 pounds of sulfur. Since salt is water soluble and sulfur is not, all that is required to extract the sulfur is a large container and lots of water. It's best to fracture the block into smaller pieces with a sledge hammer and use hot water to accelerate the process. The sulfur will both float to the surface and settle to the bottom of the container while the salt will go into solution. The brine solution can be filtered to capture the small floating particles and decanted to capture the sedimentary sulfur, and both can be washed with clean water, again filtered and allowed to air dry on newspaper.

Now some may find this process to be a pass time for the feeble minded, but I find it quite therapeutic. :geek:
User avatar
luke strawwalker
Space Admiral
Space Admiral
Posts: 1543
Joined: Thu, 07 Apr 16, 04:45 am

#7 Re: How to make Black Powder

Post by luke strawwalker »

tmacklin wrote:If one doesn't mind a bit of work, sulfur can be extracted from Sulfur/Salt blocks available at your local farm and ranch supply house. These blocks are roughly 97% salt (sodium chloride) and 3% elemental sulfur (S) so a 50 pound block will yeild about 3 pounds of sulfur. Since salt is water soluble and sulfur is not, all that is required to extract the sulfur is a large container and lots of water. It's best to fracture the block into smaller pieces with a sledge hammer and use hot water to accelerate the process. The sulfur will both float to the surface and settle to the bottom of the container while the salt will go into solution. The brine solution can be filtered to capture the small floating particles and decanted to capture the sedimentary sulfur, and both can be washed with clean water, again filtered and allowed to air dry on newspaper.

Now some may find this process to be a pass time for the feeble minded, but I find it quite therapeutic. :geek:

Interesting... but wouldn't a 50 lb block yield 1.5 pounds of sulfur-- since 50 lbs times 3% concentration= 1.5 lbs?? It would take 100 pounds (2 blocks) to equal 3 lbs of sulfur...

I just bought elemental "dusting sulfur" from the hardware store years ago... people used to use it to "dust" their vegetables and stuff in the garden to deter pests... Heck back in the old days, back before chemical pesticides became prevalent on farms, they used to dump sulfur powder into old "croker sacks" affixed to sticks out over the rows of cotton or crops in the field while they cultivated-- this allowed the plants to rub and buffet the sack enough to shake out a light dusting of sulfur onto the plants, which kept a lot of the pest insects at bay...

Later! OL J R :)
My MUNIFICENCE is BOUNDLESS, Mr. Bond...
tmacklin
Space Ensign
Space Ensign
Posts: 287
Joined: Sat, 09 Apr 16, 11:56 am

#8 Re: How to make Black Powder

Post by tmacklin »

Luke, you are correct! 3% of 50 pounds is indeed 1.50 pounds. I should refrain from posting stuff when I';m drunk out of my skull! It's an interesting experiment if you have time on your hands but what does one do with all that salt water? LOL! (I've only done this once just to prove I could.)

Years ago I bought a 30 pound bag of 98% pure dusting sulfur from Lowe's. I still have most of it...enough to make 280 pounds or so of BP should I choose to do so. The dusting sulfur you find at lawn and garden stores is 90% S, 10% unknown crap that also won't dissolve in water. It is unsuitable for making good BP. Here's what 34 grams of good, home made BP can do...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9rAitM00V4

Kids, don't try this at home or participate in any stupid "March For Our Lives" protests. You might get run over by a school bus.
tmacklin
Space Ensign
Space Ensign
Posts: 287
Joined: Sat, 09 Apr 16, 11:56 am

#9 Re: How to make Black Powder

Post by tmacklin »

Coming soon...the oxidizer!
tmacklin
Space Ensign
Space Ensign
Posts: 287
Joined: Sat, 09 Apr 16, 11:56 am

#10 Re: How to make Black Powder

Post by tmacklin »

As promised, a discussion on the oxidizer for those of you who have lots of time on their hands. I shall not give the proportions of the chemical mixture of this evil concoction other than to say that the classic formula is 10% of this, 15% of that and 75% of the other thing and may be found on www.wikipedia.org .

http://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/lecontesalt/leconte.html

And now, I must evacuate my bladder. :shock:
Post Reply