411man
02-15-2010, 07:19 PM
Black Powder Primer
It is hoped that this will serve as a basic source of information on Black Powder.
History of Black Powder
http://www.angelfire.com/home/oldgun...ack_powder.htm
BLACK POWDER
If you are going to shoot black powder guns you really need to know what black powder is, how to select the right black powder for you gun, and understand the differences between real black powder and the black powder substitutes that are now available.
The History
No one knows exactly when black powder was discovered but credit is normally given to the Chinese who were experimenting with explosives at least 200 years before Christ. Originally these explosives were used in ceremonies and rituals, until someone got the bright idea of shoving them down a tube and packing stone and other junk on top of it. Thus the cannon was born. It would be centuries before a flintlock rifle would evolve from these early hand cannons, and still another couple of centuries after that before the modern day firearm and smokeless powder would make their debut.
In 1252, credit is given to Roger Bacon for first documenting the formula for black powder. The Monk, Bacon, correctly identified the explosive nature of a sulfur, carbon, and potassium nitrate mix. Bacon may have been the first to write down the recipe, but historians believe that much of Europe and Asia were all using forms of black powder by well before this time.
Black Powder Today
Black powder today is still produced in a fashion similar to production methods of old. Powdered sulfur, carbon, and potassium nitrate (saltpeter) are mixed with water and denatured alcohol, the mixture is then pressed into large cakes to dry. The water and alcohol are used to prevent the powder from igniting, and help produce a much more uniform mixture. After drying the cakes are broken down into small granules. These granules are then sorted according to size, and sold to consumers.
Granular size of the powder determines the intended use of the powder. Black powder granules come in sizes from the largest grain 1fg (fg) down to the very finest 4fg (ffffg).
The sizes are all suited for a particular type of use:
1fg: This powder has the largest grains and normally is not used in firearms, but if you happen to have a cannon, this just might be the powder for you.
2fg: The actual grain size of the powder is smaller than that of the 1fg powder. This powder is most commonly used in larger bored rifles starting at about .45 caliber and up.
3fg: This powder has an even finer grain and is used primarily in pistols and small bore rifles of up to .54 caliber.
Note there is some overlap between the uses of 2fg and 3fg. My personal preference, and I make no claims that it will work for everyone, is 3fg powder in pistols and all my rifles up to .50 cal, and use 2fg in all larger calibers.
4fg: This is the finest powder and is usually reserved for use in the flash pan on flintlock rifles.
Armed with the above information the novice may feel reasonably confident in walking into you local muzzleloader supplier and selecting a tin of powder. Until they realize that a lot of places don’t stock real black powder, and a black powder substitute is necessary. The biggest reason for this is that the good ol’ US of A classifies real black powder, as an explosive and retailers must have special permits to stock it. While the substitutes are all classified as propellant and are don’t fall under the same restrictions as real black powder.
The Substitutes
So what options are available? First black powder may be hard to find, but not impossible. If you want to shoot the real stuff, check around, odds are somebody will stock it. Second, on the market today there are black powder substitutes, which are designed to be used in place of real black powder. The three most common substitutes are Pyrodex, Clean Shot, and Clear Shot, with Pyrodex being the most common.
Pyrodex as been on the market for years and really is a hybrid black powder. It produces less foulings (the junk left in your barrel after shooting black powder), than real black powder, and delivers roughly the same energy for a given load. While it does produce less foulings than black powder – it still produces it fair share, and the foulings are corrosive, so cleaning your gun is mandatory after firing.
Before going any farther let me make something very clear. All of the black powder substitutes are classified as propellants or smokeless powders. This is only a government hazardous material classification, and these powders do not function the same as smokeless powders. What this means is: NEVER USE NITRO BASED (SMOKELESS POWDERS) IN A MUZZLELOADER! NEVER MIX SMOKELESS POWDERS WITH BLACK POWDER OR THE BLACK POWDER SUBSTITUTES. If you decide to ignore this warning take a nice long look at your hands and fingers, because you may never see them again, if you are really unlucky you may never see anything again except for the roots of the lilies you’ll be pushing up.
Clean Shot and Clear Shot are the latest substitutes to hit the market. Though they have similar names and make similar claims, two separate and unrelated companies make them. Both are e a volumetric substitute for black powder, but do not produce the huge amounts of corrosive fouling common with black powder and Pyrodex. Both of these products are fairly new to the black powder scene and while there is no doubt that they produce less foulings and the fouling are not as corrosive, the jury is still out concerning their performance. Some people swear by them, others swear at them. These two powders can be a bit hard to locate, it seems neither company’s production is keeping up with demand (as of June 2001). I don’t believe this to be a long term problem, interest in their product is too great. Both of these powders will cost you a bit more than real black or Pyrodex, but may be worth it when the reduced clean up and potential corrosion is considered.
Which is the best of the four? I will only say that for traditional styled sidelock muzzleloaders I prefer real black powder. Real black powder requires less energy to ignite, and this can be an advantage in traditional guns because they typically deliver less energy from the cap or flash pan then do the modern day in-lines. For all other cases I think the powder you use is personal choice, with performance, cost, clean up and authenticity all being factors.
A new trend is to offer the substitutes in a palletized form that match the gun’s bore. Pellets are gaining popularity among hunters concerned with fast reloads. Pellets are harder to ignite then loose powder and should only be used in in-lines. The only advantage I see with pellets is their convenience makes for faster loading. I personally don’t use them for the following reasons:
1- Cost, grain for grain they cost more than loose powder. If I need speed I’ll use a quick-loader
2-Usability, if you shoot multiple black powder calibers you have to buy the different sized pellets for each one.
3-Reliabiliaty, pellets are harder to ignite than loose powder, increasing the chance of misfires and hangfires.
4-Vesitility, what happens when your gun decides it likes a load that can't be chopped up into 30 or 50-grain increments?
That said I know there are numerous people who use and love pellets and if you are inclined to use them I wish you the best of luck, I know many BP shooters love them.
Measuring Black Powder
Black powder is measured by volume not weight, and the substitutes are all designed to produce equal energy for a given volume. Do not weigh black powder and then use an equivalent weight of any of the substitutes. The substitutes are not designed to weigh the same as black powder. Bottom line, if you use a volumetric measure you should get roughly equal performance from equal loads regardless of which powder you are shooting.
If shooting real black powder or Pyrodex foulings will build up, and you may need to run a cleaning patch down the barrel every 3rd or 5th shot. This fouling is corrosive and must be cleaned out after shooting. Clean Shot and Clear Shot claim the foulings produced is not corrosive, but both still recommend cleaning when done shooting. All four powders’ foulings will clean up with hot soapy water. Many shooters like to use a solvent after water, but this is not required. After cleaning, lightly oil the barrel and other metal parts.
Swiss Black Powder
A final note, a new “sporting grade” powder sold as Swiss Powder has been getting a lot of great press. Swiss powder is a high-grade black powder that burns cleaner than most black powders. It still produces the same corrosive foulings of regular black powder (albeit less), so cleaning is still a must. Swiss Powder, because it is more efficient, produces more energy, and it is recommend that starting loads be cut by about 10% from your typical black powder load.
There you have it, everything you need to know about black powder – I didn’t say everything there is to know, but with the information contained above you should be able to make an intelligent choice when choosing between the black powder you are going to shoot. Be safe, and always follow the gun manufacturer’s recommended loading and shooting procedures.
What is Black Powder?
http://www.pyroguide.com/index.php?title=Black_powder
Black powder is a chemical compound invented in the 9th century and was practically the only known propellant and explosive until the middle of the 19th century. As such it has been superseded by more efficient explosives such as smokeless powders and TNT. It is still manufactured today although primarly used in fireworks, model rocket engines, and in reproductions of muzzleloading weapons. Black powder is commonly referred to as being the backbone of all fireworks, a statement which indeed comes near to the truth.
The optimum proportions for black powder are: 74.64% Potassium nitrate, 13.51% charcoal, and 11.85% sulfur. The current standard for black powder manufactured by pyrotechnicians today is 75% potassium nitrate, 15% charcoal and 10% sulfur
Manufacture
Generally commercial manufacturers (such as GOEX) make use of large and heavy wheel mills to integrate the components as well as possible. While such machinery is beyond the means of most amateur pyros, comparable products can be made at home. The most common methods of small scale black powder manufacture are treated and compared here: Black Powder Manufacture.
The performance of black powder is contingent on many factors, the two most important being method of manufacture (intimacy of integration) and derivation of charcoal (type of wood, carbonisation process).
Black powder is used "corned" (granulated) when it is expected to provide a high amount of force in a short period of time e.g. for propelling or breaking shells etc. The intimately mixed powder (meal powder) is granulated either via dampening and rubbing through a coarse screen ("ricing") or via dampening, pressing to a known density (usually about 1,7g/ccm) and crushing the resulting "cakes" ("corning"). Commercial grain gunpowder is granulated using the latter method. The resulting material is separated by size using screens.
Regulation
Black powder is classified as a low explosive, that is, it deflagrates (burns) rapidly. High explosives detonate at a rate approximately 10 times faster than the burning of black powder.
Although black powder is not a high explosive, the United States Department of Transportation classifies it as a "Class A High Explosive" for shipment because it is so easily ignited. Highly destructive explosions at fireworks manufacturing plants are rather common events, especially in Asia. Complete manufactured devices containing black powder are usually classified as "Class C Firework", "Class C Model Rocket Engine", etc. for shipment because they are harder to ignite than the loose powder.
http://kcsurvival.lefora.com/2008/11/16/black-powder/
Black Powder, also known as Gunpowder, is an explosive that has been around, literally, for centuries. The exact origins of the formula are lost in time, but it is known that the Chinese used Black Powder in weaponry at least 1,000 years ago. Technically, Black Powder burns by a process known as deflagration. This differs from detonation in that Black Powder produces subsonic shock waves, as opposed to the supersonic shock waves produced by explosives such as Dynamite, C-4 or TNT. This means that Black Powder is better suited as a propellant (such as in fireworks, bullets and cannons) than blasting (such as in construction or demolition).
Safety
Black Powder is dangerous! The powder burns at a very high temperature, and is easily ignited. (High grade powder doesn't even need a flame to ignite - it can be set off by percussion, such as the firing pin of a pistol.) Basically, what I am saying is that if you are not careful, you could land up with very severe burns, or worse. Some basic guidelines to follow:
Always mix ingredients in small amounts. Do not try to make 10 Kg of black powder (or any explosive) in one batch. Mixing small amounts of powder limits the potential damage should an unexpected explosion occur.
Keep your workplace tidy. Always carefully clean up spilled chemicals. Some materials can spontaneously combust when mixed (this is especially true of nitrates and chlorates). For the same reason, use separate instruments (plastic spoons, mixing cups, etc) for different chemicals. Label your instruments so that you know what materials they have been in contact with.
Mix materials outdoors. Chemical explosives contain their own internal source of oxygen, and cannot be smothered. If you start a chemical fire indoors, it can be nearly impossible to extinguish.
Be aware of static sparks. Do not use metal instruments to mix or grind materials. Do not store chemicals in metal containers. Use ceramics or plastics wherever possible. Store chemicals and mixtures in plastic containers or ZipLoc. bags.
Wear safety goggles. Should the worst happen, skin can be grafted. Eyes cannot be replaced.
Ingredients
Black Powder has traditionally consisted of three ingredients: Potassium Nitrate (KNO3, also known as Salt Peter), Sulfur and Charcoal. The Sulfur and Charcoal provide fuel for the reaction, while the Potassium Nitrate provides Oxygen. By themselves, Charcoal and Sulfur will burn, albeit very slowly. The addition of an oxidizer (such as KNO3) greatly speeds up the burn rate of the fuel, resulting in an explosive reaction.
The traditional ratio of the ingredients is 15:3:2 of KNO3, Charcoal and Sulfur by weight (not volume!). However, simply mixing the dry ingredients together will not give you black powder. At best, you will get a green powder that will do little more than produce vast quantities of smoke, and annoy your neighbors. In order to make high-grade powder, a little work is needed.
Preparing the Ingredients
The quality of the resulting powder depends on a number of factors. The most important of these is binding, which refers to how tightly the KNO3 is mixed in with the Charcoal/Sulfur mixture. This is why a loose binding, such as a dry mix, produces a very low-grade powder.
The quality of the powder is defined by its burn rate, usually expressed in cm3/s. A burn rate of about 14 cm3/s or higher is required to use the powder as a propellant. (Also, possession and manufacture of powder with a burn rate of 14 cm3/s or higher constitutes a weapons violation under US law, unless you are also in possession of an ATF license.)
I will present two methods of preparing black powder here. The first produces powder with a slightly lower burn rate, but is safer to prepare. The second can produce very high quality powder, but contains an element of danger. The methods presented here will get you a burn rate of 14 cm3/s or better, depending on how much patience you have, and the quality of your ingredients.
The Charcoal/Sulfur mixture must be ground as finely as possible. Simply whacking away at your barbeque charcoal with a hammer is not going to cut it. The charcoal must be ground into a very fine powder. Commercial manufacturers use large machines known as ball mills to crush the charcoal and sulfur. A ball mill is basically a large rotating drum filled with charcoal, sulfur and a crushing agent, such as lead balls or heavy stones. The mill is rotated at high speed for up to 48 hours or longer. The result is a very finely powdered charcoal/sulfur mixture. (Note: for reasons which should be very obvious, the Potassium Nitrate is not mixed in with the fuel during the milling stage, unless you want to be picking bits of your ball mill out of the walls of your factory.)
Ball Mills are very expensive, and it is unlikely that the average hobbyist will be able to afford one. There are alternatives, however. One is to simply buy the charcoal in a powdered form. There are several mail order companies that will provide powdered charcoal. (See the list of suppliers at the end of this article). The other alternative is to fashion a ball mill of your own, if you happen to be a handyman. Or, you could simply buy a cheap gem-polishing toy mill from your local Wal-Mart, and use kids marbles, or heavy decorative stones as a crushing agent. You will have to run the mill continuously for at least 72 hours with this method, however. Assuming that you have a powdered charcoal/sulfur mixture in the right quantities, how do you get the KNO3 to bind to the mixture? The solution is to employ a useful property of Potassium Nitrate - it is soluble in water. Charcoal and sulfur, on the other hand, are not soluble in water. They will, however, absorb KNO3 from water under suitable circumstances. The addition of cold alcohol to the mix will have the effect of suddenly leaching the water out of the mixture, leaving just the salt behind, hopefully tightly bound to the fuel.
Method 1 - Boiling
Requirements:
Skillet, stovetop (preferably outdoors!), plastic strirrer, 750 ml of Isopropyl Alcohol, household sieves, coffee filters.
The recipe for producing black powder using this method is as follows (adjust quantities as desired, but remember to stick to the ratio). Before you start, have a 750 ml bottle of rubbing alcohol chilled in a freezer for at least 24 hours. (You can purchase rubbing alcohol, also known as Isopropyl Alcohol, from most any drugstore or supermarket).
Mix 30 grams of powdered charcoal with 20 grams of powdered sulfur, as described above.
Using a deep skillet, bring about three or four cups of water to boil. Stir in 150 grams of KNO3. Keep stirring until the Potassium Nitrate is completely dissolved. Add water as necessary, but try not to over-water the mixture.
Slowly sift in the charcoal/sulfur mixture. The mixture will tend to float on top of the water, so you will have to agitate the slush with a spoon or a whisk. Keep stirring until you get a wet, grayish sludge. This could take a while, so take your time and be careful. Don't let any of the mixture slop out of the skillet onto the hot stove-top, or you will most likely start a fire.
Once the sludge is uniformly mixed, remove the skillet from the stove. Pour in the chilled alcohol, and stir. Keep pouring and stirring until the sludge is cool enough to touch.
Pour the sludge into a coffee filter placed in a sieve over a plastic container. Allow the water/alcohol to drain out until the sludge is dry enough to leave an impression when you press into it.
Using a fine sieve, press the sludge through the sieve onto a large piece of cardboard or blotting paper. This should produce fine granules of powder. Take your time, evenly spreading the granules onto the paper or cardboard.
Allow the granules to dry in direct sunlight for at least 24 hours. When dry, pour the granules through a finer sieve to remove any fine powder from the granules. This fine powder (known as meal powder) is not useful for firecrackers or propellants, but can be used to make fuses or fountains.
You should now have real, honest-to-goodness Black Powder. Congrats.
Method 2 - Agitation
This method is very similar to that described above, but differs in the manner in which the ingredients are mixed. Because it uses electrical equipment, it is considerably more dangerous than the previous method, but can produce very high quality powder.
Requirements:
Electric kitchen blender, 750 ml of Isopropyl Alcohol, household sieve, coffee filters.
Pour 3 or 4 cups of boiling water into the blender. Slowly add 150 grams of KNO3. Cover the blender, and agitate at medium speed for about ten minutes. (Note - it is advisable to use an extension cord to start the blender from a safe distance. Again, this should be done outdoors!)
Slowly mix in 50 grams of charcoal/sulfur mixture. This should be done by turning off the blender, pouring in a small amount of the mixture, restarting the blender and mixing until the charcoal/sulfur is completely wet. Repeat until all the fuel has been added and thoroughly mixed. (Take your time - remember: haste kills!)
Let the blender run at high speed for about 15 minutes. Slowly pour in the alcohol while the blender is running. You should hear the blender slow down as the mixture solidifies. Add more alcohol until the mixture is cool to the touch.
Follow steps 5 through 7 from method 1.
Testing Your Powder
In order to test the burn rate of your powder, all you need is a stopwatch and a soda can. Thanks to the magic of the metric system, it turns out that 1 ml = 1 cm3. Soda cans are usually marked with the volume in ml (the average can is 340 ml). You may not want to use an entire can, however, as that would be a waste. Most supermarkets sell soda in halfsize cans (such as you usually get on airliners). Or, you could simply cut a full sized can using a pair of metal shears, and calculate the volume of the can. (For those of you who slept through math at high school, the formula is v = h*pi*r2. Remember to use metric units. In other words, measure the height and diameter of the can in centimeters, not inches, miles or furlongs, or whatever else you Yanks have got stuck with.)
Now, fill the can to the brim with powder. Do not cover the can! One word - shrapnel! Insert a fuse (you can usually buy so-called "safety fuses" from a supermarket around the 4th of July, or New Years. Also, fireworks retailers almost always carry lengths of safety fuse. If you are desperate, simply insert a match into the can, with the match-head just under the surface of the powder.) Light the fuse, wait for the powder to start burning, and time the burn with the stopwatch. Divide the volume of powder by the time it takes to burn completely, and you have your burn rate.
It is hoped that this will serve as a basic source of information on Black Powder.
History of Black Powder
http://www.angelfire.com/home/oldgun...ack_powder.htm
BLACK POWDER
If you are going to shoot black powder guns you really need to know what black powder is, how to select the right black powder for you gun, and understand the differences between real black powder and the black powder substitutes that are now available.
The History
No one knows exactly when black powder was discovered but credit is normally given to the Chinese who were experimenting with explosives at least 200 years before Christ. Originally these explosives were used in ceremonies and rituals, until someone got the bright idea of shoving them down a tube and packing stone and other junk on top of it. Thus the cannon was born. It would be centuries before a flintlock rifle would evolve from these early hand cannons, and still another couple of centuries after that before the modern day firearm and smokeless powder would make their debut.
In 1252, credit is given to Roger Bacon for first documenting the formula for black powder. The Monk, Bacon, correctly identified the explosive nature of a sulfur, carbon, and potassium nitrate mix. Bacon may have been the first to write down the recipe, but historians believe that much of Europe and Asia were all using forms of black powder by well before this time.
Black Powder Today
Black powder today is still produced in a fashion similar to production methods of old. Powdered sulfur, carbon, and potassium nitrate (saltpeter) are mixed with water and denatured alcohol, the mixture is then pressed into large cakes to dry. The water and alcohol are used to prevent the powder from igniting, and help produce a much more uniform mixture. After drying the cakes are broken down into small granules. These granules are then sorted according to size, and sold to consumers.
Granular size of the powder determines the intended use of the powder. Black powder granules come in sizes from the largest grain 1fg (fg) down to the very finest 4fg (ffffg).
The sizes are all suited for a particular type of use:
1fg: This powder has the largest grains and normally is not used in firearms, but if you happen to have a cannon, this just might be the powder for you.
2fg: The actual grain size of the powder is smaller than that of the 1fg powder. This powder is most commonly used in larger bored rifles starting at about .45 caliber and up.
3fg: This powder has an even finer grain and is used primarily in pistols and small bore rifles of up to .54 caliber.
Note there is some overlap between the uses of 2fg and 3fg. My personal preference, and I make no claims that it will work for everyone, is 3fg powder in pistols and all my rifles up to .50 cal, and use 2fg in all larger calibers.
4fg: This is the finest powder and is usually reserved for use in the flash pan on flintlock rifles.
Armed with the above information the novice may feel reasonably confident in walking into you local muzzleloader supplier and selecting a tin of powder. Until they realize that a lot of places don’t stock real black powder, and a black powder substitute is necessary. The biggest reason for this is that the good ol’ US of A classifies real black powder, as an explosive and retailers must have special permits to stock it. While the substitutes are all classified as propellant and are don’t fall under the same restrictions as real black powder.
The Substitutes
So what options are available? First black powder may be hard to find, but not impossible. If you want to shoot the real stuff, check around, odds are somebody will stock it. Second, on the market today there are black powder substitutes, which are designed to be used in place of real black powder. The three most common substitutes are Pyrodex, Clean Shot, and Clear Shot, with Pyrodex being the most common.
Pyrodex as been on the market for years and really is a hybrid black powder. It produces less foulings (the junk left in your barrel after shooting black powder), than real black powder, and delivers roughly the same energy for a given load. While it does produce less foulings than black powder – it still produces it fair share, and the foulings are corrosive, so cleaning your gun is mandatory after firing.
Before going any farther let me make something very clear. All of the black powder substitutes are classified as propellants or smokeless powders. This is only a government hazardous material classification, and these powders do not function the same as smokeless powders. What this means is: NEVER USE NITRO BASED (SMOKELESS POWDERS) IN A MUZZLELOADER! NEVER MIX SMOKELESS POWDERS WITH BLACK POWDER OR THE BLACK POWDER SUBSTITUTES. If you decide to ignore this warning take a nice long look at your hands and fingers, because you may never see them again, if you are really unlucky you may never see anything again except for the roots of the lilies you’ll be pushing up.
Clean Shot and Clear Shot are the latest substitutes to hit the market. Though they have similar names and make similar claims, two separate and unrelated companies make them. Both are e a volumetric substitute for black powder, but do not produce the huge amounts of corrosive fouling common with black powder and Pyrodex. Both of these products are fairly new to the black powder scene and while there is no doubt that they produce less foulings and the fouling are not as corrosive, the jury is still out concerning their performance. Some people swear by them, others swear at them. These two powders can be a bit hard to locate, it seems neither company’s production is keeping up with demand (as of June 2001). I don’t believe this to be a long term problem, interest in their product is too great. Both of these powders will cost you a bit more than real black or Pyrodex, but may be worth it when the reduced clean up and potential corrosion is considered.
Which is the best of the four? I will only say that for traditional styled sidelock muzzleloaders I prefer real black powder. Real black powder requires less energy to ignite, and this can be an advantage in traditional guns because they typically deliver less energy from the cap or flash pan then do the modern day in-lines. For all other cases I think the powder you use is personal choice, with performance, cost, clean up and authenticity all being factors.
A new trend is to offer the substitutes in a palletized form that match the gun’s bore. Pellets are gaining popularity among hunters concerned with fast reloads. Pellets are harder to ignite then loose powder and should only be used in in-lines. The only advantage I see with pellets is their convenience makes for faster loading. I personally don’t use them for the following reasons:
1- Cost, grain for grain they cost more than loose powder. If I need speed I’ll use a quick-loader
2-Usability, if you shoot multiple black powder calibers you have to buy the different sized pellets for each one.
3-Reliabiliaty, pellets are harder to ignite than loose powder, increasing the chance of misfires and hangfires.
4-Vesitility, what happens when your gun decides it likes a load that can't be chopped up into 30 or 50-grain increments?
That said I know there are numerous people who use and love pellets and if you are inclined to use them I wish you the best of luck, I know many BP shooters love them.
Measuring Black Powder
Black powder is measured by volume not weight, and the substitutes are all designed to produce equal energy for a given volume. Do not weigh black powder and then use an equivalent weight of any of the substitutes. The substitutes are not designed to weigh the same as black powder. Bottom line, if you use a volumetric measure you should get roughly equal performance from equal loads regardless of which powder you are shooting.
If shooting real black powder or Pyrodex foulings will build up, and you may need to run a cleaning patch down the barrel every 3rd or 5th shot. This fouling is corrosive and must be cleaned out after shooting. Clean Shot and Clear Shot claim the foulings produced is not corrosive, but both still recommend cleaning when done shooting. All four powders’ foulings will clean up with hot soapy water. Many shooters like to use a solvent after water, but this is not required. After cleaning, lightly oil the barrel and other metal parts.
Swiss Black Powder
A final note, a new “sporting grade” powder sold as Swiss Powder has been getting a lot of great press. Swiss powder is a high-grade black powder that burns cleaner than most black powders. It still produces the same corrosive foulings of regular black powder (albeit less), so cleaning is still a must. Swiss Powder, because it is more efficient, produces more energy, and it is recommend that starting loads be cut by about 10% from your typical black powder load.
There you have it, everything you need to know about black powder – I didn’t say everything there is to know, but with the information contained above you should be able to make an intelligent choice when choosing between the black powder you are going to shoot. Be safe, and always follow the gun manufacturer’s recommended loading and shooting procedures.
What is Black Powder?
http://www.pyroguide.com/index.php?title=Black_powder
Black powder is a chemical compound invented in the 9th century and was practically the only known propellant and explosive until the middle of the 19th century. As such it has been superseded by more efficient explosives such as smokeless powders and TNT. It is still manufactured today although primarly used in fireworks, model rocket engines, and in reproductions of muzzleloading weapons. Black powder is commonly referred to as being the backbone of all fireworks, a statement which indeed comes near to the truth.
The optimum proportions for black powder are: 74.64% Potassium nitrate, 13.51% charcoal, and 11.85% sulfur. The current standard for black powder manufactured by pyrotechnicians today is 75% potassium nitrate, 15% charcoal and 10% sulfur
Manufacture
Generally commercial manufacturers (such as GOEX) make use of large and heavy wheel mills to integrate the components as well as possible. While such machinery is beyond the means of most amateur pyros, comparable products can be made at home. The most common methods of small scale black powder manufacture are treated and compared here: Black Powder Manufacture.
The performance of black powder is contingent on many factors, the two most important being method of manufacture (intimacy of integration) and derivation of charcoal (type of wood, carbonisation process).
Black powder is used "corned" (granulated) when it is expected to provide a high amount of force in a short period of time e.g. for propelling or breaking shells etc. The intimately mixed powder (meal powder) is granulated either via dampening and rubbing through a coarse screen ("ricing") or via dampening, pressing to a known density (usually about 1,7g/ccm) and crushing the resulting "cakes" ("corning"). Commercial grain gunpowder is granulated using the latter method. The resulting material is separated by size using screens.
Regulation
Black powder is classified as a low explosive, that is, it deflagrates (burns) rapidly. High explosives detonate at a rate approximately 10 times faster than the burning of black powder.
Although black powder is not a high explosive, the United States Department of Transportation classifies it as a "Class A High Explosive" for shipment because it is so easily ignited. Highly destructive explosions at fireworks manufacturing plants are rather common events, especially in Asia. Complete manufactured devices containing black powder are usually classified as "Class C Firework", "Class C Model Rocket Engine", etc. for shipment because they are harder to ignite than the loose powder.
http://kcsurvival.lefora.com/2008/11/16/black-powder/
Black Powder, also known as Gunpowder, is an explosive that has been around, literally, for centuries. The exact origins of the formula are lost in time, but it is known that the Chinese used Black Powder in weaponry at least 1,000 years ago. Technically, Black Powder burns by a process known as deflagration. This differs from detonation in that Black Powder produces subsonic shock waves, as opposed to the supersonic shock waves produced by explosives such as Dynamite, C-4 or TNT. This means that Black Powder is better suited as a propellant (such as in fireworks, bullets and cannons) than blasting (such as in construction or demolition).
Safety
Black Powder is dangerous! The powder burns at a very high temperature, and is easily ignited. (High grade powder doesn't even need a flame to ignite - it can be set off by percussion, such as the firing pin of a pistol.) Basically, what I am saying is that if you are not careful, you could land up with very severe burns, or worse. Some basic guidelines to follow:
Always mix ingredients in small amounts. Do not try to make 10 Kg of black powder (or any explosive) in one batch. Mixing small amounts of powder limits the potential damage should an unexpected explosion occur.
Keep your workplace tidy. Always carefully clean up spilled chemicals. Some materials can spontaneously combust when mixed (this is especially true of nitrates and chlorates). For the same reason, use separate instruments (plastic spoons, mixing cups, etc) for different chemicals. Label your instruments so that you know what materials they have been in contact with.
Mix materials outdoors. Chemical explosives contain their own internal source of oxygen, and cannot be smothered. If you start a chemical fire indoors, it can be nearly impossible to extinguish.
Be aware of static sparks. Do not use metal instruments to mix or grind materials. Do not store chemicals in metal containers. Use ceramics or plastics wherever possible. Store chemicals and mixtures in plastic containers or ZipLoc. bags.
Wear safety goggles. Should the worst happen, skin can be grafted. Eyes cannot be replaced.
Ingredients
Black Powder has traditionally consisted of three ingredients: Potassium Nitrate (KNO3, also known as Salt Peter), Sulfur and Charcoal. The Sulfur and Charcoal provide fuel for the reaction, while the Potassium Nitrate provides Oxygen. By themselves, Charcoal and Sulfur will burn, albeit very slowly. The addition of an oxidizer (such as KNO3) greatly speeds up the burn rate of the fuel, resulting in an explosive reaction.
The traditional ratio of the ingredients is 15:3:2 of KNO3, Charcoal and Sulfur by weight (not volume!). However, simply mixing the dry ingredients together will not give you black powder. At best, you will get a green powder that will do little more than produce vast quantities of smoke, and annoy your neighbors. In order to make high-grade powder, a little work is needed.
Preparing the Ingredients
The quality of the resulting powder depends on a number of factors. The most important of these is binding, which refers to how tightly the KNO3 is mixed in with the Charcoal/Sulfur mixture. This is why a loose binding, such as a dry mix, produces a very low-grade powder.
The quality of the powder is defined by its burn rate, usually expressed in cm3/s. A burn rate of about 14 cm3/s or higher is required to use the powder as a propellant. (Also, possession and manufacture of powder with a burn rate of 14 cm3/s or higher constitutes a weapons violation under US law, unless you are also in possession of an ATF license.)
I will present two methods of preparing black powder here. The first produces powder with a slightly lower burn rate, but is safer to prepare. The second can produce very high quality powder, but contains an element of danger. The methods presented here will get you a burn rate of 14 cm3/s or better, depending on how much patience you have, and the quality of your ingredients.
The Charcoal/Sulfur mixture must be ground as finely as possible. Simply whacking away at your barbeque charcoal with a hammer is not going to cut it. The charcoal must be ground into a very fine powder. Commercial manufacturers use large machines known as ball mills to crush the charcoal and sulfur. A ball mill is basically a large rotating drum filled with charcoal, sulfur and a crushing agent, such as lead balls or heavy stones. The mill is rotated at high speed for up to 48 hours or longer. The result is a very finely powdered charcoal/sulfur mixture. (Note: for reasons which should be very obvious, the Potassium Nitrate is not mixed in with the fuel during the milling stage, unless you want to be picking bits of your ball mill out of the walls of your factory.)
Ball Mills are very expensive, and it is unlikely that the average hobbyist will be able to afford one. There are alternatives, however. One is to simply buy the charcoal in a powdered form. There are several mail order companies that will provide powdered charcoal. (See the list of suppliers at the end of this article). The other alternative is to fashion a ball mill of your own, if you happen to be a handyman. Or, you could simply buy a cheap gem-polishing toy mill from your local Wal-Mart, and use kids marbles, or heavy decorative stones as a crushing agent. You will have to run the mill continuously for at least 72 hours with this method, however. Assuming that you have a powdered charcoal/sulfur mixture in the right quantities, how do you get the KNO3 to bind to the mixture? The solution is to employ a useful property of Potassium Nitrate - it is soluble in water. Charcoal and sulfur, on the other hand, are not soluble in water. They will, however, absorb KNO3 from water under suitable circumstances. The addition of cold alcohol to the mix will have the effect of suddenly leaching the water out of the mixture, leaving just the salt behind, hopefully tightly bound to the fuel.
Method 1 - Boiling
Requirements:
Skillet, stovetop (preferably outdoors!), plastic strirrer, 750 ml of Isopropyl Alcohol, household sieves, coffee filters.
The recipe for producing black powder using this method is as follows (adjust quantities as desired, but remember to stick to the ratio). Before you start, have a 750 ml bottle of rubbing alcohol chilled in a freezer for at least 24 hours. (You can purchase rubbing alcohol, also known as Isopropyl Alcohol, from most any drugstore or supermarket).
Mix 30 grams of powdered charcoal with 20 grams of powdered sulfur, as described above.
Using a deep skillet, bring about three or four cups of water to boil. Stir in 150 grams of KNO3. Keep stirring until the Potassium Nitrate is completely dissolved. Add water as necessary, but try not to over-water the mixture.
Slowly sift in the charcoal/sulfur mixture. The mixture will tend to float on top of the water, so you will have to agitate the slush with a spoon or a whisk. Keep stirring until you get a wet, grayish sludge. This could take a while, so take your time and be careful. Don't let any of the mixture slop out of the skillet onto the hot stove-top, or you will most likely start a fire.
Once the sludge is uniformly mixed, remove the skillet from the stove. Pour in the chilled alcohol, and stir. Keep pouring and stirring until the sludge is cool enough to touch.
Pour the sludge into a coffee filter placed in a sieve over a plastic container. Allow the water/alcohol to drain out until the sludge is dry enough to leave an impression when you press into it.
Using a fine sieve, press the sludge through the sieve onto a large piece of cardboard or blotting paper. This should produce fine granules of powder. Take your time, evenly spreading the granules onto the paper or cardboard.
Allow the granules to dry in direct sunlight for at least 24 hours. When dry, pour the granules through a finer sieve to remove any fine powder from the granules. This fine powder (known as meal powder) is not useful for firecrackers or propellants, but can be used to make fuses or fountains.
You should now have real, honest-to-goodness Black Powder. Congrats.
Method 2 - Agitation
This method is very similar to that described above, but differs in the manner in which the ingredients are mixed. Because it uses electrical equipment, it is considerably more dangerous than the previous method, but can produce very high quality powder.
Requirements:
Electric kitchen blender, 750 ml of Isopropyl Alcohol, household sieve, coffee filters.
Pour 3 or 4 cups of boiling water into the blender. Slowly add 150 grams of KNO3. Cover the blender, and agitate at medium speed for about ten minutes. (Note - it is advisable to use an extension cord to start the blender from a safe distance. Again, this should be done outdoors!)
Slowly mix in 50 grams of charcoal/sulfur mixture. This should be done by turning off the blender, pouring in a small amount of the mixture, restarting the blender and mixing until the charcoal/sulfur is completely wet. Repeat until all the fuel has been added and thoroughly mixed. (Take your time - remember: haste kills!)
Let the blender run at high speed for about 15 minutes. Slowly pour in the alcohol while the blender is running. You should hear the blender slow down as the mixture solidifies. Add more alcohol until the mixture is cool to the touch.
Follow steps 5 through 7 from method 1.
Testing Your Powder
In order to test the burn rate of your powder, all you need is a stopwatch and a soda can. Thanks to the magic of the metric system, it turns out that 1 ml = 1 cm3. Soda cans are usually marked with the volume in ml (the average can is 340 ml). You may not want to use an entire can, however, as that would be a waste. Most supermarkets sell soda in halfsize cans (such as you usually get on airliners). Or, you could simply cut a full sized can using a pair of metal shears, and calculate the volume of the can. (For those of you who slept through math at high school, the formula is v = h*pi*r2. Remember to use metric units. In other words, measure the height and diameter of the can in centimeters, not inches, miles or furlongs, or whatever else you Yanks have got stuck with.)
Now, fill the can to the brim with powder. Do not cover the can! One word - shrapnel! Insert a fuse (you can usually buy so-called "safety fuses" from a supermarket around the 4th of July, or New Years. Also, fireworks retailers almost always carry lengths of safety fuse. If you are desperate, simply insert a match into the can, with the match-head just under the surface of the powder.) Light the fuse, wait for the powder to start burning, and time the burn with the stopwatch. Divide the volume of powder by the time it takes to burn completely, and you have your burn rate.