Thread: Making Black Powder

I use willow sticks I collect and de-bark and let 'em dry for a year or so I always got some drying. Don't know what type willow it is ...........
I then cook it in a twenty litre metal drum inside a 44 gal drum I turned into a cooker - with lid, grate and bars to sit the retort on. It takes a while and I found you can get black smuts all over the neighbours washing - so it'll pay to look and see if they're home before you do it.
It's noisy too, the gases coming out of that retort sound like a jet engine - I used to redirect them under the retort to save fuel wood.
I never worried about cooking at a certain temperature, but last time I did it I rigged the retort so I could read the temperature and was able to control the heat moderately well by opening and closing the lid and bottom draught.
I used Italian Alder on that burn and cooked it as the Swiss Powder Co do - certain temperature for a certain period of time. (can't be buggered getting my notes)

I undercooked that wood - it was all charred but a lot of brown in there that turned to airflow when I milled it. I mlll all my charcoal and sieve out the hard bits - there weren't none in that lot.
And the result is that powder don't shoot worth a damn - it goes 'bang' alright, but it doesn't shoot consistently - so I just use willow.

And something you said - my .54 lead balls are now about .38 cal balls - so my powder is probably full of lead ........... and that's got me thinking ............