Thread: Making Blackpowder

As no one in the district has any BP, with google as my guide, so it began.Green willow sapling,stripped of all bark in a paint tin and a fire by the river
so we have charcoal

Waiting waiting.................for the next bit

more
So a bit of that and a bit of this and down the garden in case of Murphy,6 hours later we have gunmeal.
dampened and through a mesh screen,Blackpowder

What rifle are you running that through? Didn't wanna order in factory stuff? ha

So, the "bit" is Sulphur and the "that" is Potassium Nitrate.
How fine did you grind the charcoal and what ratios to each did you use?

Originally Posted by Kiwi Sapper

So, the "bit" is Sulphur and the "that" is Potassium Nitrate.
How fine did you grind the charcoal and what ratios to each did you use?

Use google, jon did

Originally Posted by Bavarian_Hunter

What rifle are you running that through? Didn't wanna order in factory stuff? ha

have to pick up Jack, 4hrs each way. anyway adds to the spirit of the whole thing

I know of someone in the Waikato who makes their own rocket powder in a similar way

Originally Posted by madjon_

Attachment 16463

have to pick up Jack, 4hrs each way. anyway adds to the spirit of the whole thing

That is a beautiful gun! i've ordered a black powder rifle from the US, got a 4 month wait on it though.

I have found crack willow to be best for the charcole. Disolve the potasimnitrate over heat in about a cup of water. Probably pay to mention I make a kilo at a time. Mix in the charcole and sulpher and force through a cive. Let it dry for a few days and she`s all go.

This method bypasses the need for a ball mill.

Works well in the flintlock, Martini 577/450, 44 Magnum and the kids tennis balls!!!

Originally Posted by sako75

I know of someone in the Waikato who makes their own rocket powder in a similar way

You can make a real basic one with just the KNO3 and sugar, doubles as a pretty good smoke bomb if you just make a huge clump of it

Da I just buy it from where ever, use FFG, used to make it when I was at college after getting the formula from a science tech.charcoal easy, sulphur easy, saltpetre was always a prob. Used to get it from the freezing works, when no one was looking. Made our own fireworks and fired the cannons we made in metalwork. Still got all my fingers, limbs, hair and eyeballs, just a bit deaf!

Are you bringing that rifle thar hunting Jon ?

Originally Posted by Maca49

Da I just buy it from where ever, use FFG, used to make it when I was at college after getting the formula from a science tech.charcoal easy, sulphur easy, saltpetre was always a prob. Used to get it from the freezing works, when no one was looking. Made our own fireworks and fired the cannons we made in metalwork. Still got all my fingers, limbs, hair and eyeballs, just a bit deaf!

You may notice madjon and I are both in the Nelson area. Gunworks and Gun city are the only 2 retailers I know of who sell Black Powder in the South Island and neither will freight it. At $85 per lb from Gun City Id just rather not buy it in the first place.
I bought a sack of Potasiumnitrate a few years ago from fruitfed supplies, was about $60 for 40kg if I remember correctly... still going strong and hardly made a dent in the sack.
I still use FFFFg for the flash pan and more oftern than not drop 4 grains of FFFg down the barrel first just as an ignighter with 80gr of home brew on top. Shoots the 50cal to the same point as with 80gr of bought FFg.
In the 44Mag and Martini 577/450 its just a primer and a compressed load of home brewed, lead slugs of course.
Home moulded lead bullets and homemade powder, very satisfing and hell of a cheap shooting.

Originally Posted by Gibo

Use google, jon did

How very Yoda Gibo