Willow Alternatives [Beware 56K]

[Draco_Americanus]

thank you for the info, i have the book on order now, not a cheap book but having good info is priceless when it means safty and quality of one's fireworks

[lja]

http://www.fireworksnews.com/product/34/2

 

mormanman, here's the black powder book by Maltitz for $25.

[Trippiej!]

Hi there,

 

Does anyone have tried decomposing wood before?

 

Once upon a time I walked the woods, searching for pieces of rotting, stinky, easy to crumble, decomposing lumps of wood.

 

I found some, dried it and cooked it.

 

It turned out to be very soft and light carbon

 

when milled, processed into Bp and made pulverone of it, it was super fast.

 

Compared to white pine or newspaper.

I've tried willow once before, but turned out quite slow.. Don't know what about that, but I rather go out and get some soft, nasty stuff from the woods.

 

Turned out awsome.

 

Greetzzzz

[TheSidewinder]

Rotting wood?

 

Now that's interesting.

 

I haven't heard of anyone using it, but who knows. Members, any of you have any further info. Or why, from a chemistry standpoint, this would make particularly good BP?

[oskarchem]

Ok, If I find some time, tomorrow I will go and look for som roted wood and give you the feedback.

 

I tryed some willow yesturday, milled for 24h, it was compareble to my greenmix... but then granulating it, maked it a bit better but not good enough to lift any thing...

[Bonny]

I personally use willow BP as lift. I have used several types of willow trees and bushes and they seem fine. All were milled,pressed, and granulated. The rotten wood sounds interesting though, keep us posted!

[Trippiej!]

This pic shows the rotted/dried wood i've found in the woods.

It was real soft and just crumbled between my fingers.

Also, it broke appart using little force, so I wouldn't saw it all to small pieces before cooking.

 

It smelled like shrooms, and found in the woods just there, on the ground. It looked like bugs where eating that thing, but I suppose they all burned to death and eventually took their last flight during lift-off

 

Didn't need to harm any tree doh...

 

Click this link.

[Draco_Americanus]

I did not know creamated bugs could add to the power of lift ! LOL

[bmarley5780]

Here is a pic of a leaf from what I think might be some kind of willow. Which in my opinion might be a Black Willow.

 

From what it seems it grows in the same area as the willows that

I KNOW for a fact are B. Willow. The thing is that these ones still have their leaves, while the other (older) do not? Any help? Think these are just younger B. Willow?

[Mumbles]

Thats an oak leaf I do believe. Before you ask, oak is reported to give rather poor BP without extreme milling times because it is so hard..

[Pretty green flame]

Black willow has long and slim leaves, that one does look more like one of the oak species.

http://www.sfws.auburn.edu/samuelson/dendrology/images/salicaeae/bl_willow%20L2.jpg

(Black willow - Salix nigra)

[bmarley5780]

Aren't Oak trees deciduous?

[pudidotdk]

Is it black willow specificly, or does all willows have long narrow leaves?

The ready-for-cooking-willow I have, had also long narrow leaves.

[Bonny]

I think most willows have long narrow leaves. There are however something like 400 species of willow trees and shrubs. I've used tree and shrub types found at the cabin, and both have produced good BP.

[TheSidewinder]

I don't believe that's an Oak leaf.

 

An Oak leaf is much rounder, not unlike a Maple leaf.

 

Here's a pic of an Oak leaf:

 

 

http://www.apcforum.net/files/Oak_leaf.jpg

 

 

I'm CERTAIN I've seen that leaf you posted, bmarley, but I'm damned if I can remember where. That distinct "fan-spray" look to the leaf is a tipoff. I just looked at a couple of leaf-ID sites on the net and can't find an exact match. The closest I could get was Sassafras. Close, but not the same.

 

Where do you live? The sites I saw were region-specific to MN or WI, and didn't cover the South for example. A nagging little voice is telling I saw it somewhere out West, but I'm not sure now.

[oskarchem]

Yeah, the leaf posted by bmarly is certanly not oak, I have like 3 oak trees in the garden and they are no where near the same looking as that one..

 

PS: theyr like TheSindWinder posted.

[Pretty green flame]

Might be a species of maple.

 

http://www.waterfordva-wca.org/graphics/nature/maple-leaves.gif

Acer ginnala

[TheSidewinder]

No, it's not a species of Maple. Nor is it an Oak. Nor a Willow.

 

Like I said, a Sassafras leaf came close but isn't quite right.

 

The site I visited had better pics of all Maple and Oak species. None of them match. And close doesn't count.

[oskarchem]

Hey, PGF thanks alot for having posted those diferent maple leaves, because now if I come to think of it, I think there are a couple of silver maple trees around here somwhere.

[bmarley5780]

I live in Jacksonville, N. Carolina.

 

All of these trees still have green leaves, and are in very moist places..Ditches, near streams, etc...

 

The Swamp Oak leaves look similar but arent the deciduous?

[Bonny]

Hey, PGF thanks alot for having posted those diferent maple leaves, because now if I come to think of it, I think there are a couple of silver maple trees around here somwhere.

I have heard of people or maybe a company that used silver maple for BP. They are usually quite easy to find by the silver leaves...

I am fortunate that at my mother's cabin we have a yard full of silver maples, black poplars, ash as well as a few large willow trees (not sure what kind, but good for BP). Across the road there is a few acres of willow trees and shrubs as well as jackpine, balsam fir, birch etc...

[bmarley5780]

should also add:

 

-muitiple trunks per grow site

 

-wide spread of trunks

[Frozentech]

The original picture is a bit out of focus, and not enough resolution to see important identifying features such as vein patterns, etc. Also, more info is needed about the leaf arrangement on the stalk, etc... Does the tree have nuts on it , on the ground around it ?

 

My closest guess: Chestnut Oak.

 

http://www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/picts/qprinusleaf4.jpg

 

http://www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syl...sheet.cfm?ID=76

[oskarchem]

Well, I don't know, I mean on the pic posted by bmarley,the "spikes" are just around the top, ahd on your pic, they are all around the leaf...

[TheSidewinder]

I just spent an interesting half-hour on the Arbor Day website looking at every tree species in the East. Whew.

 

It may be Ginkgo Biloba. I saw this before but somehow it doesn't look quite right:

 

http://www.arborday.org/trees/WhatTree.cfm?ItemID=E25b

 

EDIT: Here's a better pic. But now I'm MUCH less sure of it. It really doesn't look close at all in this pic.

 

http://www.apcforum.net/files/240px-Gingko-Blaetter.jpg

 

bmarley, is that a mature leaf, or a new one just finished sprouting?

 

If it's a very young leaf, it may be impossible to tell. A number of trees produce leaves that noticeably change shape as they grow to full size.

 

Can you get a pic of the branch it came from, showing number of leaves per branch, and their symmetry on the branch, as well as any seeds, fruits, nuts, etc it's producing?