Charcoal to Airfloat

[SKC]

Dear All, I have made few kilogram of charcoal from pinewood by crucible method. Also made them fine through a morter & pestle. Now next step is to make some part of it airfloat. Kindly help me out stating the process you guys apply to achieve to do that. Till now I don't have a ball-mill.

Thanks,

SKC

[OldMarine]

Without a mill you'll need to keep using the mortar and pestle and periodically screen the coal through a fine screen and return what remains on the screen to the mortar for more grinding. I suspect you'll end up wearing most of it by the end of the process!

[Mortartube]

Buy a couple of cheap coffee grinders. One for fuels and one for oxidisers. Do not mill mixed compositions.

[starxplor]

Buy a couple of cheap coffee grinders. One for fuels and one for oxidisers. Do not mill mixed compositions.

 

I found it easy to search on amazon for a grinder that was listed as making fine coffee grounds, then went to my local Meijer store and found the same model for a slightly better price. With the blades in the jar, and the jar removable from the powered base, I can use one base with multiple jars to keep chems separate. I can pull of the charcoal jar, flip over and let it settle on a screen while grinding the next chem in a different jar.

[MadMat]

I bought a couple blenders from the local thrift store for around $5.00 each. As Mortartube stated, one for fuels and the other for oxidizers. They do a great job of grinding!

I don't know if there are "second hand" type stores in India, but if there are; they are a goldmine for things such as this.

Edited September 13, 2018 by MadMat

[Mumbles]

These are all great suggestions. I still don't think they'll ever be as good as a ball mill for ultimate particle size though

[Arthur]

Agree with Mumbles.

 

A ball mill will make single ingredients or mixtures to fine sizes.

 

A blender is appropriate ONLY for single ingredients.

 

Don't mill everything to ultra fine. The only choices in early simple pyro depend on the particle size. Ultra fine charcoal makes fast BP.

Jets, gerbs, rockets, fountains and wheel drivers, also all the charcoal and firedust stars depend for their function on the sizes of charcoal mesh used.

[SKC]

Thanks to all of for great suggestion. Today I have converted 400gm of fine charcoal to AF with the help of kitchen grinder. Feeling happy while rubbing between two fingers. Four bladed container has made it nice AF.

On November we're going to celebrate Diwali in India & I'm preparing for jiant Tubri.

Arthur once told that no one bothers to write down the details of making Asian Tubri. Please wish me luck so that I can make it successfully and come up with minute details.

Thanks again.

[Arthur]

I've been discussing that with other pyros today. Sometimes the mix ratio list is all you need but sometimes the mesh cuts of each individual ingredient is important to the effect. Sometimes the method is critical sometimes less so.

[SKC]

I've been discussing that with other pyros today. Sometimes the mix ratio list is all you need but sometimes the mesh cuts of each individual ingredient is important to the effect. Sometimes the method is critical sometimes less so.

Yes Arthur, I've acquired some knowledge.

But let me tell you that it includes a lot of variables as you have rightly mentioned.

Spare me some time to 10th day of November'18. I'll write down every detail.