Bunch of noob questions (Bp cia)

[dagabu]

I am in the "CIA method of making black powder is a huge waste of time" camp. Even a $20.00 rock tumbler and fishing weights make better BP with the same chems.

[Mumbles]

Denatured alcohol is getting expensive. The break even point is probably within the first few kilos, not to include the more economical use of BP due to better quality.

[jimbo]

thats exactly what I use,a 6lb rock tumbler and about 40 1/2inch sinkers for media in each drum,though I had to pay $330 for my tumbler in aus,you guys can them way cheap in the states,if I don't overload the tumbler I can 200g of lift quality powder in about 3hrs minimum,I've seen tumblers for $30 u.s I'd have 10 of em if i lived there.

[Twotails]

Too bad you didnt bring that up sooner, I'd be more than happy to send you a tumbler(or better)(There not controlled in Aus right?) shipping cant be that bad can it? even if the shipping is $100(doubtful) it would still be only $130ish. there isnt a shipping regulation on them right?

[jimbo]

nah no regulations,I just wanted one straight away, so I bit the bullet and paid the extra,I think the one I got cost's about $160 u.s so It wasn't that much more when you include shipping and exchange Edited August 5, 2010 by jimbo

[Mumbles]

40 sinkers seems extremely undercharged. Even 100 .50 cal lead shot was pretty under charged and took me around 8hr to get good BP. I now have it half full of a mixture of 50 cal lead shot, and 00 buckshot. I give it 4hr, but it might be good sooner.

[jimbo]

Ive milled my b.p for probably 2hrs to 24hrs and nearly everything in between depending on which charcoal I used with balsa I can afford 3hr mill times to get reasonable powder,but with willow i like to go anywhere between 5 and 9hrs preferably 9hrs but i don't mill for anymore than 12 anymore,here's a vid of my meal straight out or the mill first ones willow second is balsa I'm pretty sure these were milled for about 5hrs how much powder do you mill per batch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q249Nl7aZxg Edited August 5, 2010 by jimbo

[LittleOsama]

Ive milled my b.p for probably 2hrs to 24hrs and nearly everything in between depending on which charcoal I used with balsa I can afford 3hr mill times to get reasonable powder,but with willow i like to go anywhere between 5 and 9hrs preferably 9hrs but i don't mill for anymore than 12 anymore,here's a vid of my meal straight out or the mill first ones willow second is balsa I'm pretty sure these were milled for about 5hrs how much powder do you mill per batch http://www.youtube.c...h?v=Q249Nl7aZxg

I mill 400grams per patch but obviously optimum amount depends of the size of your jar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fju-OmMgljg

[dagabu]

Here is the rule of thumb for ball mills. Fill the empty jar 1/2 full with your media of choice, do not go by weight or by count, the media's shape determines how close the media sits.

 

Add your comp and shake it down so that it only just covers the milling media. No more, no less.

 

If you use lead to grind comps, you will get lead in your comp and while most of the time, this is OK, you will also have a much greater chance of lead ingestion so beware.

 

To find the perfect speed that your mill should rotate, use a piece of stretch wrap over the jar opening and fill it with clean media and watch it turn. The media should fall at 70%, getting pretty close to vertical. The media should roll all the down the heap and should make contact all the way down from the top of the heap to the bottom.

 

It is this action that makes ball mills so efficient.

[jimbo]

yeah I noticed that when I mill my nitrates they always come out grey, everything except my sodium benzoate gets contaminated.so I try to keep my milling to a minimum when milling them,I need brass media really,or fill some old cartridge cases with lead

[Mumbles]

If you can find it, old SS bearings may also be something to keep an eye out for. The 300 series steels are pretty spark resistant. In many cases it's actually cheaper than brass, but the cutting and cleaning is quite a pain. Once you have them made (or get bearings), they'll probably out last you. No contamination issues. The only thing I tend to worry about with brass or copper is that sulfur will over time attack them.

[pyromaniac]

Since I am currently unable to start a new post I guess ill have to start here. So here goes my noobish question.

 

1. Is there any flash powder alternatives that can provide the same raw power BUT are safer? Ive been doing a lot of research and have determined that flash powder composite is far to dangerous for me and not worth giving my life or limb away in the production stages.

 

So is there any other compositions out there that will suffice and are easily obtainable? Ive used some ffffg black powder in some of my salutes but the explosion is just to slow. What else it out there that is safe and LOUD!?

Edited August 9, 2010 by pyromaniac

[jimbo]

have a look into report compositions and see if you can find some that would suit you,most would be impact friction and static sensitive though, I'd think that kp or h3 would be a step up from black powder though I wouldn't stick it in a ball mill

 

 

[inonickname]

If you can find it, old SS bearings may also be something to keep an eye out for. The 300 series steels are pretty spark resistant. In many cases it's actually cheaper than brass, but the cutting and cleaning is quite a pain. Once you have them made (or get bearings), they'll probably out last you. No contamination issues. The only thing I tend to worry about with brass or copper is that sulfur will over time attack them.

 

I wouldn't be terribly worried about sulfur oxides/sulfur/acid attacking copper (unsure on brass). Copper isn't really attacked by sulfur acids without some motivating (such as an electronic current). It's more likely to be attacked by something produced by nitrates (nitric acid will rapidly react with copper, while it is practically inert to sulfuric under standard conditions).

 

Though, if you get any oxide formation that will certainly react with sulfur acids.

[Mumbles]

I'm not talking about oxides or acids. Elemental sulfur, or maybe H2S. Silver is even less reactive than copper, yet you still get a tarnish overtime and that is just by air exposure. You will notice brass media turning black over time. The black is not charcoal, but rather CuS.

[Algenco]

In my fishing tackle are a bunch of flat black swivels, instead of buying the more expensive commercialy treated ones I simply toss cheap brass swivels in Sulfur for a few days, they turn black as coal