Peret Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 (edited) The economics are not that straightforward, even with today's prices. I can get 25 pounds of commercial black powder shipped to my doorstep for $11/pound - that's $275. Call that the aiming point. Norman Newbie shops at Skylighter, where the ingredients for 25 pounds of powder would cost him over $160, plus about $40 shipping, plus $165 and another $40 shipping for a ball mill and media. That's over $400 not accounting for time spent. Ok, so Norm would never spend that much, he'd make his first pound, discover it was total crap with that charcoal and use the rest of the chems to make fountains, but for him it's much better to buy commercial, even if he pays $20 a pound at Bass Pro Shops. One pound will last him a year. Joe Average shops at Hobby Chemicals and knows a couple of places to get good charcoal. His chems for 25 pounds cost about $130 including shipping. He already has a ball mill but it won't last forever, so let's say the amortized cost of the mill and media runs at $1 a pound. So we have $130 plus $25 for $155, looking good. But let's say Joe values his time at $20 an hour. He has to grind the charcoal, weigh out the chems, load the mill, corn the dust, dry it and screen it. This will not take less than 15 minutes a pound, which brings it up to $275, break even point. 25 pounds will last him 3 years. Slick Passfire knows all the tricks, He can get 100 pounds of nitrate for $50, roasts his own charcoal from a grove of pawlonia trees in his back yard and has a truckload of sulfur he picked up for free at an oil refinery. He made his own 50 gallon ball mill using the bleached skulls of liberals for grinding media. He still has to put in the time, but his total costs come in well under $275. 25 pounds lasts him six months. However, he can probably buy ATF regulated powders for $5 a pound, either on his own license or through a club, so why would he even bother making his own? Edited November 4, 2011 by Peret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 @ Peret.... ...not all members live in the US... the way you state this you're absolutely right. In most cases people living outside the US gunpowder is not available, allowed, or affordable. Like me, (EU) there is absolutely no good reason to buy BP, even if it was cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 The economics are not that straightforward, even with today's prices. I can get 25 pounds of commercial black powder shipped to my doorstep for $11/pound - that's $275. Call that the aiming point. Jon Blackert has BP for sale too HERE. -dag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peret Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 @ Peret.... ...not all members live in the US... the way you state this you're absolutely right. In most cases people living outside the US gunpowder is not available, allowed, or affordable. Like me, (EU) there is absolutely no good reason to buy BP, even if it was cheaper. Yes I know that, but I was responding to Mumbles' remark about the cost of commercial powder. It must be available to purchase, or the argument is irrelevant. I was just trying to point out that it isn't really all that expensive compared with making your own when you take other factors like retail markup, shipping, setup costs and time spent into account. I do think making one's own is a useful skill that everyone should master. But so, for example, is baking bread, and although I know how to do it, I generally prefer to pay someone else to bake it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Potassiumchlorate Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Even if you have a license, gun powder is expensive in Europe. 1 lb of gunpowder costs about $50 where I live, for instance, not $5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Yes I know that, but I was responding to Mumbles' remark about the cost of commercial powder. It must be available to purchase, or the argument is irrelevant. I was just trying to point out that it isn't really all that expensive compared with making your own when you take other factors like retail markup, shipping, setup costs and time spent into account. I do think making one's own is a useful skill that everyone should master. But so, for example, is baking bread, and although I know how to do it, I generally prefer to pay someone else to bake it for me. Hehehe... totally agree with you on that one. I guess it all depends on one's location and local regulations. Like potassiumchlorate said, here in Europe BP is absolutely the last thing you want to buy in shop. Making it yourself including the ballmill, cooking charcoal, and get sulfur and KNO3... still cheaper and safer when it comes to cops chasing users of energetic materials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanner808 Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 When first starting to make fire works I Used tt formula for burst thinking it was meal for some reasonAfter about 15 two inch shells my friend told me what the problem was Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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