10 replies to this topic

[xXPyroJoeXx]

Hi all, for a mini hobby project, I am going to be making some mini homemade firecrackers...you know...little bangs!
So What I need:

Fuse - Got some visco 2mm green safety fuse...and a supplier

Black Powder Ingredients:

- Pottassium Nitrate - So far...GardenDirect.co.uk, or a known supplier who's website is misteriously down!!!

- Sulphur - B&Q Again...however a supplier is the same as above...

- Charcoal - Again B&Q! (Simple)

Paper, Im firstly making a polumna!

So from the info above does anyone know any problems with my plan???

Thanks in advanced! And some other cheaper, more reliable websites would be appriciated!

This is what im hoping to make - Polumna Youtube Video

Edited by xXPyroJoeXx, 22 May 2008 - 06:25 PM.

[cooperman435]

Whilst your post on this site will no doubt result in a number of burns due to the fact that your just wanting to make bangers you have 2 main problems.

firstly how you intend to combine your BP components? Simply mixing the components however fine they may be will be insufficient, ball milling will realistically speaking the only way of producing a fast enough BP for polumnas.

your second problem is that no matter what you do with a ball mill garden bbq charcoal wont produce a fast enough BP for polumas anyway. Willow would be best but pine or balsa wood charcoal made yourself will be far superior to the bbq stuff. Balsa being the one of choice.

[xXPyroJoeXx]

cooperman435

Thanks for the reply...yeh I have heard and read about how you need willow charcoal....but as its charcoal...its easy to get! But for the other two...they are ok, right?

Anyway, nah I wont burn myself

Also, I was planning to use a mortar and pestle to grind most the ingredients up...but I hear that when you mix the pottassium nitrate with the charcoal+sulphur mix you have to be careful cus they are very reactive to pressure??? Am I right??
Anyway thanks for the reply and the advice

[phildunford]

Hi xx,

Don't want to discourage you from posting, but use the search feature and you will find everything you need to know about making BP.

It's not a trivial matter to make good BP.

[cooperman435]

LOL burn means people posting that you shouldnt be doing what your asking about, not literally burning yourself which I wish to add you shouldn't be doing either.

the other 2 sound about right with what everyone else uses yep and certainly you need to follow good PP rules and wear safety gear but grinding with a mortar n pestle is a fairly commonplace practic for making rough BP, be aware though that it is rough and wont preform as intended in a polumna as it wont be nearly fastenough.

[Arthur Brown]

Everything you could ever want to know about BP is contained in a few threads with obvious titles!
Suppliers for most materials are listed clearly in other posts.

Please READ hundreds of posts here and you WILL find BP, its ingredients and sources clearly listed. You will find types of BP, speeds of BP and ingredients for BP all linked and related to production methods and formulations.

Before you attempt to blow something up inadvertently, please learn from the doings and mistakes of others. You have two hands and need them both.

Be very careful.

[Burtgummer]

Search, Search, and Search more. Find out as much as you can about making BP. If you cant buy a ball mill, there are several tutorials on how to make one. They most likely ont be as good, but they get you in the right direction. Its also very likely your first several batches of BP wont be near fast enough to make a decent cracker. It took me many batches to really figure out how I like my BP. I have been milling my BP for at least 48 hours, followed by granulation. My ingredients are from Home Depot, which I'm not sure is in the UK or not. KNO3 is most stump remover, Sulfur can be found as "garden sulfur" and the good charcoal is also used for BBQs, because it supposedley cooks food better. At home depot, the charcoal comes in 15 pound bags for $5, and is called "Cowboy Brand" Charcoal. Just look for "All Natural" charcoal, I'm sure there are home improvement stores or BBQ stores that carry it.

Anyways, it will take several batches to learn how to make it, even though you may think you can do it right off the bat. Have fun experimenting! And be careful!

[Techohead]

sorry if i'm repeating what everyone else has said, but i started a thread here a few months back that i kept alive for weeks, entirely on the different elements to consider when making black podwer. it's called something like 'how to make black powder' i think, and if you skim through the whole thing you'll learn most of what you need to know from there alone.

[cooperman435]

BURTGUMMER:

I think you will find that many peoples home made ballmills are superior to any that could be bought. As far as I know no one makes a "BP Ballmill" just ballmills that are used for making bp but not intended for this use. In the end its a rotating jar full of lead balls how can you go wrong.

secondly BBQ charcoal is NO GOOD for making any type of fast bp full stop. It has its uses and can be used to make slow bp but I assure you it cannot compete with most other charcoals made from known woods. Its major disadvantage for any use even rocket propellant is that as you have no idea of its origins one batch may behave completely differently to the next.

[Burtgummer]

I didnt mean that you can't make a good ball mill, although after re-reading what I wrote it sure does seem so. I have considered making a larger mill for myself to increase efficiency. I'm just used to seeing homemade ball mills on youtube made from small plastic jars that will take forever to ball mill good quality BP. Anyways, my apologies for saying it wasnt possible, but an efficient one will take some work.

[Arthur Brown]

Searching the net for "rock tumbler" will bring up lots of options that can be adapted for making BP. Just that "rock" is much less dense than lead so a 3 pound drum will hold 3 pounds of stone and look full or three pounds of lead media and look mostly empty!

Searching this forum for ball mill, rock tumbler should bring up lots of common options, according to where you are!

http://www.pyrosocie...?showtopic=3384
http://www.pyrosocie...p?showtopic=132
http://www.pyrosocie...p?showtopic=826
http://www.pyrosocie...?showtopic=3742