Black Powder
First made by the Chinese for use in fireworks, black powder was first used in weapons and explosives in the 12th century. It is very simple to make, but it is not very powerful or safe. Only about 50% of black powder is converted to hot gasses when it is burned; the other half is mostly very fine burned particles. Black powder has one major problem: it can be ignited by static electricity. This is very bad, and it means that the material must be made with wooden or clay tools.
Black powders burn either quickly or very slowly depending on the composition of such a mixture; however, these powders produce smoke, often great amounts, and is most useful in applications where smoke is no object. It is the best for communicating fire and for producing a quick, hot flame.
Black powder is used in both propellant charges for shrapnel shells, in saluting and blank fire charges, as the bursting charge of practice shells and bombs, as a propelling charge in certain pyrotechnic pieces, and, either with or without the admixture of other substances which modify the rate of burning, in the time-train rings and in other parts of fuses.
Black powder is generally available in three grades. The grade of black powder depends on what the calibre of the gun that it is used in; a fine grade of powder could burn too fast in the wrong caliber weapon. The rule is: the smaller the grade, the faster the burn rate of the powder. Burn rate is extremely important in bombs. Since an explosion is a rapid increase of gas volume in a confined environment, to make an explosion, a quick-burning powder is desirable. The three common grades of black powder are listed below, along with the usual bore width (calibre) of what they are used in. Generally, the fastest burning powder, the FFF grade is desirable. However, the other grades and uses are listed below:
GRADE BORE WIDTH EXAMPLE OF GUN
ÄÄÄÄÄ ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
F .50 or greater model cannon; some rifles
FF .36 - .50 large pistols; small rifles
FFF .36 or smaller pistols; derringers
The FFF grade is the fastest burning, because the smaller grade has more surface area or burning surface exposed to the flame front. The larger grades also have uses which will be discussed later. The price range of black powder, per pound, is about $8.50 - $9.00. The price is not affected by the grade, and so one saves oneself time and work if one buys the finer grade of powder. The major problems with black powder are that it can be ignited accidentally by static electricity, and that it has a tendency to absorb moisture from the air. To safely crush it, a one would use a plastic spoon and a wooden salad bowl. Taking a small pile at a time, he or she would apply pressure to the powder through the spoon and rub it in a series of strokes or circles, but not too hard. It is fine enough to use when it is about as fine as flour. The fineness, however, is dependant on what type of device one wishes to make; obviously, it would be impracticle to crush enough powder to fill a 1 foot by 4 inch radius pipe. Any adult can purchase black powder, since anyone can own black powder firearms in the United States.
Black powder can be prepared in a simple, safe manner. It may be used as blasting or gun powder.
Potassium Nitrate, granulated, 3 cups (3/4 liter) Wood charcoal, powdered, 2 cups Sulfur, powdered, 1/2 cup Alcohol, 5 pints (2-1/2 liters) (whiskey, rubbing alcohol, etc.) Water, 3 cups (3/4 liter) Heat source 2 buckets - each 2 gallon (7-1/2 litres) capacity, at least one of which is heat resistant (metal, ceramic, etc.) Flat window screening, at least 1 foot (30 cm) square Large wooden stick Cloth, at leat 2 feet (60 cm) square
- Place alcohol in one of the buckets.
- Place potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur in the heat resistant bucket. Add 1 cup water and mix thoroughly with wooden stick until all ingrediants are dissolved.
- Add remaining water (2 cups) to mixture. Place bucket on heat source and stir until small bubbles begin to form.
- CAUTION: DO NOT boil mixture. Be sure ALL mixture stays wet. If any is dry, as on sides of pan, it may ignite!
- Remove bucket from heat and pour mixture into alcohol while stirring vigorously.
- Let alcohol mixture stand about 5 minutes. Strain mixture through cloth to obtain black powder. Discard liquid. Wrap cloth around black powder and squeeze to remove all excess liquid.
- Place screening over dry bucket. Place workable amount of damp powder on screen and granulate by rubbing solid through screen. NOTE: If granulated particles appear to stick together and change shape, recombine entire batch of powder and repeat steps 5 & 6.
- Spread granulated black powder on flat, dry surface so that layer about 1/2 inch (1-1/4 cm) is formed. Allow to dry. Use radiator, or direct sunlight. This should be dried as soon as possible, preferably in an hour. The longer the drying period, the less effective the black powder.
CAUTION: Remove from heat AS SOON AS granules are dry. Black powder isnow ready to use.
A misguided individual could manufacture black powder at home with the following procedure:
MATERIALS EQUIPMENT
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
potassium clay grinding bowl
nitrate (75 g) and clay grinder
or or
sodium wooden salad bowl
nitrate (75 g) and wooden spoon
sulfur (10 g) plastic bags (3)
charcoal (15 g) 300-500 ml beaker (1)
distilled water coffee pot or heat source
- Place a small amount of the potassium or sodium nitrate in the grinding bowl and grind it to a very fine powder. Do this to all of the potassium or sodium nitrate, and store the ground powder in one of the plastic bags.
- Do the same thing to the sulfur and charcoal, storing each chemical in a separate plastic bag.
- Place all of the finely ground potassium or sodium nitrate in the beaker, and add just enough boiling water to the chemical to get it all wet.
- Add the contents of the other plastic bags to the wet potassium or sodium nitrate, and mix them well for several minutes. Do this until there is no more visible sulfur or charcoal, or until the mixture is universally black.
- On a warm sunny day, put the beaker outside in the direct sunlight. Sunlight is really the best way to dry black powder, since it is never too hot, but it is hot enough to evaporate the water.
- Scrape the black powder out of the beaker, and store it in a safe container. Plastic is really the safest container, followed by paper. Never store black powder in a plastic bag, since plastic bags are prone to generate static electricity.
(Brown)
Name Saltpeter Charcoal Sulfur
England........................ 79 (18) 3
England........................ 77.4 (17.6) 5
Germany........................ 78 (19) 3
Germany........................ 80 (20) -
France......................... 78 (19) 3
Forte...........e...........e 72 15 13 | Blasting
Lente.......................... 40 30 30 |- Black
Ordinaire...........e.......... 62 18 20 | Powders
Another addition to the CookBook...... -= Exodus =- '94