How to Make Gunpowder
This is a very simple way to make high quality ball milled black powder.
[edit] Steps
- The formula for Black Powder is 75% Potassium Nitrate (5 Parts), 15% Charcoal (one Part), and 10% Sulfur (2/3 of 1 Part). These percentages are percentages by weight.
- Mill the charcoal and sulfur for 4 hours.
- Add the potassium nitrate to the ball mill.
- Mill for 24 to 48 hours. The longer the better.
- The result is called meal powder.
[edit] Tips
- "The longer the Ball Mill runs, the stronger the Black Powder will be. A general rule of thumb for all pyrotechnic mixtures is " the finer the powder is, the faster it will burn ".
[edit] Warnings
- Use only non sparking media in the ball mill such as lead.
- Do not smoke around gunpowder
- Wear a mask
- Wear gloves
- Wear heavy clothes
- Keep debris that could fly, such as rocks or metal, away from mill as they could hit you in an explosion.
- To safe guard yourself, place sand bags around mill so explosion will be directed in the air.
- If you are working the ball mill on a table, remove the nails; just use glue.
[edit] Things You'll Need
- Ball mill www.pyrocreations.com (a very good deal on a 3 lb mill)
- High purity sulfur
- Charcoal (the higher mesh the better)
- Scale
- Potassium Nitrate
