making black powder

It would sure be nice to see a Canadian company step up and fill the void.

why should we have to rely on other countries to make it.
Pretty basic ingredients most farmers would have already.

I think it would sell good. Lots of money to be made. WE NEED POWDER
I would invest for sure.
there has to be a large commercial demand for, construction, fire works,,dynomite for blowing beaver dams ect
 
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45 years ago when I was a 14 year old undisciplined delinquent, I found a recipe for gunpowder in The Encyclopedia Americana. If I remember correctly, they listed three components. Yellow Sulphur, Saltpeter and charcoal (from the dogwood tree ?). It listed the quantities as a percentage.
The first two ingredients were readily available over the counter at my local drug store and the I ground up a bunch of BBQ briquets for the charcoal LOL.
So... I whipped up a batch in a plastic margarine container in my parents basement while they were out grocery shopping one sunny morning and decided to test er out..
I took about 1/4 teaspoon of the mix and put it in a tinfoil pie plate and touched it off. It lit right away. It burned FURIOUSLY, but slowly with a lot of smoke, bubbling sparks and spitting (kinda like those Volcano fireworks things).
Well... Wouldn't ya know it... one of them sparks landed in the open bowl (full...) that I foolishly left right next to my ignition test
WHOOOSH... She lit up like a thermite reaction. I turned and ran like a scared jack-rabbit for the hills. When I finally worked up the courage to go back downstairs, choking on thick sulphurous smoke, I found the remains of the plastic bowl melted to the metal table I was using and seriously scorched ceiling tiles.
I had a great deal of esplainin' to do when Dad got home
The sulphur smell stayed in the house for months
 
lone ranger said:
No...I cant find any for sale here,,,,so I searched the net to see how to make it.......and I found out I cant.
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Oh there's that "C" word rearing its ugly head once again. As the world continues to slide further downhill by the day, folks need to remember that there's quite a difference between something you can't do and aren't supposed to do.

As history has proven time and time again, sometimes a man must do things that he's not supposed to do.

Of course I can't condone making homemade BP, but just a friendly reminder- gotta keep the mindset in the right spot.
 
Joe Amorosi said:
45 years ago when I was a 14 year old undisciplined delinquent, I found a recipe for gunpowder in The Encyclopedia Americana. If I remember correctly, they listed three components. Yellow Sulphur, Saltpeter and charcoal (from the dogwood tree ?). It listed the quantities as a percentage.
The first two ingredients were readily available over the counter at my local drug store and the I ground up a bunch of BBQ briquets for the charcoal LOL.
So... I whipped up a batch in a plastic margarine container in my parents basement while they were out grocery shopping one sunny morning and decided to test er out..
I took about 1/4 teaspoon of the mix and put it in a tinfoil pie plate and touched it off. It lit right away. It burned FURIOUSLY, but slowly with a lot of smoke, bubbling sparks and spitting (kinda like those Volcano fireworks things).
Well... Wouldn't ya know it... one of them sparks landed in the open bowl (full...) that I foolishly left right next to my ignition test
WHOOOSH... She lit up like a thermite reaction. I turned and ran like a scared jack-rabbit for the hills. When I finally worked up the courage to go back downstairs, choking on thick sulphurous smoke, I found the remains of the plastic bowl melted to the metal table I was using and seriously scorched ceiling tiles.
I had a great deal of esplainin' to do when Dad got home
The sulphur smell stayed in the house for months
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Did. The same only 60 years ago. We didn't blow up the house but tried to reload shotgun shells with it and firing out of an old Damascus double that kicked around the barn. Got all our components from the pharmacist who asked "What are you making gunpowder?" What else could we say and he just told us to be careful and probably called our dads. My Dad convinced me it would be safer to buy .22's and shoot out behind the barn as one day we might get the recipe right and blow ourselves up.
I am sure that the supply will appear again and in the meantime use Pyrodex or such and stay safe and legal. It is not worth getting caught and suffering the consequences in today's courts
 
As teenagers, we used to make it. Kind of haphazard measure of ingredients, but it was good enough for bottle rocket fuel. I think it burns faster under pressure, so having it contained speeds up the rate. I used to use wooden dowel for the plugs at both ends, pvc pipe couplers for the tube, drill a hole for a nozzle, and make homemade fuses. I melted the ends of the pipe with a larger soldering gun to retain the plugs. Flew as good as smaller bottle rockets, but these were larger and wasted more fuel. A friend tried making propellant from some pool chemical, perchlorate or something like that. His always just went bang.
 
Road trip tomorrow !!
A buddy read my thread and seen I was looking for Powder.
He knew of an older gentleman selling off all his black powder stuff.
will be picking 5, 1 pound containers. Made my day.
 
burnt_servo said:
without getting into the process involved ( which would go against the rules here ) ... there is a part of the process that the powder is extremely unstable .
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black powder is made with the ingredients damp and are or were commercially crushed under large grinding wheels rolling around in a circle. The result was called "cake" and at some point the cake was dry and broken up into chunks then crushed to a powder again under large grinding wheels. Think in terms of a large stone wheel 1 foot or more thick and 3 or 4 feet in diameter (or bigger) and rolling around in a circle on edge. The resulting powder was run through screens to grade it by size. If the wheel scuffed a bit instead of turning (I assume) heat was generated which potentially set off the dry cake / powder. Such explosions were not uncommon and in the good old days the building where the grinding was done was flimsy with canvas sides (or similar) to reduce the damage if the powder did explode. Even in modern times, explosions were not uncommon and equipment was operated remotely to protect the workers

cheers mooncoon
 
SomebodyTookMyName said:
Sadly the restrictions on dangerous goods in this country have driven powder industries elsewhere. We used to have very good powder manufacturers in Canada, but they are no more.
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I thought most IMR powders are still made in Valleyfield, Province of Quebec? - owned by General Dynamics, who also has another powder making facility in St. Marks, Florida??

Is no doubt there has been substantial amalgamation in the industry - my now deceased father-in-law - from Vancouver Island - used to mention going fishing with a "James Island fly" when times were tough and really needed fish - did not make sense to me, until I found out that James Island was reputed to be the site of a CIL dynamite plant??

From some "safety guy" training many years ago - the Dupont outfit - owned by wealthy French family - lost a member of family in industrial accident at one of their black powder making plants - so common in USA and Canada - built with an earthen wall around the plant - open to the nearby river so blast would go out that way - then required that plant's manager and his family to live INSIDE that berm. Was held out to be a start at corporate response to "safety" in a work place ...
 
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mooncoon said:
black powder is made with the ingredients damp and are or were commercially crushed under large grinding wheels rolling around in a circle. The result was called "cake" and at some point the cake was dry and broken up into chunks then crushed to a powder again under large grinding wheels. Think in terms of a large stone wheel 1 foot or more thick and 3 or 4 feet in diameter (or bigger) and rolling around in a circle on edge. The resulting powder was run through screens to grade it by size. If the wheel scuffed a bit instead of turning (I assume) heat was generated which potentially set off the dry cake / powder. Such explosions were not uncommon and in the good old days the building where the grinding was done was flimsy with canvas sides (or similar) to reduce the damage if the powder did explode. Even in modern times, explosions were not uncommon and equipment was operated remotely to protect the workers

cheers mooncoon
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i am told there was a drying process involved , that during the drying that things are very unstable and easily ignited
 
I'd make some ....if I need it...legal?....if I'm hungry....I'm a making some. Lol why are you guys worried about the government all of a sudden?... There going to F@#& us anyway they can. No gun = Australia....stand there with your parts in your hand...click..click...dud...lol. make all you want...does it really matter anymore?
She is a down hill run from here!
 
Joe Amorosi said:
45 years ago when I was a 14 year old undisciplined delinquent, I found a recipe for gunpowder in The Encyclopedia Americana. If I remember correctly, they listed three components. Yellow Sulphur, Saltpeter and charcoal (from the dogwood tree ?). It listed the quantities as a percentage.
The first two ingredients were readily available over the counter at my local drug store and the I ground up a bunch of BBQ briquets for the charcoal LOL.
So... I whipped up a batch in a plastic margarine container in my parents basement while they were out grocery shopping one sunny morning and decided to test er out..
I took about 1/4 teaspoon of the mix and put it in a tinfoil pie plate and touched it off. It lit right away. It burned FURIOUSLY, but slowly with a lot of smoke, bubbling sparks and spitting (kinda like those Volcano fireworks things).
Well... Wouldn't ya know it... one of them sparks landed in the open bowl (full...) that I foolishly left right next to my ignition test
WHOOOSH... She lit up like a thermite reaction. I turned and ran like a scared jack-rabbit for the hills. When I finally worked up the courage to go back downstairs, choking on thick sulphurous smoke, I found the remains of the plastic bowl melted to the metal table I was using and seriously scorched ceiling tiles.
I had a great deal of esplainin' to do when Dad got home
The sulphur smell stayed in the house for months
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I have this book on my laptop...also has how to make rimfire brass, if it the same book. Great book. I down loaded it years ago...you wouldn't or couldn't find it now a days on the net...
The copy I have looks like someone took pictures of the pages and put it all together in a pdf file.
Haven't used the laptop in years...has alot of file on this kinda stuff.
 
There used to be several powder manufacturers in Canada.
During WW2 there was a cordite plant just outside of Winnipeg.
I don't know what the name of the plant was.
The facilities were torn down by the 1950s.
 
Reminds me of Blood Meridian by Cormac Mcarthy, anyone remember when they made Blackpowder with Saltpeter, Sulpher and Charcoal? but they pissed on it for some reason, its been a while since i read the book but it was a really good read!
 
odsixer said:
Reminds me of Blood Meridian by Cormac Mcarthy, anyone remember when they made Blackpowder with Saltpeter, Sulpher and Charcoal? but they pissed on it for some reason, its been a while since i read the book but it was a really good read!
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The pee is where the saltpeter comes from. In the old days buckets/drums or a large pile of hay in a dry spot had pee repeatedly poured onto it to soak in and eventually the pile would be washed and the washing water collected. Many years ago in Europe there used to be guys called peterman that went around finding any ground deemed full enough of nitrates(piss) and dig it up, even if it was in your yard. Piss was a hot commodity back in the day, the origin of “taking the piss”

2: “In 1626, King Charles I ordered “his loving subjects [to] carefully and constantly keep and preserve in some convenient vessels or receptacles fit for the purpose, all the urine of man during the whole year, and all the stale of beasts which they can save and gather together whilst their beasts are in their stables and stalls….”
 
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Lionel said:
There used to be several powder manufacturers in Canada.
During WW2 there was a cordite plant just outside of Winnipeg.
I don't know what the name of the plant was.
The facilities were torn down by the 1950s.
Click to expand...

It was in Transcona, which is now part of the City of Winnipeg. Cordite Road still exists as a reminder of what was once there. They pretty much tore it all down after WWII ended.
 
I used to make black powder as a dumb kid around 13 years old. Had a couple successful batches. Even at that age I was very cautious and only mixed small batches. No reason you can't grind the individual components and store them. Legality comes into question when components are combined with intent. Most households contain the raw products to create many illegal or regulated items.
 
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