why are you teaching people how to make black powder? just because you put( for firearms) you think that will stop people from making pipe bombs and the like with it? There is a real good reason this shit is not common knowledge and it ain't to stop you from defending yourself or hunting, it's to stop assholes from using it to hurt others! Anyone teaching people how to make this shit without properly vetting the people they are teaching should be locked up for advising the manufacture of weapons!
What are you? Some kind of Democrat raised child? Criminals gonna criminal, this knowledge has been around for 1000's of years and anyone with half a brain and basic reading comprehension can figure it out.
In less than an hour...........you have explained the craft of antique muzzle loading propellant better than I have discovered in 60 yrs of investigations.........my hat is off to you......and thanks, I thought I knew quite a bit over the decades but have learned in every video.........I don't blow smoke but I feel your efforts in keeping this skill alive deserves special recognition ......you are a true "Green Man"....💥.
I am glad this guy has every simpleton like U eating out of his hand.... That toilet grade Potassium Nitrate is unstable as hell it is being foreign made now days. Great way to dynamite your kitchen or work shop when your old lady has off and show your neighbors what an uneducated moron you can be. 35 years ago I did what this moron says put that stuff in a convection oven like that. Luckily it was an open faced barn area. nearly blew my my chickens to the moon. Most parts of this country have humidity winter & summer so you will never safely dry stuff. The way regular black powder is made is after it is refined it is put in 15lb kegs with sodium silicate absorbtion materials. The powder sits a better part of 2-5 years in between it is tested and closed back up. That is thee epitome of thee reasons why PYRODEX was made because black powder can be so inconsistent even highly dangerous. Like KABLEWY... Black Powder always stays & remains affected by atmospheric conditions like humidity. Home made black powder is the most dangerous powder. It is OKay for toy cannons and fireworks. Just not firearms. Real black powder absorbs humidity like a sponge Bob... Ok.
Real charcoal used to be made with certain species of American Hickory and Ash. In the 70s they were using South American hardwoods like IPE. In order to be totally affective there needs to be a blend of pure Sulphur and Antimony substrate. This process as seen here can be highly dangerous with antique arms and light novelty pistols. Most COMMERCIAL modern muzzle loading rifles will stand up to almost any muzzle pressures and perhaps these boobs should be more clear about this stuff. I can make black powder. Its safer to buy something commercial. Removing a breech block to rescue a gun from a garbage charge can be a real task and normally if you heat that breech block to get it loose the gun is then shot. garbage. hope I helped but I have been at black powder and loved it ever since I was 10 years old. I've been at this now 6 decades. This stuff is just bad advice is all it is. A bag of IPE hardwood right now for 45lbs is $70.00. Commercial cooks use the same stuff. Once heated it stays very hot kinda like the old KINGSFORD CHARCOAL. SAME STUFF. Making your own charcoal is like pissing in the wind...
@@stevenblackstone2501yes Jake and I always make sure our wood is dry before Charing. We tried using wet wood and the batch was so bad we tossed it 😂 BTW I’m Jakes brother and camera man
I have been making my own powder for about 40 years. The best wood I have found for charcoal production is actually cottonwood. But a close second is red cedar. I know someone who mills his own lumber for cedar furniture. I get his sawdust bin every few months and make charcoal from the dust. It makes grinding it so easy. I also use dextrin in my powder just as a binder but it also gives it a bit of a glazed appearance. It makes for a fun hobby. I have also made a couple of rifles and handguns.. one handgun has a bore large enough to fire golf balls. It is a matchlock and works beautifully.
Dextrin slows down the burn rate. Often 1 or 2 percent of it is used when making BP for rocket motors. The rocket fuel is usually screened before being rammed into the motor casing.
I have been making BP for about 60 yrs and about 25 yrs ago I read somewhere that willow was the best charcoal so have been making it out of willow everysince
There should be a brass band playing and fireworks going off over this. The best damn "black Powder" video ever, to grace the halls of UA-cam. Thanks for your time and dedication to go through all the experimentation, research and testing you've done. And most of all, your willingness to share what you have learned with all of us. Chip
Right on the money on all counts! My family has made powder for over 200 years and quality of ingredients, refining of said ingredients, and mill times are paramount. Kudos
I want to thank you, sincerely, for taking the effort and the willingness to share your secrets and laying them out in a full length pyrotechnics lecture on making -the- best powder. When you said "99%" my first thought was "might wanna recrystallize.. oh you do that!" Step by step you explain the full process.. Many will misunderstand because they lack the life skill of actually listening what was said, and instead forming an opinion on facts. I'm meticulous and your presentation was that, so like you said, any misunderstandings are on the viewer's end. My attention span for youtube is *shot fires!* but your 45 minutes were an information dense breeze. I have an intellectual fetish for complete condensed information, and this was good for me. Immediately chimed in friends to come have a look. Thank you.
It’s annoying to watch someone’s 30 min video and only say a couple useful things. I don’t wanna spend hours on hours watching videos with half the info. This video is nonstop info and tips. Incredibly useful video!
This is the best video on the subject I’ve ever found.👍 I’m glad to see my suggestion worked for you. Those cheap ,hand cranked “corn crackers” work pretty well for granulating pucks. You can still make chicken feed with it too. Just clean it out well so the eggs don’t explode when they hit the skillet. Handgreneggs! 🙄 The density info is well received and much appreciated.👍 With a cash outlay of around $10 per pound and the opportunity to acquire knowledge that has such dramatic potential , why sit waiting for someone else to provide it for $40 / pound? You could sit waiting until your smoke pole turns into a walking stick or tomato stake! Clean ingredients. Yes. I bought some potassium nitrate , for a good price, that was ,definitely, hinkey. It had a strong chemical smell and the powder was less than acceptable. You need a trustworthy source or the ability to pee and process your own.
You can recrystallize the potassium nitrate to purify it. Dissolve it in the minimum amount of boiling water, filter then let it cool and put it in the fridge. The nitrate will crystallize out, filter the crystals then dry and grind them. It’ll be more than 99% pure. Lol, I commented before he demonstrated exactly what I was saying.
@@chemistryofquestionablequa6252 So, all I need is a saturated solution to provoke crystallization? That is definitely worth a try. Thanks. Sometimes I need bumped to get my grey matter going.
So Bill Knight, aka The Mad Monk, discovered (visited the plant) that Swiss black powder is a 78:12:10 formula milled for at least 24 hours. The Buckthorn alder is all harvested in the early spring when the sugar content is the highest and dried/aged 3 years. Charring is performed in car size batches) at 608 degrees for 8 hours!
For a couple hundred years, from 1350 (the first time guns were used in combat at the Battle of Crecy) the Royal Gunner would mix powder dry on site because the ingredients would separate during transport and wouldn't work. The Royal Gunner was in charge of mixing the powder for the bombards, using a slightly different formula than the smaller handgonnes. One formula had lower pressure to keep from blowing up the bombards, kind of like using pistol powder in pistols and rifle powder in rifles. He was also in charge of building the gun carriages and inspecting the bombards after they were cast by bell makers. The Siege Master built the siege engines on site, using the trees that were there, the Gunner would have carriages built on site. He would also be in charge of figuring out the trajectory of the bombards and guiding his assistants to make adjustments. I would have to do a little more research to find out when they figured out how to add liquid and screen the powder, but that's what the French were doing up until the Napoleonic Wars, where they were loading their muskets with twice as much powder as the British, who were compressing their powder. The French were using 150-200 grains of powder (15-20 for the priming charge and to account for spillage) while the British were using about 120 grains (15-20 for priming and spillage). When the French figured it out, they also started using a .65" round ball, up from a .64" roundball because compressed powder was cleaner. A doctoral candidate shared his thesis on the Royal Armouries UA-cam channel during Covid. Since they couldn't do lectures in person, the Royal Armouries did Zoom calls and recorded the speeches. One dude did a video on the history of firearms in Britain during the Middle Ages, I learned more in that hour than I have in the last 15 years of shooting blackpowder and doing active research. Movies and TV have completely concealed the use of guns through the late Middle Ages and in feudal Japan from 1500 to the 1800's.
Dude, you have my utmost admiration on UA-cam… the years of trial and error and discovery, and ending up with a grade A BP propellant that rivals and even surpasses what is general acceptance that Swiss BP is the best commercially available powder. You have come a long way …. I thank you for the entertainment, the publicity of your findings and sharing it to anyone interested. You are an amazing individual that deserves a lot for what you have done, and willingly shared. I appreciate the lack of arrogance, the blunt straight facts without a argumentative attitude. I appreciate everything and thank you for all your sucky videos… every damn one of them. Cheers… Earl.
Earlier today I pulled a T/C flintlock out of a trash pile on the side of the road, looking foreword to finally putting what I have learned on the channel to use. I have never owned a muzzle loader, and you videos have been giving me the itch to get one. Snagging that rusty Hawken on the way home from class feels like divine providence.
My dad owned his own car repair shop for over 40 years. I can totally understand Jakes sarcasm in his videos. Having put time and knowledge into something just to have people whine and complain about information thats free thru some else's time and efforts beacuse you don't like something is about as annoying as watching a college snowflake melt down over freedoms vs their feelings. Like the man said if you don't like his method's don't do it. If you like chewing the blue crayons you don't have to eat the green ones you have choices. Me personally I appreciate his efforts and the experiences Jake is willing to share. Thank you.
Frankford Arsenal makes a killer 7L tumbler for brass polishing which I use as a mill. Best off the shelf mill option out there that I know of right now. They sell replacement rubber lined barrels separately which would be great for diy mills also.
Wish they weren't so expensive. Trying to figure out a poor man's method for now. Need a tumbler for a few reasons and am disabled, so I always have to try to come up with the cheapest, but effective options. (like making my own from parts/garbage/scrap).
@@davidslone9776 USA & don't feed too much into this DIY home stuff especially the Potassium Nitrate due to being totally made by Happy the clown can blow up your kitchen or shop big time. The bagged stuff used to be Ok years ok and U could pull off this homemade mixing even with store brand charcoal. Right now the stuff is not stable out of the package. That is the truth. The sulphur due to how it is made it is usually made semi damp specifically to thwart stuff like this. Usually that has to be dried or heated Not that dangerous it just smells if ya got an old lady or kids. The sulphur can react with Aluminum pans by the way. So if U R gonna cook in the same stuff think twice. It turns to an acid when it sits.
Thank You! Hands down the best video out there. Following your methods (as closely as I can with that I have to work with) I was able to make Goex equivalent powder on my first try. Going to have to refine my nitrate for the next batch. The only thing I can add that of value is a quicker and easier method of finding density. Take your dried broken pucks and grab a few chunks that will fit in a 100ml graduated cylinder. Weigh these pucks in grams. Fill the cylinder 1/2 full of water, get a reading on the water level. Drop in the broken pucks and get another reading. Dump it out and set your chunks to the side to dry. The water won't penetrate in that amount of time. Now you have grams of powder and CC's (Ml's) of displacement. Do the math and its done. Takes longer to describe than to do.
Thank you. I've done a little black powder hunting years ago but now you have inspired me to get a good flintlock. That just looks fun and relaxing. Time for me to get back to the basics as well as the science behind it. I really do appreciate your style of presentation as well.
Great information, thank you. I don't make powder but am considering it. (been shooting black powder guns for over 50 years), because, .as you say the supply is dwindling. Living on the east coast I have had the experience of visiting Du Ponts early works. Their early 19th century batches were the volume of an over size cement mixer. The building the mixer was in was to made let go (boom wise) , and they were on the shore of a river, pointed so the blast wave went over the river. Most of the crew that manned the mixer were on the other side of a brick back wall, as much as they could be. They did have some tragedies. The damp milled powder from several of the mills then went to a screening house (I don't remember seeing a compression process, but I expect there was) . Any way, seems to me that a safety measure to emphasize is not to get greedy and try to make bigger batches. I have been impressed the many times you have mentioned your batch size of about 200 grams, or less than half a pound. With black powder the size of the bang is absolutely related to the quantity. Small quantities of unconfined black powder typically will burn fast. Larger quantities are more likely to go boom. I don't know the burn to boom crossover point, and expect it's a bit unpredictable. At the rate I shoot, it's about 1/2 pound per month. Typically I don't cast more bullets than I can shoot in a few months, so I can easily see keeping up with my powder demand with 200 gram batches. staged a few days apart. (helps to be retired) . In this day and age many people may not be aware of the danger of gas appliances. I can remember as a kid how we had to pay attention to the pilot lights in our gas appliances. I have a work shop in my basement and when I watch your videos I sit back and contemplate making some powder in my nice cozy basement. Then I hear the piezo electric igniter in my gas furnace or gas water heater go spark spark spark whoosh and realize that I really don't want to be making black powder 8 feet away, probably not even in 200 gram batches. As far outside and away from any source of spark including automatic electrical switches as possible., not to mention gas pilot lights. I suppose the part of the process to really take care is in the screening and sorting.
In high school, there was a family that moved into our district. The house they moved into had a laundry and water heater in the basement. The two teenage boys decided to work on a motorcyle in the basement because it was cold outside. They didn't think about the pilot light. Their mother started down to do some laundry and smelled the gasoline; she screamed for them to get out. Then it blew! The Mom was killed and the boys terribly burned; I can't remember if one of them died or not. They were a nice family, and all it took was one mistake to destroy it. Neighbors who went into the basement afterward said it didn't look like anything had happened there.
Adding 5 g dH2O on 200g dry meal is good ratio. I use 3g dH2O + 1g ethanol for 96 g dry meal. 18:26....For a diameter of 30 mm, I recommend an increase in the cylinder height of 4 - 6 mm. (20% of dia) In one pressing step. Thus about 8 g of wet BP meal. I also recommend a compaction process before pressing. Wet dust is hitting into a glass suitable for 200g using a wooden pestle. By handle power. This process increases the consistent moisture content during press handling. Also to compaction process decrease final force (pressing process) to achieve the desired density is lower.
Long ago I made my own powder and got great results by milling charcoal with sulfur first all dry to relative humidity. I then ground moistened C and S mixture with KNO3 incorporation. I laid out to dry to relative humidity and ground again. This seemed better than mixing all together but I was not that scientific at the time. Do you have experience with this method?
@@vphls No. Your experiences with better properties /C+S / KNO3/ can be subjective. Better contact among all 3 compound sure provide milling all together. And then after use huminidity.
You guys are so knowledgeable, so experienced, and so inspirational. You’re also just down-to-earth blokes. You are definitely the peerless authority to go to, for Everything Black Power.
Thanks for putting the entire process in one video, summarizing past efforts and current choices. By the amount of subscribers, looks like interest in making black powder is gaining. I have to say you have removed a lot of the mystery for me. Well done sir.
Christ I feel like an idiot with this hindsight. First batch I made was with one of those harbor freight rock tumbers. I knew I added too much, excess of 500 grams with little tumbling. It dawned on me how explosive that could’ve been, but the environment was safe enough to warrant a trial run. No accidents, but recognizing the potential for serious harm if a fault occurred. Thank you again for making these videos. It’s a fun sport and a cool hobby. I’m thankful there’s enough wisdom with those with greater experience guiding greenhorns right. Thank you!
Outstanding as always. You have never yet failed to inform, and never once motivated me in the slightest to make my own damned video. Keep up the science. Thank you Sam
Thank you for all the info. Been waiting for this one. First off as a 47 year safety professional thanks for including safety. I've got most of what's needed looking for brass media. I've made screened powder hey it was exciting and worked. Now it's time to up the game. Again thanks appreciate your humor. You'll know when the videos suck when people stop watching. Please keep them coming
Really appreciate your presentation. You have used science-like methodology, changing one variable at a time to remove guesswork and have been open-minded to experimenting with unknown variables until you zeroed in on the best possible combinations that achieved your desired goal. PhD chemists couldn’t have done it better.
Well, ya said ya would and ya did, and, I applaud you for it! Excellent, comprehensive, no BS tutorial Jake, or Willard, or Mr. McBain... Regardless, even if I thought it sucked I wouldn't make my own damn video because that's what I used to do for a living and now that I'm retired all I like to do is watch people like you so I can learn stuff. But, seriously, THANK YOU! You really did a great job of putting everything that matters in one place!!!
This video didn't suck in fact it's the best video I've seen on UA-cam. You're the man. Thanks for your patience and sharing your experience with me. That's very unselfish of you. Hopefully I can get enough experience by practicing the craft, and then more practice plus maybe a little more. Stay safe my friend. God Bless. NW ga.
I'm a retired chemical oceanographer. I've found over the years that the distilled water also has lots of contaminants. I had to boil my DI water in order to get pure DI. Good luck.
The ph of our "distilled" water in high school chem class was around 5. I didn't have the skills at the time to know exactly why, but I think part of it was dissolved CO2 since a small amount of bubbles would form when base was added.
I'm a bit confused by your remark. DI water is deionized, not distilled. DI water is measured by resistance. We used 1 million ohm water as a substitute for distilled water in most of our chemical analyses for in-house and contract work. Distilled water was the standard for all but the most critical analyses where ppm or better results were required.
Boiling wil not remove any solid contaminants, only dissolved gases. Whether liquids will be removed would dpend on relative boiling points and the fraction retained for use.
@@buggsy5 false, when you capture the condensed water, you obtain 100% pure water which is even non-drinkable because it no longer contains any mineral salts
Thank you for this detailed no nonsense walk through of making top quality black powder. I've learned more in these 46 minutes than I ever knew before. I intend to experiment for myself and have as much fun with it as I can.
I have followed this guy over a year and he is a professional I don't care what anyone says I do a little different but not much and my powder is clean and fast. But I learned everything about it here.
Ordered mine from Amazon tonight. Will be here Monday 👍 However, I’m stuck with the classic HF tumbler, for now. Them brass balls are pricy! 😳 I did speed the mill up by carefully coiling gorilla tape along the length of the drive shaft, just before it will rub the side of the tumbler. Sped up nicely. Time will tell….
I just finished a batch of .36 caliber paper cartridges using my own BP for the first time. I also have a bunch of 12 ga loaded with my BP as well. As a cowboy action shooter I go through enough powder that making my own is a significant cost savings. And while I do cut a few corners on your method to save time (as it doesn't have to be "the best" for this application) I appreciate your efforts to bring your process to the world. It made all the difference!
Rookie here. Your methods appear very refined, and highly professional. I have alot to learn! Thankyou. My first batch I made wet in a blender with purified stump remover(crystals only). I was just happy my powder was good enough to push the ball out of the cylinder lol :) Worked well enough to increase my heartrate substantially. Thanks again for all the technicals to consider.
4:20 For recrystallizations, it's actually best to let the solution cool as slowly as possible without stirring so the largest possible crystals form. This gives the crystals time to exclude impurities from the crystal matrix.
I find that when you allow it to make really large crystals. It can actually encapsulate some of that water inside them. Also, if you’re dealing with 99% pure nitrate, there’s really not many impurities left.
@@Everythingblackpowder Thank you man. I learn English with many UA-cam channel about firearms. I want to say all Yankees or Rebs here. Protect your second amendment with any tactics. Sorry for mistake scripture. I don't use translator
Outstanding Sir! maybe consider doing an annual update to summarize any advances in the past year, with this video as the baseline. Keep up the good work!
I made 3 pounds 1 pound with Charmin charcoal. 2 pounds with red ceder. My groups with my 58 cal. About 7 inches at 50 yards . I did not separate all the powder, so I had 1f 2f and 3f all mixed up. After this video, l polished it all for two hours and ran it through the screens again. Back to the range to test groups again!
I'm not even a black powder shooter. Just wanted some tips on powder making. But this was a great video to watch. No fluff, just good information. Well done.
Read Like Fire and Powder the day that it arrived. Three things struck me: 1) the emphasis on importance of purifying the nitrate, 2) the Waltham Abby “incorporation” that involved ~3,840 passes of 3.5 to 4 ton rollers run over the mill cake (hard to replicate that!), 3) the Waltham Abby drying of the glazed powder at 130 degrees F for at least 18 hours prior to the final dust removal. While below the melting point of sulfur it is above the temperatures at which it will sublimate, so that heat used for drying might cause the sulphur to be even more finely dispersed within the grains than it already was. Maybe. And one more thing, that while the charcoal made at 500-600 degrees F does have a lower ignition temperature it is also “very hygroscopic”, so not so good after all. He said he tries for “around 750” F.
I was finding his channel when I wanted better AMP years ago. watched this dude shoot BP in 45acp and in 9 autos. I started testing my powders on paper like his opener.
Once again you have created a brilliant, frank, educational and entertaining presentation - we all owe you a deep debt of gratitude and a bucket of respect! Thank you.
This is the most comprehensive video about BP I have ever seen! All the details and "secrets" are exposed and well described, it is a reference in making best quality gun BP. Congratulations! There is only one thing I would like to add, and this is about the charcoal source. In Europe Cottonelle toilet paper is quite hard to find... Of course, experiments are open for European TP brands (Zewa?), but I think traditional sources of charcoal (and you mentioned a few) are a good option for making good quality BP. As you said, willow is the traditional wood, red cedar works fine too... In Europe, what is easy to find and works best is Balsa, Paulownia, Willow and Poplar, in this order. In my opinion, pine is very dirty burning...
I'm in Florida. We have enough humidity that I compress without adding any water at all. I was able to confirm that SOME moisture is necessary by drying it in the sun before compressing and that didn't work. But the ammount of necessary moisture can be had with just 90% ambient humidity.
Absolutely great info! I'm not a black powder shooter, (I'm an air gunner) but I AM an amateur rocket scientist. Of late, I've been working towards refining basic black powder as a rocket propellant. It has been used in commercial model rocketry motors for decades (since the late 1950's), but modern model/amateur rockets tend towards more exotic amonium nitrate/ and amonium perchlorate/reactive metals in a synthetic rubber binder. Granted, these are much more energetic choices, but they also require much more technical processes such as vacuum processing of propellant before casting. Your information, I feel, will allow me to provide the amateur Rocketeer with a much less expensive, more consistent mid-power propellant for their hobby/experimental endeavors. Thank you for your diligence and hard work. I just wanted you to know that it isn't only shooters and hunters benefitting from your work. P.S. I'm a survivalist as well, and this info is PRICELESS!!
Didnt they have black powder Congreve rockets in the civil war? They had hand grenades, land mines, mortars, aerial balloons, and nightvision limelight’s that could shine light like 1000 yards. Silicone oil only in my Benjamin marauder .22 pcp.
Good job Jake! The section on puck density vs performance was particularly interesting. A couple of notes: IMO, the maximum powder charge for the rubber HF tumbling drums should be 100g per drum with not more than a 50% volumetric charge of media. But this depends on media! I am using trapezoids, and you are using spheres. Trapezoids grind faster but have less interstitial space, so spheres can handle a larger powder charge, but take longer to grind it. The HF tumbler drum speed can be increased by sliding rubber tubing over the rods. I used 22mm OD, 12mm ID white rubber tubing and now get a nice rattling sound out of my media. Simple fix. Your modified treadmill is more versatile. Still, I get nice airfloat milled powder from my modified HF mill, and it burns with a nice puff without scorching on a piece of paper. I haven't tried pucking it yet, but it packs nicely even when dry. I am making a small electrically powered temperature controlled (thermocouple controller) charcoal retort. It is not done yet, I still have a bit of fabrication left to do before it is ready to use. I'll see about posting a video on how to make it after I have tried it out. It should be much cleaner than the stove and paint can method. Cheers!
When it comes to making black powder the important thing when making your own is knowing how to make it from what is available in the wild.... because when the shtf you will know how otherwise what ever method you use it's best to do large quantities for conslatency .... just nitrate with sugar works.... charred paper.... charred cotton.... charred Levi's or denim.... what ever works use it... make bulk and have consistency.... Spicer isn't necessary but it's nice to have.... what matters is consistency above all else
A buddy of mine did a sacrificial test with a Harbor Freight rock tumbler full of green meal and detonated it remotely. It was not much of an explosion. It was more of a "woosh". Popped the lid and big woosh. A bolt-down lid might give a bigger problem, as you note.
Just a terminology note: Your buddy did not "detonate" the mixture - he "ignited" it. Black powder does not detonate - but it can deflagrate very rapidly. Also, you can have an explosion without the explosion being caused by a rapid pressure increase - think of a balloon that is overinflated.
I know where there is a black powder plant that was built in 1982, ran for 1 year, and moth balled. It produced 500,000 lbs per month. It’s about 3 miles from my home!
White sugar can be used instead of black carbon to make a satisfactory powder. Sugar is carbon in a different form and can be made into black charcoal by dousing it with sulphuric acid in an airy place
You can “speed up” your Harbor Freight “rock tumbler” by increasing the diameter of the drive rollers. You can slide some snug fitting tubing over the rollers which will increase the rotational speed of the container. It’s not much but it helps.
My neighbor got a chemistry set for Christmas in 1957. In the summer of 58 we(our gang of playpals) made the excursion into the world of black powder. We made a small batch of milled black powder, it worked ok, but then came the book on "Experimenting wothblack powder" or something like that from the library(it was the 50's and yeh, they had books like this in the kids side of the public library. Next process was corned black powder,,,it worked fantasticly. I did sort of blow up my 16yo brother and his buddy smokin cigarettes in our 18th century cypress garage full of news papers from our sea scout paper drive. Point is ive been making corned black powder since 1958, it isnt as difficult as this guy makes out, in the centuries black powder has been made it doesnt change. Whe You start processing the charactistics out of the minerals your changing the ingredients. Salt peter, charcoal and sulpher in the 75-15-10 will get you good high quality corned black powder, you could be using any water you have, the alcohol rince at the end, and grate the f size particles you desire. Beware, you can blow yourself 😮😊❤ Thanks for your video. It's not that difficult.
Actually the potassium nitrate stump remover is pretty damn pure, don't know if you knew that. Pure stuff and they're actually is no different so you can get your potassium nitrate from stump remover.
I have a horse so I’m attempting to make it from scratch. My animals pee this stuff and potassium nitrate isn’t cheap either. So if I can make the most expensive ingredient myself I could get costs down to almost nothing. I cast my own bullets too.
I’m 80 years old and I used to make Black Powder when I was in Jr. High School. I wish I had known a little more about making it properly. Have you ever sourced your ingredients from “The Wild?” A looong time ago I read an article where the author explained how he did this. Anyway, thanks for the video. I wasn’t planning on watching a46+ minute video but I couldn’t quite quit.
The US army did testing on wood in the 1800s and found alder buckthorn was the best wood to use in terms of gas procuded for black powder and then people are saying pacific willow is the cleanest burning stuff, near smokeless. Your rifle volumetric measure is probably calibrated for 1.7 g/cm3 density of Fg of FFg. GOEX is made with meh wood and won't produce as much gas as Swiss/alder buckthorn.
When the paint can that you use for cooking your charcoal is worn out, grab one of the small ammo cans from your local sporting goods shop. Just burn out the paint and gasket then drill your hole. Works awesome! I also use it to make charcoal for grilling on the bbq! Don’t crush it like you would for propellant, just let it cool and relight it (the same way you light the store bought stuff) when you’re ready to use it.
I have a wood fired smoker that when I’m done cooking I can throw a couple big logs in it then close the vents and it will make some charcoal. Lol I’m just gonna recycle a paint can or 50 cal can like you mentioned.
best video on youtube on the subject i've seen yet, watched every minute as there is some really very good info. getting a hydraulic jack, getting out my lead balls in exchange for brass and finding a new ball mill (or making one with speed control) thank you!
Another excellent video. As a user of the Rebel 17 tumbler, I agree with your warning that you might create a dangerous situation. First thing I did to mine, was cutting a large hole (roughly 4 inches) in the coverplate, which pushes against a thin rubber seal. IF you have ignition, the gasses will simply blow that thin rubber seal out, instead of grenading the hole tumbler.
Great video I believe one of you best yet. I would like share my results with you and everyone else. Followed your ( I was already their) instructions from the past videos step by step , weight ever charge, each ball, checked each patch for tolerances and I believe one of the most important things I cleaned between ever shot and came up with only a 15 - 25 F.P.S. Spread over 5 shots and I done this 10 times. I believe the weather had something to do with the spread, I done this over a 3 day span, the temperature and humidity where a little different. Yes I agree this is some trouble but it works and damn it's a lot fun. Thanks
Just saying, your vids and " antique muzzle loading powder" are Bitchin! I still use the Harbor Freight rook tumbler,(because someone a couple of years ago told me to-hmmm), but I modified it to take two PVC 4 inch cleanouts and a coupler stuck together, (no glue, so if something happens, big fire no boom). It's slow so 48+ hours of tumble. I use some brass balls like I should, but I found that .45 cal. copper plated round nose bullets work pretty well too. They are not spark prone, a bit denser, and a lot cheaper. This channel has to be the most realistic, reliable, accurate, straight forward channel on YT. And thanks for not making me " make my own Damn videos".
Great excerpt from Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World! I noticed that you use a lot of plastic in the production of your powder. Do you have any problems with static electricity? If so, how do you remediate it?
You strike me as a well grounded person which is why you don't have issues with PVC static . I have used possum fur and PVC for doing static experiments for over 40 years. It builds up a nice charge but thats another discussion. I'm not sure if you dampen it at all when tumbling. Your still with us so I will differ to your experience though I am going to use a wide mouth stainless thermos. Just had a tread mill given to me which seems perfect. Today I am using ash tree which I have a ton of.I had an old "Bunn" coffee maker which had a stainless tank which holds well over a gallon which I toss in the wood heater. What ever I don't use for powder I can use to make "biochar" for the garden. Wish you were here so I could consult with you on all of this. I too wondered about the mill but figured galvanized wont spark. -looking it up right now-Yes, hot-dip galvanized coatings are anti-sparking and non-incendiary as are most zinc coatings. Thanks for what you do.
when I was a kid 60 years ago, we used to make our own black powder, we didn't know the proportion or the process, but we winged it and did the best we could to make some and I am sure it was not too good but was fun to do. That was back when they would included the chemicals in the chemistry sets we got for christmas.
Back in 1959 my father gave me a chemistry set for Christmas. I figured out how to make black powder to use in crude pipe bombs. I was very careful to only detonate my pipe bomds in an orchard approximately 1 mile away from any houses so that I would not hurt anyone. Howver one of the neighbors reported me to my father. Unfortunately my father took the chemistry set away from me and I naver saw it again. I am glad to see that I was not the only one making black powder back then.
First made black powder when I was 14 or so. Learned how reading our World Book of Encylclopedia. I liked chemistry a lot, so my teacher gave me free access to the chem storage and equipment. Made it at school, and made my own crappy fireworks for Canada Day that year. Try doing that these days.
Thanks for the video! I have a question, I don't have an access to that kind of 20 or 10 ton press machines. I only could use an old screwed press (I dont think its general use is compressing things tho) and my black powder comes out too loose than you said as expected. I don't expect to make the best black powder without proper equipment but do you have any suggestions for me? Should I compress it over and over as you said or can I use a different method for better compression? Thanks again for the video, all the best!
Any compression is better than none. You could always try pressing it more than once and calculate the density before and after each pressing and see if you can get it closer to 1.5 g/cm³.
I am looking into making my own powder....for my 45-70s and Colts....out of curiousity, instead of brass balls ( I live where that kind of thing is rare to find)...could one buy say... 1/2 inch brass bar stock and cut it into 1.2 inch pieces instead?
I like to break up the pucks when first pressed because they can be sieved and repressed right away. I use the Dapress fixture also, and I find I can get 6 pucks with a little left over with 200g batch. Once sieved there is enough fines for three more pucks, then one more puck. So virtually all my powder is granulated. Once glazed then I end up with about 1 puck work contaminated by graphite so it becomes plant food outside. This recycling process wet gets about 90% going to the final product right away. I tried 8% by water by weight at pressing and water is extruded from the puck at pressing, and 4% maybe has a drop or two so that's about right. Great job on the process, I follow your process almost to the exactly. I didn't know about the 1.5 vs 1.8 density for burning efficiency. There is a great you tube video on measuring the press force using one of those low profile harbor freight hydraulic presses with a gauge attached to measure the pressure for more consistent densities. That's next on my list
Your doing God's work here writing the black powder Bible and taking all your disciples along for the ride.. I like to think I speak for everyone when I say thank you for doing this.
Awesome job. I've been trying to get people to read those two books for a long time. They are the "Everything Black Powder" source for information. EXCEPT FOR YOU, JAKE!
Just a minor comment from near the end of the video - the proper terminology would be "lower density" not "lighter density". Have you ever used non-sparking ceramic balls for milling the powder? I used them for many years when making various pyrotechnic powders, but never did so for black powder. In a few places, you omitted the units of measure - such as when talking about the density of your powder. If I recall correctly, a well compressed puck should have a density of about 1.6 - 1.75 g/cm^3. The practical density when loaded into a firearm is closer to 1 g/cm^3. I always added a little bit of graphite during the polishing step to produce a somewhat smoother grain. It seemed to somewhat reduce the amount of dust resulting from handling the powder.
why are you teaching people how to make black powder? just because you put( for firearms) you think that will stop people from making pipe bombs and the like with it? There is a real good reason this shit is not common knowledge and it ain't to stop you from defending yourself or hunting, it's to stop assholes from using it to hurt others! Anyone teaching people how to make this shit without properly vetting the people they are teaching should be locked up for advising the manufacture of weapons!
@@Christopher-ej2bs you sound like a Canadian…
@@Everythingblackpowder😂
How else would one become a master alchemist without knowing how to create black powder?
@@FckMAGA f*ck commies
What are you? Some kind of Democrat raised child? Criminals gonna criminal, this knowledge has been around for 1000's of years and anyone with half a brain and basic reading comprehension can figure it out.
In less than an hour...........you have explained the craft of antique muzzle loading propellant better than I have discovered in 60 yrs of investigations.........my hat is off to you......and thanks, I thought I knew quite a bit over the decades but have learned in every video.........I don't blow smoke but I feel your efforts in keeping this skill alive deserves special recognition ......you are a true "Green Man"....💥.
Thank you
I am glad this guy has every simpleton like U eating out of his hand.... That toilet grade Potassium Nitrate is unstable as hell it is being foreign made now days. Great way to dynamite your kitchen or work shop when your old lady has off and show your neighbors what an uneducated moron you can be. 35 years ago I did what this moron says put that stuff in a convection oven like that. Luckily it was an open faced barn area. nearly blew my my chickens to the moon. Most parts of this country have humidity winter & summer so you will never safely dry stuff. The way regular black powder is made is after it is refined it is put in 15lb kegs with sodium silicate absorbtion materials. The powder sits a better part of 2-5 years in between it is tested and closed back up. That is thee epitome of thee reasons why PYRODEX was made because black powder can be so inconsistent even highly dangerous. Like KABLEWY... Black Powder always stays & remains affected by atmospheric conditions like humidity. Home made black powder is the most dangerous powder. It is OKay for toy cannons and fireworks. Just not firearms. Real black powder absorbs humidity like a sponge Bob... Ok.
Do you find that the wood needs to be dried first or can u make charcoal out of green wood @Everythingblackpowder
Real charcoal used to be made with certain species of American Hickory and Ash. In the 70s they were using South American hardwoods like IPE. In order to be totally affective there needs to be a blend of pure Sulphur and Antimony substrate. This process as seen here can be highly dangerous with antique arms and light novelty pistols. Most COMMERCIAL modern muzzle loading rifles will stand up to almost any muzzle pressures and perhaps these boobs should be more clear about this stuff. I can make black powder. Its safer to buy something commercial. Removing a breech block to rescue a gun from a garbage charge can be a real task and normally if you heat that breech block to get it loose the gun is then shot. garbage. hope I helped but I have been at black powder and loved it ever since I was 10 years old. I've been at this now 6 decades. This stuff is just bad advice is all it is. A bag of IPE hardwood right now for 45lbs is $70.00. Commercial cooks use the same stuff. Once heated it stays very hot kinda like the old KINGSFORD CHARCOAL. SAME STUFF. Making your own charcoal is like pissing in the wind...
@@stevenblackstone2501yes Jake and I always make sure our wood is dry before Charing. We tried using wet wood and the batch was so bad we tossed it 😂
BTW I’m Jakes brother and camera man
I have been making my own powder for about 40 years.
The best wood I have found for charcoal production is actually cottonwood. But a close second is red cedar. I know someone who mills his own lumber for cedar furniture. I get his sawdust bin every few months and make charcoal from the dust. It makes grinding it so easy. I also use dextrin in my powder just as a binder but it also gives it a bit of a glazed appearance. It makes for a fun hobby. I have also made a couple of rifles and handguns.. one handgun has a bore large enough to fire golf balls. It is a matchlock and works beautifully.
Dextrin slows down the burn rate. Often 1 or 2 percent of it is used when making BP for rocket motors. The rocket fuel is usually screened before being rammed into the motor casing.
Nice. We have plenty of wild cottonwood and red cedar here in Southern Nevada.
I have been making BP for about 60 yrs and about 25 yrs ago I read somewhere that willow was the best charcoal so have been making it out of willow everysince
There should be a brass band playing and fireworks going off over this. The best damn "black Powder" video ever, to grace the halls of UA-cam. Thanks for your time and dedication to go through all the experimentation, research and testing you've done. And most of all, your willingness to share what you have learned with all of us.
Chip
Thank you
God bless America and God bless you
Right on the money on all counts! My family has made powder for over 200 years and quality of ingredients, refining of said ingredients, and mill times are paramount. Kudos
this video will become the bible for the creation of gunpowder
Thank you
Yep
True thing!
@@Everythingblackpowder Dude, you seriously need to write a book on this subject.
The most useful and comprehensive information on gunpowder production of all the times.
I want to thank you, sincerely, for taking the effort and the willingness to share your secrets and laying them out in a full length pyrotechnics lecture on making -the- best powder. When you said "99%" my first thought was "might wanna recrystallize.. oh you do that!" Step by step you explain the full process.. Many will misunderstand because they lack the life skill of actually listening what was said, and instead forming an opinion on facts. I'm meticulous and your presentation was that, so like you said, any misunderstandings are on the viewer's end. My attention span for youtube is *shot fires!* but your 45 minutes were an information dense breeze. I have an intellectual fetish for complete condensed information, and this was good for me. Immediately chimed in friends to come have a look.
Thank you.
Thank you
It’s annoying to watch someone’s 30 min video and only say a couple useful things. I don’t wanna spend hours on hours watching videos with half the info. This video is nonstop info and tips. Incredibly useful video!
This is the best video on the subject I’ve ever found.👍
I’m glad to see my suggestion worked for you. Those cheap ,hand cranked “corn crackers” work pretty well for granulating pucks. You can still make chicken feed with it too. Just clean it out well so the eggs don’t explode when they hit the skillet. Handgreneggs! 🙄
The density info is well received and much appreciated.👍
With a cash outlay of around $10 per pound and the opportunity to acquire knowledge that has such dramatic potential , why sit waiting for someone else to provide it for $40 / pound?
You could sit waiting until your smoke pole turns into a walking stick or tomato stake!
Clean ingredients. Yes. I bought some potassium nitrate , for a good price, that was ,definitely, hinkey.
It had a strong chemical smell and the powder was less than acceptable. You need a trustworthy source or the ability to pee and process your own.
I can do half of that!
You can recrystallize the potassium nitrate to purify it. Dissolve it in the minimum amount of boiling water, filter then let it cool and put it in the fridge. The nitrate will crystallize out, filter the crystals then dry and grind them. It’ll be more than 99% pure. Lol, I commented before he demonstrated exactly what I was saying.
@@brandonha
Me too.😂👍 Half way there.
@@chemistryofquestionablequa6252
So, all I need is a saturated solution to provoke crystallization?
That is definitely worth a try. Thanks. Sometimes I need bumped to get my grey matter going.
Pee?
So Bill Knight, aka The Mad Monk, discovered (visited the plant) that Swiss black powder is a 78:12:10 formula milled for at least 24 hours. The Buckthorn alder is all harvested in the early spring when the sugar content is the highest and dried/aged 3 years. Charring is performed in car size batches) at 608 degrees for 8 hours!
For a couple hundred years, from 1350 (the first time guns were used in combat at the Battle of Crecy) the Royal Gunner would mix powder dry on site because the ingredients would separate during transport and wouldn't work. The Royal Gunner was in charge of mixing the powder for the bombards, using a slightly different formula than the smaller handgonnes. One formula had lower pressure to keep from blowing up the bombards, kind of like using pistol powder in pistols and rifle powder in rifles. He was also in charge of building the gun carriages and inspecting the bombards after they were cast by bell makers. The Siege Master built the siege engines on site, using the trees that were there, the Gunner would have carriages built on site. He would also be in charge of figuring out the trajectory of the bombards and guiding his assistants to make adjustments. I would have to do a little more research to find out when they figured out how to add liquid and screen the powder, but that's what the French were doing up until the Napoleonic Wars, where they were loading their muskets with twice as much powder as the British, who were compressing their powder. The French were using 150-200 grains of powder (15-20 for the priming charge and to account for spillage) while the British were using about 120 grains (15-20 for priming and spillage). When the French figured it out, they also started using a .65" round ball, up from a .64" roundball because compressed powder was cleaner. A doctoral candidate shared his thesis on the Royal Armouries UA-cam channel during Covid. Since they couldn't do lectures in person, the Royal Armouries did Zoom calls and recorded the speeches. One dude did a video on the history of firearms in Britain during the Middle Ages, I learned more in that hour than I have in the last 15 years of shooting blackpowder and doing active research. Movies and TV have completely concealed the use of guns through the late Middle Ages and in feudal Japan from 1500 to the 1800's.
Dude, you have my utmost admiration on UA-cam… the years of trial and error and discovery, and ending up with a grade A BP propellant that rivals and even surpasses what is general acceptance that Swiss BP is the best commercially available powder. You have come a long way …. I thank you for the entertainment, the publicity of your findings and sharing it to anyone interested. You are an amazing individual that deserves a lot for what you have done, and willingly shared. I appreciate the lack of arrogance, the blunt straight facts without a argumentative attitude. I appreciate everything and thank you for all your sucky videos… every damn one of them. Cheers… Earl.
Thanks, Earl.
I love this channel. Their videos do not suck.
Thank you
@@Everythingblackpowder we don´t need to make our own damn video !
Again, Outstanding video
I wish I had found it years ago. It would have been a lot of fun to be along for the ride.
Old school you tube vibes. Good knowledge, no bullshit.
Earlier today I pulled a T/C flintlock out of a trash pile on the side of the road, looking foreword to finally putting what I have learned on the channel to use. I have never owned a muzzle loader, and you videos have been giving me the itch to get one. Snagging that rusty Hawken on the way home from class feels like divine providence.
Glad to hear it
Dang what luck
Great find.
Hey somebody stole my flintlock out of my trash pile ,has anyone seen it?
@@srice4u finders keepers ;)
My dad owned his own car repair shop for over 40 years. I can totally understand Jakes sarcasm in his videos. Having put time and knowledge into something just to have people whine and complain about information thats free thru some else's time and efforts beacuse you don't like something is about as annoying as watching a college snowflake melt down over freedoms vs their feelings. Like the man said if you don't like his method's don't do it. If you like chewing the blue crayons you don't have to eat the green ones you have choices. Me personally I appreciate his efforts and the experiences Jake is willing to share. Thank you.
Thank you
Frankford Arsenal makes a killer 7L tumbler for brass polishing which I use as a mill. Best off the shelf mill option out there that I know of right now. They sell replacement rubber lined barrels separately which would be great for diy mills also.
wow nighthawkinlight. I used to follow your channel years ago . crazy to see how big youve gotten! i remember when you had like 500 subs haha
@@salteastsimon Yeah, Damn. Over 2 Million subs. That's great.
Wish they weren't so expensive. Trying to figure out a poor man's method for now. Need a tumbler for a few reasons and am disabled, so I always have to try to come up with the cheapest, but effective options. (like making my own from parts/garbage/scrap).
Question: What country are Frankford Arsenal products made???
@@davidslone9776 USA & don't feed too much into this DIY home stuff especially the Potassium Nitrate due to being totally made by Happy the clown can blow up your kitchen or shop big time. The bagged stuff used to be Ok years ok and U could pull off this homemade mixing even with store brand charcoal. Right now the stuff is not stable out of the package. That is the truth. The sulphur due to how it is made it is usually made semi damp specifically to thwart stuff like this. Usually that has to be dried or heated Not that dangerous it just smells if ya got an old lady or kids. The sulphur can react with Aluminum pans by the way. So if U R gonna cook in the same stuff think twice. It turns to an acid when it sits.
Thank You! Hands down the best video out there. Following your methods (as closely as I can with that I have to work with) I was able to make Goex equivalent powder on my first try. Going to have to refine my nitrate for the next batch. The only thing I can add that of value is a quicker and easier method of finding density. Take your dried broken pucks and grab a few chunks that will fit in a 100ml graduated cylinder. Weigh these pucks in grams. Fill the cylinder 1/2 full of water, get a reading on the water level. Drop in the broken pucks and get another reading. Dump it out and set your chunks to the side to dry. The water won't penetrate in that amount of time. Now you have grams of powder and CC's (Ml's) of displacement. Do the math and its done. Takes longer to describe than to do.
Thank you. I've done a little black powder hunting years ago but now you have inspired me to get a good flintlock. That just looks fun and relaxing. Time for me to get back to the basics as well as the science behind it. I really do appreciate your style of presentation as well.
Glad to hear it. Thank you
Great information, thank you. I don't make powder but am considering it. (been shooting black powder guns for over 50 years), because, .as you say the supply is dwindling. Living on the east coast I have had the experience of visiting Du Ponts early works. Their early 19th century batches were the volume of an over size cement mixer. The building the mixer was in was to made let go (boom wise) , and they were on the shore of a river, pointed so the blast wave went over the river. Most of the crew that manned the mixer were on the other side of a brick back wall, as much as they could be. They did have some tragedies. The damp milled powder from several of the mills then went to a screening house (I don't remember seeing a compression process, but I expect there was) . Any way, seems to me that a safety measure to emphasize is not to get greedy and try to make bigger batches. I have been impressed the many times you have mentioned your batch size of about 200 grams, or less than half a pound. With black powder the size of the bang is absolutely related to the quantity. Small quantities of unconfined black powder typically will burn fast. Larger quantities are more likely to go boom. I don't know the burn to boom crossover point, and expect it's a bit unpredictable. At the rate I shoot, it's about 1/2 pound per month. Typically I don't cast more bullets than I can shoot in a few months, so I can easily see keeping up with my powder demand with 200 gram batches. staged a few days apart. (helps to be retired) . In this day and age many people may not be aware of the danger of gas appliances. I can remember as a kid how we had to pay attention to the pilot lights in our gas appliances. I have a work shop in my basement and when I watch your videos I sit back and contemplate making some powder in my nice cozy basement. Then I hear the piezo electric igniter in my gas furnace or gas water heater go spark spark spark whoosh and realize that I really don't want to be making black powder 8 feet away, probably not even in 200 gram batches. As far outside and away from any source of spark including automatic electrical switches as possible., not to mention gas pilot lights. I suppose the part of the process to really take care is in the screening and sorting.
In high school, there was a family that moved into our district. The house they moved into had a laundry and water heater in the basement. The two teenage boys decided to work on a motorcyle in the basement because it was cold outside. They didn't think about the pilot light. Their mother started down to do some laundry and smelled the gasoline; she screamed for them to get out. Then it blew! The Mom was killed and the boys terribly burned; I can't remember if one of them died or not. They were a nice family, and all it took was one mistake to destroy it. Neighbors who went into the basement afterward said it didn't look like anything had happened there.
Adding 5 g dH2O on 200g dry meal is good ratio. I use 3g dH2O + 1g ethanol for 96 g dry meal. 18:26....For a diameter of 30 mm, I recommend an increase in the cylinder height of 4 - 6 mm. (20% of dia) In one pressing step. Thus about 8 g of wet BP meal. I also recommend a compaction process before pressing. Wet dust is hitting into a glass suitable for 200g using a wooden pestle. By handle power. This process increases the consistent moisture content during press handling. Also to compaction process decrease final force (pressing process) to achieve the desired density is lower.
Long ago I made my own powder and got great results by milling charcoal with sulfur first all dry to relative humidity. I then ground moistened C and S mixture with KNO3 incorporation. I laid out to dry to relative humidity and ground again. This seemed better than mixing all together but I was not that scientific at the time. Do you have experience with this method?
@@vphls No. Your experiences with better properties /C+S / KNO3/ can be subjective. Better contact among all 3 compound sure provide milling all together. And then after use huminidity.
You guys are so knowledgeable, so experienced, and so inspirational. You’re also just down-to-earth blokes. You are definitely the peerless authority to go to, for Everything Black Power.
Thank you
Thanks for putting the entire process in one video, summarizing past efforts and current choices. By the amount of subscribers, looks like interest in making black powder is gaining. I have to say you have removed a lot of the mystery for me. Well done sir.
Glad to hear it. Thank you
Christ I feel like an idiot with this hindsight.
First batch I made was with one of those harbor freight rock tumbers.
I knew I added too much, excess of 500 grams with little tumbling.
It dawned on me how explosive that could’ve been, but the environment was safe enough to warrant a trial run.
No accidents, but recognizing the potential for serious harm if a fault occurred.
Thank you again for making these videos. It’s a fun sport and a cool hobby. I’m thankful there’s enough wisdom with those with greater experience guiding greenhorns right.
Thank you!
You bet
Outstanding as always.
You have never yet failed to inform, and never once motivated me in the slightest to make my own damned video.
Keep up the science.
Thank you
Sam
Thank you
I will definitely not be making my own damn video. I’d like to find a good video on getting potassium from manure.
LMFAO!!!!! Your sarcasm can not be match 😅😅😅 Love the video..The real teacher in the house!
Thank you
Thank you for all the info. Been waiting for this one. First off as a 47 year safety professional thanks for including safety. I've got most of what's needed looking for brass media. I've made screened powder hey it was exciting and worked. Now it's time to up the game. Again thanks appreciate your humor. You'll know when the videos suck when people stop watching. Please keep them coming
I found brass balls, 10mm on Amazon for
Thank you
Really appreciate your presentation. You have used science-like methodology, changing one variable at a time to remove guesswork and have been open-minded to experimenting with unknown variables until you zeroed in on the best possible combinations that achieved your desired goal. PhD chemists couldn’t have done it better.
Well, ya said ya would and ya did, and, I applaud you for it! Excellent, comprehensive, no BS tutorial Jake, or Willard, or Mr. McBain... Regardless, even if I thought it sucked I wouldn't make my own damn video because that's what I used to do for a living and now that I'm retired all I like to do is watch people like you so I can learn stuff. But, seriously, THANK YOU! You really did a great job of putting everything that matters in one place!!!
Me too lazy to video and retired but making AMP
This video didn't suck in fact it's the best video I've seen on UA-cam. You're the man. Thanks for your patience and sharing your experience with me. That's very unselfish of you. Hopefully I can get enough experience by practicing the craft, and then more practice plus maybe a little more. Stay safe my friend. God Bless. NW ga.
Thank you
I'm a retired chemical oceanographer. I've found over the years that the distilled water also has lots of contaminants. I had to boil my DI water in order to get pure DI. Good luck.
The ph of our "distilled" water in high school chem class was around 5. I didn't have the skills at the time to know exactly why, but I think part of it was dissolved CO2 since a small amount of bubbles would form when base was added.
I'm a bit confused by your remark. DI water is deionized, not distilled. DI water is measured by resistance. We used 1 million ohm water as a substitute for distilled water in most of our chemical analyses for in-house and contract work. Distilled water was the standard for all but the most critical analyses where ppm or better results were required.
To get pure distilled water, you have to condense it.
Boiling wil not remove any solid contaminants, only dissolved gases. Whether liquids will be removed would dpend on relative boiling points and the fraction retained for use.
@@buggsy5 false, when you capture the condensed water, you obtain 100% pure water which is even non-drinkable because it no longer contains any mineral salts
Thank you for this detailed no nonsense walk through of making top quality black powder. I've learned more in these 46 minutes than I ever knew before. I intend to experiment for myself and have as much fun with it as I can.
I have followed this guy over a year and he is a professional I don't care what anyone says I do a little different but not much and my powder is clean and fast. But I learned everything about it here.
This guy has brass balls.
And so should you.
Well said
Ordered mine from Amazon tonight. Will be here Monday 👍
However, I’m stuck with the classic HF tumbler, for now. Them brass balls are pricy! 😳
I did speed the mill up by carefully coiling gorilla tape along the length of the drive shaft, just before it will rub the side of the tumbler. Sped up nicely. Time will tell….
Ha ha. Good one.
@@kenselectricalserviceandge5919 what size did you purchase?
@@1958piwo I am wondering the same thing. What size Brass Balls???
EBP: Absolute golden information. Well presented and concise. A masterclass!
Thank you
This is the very best video on making blackpowder on UA-cam. I really need to make a ball mill and get some brass media like yours. great video Jake.
Thank you
I just finished a batch of .36 caliber paper cartridges using my own BP for the first time. I also have a bunch of 12 ga loaded with my BP as well. As a cowboy action shooter I go through enough powder that making my own is a significant cost savings. And while I do cut a few corners on your method to save time (as it doesn't have to be "the best" for this application) I appreciate your efforts to bring your process to the world. It made all the difference!
Glad to hear it. Thank you
Rookie here. Your methods appear very refined, and highly professional. I have alot to learn! Thankyou. My first batch I made wet in a blender with purified stump remover(crystals only). I was just happy my powder was good enough to push the ball out of the cylinder lol :) Worked well enough to increase my heartrate substantially. Thanks again for all the technicals to consider.
Glad to hear it. If you’re happy with your powder, that’s all that matters
4:20 For recrystallizations, it's actually best to let the solution cool as slowly as possible without stirring so the largest possible crystals form. This gives the crystals time to exclude impurities from the crystal matrix.
I find that when you allow it to make really large crystals. It can actually encapsulate some of that water inside them. Also, if you’re dealing with 99% pure nitrate, there’s really not many impurities left.
My friends, I'm French and it's an honor to be on the FBI watch list with you.
Welcome aboard
@@Everythingblackpowder Thank you man. I learn English with many UA-cam channel about firearms. I want to say all Yankees or Rebs here. Protect your second amendment with any tactics.
Sorry for mistake scripture. I don't use translator
No worries. I’m a rebel but my wife is a yankee.
@@Everythingblackpowder😮
😂😂😉
Outstanding Sir! maybe consider doing an annual update to summarize any advances in the past year, with this video as the baseline. Keep up the good work!
Thank you
I made 3 pounds 1 pound with Charmin charcoal. 2 pounds with red ceder. My groups with my 58 cal. About 7 inches at 50 yards . I did not separate all the powder, so I had 1f 2f and 3f all mixed up. After this video, l polished it all for two hours and ran it through the screens again. Back to the range to test groups again!
Good luck
I'm not even a black powder shooter. Just wanted some tips on powder making. But this was a great video to watch. No fluff, just good information. Well done.
Read Like Fire and Powder the day that it arrived. Three things struck me: 1) the emphasis on importance of purifying the nitrate, 2) the Waltham Abby “incorporation” that involved ~3,840 passes of 3.5 to 4 ton rollers run over the mill cake (hard to replicate that!), 3) the Waltham Abby drying of the glazed powder at 130 degrees F for at least 18 hours prior to the final dust removal.
While below the melting point of sulfur it is above the temperatures at which it will sublimate, so that heat used for drying might cause the sulphur to be even more finely dispersed within the grains than it already was.
Maybe.
And one more thing, that while the charcoal made at 500-600 degrees F does have a lower ignition temperature it is also “very hygroscopic”, so not so good after all. He said he tries for “around 750” F.
This guy is making BP since he started the channel and he improved his recipes so much it just amazes me keep up the good work and dedication.
Thank you
I was finding his channel when I wanted better AMP years ago. watched this dude shoot BP in 45acp and in 9 autos. I started testing my powders on paper like his opener.
True, the best black powder recipe video ever.
Once again you have created a brilliant, frank, educational and entertaining presentation - we all owe you a deep debt of gratitude and a bucket of respect! Thank you.
Thank you
This is the most comprehensive video about BP I have ever seen! All the details and "secrets" are exposed and well described, it is a reference in making best quality gun BP. Congratulations! There is only one thing I would like to add, and this is about the charcoal source. In Europe Cottonelle toilet paper is quite hard to find... Of course, experiments are open for European TP brands (Zewa?), but I think traditional sources of charcoal (and you mentioned a few) are a good option for making good quality BP. As you said, willow is the traditional wood, red cedar works fine too... In Europe, what is easy to find and works best is Balsa, Paulownia, Willow and Poplar, in this order. In my opinion, pine is very dirty burning...
Hands down the Best black powder video out
Thank you
I'm in Florida. We have enough humidity that I compress without adding any water at all. I was able to confirm that SOME moisture is necessary by drying it in the sun before compressing and that didn't work. But the ammount of necessary moisture can be had with just 90% ambient humidity.
I have wondered what Willards average humidity is , looks pretty dry in his " shootin " range.
Yeah, not much humidity in my part of the country
This is fantastic information on years of research.
Priceless knowledge. Thank you so much.
Thank you
Great job Jake, thank you for sharing your experience and hard work.
Thank you
Absolutely great info! I'm not a black powder shooter, (I'm an air gunner) but I AM an amateur rocket scientist. Of late, I've been working towards refining basic black powder as a rocket propellant. It has been used in commercial model rocketry motors for decades (since the late 1950's), but modern model/amateur rockets tend towards more exotic amonium nitrate/ and amonium perchlorate/reactive metals in a synthetic rubber binder. Granted, these are much more energetic choices, but they also require much more technical processes such as vacuum processing of propellant before casting. Your information, I feel, will allow me to provide the amateur Rocketeer with a much less expensive, more consistent mid-power propellant for their hobby/experimental endeavors. Thank you for your diligence and hard work. I just wanted you to know that it isn't only shooters and hunters benefitting from your work.
P.S. I'm a survivalist as well, and this info is PRICELESS!!
Didnt they have black powder Congreve rockets in the civil war? They had hand grenades, land mines, mortars, aerial balloons, and nightvision limelight’s that could shine light like 1000 yards. Silicone oil only in my Benjamin marauder .22 pcp.
Good job Jake! The section on puck density vs performance was particularly interesting.
A couple of notes:
IMO, the maximum powder charge for the rubber HF tumbling drums should be 100g per drum with not more than a 50% volumetric charge of media. But this depends on media! I am using trapezoids, and you are using spheres. Trapezoids grind faster but have less interstitial space, so spheres can handle a larger powder charge, but take longer to grind it.
The HF tumbler drum speed can be increased by sliding rubber tubing over the rods. I used 22mm OD, 12mm ID white rubber tubing and now get a nice rattling sound out of my media. Simple fix. Your modified treadmill is more versatile. Still, I get nice airfloat milled powder from my modified HF mill, and it burns with a nice puff without scorching on a piece of paper. I haven't tried pucking it yet, but it packs nicely even when dry.
I am making a small electrically powered temperature controlled (thermocouple controller) charcoal retort. It is not done yet, I still have a bit of fabrication left to do before it is ready to use. I'll see about posting a video on how to make it after I have tried it out. It should be much cleaner than the stove and paint can method.
Cheers!
When it comes to making black powder the important thing when making your own is knowing how to make it from what is available in the wild.... because when the shtf you will know how otherwise what ever method you use it's best to do large quantities for conslatency
.... just nitrate with sugar works.... charred paper.... charred cotton.... charred Levi's or denim.... what ever works use it... make bulk and have consistency.... Spicer isn't necessary but it's nice to have.... what matters is consistency above all else
A buddy of mine did a sacrificial test with a Harbor Freight rock tumbler full of green meal and detonated it remotely. It was not much of an explosion. It was more of a "woosh". Popped the lid and big woosh. A bolt-down lid might give a bigger problem, as you note.
That’s cool. I was wondering if anyone had tried that.
It makes sense though, given the fact that the lid is only pressure fitted
Just a terminology note: Your buddy did not "detonate" the mixture - he "ignited" it. Black powder does not detonate - but it can deflagrate very rapidly. Also, you can have an explosion without the explosion being caused by a rapid pressure increase - think of a balloon that is overinflated.
I know where there is a black powder plant that was built in 1982, ran for 1 year, and moth balled. It produced 500,000 lbs per month. It’s about 3 miles from my home!
I bet you could find a lot of ingredients there that were just left
THIS is THE video we've been waiting for. I LOVE this channel but I have been DYING for this video to come out. THANK YOU!
Thank you
White sugar can be used instead of black carbon to make a satisfactory powder. Sugar is carbon in a different form and can be made into black charcoal by dousing it with sulphuric acid in an airy place
Now you present your quintessence of several years of your research.
Thank you very much!
The most useful and comprehensive information on gunpowder production of all the times.....😎
You can “speed up” your Harbor Freight “rock tumbler” by increasing the diameter of the drive rollers. You can slide some snug fitting tubing over the rollers which will increase the rotational speed of the container. It’s not much but it helps.
you mean decrease? if the rollers are bigger it takes longer for a full revolution.
My neighbor got a chemistry set for Christmas in 1957. In the summer of 58 we(our gang of playpals) made the excursion into the world of black powder. We made a small batch of milled black powder, it worked ok, but then came the book on "Experimenting wothblack powder" or something like that from the library(it was the 50's and yeh, they had books like this in the kids side of the public library. Next process was corned black powder,,,it worked fantasticly. I did sort of blow up my 16yo brother and his buddy smokin cigarettes in our 18th century cypress garage full of news papers from our sea scout paper drive. Point is ive been making corned black powder since 1958, it isnt as difficult as this guy makes out, in the centuries black powder has been made it doesnt change. Whe You start processing the charactistics out of the minerals your changing the ingredients. Salt peter, charcoal and sulpher in the 75-15-10 will get you good high quality corned black powder, you could be using any water you have, the alcohol rince at the end, and grate the f size particles you desire. Beware, you can blow yourself 😮😊❤
Thanks for your video. It's not that difficult.
this video is sooooo damn good! Wow and thank you so much. I will start gathering materials in the morning. The best "how to" I have ever seen.
Thank you
Wow what an exelent episode!!!
A wealth of info and experience in one video.
Thanks to you all for sharing your experiences with us!!!👍🤠
You bet
Actually the potassium nitrate stump remover is pretty damn pure, don't know if you knew that. Pure stuff and they're actually is no different so you can get your potassium nitrate from stump remover.
I have a horse so I’m attempting to make it from scratch. My animals pee this stuff and potassium nitrate isn’t cheap either. So if I can make the most expensive ingredient myself I could get costs down to almost nothing. I cast my own bullets too.
You have indeed created a masterpiece how to video. GREAT JOB!
Thank You!
Thank you
I’m 80 years old and I used to make Black Powder when I was in Jr. High School.
I wish I had known a little more about making it properly.
Have you ever sourced your ingredients from “The Wild?”
A looong time ago I read an article where the author explained how he did this.
Anyway, thanks for the video. I wasn’t planning on watching a46+ minute video but I couldn’t quite quit.
The US army did testing on wood in the 1800s and found alder buckthorn was the best wood to use in terms of gas procuded for black powder and then people are saying pacific willow is the cleanest burning stuff, near smokeless. Your rifle volumetric measure is probably calibrated for 1.7 g/cm3 density of Fg of FFg. GOEX is made with meh wood and won't produce as much gas as Swiss/alder buckthorn.
When the paint can that you use for cooking your charcoal is worn out, grab one of the small ammo cans from your local sporting goods shop. Just burn out the paint and gasket then drill your hole. Works awesome! I also use it to make charcoal for grilling on the bbq! Don’t crush it like you would for propellant, just let it cool and relight it (the same way you light the store bought stuff) when you’re ready to use it.
I have a wood fired smoker that when I’m done cooking I can throw a couple big logs in it then close the vents and it will make some charcoal. Lol I’m just gonna recycle a paint can or 50 cal can like you mentioned.
Works for me
Master Class.
What a gold mine of solid advice! It must have been hard earned knowledge.
this just popped up on my feed, i have been making BP for *Years!* this video has revolutionized my powder making. Thank you good Sir
Thank you
I'm Swiss and I definitely give the man and his method of making black powder my seal of approval for solid workmanship.
Congratulations!
Downloaded in case YT nukes this video in the future. Thank you for all you do. Love your videos!
I need to do this too!
Just downloaded it.
I saw BP being made in Spain years ago and they used wooden barrels with oak balls inside to mill the powder.
best video on youtube on the subject i've seen yet,
watched every minute as there is some really very good info.
getting a hydraulic jack, getting out my lead balls in exchange for brass and finding a new ball mill (or making one with speed control)
thank you!
Happy to help
Another excellent video. As a user of the Rebel 17 tumbler, I agree with your warning that you might create a dangerous situation. First thing I did to mine, was cutting a large hole (roughly 4 inches) in the coverplate, which pushes against a thin rubber seal. IF you have ignition, the gasses will simply blow that thin rubber seal out, instead of grenading the hole tumbler.
Great video I believe one of you best yet. I would like share my results with you and everyone else. Followed your ( I was already their) instructions from the past videos step by step , weight ever charge, each ball, checked each patch for tolerances and I believe one of the most important things I cleaned between ever shot and came up with only a 15 - 25 F.P.S. Spread over 5 shots and I done this 10 times. I believe the weather had something to do with the spread, I done this over a 3 day span, the temperature and humidity where a little different. Yes I agree this is some trouble but it works and damn it's a lot fun. Thanks
Can't wait for this to start. Have an elk tag in an area known for big bulls. Best part if I can duplicate the black powder you make.
Just saying, your vids and " antique muzzle loading powder" are Bitchin! I still use the Harbor Freight rook tumbler,(because someone a couple of years ago told me to-hmmm), but I modified it to take two PVC 4 inch cleanouts and a coupler stuck together, (no glue, so if something happens, big fire no boom). It's slow so 48+ hours of tumble. I use some brass balls like I should, but I found that .45 cal. copper plated round nose bullets work pretty well too. They are not spark prone, a bit denser, and a lot cheaper. This channel has to be the most realistic, reliable, accurate, straight forward channel on YT. And thanks for not making me " make my own Damn videos".
Thank you
Great excerpt from Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World!
I noticed that you use a lot of plastic in the production of your powder. Do you have any problems with static electricity? If so, how do you remediate it?
Not so far
You strike me as a well grounded person which is why you don't have issues with PVC static . I have used possum fur and PVC for doing static experiments for over 40 years. It builds up a nice charge but thats another discussion. I'm not sure if you dampen it at all when tumbling. Your still with us so I will differ to your experience though I am going to use a wide mouth stainless thermos. Just had a tread mill given to me which seems perfect. Today I am using ash tree which I have a ton of.I had an old "Bunn" coffee maker which had a stainless tank which holds well over a gallon which I toss in the wood heater. What ever I don't use for powder I can use to make "biochar" for the garden. Wish you were here so I could consult with you on all of this. I too wondered about the mill but figured galvanized wont spark. -looking it up right now-Yes, hot-dip galvanized coatings are anti-sparking and non-incendiary as are most zinc coatings. Thanks for what you do.
I've always wanted to know how to make black powder.this was incredibly informative. Thankyou
I was wondering 'why not use steel ball bearings?' And then realised my mistake.
High carbon Steel balls and chunks of flint...🤣
Thanks for all the effort you and your team spend to share really valuable info, your videos are really good!
Yay!!! Been waiting for this vid!!!!
when I was a kid 60 years ago, we used to make our own black powder, we didn't know the proportion or the process, but we winged it and did the best we could to make some and I am sure it was not too good but was fun to do. That was back when they would included the chemicals in the chemistry sets we got for christmas.
Same here, sulfur, salt Peter and aluminum powder or charcoal.
Nicely done and I know that was a lot of work. Good coverage of the common problems: overcooking charcoal, under-milling and inconsistent densities.
Thank you
"Step one, buy toilet paper"
Particularly if you should have a spark in your manufacturing process.😅
Great lesson once again! Much appreciated, thanks!
Thank you
Great video! Not as exciting as the state of the union, but you had a lot more useful information.😂
Thank you
😂 thank you
Back in 1959 my father gave me a chemistry set for Christmas. I figured out how to make black powder to use in crude pipe bombs. I was very careful to only detonate my pipe bomds in an orchard approximately 1 mile away from any houses so that I would not hurt anyone. Howver one of the neighbors reported me to my father. Unfortunately my father took the chemistry set away from me and I naver saw it again. I am glad to see that I was not the only one making black powder back then.
First made black powder when I was 14 or so. Learned how reading our World Book of Encylclopedia.
I liked chemistry a lot, so my teacher gave me free access to the chem storage and equipment. Made it at school, and made my own crappy fireworks for Canada Day that year.
Try doing that these days.
Thanks for the video! I have a question, I don't have an access to that kind of 20 or 10 ton press machines. I only could use an old screwed press (I dont think its general use is compressing things tho) and my black powder comes out too loose than you said as expected. I don't expect to make the best black powder without proper equipment but do you have any suggestions for me? Should I compress it over and over as you said or can I use a different method for better compression?
Thanks again for the video, all the best!
Any compression is better than none. You could always try pressing it more than once and calculate the density before and after each pressing and see if you can get it closer to 1.5 g/cm³.
@@Everythingblackpowder Thank you, will try with my next batch!
@@Everythingblackpowder- Do you leave your pucks under compression for a certain period of time, such as 10 or 20 minutes?
I am looking into making my own powder....for my 45-70s and Colts....out of curiousity, instead of brass balls ( I live where that kind of thing is rare to find)...could one buy say... 1/2 inch brass bar stock and cut it into 1.2 inch pieces instead?
Absolutely
The "milling with _____ rocks out of the river bed" comment killed me hahahaha
I like to break up the pucks when first pressed because they can be sieved and repressed right away. I use the Dapress fixture also, and I find I can get 6 pucks with a little left over with 200g batch. Once sieved there is enough fines for three more pucks, then one more puck. So virtually all my powder is granulated. Once glazed then I end up with about 1 puck work contaminated by graphite so it becomes plant food outside. This recycling process wet gets about 90% going to the final product right away. I tried 8% by water by weight at pressing and water is extruded from the puck at pressing, and 4% maybe has a drop or two so that's about right. Great job on the process, I follow your process almost to the exactly. I didn't know about the 1.5 vs 1.8 density for burning efficiency. There is a great you tube video on measuring the press force using one of those low profile harbor freight hydraulic presses with a gauge attached to measure the pressure for more consistent densities. That's next on my list
This didn't suck.
Your doing God's work here writing the black powder Bible and taking all your disciples along for the ride.. I like to think I speak for everyone when I say thank you for doing this.
Happy to help
it's an old book, no one remembers.
Awesome job. I've been trying to get people to read those two books for a long time. They are the "Everything Black Powder" source for information. EXCEPT FOR YOU, JAKE!
As a hobby pyro I really appreciate all the work you do to make the best BP possible and the information you share with us for free. Thanks Brother
Thank you
Just a minor comment from near the end of the video - the proper terminology would be "lower density" not "lighter density".
Have you ever used non-sparking ceramic balls for milling the powder? I used them for many years when making various pyrotechnic powders, but never did so for black powder.
In a few places, you omitted the units of measure - such as when talking about the density of your powder. If I recall correctly, a well compressed puck should have a density of about 1.6 - 1.75 g/cm^3. The practical density when loaded into a firearm is closer to 1 g/cm^3.
I always added a little bit of graphite during the polishing step to produce a somewhat smoother grain. It seemed to somewhat reduce the amount of dust resulting from handling the powder.