People should know that they shouldn't open the top right away after cooking their char. It's hard not to take a peek but if you do it will start to burn and turn into ash. Wait at least 20minutes for it to cool.
@@TieboxI use an old hand cranked meat grinder - cheap to pick up used, and you'll get the charcoal down to somewhere inbetween airfloat and granulated sugar in no time at all. Do the grinding outside, though, quite a dusty process.
@@skippymctwist7 Excellent method in the event that there is no power. That's a 1st one on me! I use an old food processor called 'Ninja' for my powders like charcoal, aluminum, hexamine and many more. Saves tons of time! My motive is total self-sufficiency in the event that the internet takes a sh1t and munitions are gone. You should try doing it from the garage if you have a window. I improvise using an old portable fan and it sucks anything I don't want to coat my lungs outside. If you saw one part of my garage, you would think I am running a meth lab. Have a bunch of distillation apparatuses, scales and much more. Thanks for responding brother. Stuff goes south, keep your chin in the mud.
I know I practice and Incorporate his lessons into my learning curve! my curve goes round to a circle or dead end sometimes? shhh. now i may be roasting very "carefully" in a Class I Div I inert environment some 20K PSI pucks and corned bp above suphur's and knO3's melting temp just to see if it's better? than before.
Have you read Like Fire and Powder by Brett Gibbons? It’s about the historic production of gun powder at the Waltham Abbey gunpowder mills. Goes into detail about the manufacturing processes they used. Gets fairly specific on the ingredients they used. There’s a whole chapter on charcoal. Really short but interesting read.
During the late 1880's they started making brown powder for Naval cannons. They would make charcoal but stop before it turned black. Supposedly they also eliminated most of the Sulphur. Supposedly it was slower burning which gave higher velocities in longer barrels. Without the Sulphur it was harder to ignite but that was offset a little bit by brown charcoal being a little easier to ignite since it had more volatiles left in it. I'd love to see you experiment with some. Maybe even do a series where you experiment with making charcoal anywhere from still brown to ultra cooked and see what differences you get.
What if you made charcoal out of some weird stuff like particle board, balsa wood, twigs from trimming the hedges, a book, toilet paper, cardboard, puzzle pieces, cereal boxes, oh you get the idea.
I think you'd find that the glue and binders in processed wood products would not be good for the result. Th's why it's best to de-bark the wood...there's stuff in the bark that doesn't help. You are after the purest carbon you can get....
@@Saltpetere I tried it just to see if it would work, and it does. It seems to burn as fast as the BP that I have made using Cedar, Grapevine, and pine. And I can't tell that it's any dirtier than the other. Cardboard and paper is made from fast growing wood. I ran across a video a while back where a fellow was using straw to make charcoal , and it got me to thinking. I didn't have any straw but I did have a bunch of cardboard and paper. So I tried it and it worked.
I’ve been making small batches of charcoal for drawing or to make black grain filler for decades. You can make small test batches with an Altoid mint can. In winter, I put it in the wood stove and remove it when it stops venting.
Good one Jake, I have the sherwin williams model pyrolyzer myself. For sure you want to get the bark off as usually there is a lot of sandy grit that accumulates there as well as its typically the most sapiest part.
Making the charcoal is the hardest part. I like to ball mill it into powder by itself first as it is less likely to explode in the mill. I also separately mill the KNO3. The Sulphur is usually already a fine powder. Milling it aa together takes a bit less time if everything is fine dust.
I've used a metal paint can alot of times for charcoal, but I would start with the hole down and after the steam boils out, it becomes a flamable gas (cars, generators can run on it) and so provides a lot of it's own fuel and when that flaming slows, then I would flip it over so could tell better when it is close to done. Then I put a penny over the hole so no oxygen can get into the charcoal and form ash, until it's cool. Some times when when charcoaling sawdust and shavings, I would put a can or jar in the center because that part would sometimes not get done and that took care of that.
I’ve even made charcoal by purchasing a grape vine wreath at hobby lobby. Breaking it up, throwing in the retort (can with hole) and cooking it. Works pretty well!!
Yes it was very helpful thank you so much. I've got all kind of Grapevine around here and in my vicinity actually all over the county so I'm going to give that a try and see how it works. Thanks again for the video it certainly was helpful. Keep ye powder dry!
Some of the guys that I know that make their own also made basically a thermocouple controlled Kiln. They can hold temp between 530 and 550 all day and do about a 2 pound batch at a time. Another easy to find item that works good for powder is Sumac (non poisonous) and Heavenly Tree; although heavenly tree can make some VERY light powder and pretty much requires pucking.
I've been binge watching your channel for the last several days. I started black powder activities during the covid crap in 2020, but life got in the way. So now I'm back to my adventure to turn my money into smoke and noise. I'm learning from your videos. Thank you for your work. Subscribed.
One of the cool things about this is grabbing a little bit of the charcoal for your flint and steel fire kit and lighting your campfire by putting a small piece of charcoal in your unloaded flintlock pan and tossing a spark on it to light the tinder that lights the campfire you use to roast your dinner on after a day in the field.
I’m gonna save y’all a lot of time with this tip… I make my charcoal with Cedar picket fence slats from Home Depot. Be selective when picking slats. Avoid knots! I shoot my BP firearms with my own self made BP ONLY! I have never used commercial BP, or Pyrodex. Good BP must be made from “Softwood” charcoal (Coniferous wood), with a few hardwood exceptions. Willow is actually considered “Hardwood” but does make excellent charcoal for BP.
Very similar to making biochar. I was told to take it to 800o for three hours when making a 55gal drum full inside of 400 gal oil tank.We used very dry wood or chicken manure. I knew the gasses were volatile so tried it next time with a copper tune running from the barrel . Lit it and it burned the wood gas for over an hour.
I make mine on the grill using the cast iron pan heater. It’s also propane fueled. I use a large soup can with the lid cut off most of the way. Willow is what I have easy access too.
I think you need a blend of charcoals hard woods retain a higher tannin resin content while the soft woods give a more pure carbon, but as you have found fouling issue. Tannins will also slow the burn, but should give a better polish. Have you tried tumbling with coal (anthracite) instead of graphite? Other things to try is a mix that has more external sulfur, like applied in the polishing tumble.. no sulfur polished with a sulfur mix?
Excellent video. Do you happen to have a video on milling/making a ball mill? I'm just getting in to making blackpowder having shot BP guns for a few years now, and being tired of overpaying for something I can make myself plus I already have 25lbs of both pure sulfur and nitrate sitting in the garage that i use for other projects
I use one of those giant Christmas cookie tins. I used northern catalpa wood, which is a fast growing, soft deciduous tree. I cook it in my outdoor fire pit. I haven't made any powder with it yet and will report back when I do. I've never heard of that species being used but it seems to fit the bill in terms of properties. I had a large branch of it that I trimmed last winter and figured I'd give it a try. I've got white pine, eastern red cedar and buckthorn in the area but the catalpa tree is actually on my property.
@@Everythingblackpowder So I've heard. They're both very easy to come by here. After I do a run with the catalpa and see if its any good ill likely move on to those, or buckthorn which is very invasive around here.
@@Everythingblackpowder You're very welcome! There seems to be a supreme shortage of gratitude, thankfulness, and empathy these days. What does it hurt to disperse some of this goodness? Pride I guess, hurts pride.
Great information. I like to put my retort (I think that's the official name of the cooking vessel) in the center of my fire pit. I also typically use very dry, spalted alder. There's something about the wood being on the verge of rotting that gives it some extra speed. Big leaf maple wood also makes some decent charcoal. The nice thing about not using propane is the $$ saved.
I have been making charcoal for along time and I have have found that using a large old dutch oven works really well. I use the charcoal for forging mostly and hard wood seems to be the best for that. I wonder if a small cast iron dutchy would work well for making finer softwood charcoal like you use in black powder. I have learned alot from your channel's videos and will try making my own powder for my rifles sometime. Thanks for the info.
Since I have 2 face cords of split seasoned willow in the shed, I guess I am obligated to try this method. I'm basically sitting on a gold mine. Lol Thanks for another great video!
I have a question about sieving the powder after you puck it and let it dry. What sieve should I use to get 2F and 3F I have 10, 20, 30, and 40 mesh sieve's. I would hate to buy a pound just to check the size of the granules. Thanks in advance
The video didn't suck, and I subscribed lol. Now if I could make videos that didn't suck lmao it would be great! I guessing one could cook the can in or on a propane grill and use the thermometer on the grill itself to regulate teh temp... Gonna have to try this.
I dont currently need BP, but ive not made it in a few years. Concerning woods, last summer my FIL cut down a couple old pear trees to make room for a shop expansion. Most of those trees have been sitting out in his fields since. Since its free wood basically, would this work in a pinch?
No buckthorn here in Michigan that I found...but I do have an abundance of willow. I have some weeping willow but I haven't been over to the "owner" of the shop that it's near to ask if I can pick up some of the fallen detritus from it. I do have a lot of Peachleaf Willow that I have access to and the bp i make from it has outperformed Shuetzin and gets real close Swiss.
How would Southern Yellow Pine work. I know Dupont used Long Leaf Pine stumps to make explosives at their Brunswick Ga plant for almost 100 years. I have access to all three, Long Leaf, Loblolly and Slash. Any thoughts as to suitability and if so which one would make the best charcoal?
I think In alaska they have public use kilns that you can take your green wood too to dry to 20% (cuz green wood doesnt burn .. the same as dry wood/govt reg wood stoves) So i wonder if youd recommend “dehydrating” the wood? Apparently can test with a probe, split a log and drywall moisture sensor i think All just i hear tho Ive never made my own bp but would love to some day. Oak and pine near me
Hi, this is a great video and I appreciate all the info. Would Muscadine (mountain grape) vine work. I have never made my own powder but I'm really thinking of trying it.
I really want to say thank you. Before i saw any of your videos my blackpowder was not very good. Worse then goex. But what i have learned threw you. My powder its so much better.
We have tons of Alder here in WA but I'm wondering if Black Locust would be worth a try. It would be awesome to actually find a use for them crap thorny trees. They are a very dense tight grained wood.
I live in WA and wouldn't know an Alder tree if it hit me in the head, LOL. I have looked up a few references with pictures so I think I have an idea of what to look for now. I have a red cedar in my backyard so am going to try to make charcoal from some of the dead branches I cut from it. Someone also mentioned Black Cottonwood. Just a matter of being able to identify it in the wild.
I was taught to put the can over smoldering black willow and then scrape the residue that collects on the inside of the can. Your way keeps your hands alot cleaner.
Thanks for this vid. I eventually plan on making charcoal on a modest scale, but using a paint can will work with what I have on hand right now. And I'm in luck...I have about 40 willows along my property line! Not sure which variety they are (northern Wyoming), but I do know the wood burns hot and clean, so bet it will make decent charcoal.
Good evening! The Chinese believed that the best gunpowder was obtained from the coal of the Chinese ash or Aylanthus chinensis (Fraxinus chinensis). It's a weed tree and not hard to find. You can use the core of Elderberry (Sambucus). You can use the wood of the Silvery Loch (Elaeagnus commutata). Its wood is similar to Sea Buckthorn.
Question, what do you use to powder the toilet paper charcoal? I tried using a hand blender and even cut off some of the plastic so the blades could work the charcoal. Not real effective. Hope there is a better way. Thanks!
You have mentioned that you get your buckthorn Alder imported from Ohio. Is this a private connection or is it available to the public. I would be interested in some myself. Can't get it locally.
Based on your latest video, I expect that Swiss has some ‘secret recipe’ for their charcoal. There are so many factors, chip size, age, dryness, heartwood vs sapwood, temperature its cooked at, cook time, that dialing it in could get interesting. I do know that those IR thermometers are not particularly accurate, angle and distance changes the reading a lot. You might be able to find a cheep electric heat treat kiln that you could set exact temperatures on, and really dial in your results there.
Their secret is Alder Buckthorn and charring it so that there is still some remaining creosote content [not charcoaling it to dead, dead carbon status.] The creosote content is why it's faster burning & the residue from Swiss isn't hard, from what I've read over the years. [This is from research I did before the SARS-Wuhan lockdown.] The recipe for Dupont's pyramidal ["brown" powder, developed for big ship's guns just prior to the advent of smokeless powder technology] included stopping the charring process once the bunker temp rose above 425 F [the bunker temp rises, plateaus, rises again as the various volatiles are burnt off.] Again, all this is from memory, and I've got a bad case of CRS, so do your own research rather than taking my word for it.
Where do you source your wood? I've heard that dogwood and willow is probably the best available here in the US since alder buckthorn isn't native to the US (even though it has been introduced to the eastern US).
I am going to be making black powder just wondering if the time of year you cut your wood makes a difference. Thinking cut when sap is not running or do you think it makes no difference?
I read a lot of this even though I haven’t personally seen a difference but the general consensus is you need to harvest your wood in late winter early spring
Thank U for sharing those tips, I have experimented with white pine as I have a few of those trees on my property that always drops branches, what is ur opinion on white pine for charcoal?
I was looking in the comments to make sure that I'm not asking a question that someone else had already posted. Would it be ok to use scrap pine contruction lumber? I wasn't sure since its been kiln dried.
you know Jake blasting powder is a different mix to blackpowder it's 60, 20, 20 not 75 15 10! as for pyro powder i never did find a mixtario for it! i'd like to know what wood the Swiss use myself and their cooking method! i started out with the open fire myself but i've came to using a cooking grate or trivet over coals anymore, it takes a little more tending but you can affect the heat levels to a descent degree
Video didn't suck. Much appreciated. Getting low on 3F and not in the mood to order a 25-lb minimum of flaming dirt from the usual suspects when I only need a few pounds for the next year or two. Just made first charcoal with low-BTU turkey burner and popcorn tin. Used sheet metal shield around and on top to hold heat. Kept below 600 at bottom of can per IR gun. Used red alder (rough edge trimmings from cabinet lumber) for one batch and split/debarked standing dead chinaberry for the other (seemed like a good choice? Maybe not). The chinaberry smoke must have killed every mosquito within seven hundred yards, nasty stuff full of creosote who knows what kind of toxic sludge, made green smoke out the vent on the tin! Made nice charcoal in the end, though. Will report after milling some powder.
Cooking the charcoal at a lower temperature makes a difference in speed and also how clean the powder burns. Cooked between 500 and 600F until it quits smoking makes finished, pressed/corned powder slightly more dense than cooked at 800 until it quits smoking. Cooked at lower temperature also burns more cleanly, I think maybe because it's a better fuel and is using up all the oxidizer and leaving less ash. So all the people who say don't exceed 550F or so in the charcoal retort are spot on.
I'm new to this thoroughly enjoyable channel and I have a question or two. Firstly, is there any merit to using saw dust of the desired wood type? i e. Intentionally cutting the wood for the purpose of generating and cooking the resulting chips/dust/shavings as they're already sort of "powderised". I'm thinking this might make the egress of tars, resins etc from the wood better or faster? Or secondly, would the resulting saw dust being cooked tend to mat down, clump together in the cooking tin and thereby negate the perceived better tar, resin egress idea? I appreciate the work you're doing 👍🏻
Saw dust is a little too fine but it will work. The important thing is that you have uniformity in your pieces of wood (diameter and length) so it cooks evenly. I suppose it’s the same principle with sawdust.
I use willow....strip the bark...do it like you do it.....run it through my coffee grinder and then ball mill it. I mix the weighed saltpeter....which was ball milled and then sulphur all weighed in grams figured as the percentage basis and then ball mill it again. I mix the combination with some 91 percent alcohol so it ends up like wet clay and then run it through a screen to end up with 3F grade and when it dries it is virtually explosive. I use 40 grains in my .40 caliber using round balls. I love the smell of black powder in the morning. LOL
Have you tried Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) charcoal? It certainly performed best for fireworks making than anything else, I never tried for shooting. Steve
I have two separate questions... First, would it be a good idea to attempt to burn the smoke coming from the container as the wood cooks? The reason for that is because I make a lot of charcoal, and on windless days the smoke hangs, and kills my lungs. The second question is: The reason I make charcoal is primarily for both my grill, and to make activated charcoal for water filtration. I know that using activated charcoal may be pointless for black powder, but is there a possibility that it makes a difference in the end result in making black powder? Does anyone know if it would ruin it, or possibly make it work better?
use cedar pet bedding, comes in shavings cooks fast, makes very fast bp also if your using the paint cans, look up the TLUD method, top lit updraft. i can cook a full can in about 15 minutes.
The Chinese,supposedly credited with the invention of BP,use bamboo for just about everything. It’s abundance has to be part of the development process. Works pretty good folks!
Can you please share your source/brand of the Potassium Nitrate you use? I tried Stump Remover and I couldn't set the powder on fire even with a constant flame on it! Everybody talks about the charcoal. But perhaps it would be helpful if you could share the brands/
I can't find a source for Alder Buckthorn anywhere around here, but I do have piles of Eastern Cedar, so that's what I've been using. What I'm wondering, is if there is a difference in the quality of the charcoal made with more of the cambium/sapwood or the heartwood? Or isn't there any?
@@randynix6412 I mix it as one wood. In the last year I've cut over 400 cedars on my property and pick the branches that are about 1" in diameter, cut into 6" sections and stuff the paint can. Sometimes i split them.
I think you hear this all the time but I'm going to ask anyways. Could you do a few episodes where you do a Taofledermaus type thing. Where you explore alternative ammunition to LED. That would be very interesting. Maybe go a little end of the world mad Max with it. Best gunpowder best alternative ammo. Just a thought
@@Everythingblackpowder One of these days, I'll get around to making some fine sporting powder! The one ingredient I always seem to be short on is time.
People should know that they shouldn't open the top right away after cooking their char. It's hard not to take a peek but if you do it will start to burn and turn into ash. Wait at least 20minutes for it to cool.
Thanks Steve, I completely forgot to mention that.
@@Everythingblackpowder should do a video on breaking it down via rolling pin or media grinder. Thanks dude.
@@TieboxI use an old hand cranked meat grinder - cheap to pick up used, and you'll get the charcoal down to somewhere inbetween airfloat and granulated sugar in no time at all. Do the grinding outside, though, quite a dusty process.
@@skippymctwist7 Excellent method in the event that there is no power. That's a 1st one on me! I use an old food processor called 'Ninja' for my powders like charcoal, aluminum, hexamine and many more. Saves tons of time! My motive is total self-sufficiency in the event that the internet takes a sh1t and munitions are gone.
You should try doing it from the garage if you have a window. I improvise using an old portable fan and it sucks anything I don't want to coat my lungs outside. If you saw one part of my garage, you would think I am running a meth lab. Have a bunch of distillation apparatuses, scales and much more.
Thanks for responding brother. Stuff goes south, keep your chin in the mud.
I learned this the hard way…
The time you invest into making these projects is immensely beneficial for others who want to make their own blackpowder.
In other words, Thank you!
Happy to help
Have you considered getting a Patreon account for support?
What you’re doing is good, might as well get a few bucks for it.
Not really.
I know I practice and Incorporate his lessons into my learning curve! my curve goes round to a circle or dead end sometimes?
shhh. now i may be roasting very "carefully" in a Class I Div I inert environment some 20K PSI pucks and corned bp above suphur's and knO3's melting temp just to see if it's better? than before.
can i use oak charcoal for blackpowder
Have you read Like Fire and Powder by Brett Gibbons? It’s about the historic production of gun powder at the Waltham Abbey gunpowder mills. Goes into detail about the manufacturing processes they used. Gets fairly specific on the ingredients they used. There’s a whole chapter on charcoal.
Really short but interesting read.
During the late 1880's they started making brown powder for Naval cannons. They would make charcoal but stop before it turned black. Supposedly they also eliminated most of the Sulphur. Supposedly it was slower burning which gave higher velocities in longer barrels. Without the Sulphur it was harder to ignite but that was offset a little bit by brown charcoal being a little easier to ignite since it had more volatiles left in it. I'd love to see you experiment with some. Maybe even do a series where you experiment with making charcoal anywhere from still brown to ultra cooked and see what differences you get.
I have made some brown powder and I have a burning test video.
I always think about that aspect of brown powder (less cooked = more volatiles), and what a hybrid of brown/black powder would shoot like.
Over cooked is ash. Artist method is stupid! make big fire, hose out, harvest charcoal, dry in sun
@@dylanstandingalone volitals make crud, not energy
What if you made charcoal out of some weird stuff like particle board, balsa wood, twigs from trimming the hedges, a book, toilet paper, cardboard, puzzle pieces, cereal boxes, oh you get the idea.
I think you'd find that the glue and binders in processed wood products would not be good for the result. Th's why it's best to de-bark the wood...there's stuff in the bark that doesn't help. You are after the purest carbon you can get....
You can make charcoal for BP out of cardboard. I have used it in a batch and it seems to burn fast. And I have also made some out of pinecones.
Sounds like Doc Brown refilling the "Mr. Fusion"
@@williamcastleberry7338 I have a virtually limitless supply of cardboard. Just how viable is this?
@@Saltpetere I tried it just to see if it would work, and it does. It seems to burn as fast as the BP that I have made using Cedar, Grapevine, and pine. And I can't tell that it's any dirtier than the other. Cardboard and paper is made from fast growing wood. I ran across a video a while back where a fellow was using straw to make charcoal , and it got me to thinking. I didn't have any straw but I did have a bunch of cardboard and paper. So I tried it and it worked.
I’m a machinist for a lumber mill and have access to unlimited amount of pine shavings. I have wondered how pine would work for a long time.
White pine works very well
Excellent results. That really broke up nice and looked consistent all the way through. I am looking forward to having a go at this.
I’ve been making small batches of charcoal for drawing or to make black grain filler for decades. You can make small test batches with an Altoid mint can. In winter, I put it in the wood stove and remove it when it stops venting.
Good one Jake, I have the sherwin williams model pyrolyzer myself. For sure you want to get the bark off as usually there is a lot of sandy grit that accumulates there as well as its typically the most sapiest part.
Making the charcoal is the hardest part. I like to ball mill it into powder by itself first as it is less likely to explode in the mill. I also separately mill the KNO3. The Sulphur is usually already a fine powder. Milling it aa together takes a bit less time if everything is fine dust.
I've used a metal paint can alot of times for charcoal, but I would start with the hole down and after the steam boils out, it becomes a flamable gas (cars, generators can run on it) and so provides a lot of it's own fuel and when that flaming slows, then I would flip it over so could tell better when it is close to done. Then I put a penny over the hole so no oxygen can get into the charcoal and form ash, until it's cool. Some times when when charcoaling sawdust and shavings, I would put a can or jar in the center because that part would sometimes not get done and that took care of that.
Wood gas? The condensate from charring wood?
@@randomidiot8142 Yes.
I’ve even made charcoal by purchasing a grape vine wreath at hobby lobby. Breaking it up, throwing in the retort (can with hole) and cooking it. Works pretty well!!
Grape vine works well
Yes it was very helpful thank you so much. I've got all kind of Grapevine around here and in my vicinity actually all over the county so I'm going to give that a try and see how it works. Thanks again for the video it certainly was helpful. Keep ye powder dry!
Some of the guys that I know that make their own also made basically a thermocouple controlled Kiln. They can hold temp between 530 and 550 all day and do about a 2 pound batch at a time. Another easy to find item that works good for powder is Sumac (non poisonous) and Heavenly Tree; although heavenly tree can make some VERY light powder and pretty much requires pucking.
I've been binge watching your channel for the last several days. I started black powder activities during the covid crap in 2020, but life got in the way. So now I'm back to my adventure to turn my money into smoke and noise. I'm learning from your videos. Thank you for your work. Subscribed.
Thank you. Glad to hear it
One of the cool things about this is grabbing a little bit of the charcoal for your flint and steel fire kit and lighting your campfire by putting a small piece of charcoal in your unloaded flintlock pan and tossing a spark on it to light the tinder that lights the campfire you use to roast your dinner on after a day in the field.
You taught me alot. Thanks keep it up . Always looking forward for your videos.
Good to know about using grapevine. I have mountains of that. Thanks for the video.
Really appreciate you doing these Jake. You are the guy I point people to when I get asked about this!
Thank you, Ethan
I’m gonna save y’all a lot of time with this tip…
I make my charcoal with Cedar picket fence slats from Home Depot.
Be selective when picking slats. Avoid knots!
I shoot my BP firearms with my own self made BP ONLY!
I have never used commercial BP, or Pyrodex.
Good BP must be made from “Softwood” charcoal (Coniferous wood), with a few hardwood exceptions. Willow is actually considered “Hardwood” but does make excellent charcoal for BP.
thanks for this!
Very similar to making biochar. I was told to take it to 800o for three hours when making a 55gal drum full inside of 400 gal oil tank.We used very dry wood or chicken manure. I knew the gasses were volatile so tried it next time with a copper tune running from the barrel . Lit it and it burned the wood gas for over an hour.
Good basic helpful info! Excellent!👍👍
I make mine on the grill using the cast iron pan heater. It’s also propane fueled. I use a large soup can with the lid cut off most of the way. Willow is what I have easy access too.
It works very well. My willow powder is equally to Goex
I think you need a blend of charcoals hard woods retain a higher tannin resin content while the soft woods give a more pure carbon, but as you have found fouling issue. Tannins will also slow the burn, but should give a better polish. Have you tried tumbling with coal (anthracite) instead of graphite? Other things to try is a mix that has more external sulfur, like applied in the polishing tumble.. no sulfur polished with a sulfur mix?
Excellent tutorial and information! 👍
Excellent video. Do you happen to have a video on milling/making a ball mill? I'm just getting in to making blackpowder having shot BP guns for a few years now, and being tired of overpaying for something I can make myself plus I already have 25lbs of both pure sulfur and nitrate sitting in the garage that i use for other projects
Thank you , that was a very informative video on making charcoal .
I never thought about the temperature affecting quality. Hmm 🤔 Thanks for sharing your experience.
Interesting as always, thank you Jake.
Getting really good results with willow but also have had pretty good results with cottonwood.
Thank you for taking the time to make this video. I found it very interesting and I learned a lot. Answered many of my questions.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I use one of those giant Christmas cookie tins. I used northern catalpa wood, which is a fast growing, soft deciduous tree. I cook it in my outdoor fire pit. I haven't made any powder with it yet and will report back when I do. I've never heard of that species being used but it seems to fit the bill in terms of properties. I had a large branch of it that I trimmed last winter and figured I'd give it a try. I've got white pine, eastern red cedar and buckthorn in the area but the catalpa tree is actually on my property.
White pine and red cedar make great black powder
@@Everythingblackpowder So I've heard. They're both very easy to come by here. After I do a run with the catalpa and see if its any good ill likely move on to those, or buckthorn which is very invasive around here.
Catalpa was used in some Asian powder recipes.
@@mkultraification Interesting. They were the originators of black powder, so maybe I'm onto something here.
@@Everythingblackpowder awesome, I was going to ask about white pine, as I actually have some in my woodpile 🤣
Your video definitely doesn't suck and I have it a thumbs up.
Thank you
@@Everythingblackpowder You're very welcome! There seems to be a supreme shortage of gratitude, thankfulness, and empathy these days. What does it hurt to disperse some of this goodness? Pride I guess, hurts pride.
Great information. I like to put my retort (I think that's the official name of the cooking vessel) in the center of my fire pit. I also typically use very dry, spalted alder. There's something about the wood being on the verge of rotting that gives it some extra speed. Big leaf maple wood also makes some decent charcoal. The nice thing about not using propane is the $$ saved.
I have been making charcoal for along time and I have have found that using a large old dutch oven works really well. I use the charcoal for forging mostly and hard wood seems to be the best for that. I wonder if a small cast iron dutchy would work well for making finer softwood charcoal like you use in black powder. I have learned alot from your channel's videos and will try making my own powder for my rifles sometime. Thanks for the info.
Thank you
Good video as always lots of knowledge there Thanks allot
Since I have 2 face cords of split seasoned willow in the shed, I guess I am obligated to try this method. I'm basically sitting on a gold mine. Lol Thanks for another great video!
Very interesting 👍👍👍
I have a question about sieving the powder after you puck it and let it dry. What sieve should I use to get 2F and 3F I have 10, 20, 30, and 40 mesh sieve's. I would hate to buy a pound just to check the size of the granules.
Thanks in advance
The video didn't suck, and I subscribed lol. Now if I could make videos that didn't suck lmao it would be great! I guessing one could cook the can in or on a propane grill and use the thermometer on the grill itself to regulate teh temp... Gonna have to try this.
I dont currently need BP, but ive not made it in a few years. Concerning woods, last summer my FIL cut down a couple old pear trees to make room for a shop expansion.
Most of those trees have been sitting out in his fields since. Since its free wood basically, would this work in a pinch?
Great information! Thank you very much!
Happy to help
No buckthorn here in Michigan that I found...but I do have an abundance of willow. I have some weeping willow but I haven't been over to the "owner" of the shop that it's near to ask if I can pick up some of the fallen detritus from it. I do have a lot of Peachleaf Willow that I have access to and the bp i make from it has outperformed Shuetzin and gets real close Swiss.
Did this method perform better? Or was it about the same? As always thanks for the time and effort you put into this.
Do you think that the fast buring result can vary if you would use birch or oak?
Very informative and useful. Thanks
How would Southern Yellow Pine work. I know Dupont used Long Leaf Pine stumps to make explosives at their Brunswick Ga plant for almost 100 years. I have access to all three, Long Leaf, Loblolly and Slash.
Any thoughts as to suitability and if so which one would make the best charcoal?
I think In alaska they have public use kilns that you can take your green wood too to dry to 20% (cuz green wood doesnt burn .. the same as dry wood/govt reg wood stoves)
So i wonder if youd recommend “dehydrating” the wood?
Apparently can test with a probe, split a log and drywall moisture sensor i think
All just i hear tho
Ive never made my own bp but would love to some day. Oak and pine near me
Hi, this is a great video and I appreciate all the info. Would Muscadine (mountain grape) vine work. I have never made my own powder but I'm really thinking of trying it.
I really want to say thank you. Before i saw any of your videos my blackpowder was not very good. Worse then goex. But what i have learned threw you. My powder its so much better.
Glad to hear it.
We have tons of Alder here in WA but I'm wondering if Black Locust would be worth a try. It would be awesome to actually find a use for them crap thorny trees. They are a very dense tight grained wood.
Here in the Missouri Ozarks, we use Black Locust just like Red Oak. Its beautiful made into furniture or the latest that I saw was kitchen cabinets.
I live in WA and wouldn't know an Alder tree if it hit me in the head, LOL. I have looked up a few references with pictures so I think I have an idea of what to look for now. I have a red cedar in my backyard so am going to try to make charcoal from some of the dead branches I cut from it. Someone also mentioned Black Cottonwood. Just a matter of being able to identify it in the wild.
I was taught to put the can over smoldering black willow and then scrape the residue that collects on the inside of the can. Your way keeps your hands alot cleaner.
We have loads of alder here in Alaska. Not sure if it’s the same as what you are using. Should work the same yes?
Beats me. I get mine imported from Ohio
You should wash the charcoal with hot rain water afterwards you be amazed as to how much potassium hydroxide is left in the charcoal.great video 🤩
The only wood that's readily available in my area is Juniper, Pine, Tamarack, and Red Fir. Would any of these make a good "propellant"?
I look forward to seeing how it performs.
I found it helpful.👍🏻
Thanks for this vid. I eventually plan on making charcoal on a modest scale, but using a paint can will work with what I have on hand right now. And I'm in luck...I have about 40 willows along my property line! Not sure which variety they are (northern Wyoming), but I do know the wood burns hot and clean, so bet it will make decent charcoal.
Good evening! The Chinese believed that the best gunpowder was obtained from the coal of the Chinese ash or Aylanthus chinensis (Fraxinus chinensis). It's a weed tree and not hard to find. You can use the core of Elderberry (Sambucus). You can use the wood of the Silvery Loch (Elaeagnus commutata). Its wood is similar to Sea Buckthorn.
I have been told that pine cones are very good, but I have not tried them yet.... I have a bag full for my next batch of powder... 🙂
Question, what do you use to powder the toilet paper charcoal? I tried using a hand blender and even cut off some of the plastic so the blades could work the charcoal. Not real effective. Hope there is a better way. Thanks!
Great stuff, thank you for our great work
Thank you
You have mentioned that you get your buckthorn Alder imported from Ohio. Is this a private connection or is it available to the public. I would be interested in some myself. Can't get it locally.
Didn't suck. I liked it.
Based on your latest video, I expect that Swiss has some ‘secret recipe’ for their charcoal. There are so many factors, chip size, age, dryness, heartwood vs sapwood, temperature its cooked at, cook time, that dialing it in could get interesting.
I do know that those IR thermometers are not particularly accurate, angle and distance changes the reading a lot.
You might be able to find a cheep electric heat treat kiln that you could set exact temperatures on, and really dial in your results there.
Their secret is Alder Buckthorn and charring it so that there is still some remaining creosote content [not charcoaling it to dead, dead carbon status.] The creosote content is why it's faster burning & the residue from Swiss isn't hard, from what I've read over the years. [This is from research I did before the SARS-Wuhan lockdown.]
The recipe for Dupont's pyramidal ["brown" powder, developed for big ship's guns just prior to the advent of smokeless powder technology] included stopping the charring process once the bunker temp rose above 425 F [the bunker temp rises, plateaus, rises again as the various volatiles are burnt off.] Again, all this is from memory, and I've got a bad case of CRS, so do your own research rather than taking my word for it.
I really like this channel.
Thank you
Very good info, thanks.
Have you tried cottonwood for charcoal. It seems to like moist ground similar to willow and alder buckthorn.
Not yet.
Well done and good presentation. thanks
Thank you
Where do you source your wood? I've heard that dogwood and willow is probably the best available here in the US since alder buckthorn isn't native to the US (even though it has been introduced to the eastern US).
I get my alder buckthorn imported from Ohio. Everything else I can find locally
I am going to be making black powder just wondering if the time of year you cut your wood makes a difference. Thinking cut when sap is not running or do you think it makes no difference?
I read a lot of this even though I haven’t personally seen a difference but the general consensus is you need to harvest your wood in late winter early spring
Thank U for sharing those tips, I have experimented with white pine as I have a few of those trees on my property that always drops branches, what is ur opinion on white pine for charcoal?
It works very well.
I was looking in the comments to make sure that I'm not asking a question that someone else had already posted. Would it be ok to use scrap pine contruction lumber? I wasn't sure since its been kiln dried.
Yes it works okay
Coffee ground charcoal?
Have you used cottonwood?
you know Jake blasting powder is a different mix to blackpowder it's 60, 20, 20 not 75 15 10! as for pyro powder i never did find a mixtario for it! i'd like to know what wood the Swiss use myself and their cooking method! i started out with the open fire myself but i've came to using a cooking grate or trivet over coals anymore, it takes a little more tending but you can affect the heat levels to a descent degree
Video didn't suck. Much appreciated. Getting low on 3F and not in the mood to order a 25-lb minimum of flaming dirt from the usual suspects when I only need a few pounds for the next year or two. Just made first charcoal with low-BTU turkey burner and popcorn tin. Used sheet metal shield around and on top to hold heat. Kept below 600 at bottom of can per IR gun. Used red alder (rough edge trimmings from cabinet lumber) for one batch and split/debarked standing dead chinaberry for the other (seemed like a good choice? Maybe not). The chinaberry smoke must have killed every mosquito within seven hundred yards, nasty stuff full of creosote who knows what kind of toxic sludge, made green smoke out the vent on the tin! Made nice charcoal in the end, though. Will report after milling some powder.
Cooking the charcoal at a lower temperature makes a difference in speed and also how clean the powder burns. Cooked between 500 and 600F until it quits smoking makes finished, pressed/corned powder slightly more dense than cooked at 800 until it quits smoking. Cooked at lower temperature also burns more cleanly, I think maybe because it's a better fuel and is using up all the oxidizer and leaving less ash. So all the people who say don't exceed 550F or so in the charcoal retort are spot on.
Disposable chopsticks used in Japan are made of aspen wood. It costs about 200 yen for 100 pieces.
Paulownia wood is also readily available.
I’ve heard paulownia works well but I haven’t tried it myself
Where would you rate cedar compared to willow? Lots of cedar here, not so much of the other "ideal" woods.
It’s comparable to willow
I'm new to this thoroughly enjoyable channel and I have a question or two.
Firstly, is there any merit to using saw dust of the desired wood type? i e. Intentionally cutting the wood for the purpose of generating and cooking the resulting chips/dust/shavings as they're already sort of "powderised". I'm thinking this might make the egress of tars, resins etc from the wood better or faster? Or secondly, would the resulting saw dust being cooked tend to mat down, clump together in the cooking tin and thereby negate the perceived better tar, resin egress idea?
I appreciate the work you're doing 👍🏻
Saw dust is a little too fine but it will work. The important thing is that you have uniformity in your pieces of wood (diameter and length) so it cooks evenly. I suppose it’s the same principle with sawdust.
Thanks 👍🏻
I use willow....strip the bark...do it like you do it.....run it through my coffee grinder and then ball mill it. I mix the weighed saltpeter....which was ball milled and then sulphur all weighed in grams figured as the percentage basis and then ball mill it again. I mix the combination with some 91 percent alcohol so it ends up like wet clay and then run it through a screen to end up with 3F grade and when it dries it is virtually explosive. I use 40 grains in my .40 caliber using round balls. I love the smell of black powder in the morning. LOL
Have you tried Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) charcoal? It certainly performed best for fireworks making than anything else, I never tried for shooting.
Steve
Dude great video and awesome channel
Thank you
What if you put the can on a rotisserie type thing over the heat
Have you ever tried using chinaberry to make the charcoal. Seems I heard that it made pretty good powder.
Nope
Great vid and info.
Could I use like an empty cake tin or roses/quality street tin instead of a paint can?
I don’t see why not
@@Everythingblackpowder The only issue I can find is the seal on the lid may not be secure enough, under heat and pressure?!
As long as there’s a hole in it somewhere it shouldn’t be a problem
I have two separate questions...
First, would it be a good idea to attempt to burn the smoke coming from the container as the wood cooks? The reason for that is because I make a lot of charcoal, and on windless days the smoke hangs, and kills my lungs.
The second question is: The reason I make charcoal is primarily for both my grill, and to make activated charcoal for water filtration. I know that using activated charcoal may be pointless for black powder, but is there a possibility that it makes a difference in the end result in making black powder? Does anyone know if it would ruin it, or possibly make it work better?
Yes you could turn it upside down and burn the vapor but I haven’t noticed any difference in the performance of the charcoal for black powder.
@@Everythingblackpowder Sounds like an appealing method to limit smoke inhalation if it doesn't make the coal any better or worse for making powder.
What if instead of using something paint can sized I use the actual turkey pot? Can a big batch work? I have a ton of those buck thorn around.
I don’t see why it wouldn’t
use cedar pet bedding, comes in shavings cooks fast, makes very fast bp also if your using the paint cans, look up the TLUD method, top lit updraft. i can cook a full can in about 15 minutes.
can you use art supply grade charcoal?
I wonder how charcoal made from cotton, either cotton balls or simple cotton cord, would work?
I haven’t tried it
What do you think of pine chips or cedar chips to make charcoal ?
It works well
Have you tried coffee bean or tobacco charcoal yet? Something just seems right about either of those.
Not yet
If you have not tried Bamboo charcoal we seriously urge you to try it. Initial testing for fast BP performs better than willow.
The Chinese,supposedly credited with the invention of BP,use bamboo for just about everything. It’s abundance has to be part of the development process. Works pretty good folks!
Can you please share your source/brand of the Potassium Nitrate you use? I tried Stump Remover and I couldn't set the powder on fire even with a constant flame on it! Everybody talks about the charcoal. But perhaps it would be helpful if you could share the brands/
Skylighter
I can't find a source for Alder Buckthorn anywhere around here, but I do have piles of Eastern Cedar, so that's what I've been using. What I'm wondering, is if there is a difference in the quality of the charcoal made with more of the cambium/sapwood or the heartwood? Or isn't there any?
I’ve tried both and couldn’t tell a difference in performance but that was back when I was using fresh cut wood
@@Everythingblackpowder Just a thought I had. Didn't know if more goodies might be residing in the heartwood.
Do you separate the heartwood in cedar or mix it as one wood
@@randynix6412 I mix it as one wood. In the last year I've cut over 400 cedars on my property and pick the branches that are about 1" in diameter, cut into 6" sections and stuff the paint can. Sometimes i split them.
I think you hear this all the time but I'm going to ask anyways. Could you do a few episodes where you do a Taofledermaus type thing. Where you explore alternative ammunition to LED. That would be very interesting. Maybe go a little end of the world mad Max with it. Best gunpowder best alternative ammo. Just a thought
I have a ton of scrap lumber laying around (doug fir). I know you also like red cedar, but would the fir work?
You bet
Douglas fir works fairly well for me, along with western white pine and hemlock
Thanks for all you do! I've heard plum makes a decent bp charcoal...have you tried it? Also...what is the prep for grapevine? Thanks, again.
I haven’t tried plum. Scrape the bark off and char it up
@@Everythingblackpowder Thank you.
Good stuff, Jake!
Thank you
@@Everythingblackpowder One of these days, I'll get around to making some fine sporting powder! The one ingredient I always seem to be short on is time.
Have u ever used flooded willow that’s dried out?
Yes it’s works best