'Run out' of black powder?

[Tokkalosh]

If you have, go down to a nearby garden centre and there should be 'Sodium chlorate weed killer'. Buy it.

Next you need to sieve it with a 20 mesh sieve. Not all of it, just experiment first. Once you have sieved a bit of it, there should be some crystals, that's about 90% sodium chlorate, the rest in the bowl/plate is just crapy fire retardant. Use that retardant on an enemies garden to spell out ‘die’ or something.

Ok, now that you have the sodium chlorate, grind it up in a pestle and mortar. Once its fairly fine, mix it with sugar. The ratios should be about 75% sodium chlorate and 25% sugar, mix them carefully and light it on some foil or something. It should make a nice hot flame. Using this in a compacted casing such as a co2 canister, should act like a black powder explosive. Not as powerful but still as devastating.

Remember using metal casings for explosives is extremely dangerous, as shrapnel can travel very far and injure you.

To make it a little more powerful, instead of sugar, use charcoal (grinded in pestle and mortar). Or maybe both. The stuff has to fine when you have put them together.

You can use ’yellow sulphur’ found in garden centres but sulphur and sodium chlorate are EXTREMELY sensitive when together so I wouldn’t recommend this for a first try.

Good luck, and be safe.

[T. Wedd]

Damn good black powder substitute.

I have never really experimented with making my own as i have always had enough to do what i want.

I will have to try this one to see how it compares to the real thing, and how volatile it is.

Edit: Is volatile the right word used to describe powders. Or does that just apply to liquids & gases?

[Slithz3rikai]

I'm sure KNO3 would be cheaper. NaClO3 has better uses than as a BP substitute.

[DevourThePain]

Volatile:
Adjective
1. Chemistry a. Evaporating readily at normal temperatures and pressures. b. That can be readily vaporized.

This would apply to anything that turns into a gas. Gasoline is volitile, and so are things lke acetone and isopropyl alcohol which evaporate fast.

I would say that volatility can include solids but when a solid goes straight to a gas this would be called sublimation.

I use NaClO3 and sulfur with a couple other things to make exploding targets for use with my .22 LR so yea I'd say that chlorate and sulfur mixes are pretty sensative, and should probably be avoided as better more stable mixtures containing chlorate exist. I personally like perchlorate mixtures more but chlorate is MUCH easier to obtain than perchlorate.

[T. Wedd]

DevourThePain said:

Volatile:
Adjective
1. Chemistry a. Evaporating readily at normal temperatures and pressures. b. That can be readily vaporized.

This would apply to anything that turns into a gas. Gasoline is volitile, and so are things lke acetone and isopropyl alcohol which evaporate fast.

I would say that volatility can include solids but when a solid goes straight to a gas this would be called sublimation.

Thats what i figured, that volatile basically refers to vapours.

What would the word be that best describes the explosive nature of solids? It wouldn't really be combustable as this refers to the ability for the item to burn not to explode.

Does such a word even exist in the pyrotechnic business?

[Slithz3rikai]

T. said:

What would the word be that best describes the explosive nature of solids? It wouldn't really be combustable as this refers to the ability for the item to burn not to explode.

Solids don't "explode" unconfined. Certain HE's can detonate unconfined... the rest just burn.

[DevourThePain]

An explosive compound is generally refered to as an "Energetic Material". From what I've read, C-4 is pretty stable and can be burnt. It supposedly will burn with a pretty good flame, but if you suddenly put the flame out or if you hit the burning explosive with say... a rock then it will detonate because of the shock and because the heat from the flames brings it so close to it's decompositon temp. Not all explosives are flammable though. Not all explosives are soluble in water, a great deal of explosives ars soluble in acetone however. Not all explosives are extremely unstable, but then again some are. Not all explosives are hygroscopic but then again some are. Soooooo yea... I Think "Energetic material" would best describe them all. ;D

Edit: Wedd, were you talking about the explosive nature of solid explosives or just solids in general?

[Slithz3rikai]

DevourThePain said:

a great deal of explosives ars soluble in acetone

What does that have to do with it?

[DevourThePain]

I just figured I'd add it since I was on the topic. I also used it because I had used acetone as an example of a volatile liquid.