I need to start doing this like I need another hole in my head.(of course there are some people who say making your own will put another hole in your head) I am making my own charcoal and in the process of making a ball mill. Of course this will lead me from shooting black powder to making fireworks. I hope to have a batch made in a month or so.
Again who is making their own?

I have and it performs better than Goex.

As you know the key to good powder is a proper ball mill, charcoal quality and pressing it to the proper density (3.6 Grams /cc) then corning it.
Its fun but getting KNO3 and sulfur is harder now than 10 years ago...

Basic principal

Press it!

Okay, I just spend the last 3 nights grinding ingredients for my own BP. I combined them in the proper ratios, mixed them thoroughly, lit the mix with a match...

...and was totally underwhelmed with the results. Nothing. Nada. Zip. It worked very well to extinguish the match I finally set to it.

WTF? I'm guessing that all ingredients are not created equal. I got the potassium nitrate from a bottle of stump remover; the sulphur from a pharmacy; and the charcoal from a pet store. The charcoal is "pelletized" charcoal for aquarium filters.

So which of these is likeliest to have been adulterated so we cannot blow up municipal bridges  to prevent combustion?

I have one batch which I mixed with water, which is drying in the sun.

Edit:
Just found out that the fish tank carbon is probably the worst thing I could've used:

Source: Google search, probably Wikipedia.

I'll send off for some "real" charcoal from one of the chemical companies.

Meanwhile: how do I test the potassium nitrate and sulfur for purity?

If you have a old time feed store or garden center close by you may be able to get pot. nitrates and sulfur.
Stump remover should list the % on the back. I make my own charcoal. If you have willow trees in your area it would be a good source for making charcoal. I have some drying now. I used cedar fence boards to make charcoal because it will be a while before my willow is ready.

From what I understand charcoal is the most important part, it is the fuel.  Pot. Nitrates is the oxygen and the sulfur helps lower the flash point.

How fine of a powder are you getting your ingredients? Just be careful mixing up all three. There is another method called the CIA way
of making bp. I never tried it. Just remember it can go boom on you.

I have Willow charcoal and 99% sulfur and *now, potassium nitrate to start making BP for the first time.

*I've a FA rotary tumbler for wet tumbling brass. After some online searching, seems it will work for milling, too

I make my own BP. Here's a video description:
https://youtu.be/GFnVLJALvus

I asked this question elsewhere: I have a LOT of very dry, weathered pine, from fences that have stood in the hot New Mexico sun for 15+ years. I also have lots of scrap pine from various projects I've made.

Which will be best for making charcoal?


I have a small can (a paint can, purchased "dry" from Ho Do) that I'll fill with wood strips, then bake at 400 degrees in a propane cooker.

I would think that pine should work fine

I used spruce 2x4 which I would guess is similar to pine. My willow source fell through.
A gal. metal paint can crammed full gave me enough charcoal to do quite a lot of BP

My BP turned out extremely nice. I'm very pleased with it

I basically followed tadserralta youtube tutorial -  'Homemade Black Powder'

Here is a vid of setting off a mortar shell off the ground. It was one of my first shells. I have charcoal stars in it. It is at 1/4 speed. Home made black powder,50 feet from phone. I better make a glass plate protector for the phone when testing/videoing.

https://youtu.be/A_KrhKqhaSA

To my understanding pine makes fairly decent charcoal. If you get some red cedar fence board it does make good charcoal for black powder. The above vid I posted is
red cedar fence boards for the bp and white pine for the charcoal stars( the stuff coming at the phone).