Formulas For Black Powder ------------------------- Gunpowder is the great-granddaddy of all the rest of the high and low power explosives, and still to this day is on of the most important explosives. As with all the rest of the explosive formulas, it seems everyone has his own recipe, which he claims to be the best. I have collected 11 of the safer, more functional, methods of preparing gunpowder. The most important thing to remember when dealing with black powder is its incredible sensitivity to sparks. Note: A cook, a book does not make. [1> Potassium perchlorate 69.2 [2> Potassium chlorate 75 Sulfur 15.4 Charcoal 12.5 Charcoal 15.4 Sulfur 12.5 [3> Potassium nitrate 70.4 [4> Potassium nitrate 79 Sulfur 19.4 Sulfur 3 Sodium sulfate 10.2 Straw charcoal 18 [5> Potassium nitrate 64 [6> Potassium nitrate 70.6 Sulfur 12 Sulfur 23.5 Lamp black 7 Antimony sulfate 5.9 Sawdust 17 [8> Potassium nitrate 37.5 [7> Potassium nitrate 50 Starch 37.5 Ammonium perchlorate 25 Sulfur 18.75 Sulfur 12.5 Antimony powder 6.25 Charcoal 12.5 [10> Guanidine nitrate 49 [9> Barium nitrate 75 Potassium nitrate 40 Sulfur 12.5 Charcoal 11 Charcoal 12.5 [11> Sodium peroxide 67 Sodium thiosulphate 33 When preparing black powder for use in firearms, it is important to keep in mind that these formulas are more powderful than ordinary potassium nitrate gunpowder, and for that reason smaller quantities should be used. The correct amount can only be discovered by trial-and-error experimentation, but caution must be taken to prevent overloading. Although black powder is one of the safest explosives, it has disadvantage: It is extremely sensitive to sparks; and it leaves a messy residue in gun barrels, which necessitates frequent cleaning. The advantage of smokeless powder is the low-explosive class, which gives off only gaseuous products upon explosion. The first type of smokeless powder used by the army was basically nitrocellulose with a small amount of diphenylamine, for stablizer. Smokeless powder is perhaps the safest of any explosive compound discussed in this chapter, and for that reason is extremely popular today. ************************************************