How to Make Gunpowder

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Gunpowder is a mixture of salt of matches, sulfur and charcoal. The hardest part about making gunpowder is finding these three ingredients. Once you have the ingredients, you will mix them together to create a black mixture that can explode. You must exercise caution when working with gunpowder, and remember to store it away from sources of heat and fire. Read on to learn how to make gunpowder.

Table of Contents

Gathering materials

Buy some match salt. Match salt is the common name for potassium nitrate. In the days when gunpowder was widely used, match salt was produced from bat droppings, or from horse urine and other animal manures. ^{[1] X Research Sources} Matcha salt is used in a variety of fertilizers, scientific projects and some recipes. You have several options for finding match salts:

Look for “stomicide powder” at a garden supply store. Matcha salt is this powder. Salt of the match is also sold under the name of salt and pepper or potassium nitrate. ^{[2] X Research Source}
Buy salted matches online. If you search online with the name “salt” you will get a lot of results, and can easily order a jar sent to your home.
Make your own matcha salt from a cold pack. Cold packs cost several tens of thousands of dong and are used to treat muscle aches and pains, including sodium nitrate and water as the raw materials to create match salt.
Make match salt from urine. This is definitely the most difficult way to make matchsticks, but some people prefer to start from the rudimentary. First, you will put animal manure in a bin, under which is fitted with pipes, valves and filters. Then, you pee into the bucket and fill it with water. After about 10 months, you pour it out into a tray to dry. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Find charcoal. ^{[4] X Research Source} You can buy ordinary charcoal for baking, and then grind it into a fine powder. If you want to make your own charcoal, fill a metal barrel with a layer of willow or other wood about 8cm thick, then place the barrel on a fire with the lid loose (so air can get into the barrel). Maintain the fire burning continuously for 4-6 hours, then open the lid of the barrel. The wood layer will be burned to charcoal and can be used as gunpowder.

Find elemental sulfur. This naturally occurring substance is often used to acidify the soil, so you can buy it at a garden supply store or online. Elemental sulfur exists naturally and is mined from rock formations in Texas, Louisiana, Italy, and other parts of the world. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Mix the ingredients

Finely grind the ingredients. ^{[6] X Research Source} Use a mortar and pestle to grind each ingredient into a fine powder. Grind each ingredient separately, clean the mortar and pestle between uses.

You can use a ball mill to grind ingredients if you want to make large quantities of gunpowder. Ball mills are used to safely grind and mix simultaneously.

Measure the ingredients of gunpowder. Using the right proportions of ingredients is very important when making gunpowder. Calculate the percentage by weight, and use a small scale to weigh each ingredient. Here are the ingredients you will need:

74.8% match salt
13.3% charcoal
11.9% sulfur

Mix the ingredients together. ^{[7] X Source of Research} Moistening ingredients before mixing is safest, but not the only way. Put everything in a mortar, moisten to be safe, and grind the mixture with a pestle for 10 minutes or so. If you are using a ball mill, grind the charcoal with the sulfur for 4 hours, then add the match salt and grind for another 24 hours.

You must be especially careful when working near this black powder after mixing is complete. Do not smoke or light a fire in the vicinity of gunpowder, and remember to keep it away from heat sources.

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Consider adding more water. Some claim that adding 8% water can improve the flammability of gunpowder. Continue to mix the mixture, adding water little by little until the gunpowder has the roughness of fine-grained clay. Knead it into a ball shape when you’re done mixing.

If you mix gunpowder with water, break it into small pieces. Sieve gunpowder through a kitchen sieve to break it into small pieces, then dry the gunpowder on a piece of paper.
Remember to be careful when working with gunpowder. You must be careful in every step.

Store gunpowder safely. ^{[8] X Trusted Source United States Environmental Protection Agency Go to source} Put gunpowder in a special container designed to hold gunpowder. Consider storing gunpowder in a fireproof container and keep it in storage or somewhere outside the house. In all cases, always store gunpowder in a safe place away from fire or high temperatures.

You can buy gunpowder cartridges at a hardware store or online.
Some people recommend using (used up) paint cans to store gunpowder.
Note that the law in some places does not allow the storage of explosives in the home. ^{[9] X Reliable Sources US Bureau of Alcohp, Tobacco, and Firearms Go to source} If you are unsure of how or where gunpowder is allowed, you can contact local authorities. to learn.

Advice

The longer the gunpowder is ground, the stronger the explosion will be. A general rule of thumb for all explosives is that “the finer the powder, the faster it burns”.

Warning

Wearing a mask
Wear gloves
Do not smoke near gunpowder
Wear thick cloth clothes
Do not use metal bowls and spoons (sparks can ignite the mixture).
If you place the ball mill on a table, remove all the nails and use only glue.
Do not use gunpowder to stuff fireworks, this is illegal and very dangerous.
To protect yourself, place sandbags around the crusher so that the blast will point to the sky.
Never operate a crusher in a living area. Ball mills should only be operated where there are no people. Use fire and explosion signs to warn people. You should install some protective partitions so that when the crusher explodes, the debris does not hurt people. Stay away from the crusher while it is working.
Do not leave stones or metal near the crusher as it can shoot at you when the explosion occurs.
For ball mills, use only non-sparking grinding agents, such as lead balls.

Things you need

High purity sulfur
Charcoal
Potassium nitrate
Weigh
Mortar and pestle or ball mill
Gunpowder box

Steps

Gathering materials

Mix the ingredients

Advice

Warning

Things you need

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