My homemade black powder

[Graysmoke]

Almar, 45s work well. I milled for 24 hrs and no pile up. A small mill harbor freight only put in 100 and did a good job.
Doublebuck, update on the lexan plate in the 40 mm press. It started cracking due to a slight concave piston, my piston is hollow, I formed a spacer from a white plastic water barrel 3/16 thick and plenty tough. This keeps my piston loose after pressing a puck, I remove the bottom press plate press again till the puck is even with press bottom only a few taps and out the puck comes with out a stuck piston!
Graysmoke

[DoubleBuck]

Almar;
I use 9mm FMJ bullets. Not because they're better than .45's but because I bought them on sale, and they were cheaper. They work great.
Graysmoke
Sounds like you solved the problem. Good luck!

[LAGS]

I also tried 45 casings filled with lead . They worked good but there was still just a little lead exposed.
I had crimped them over some more with a Socket and hammer.
I probably could have done better if I topped the lead in the case with a piece of sheet brass , then crimped the case closed some to keep the brass covering the lead.
But , hay
There are so many options or things we can use .
Like copper tubing filled with lead with copper closing the ends over the exposed lead.

[Graysmoke]

Almar, I misread the post, I-stopped useing lead filled shells and went to 45 fmj projectiles. The 45 filled casings dug into the lead end and I had lead all over my tub. Sorry for the mixup.

[lead chucker]

Thinking about trying 45 acp shells filled with lead

I use 45 acp cases filled with lead and put a real good crimp on the mouth of the case. They seem to work really good. I was using lead balls and noticed they started to get smaller over time so i stopped using them. The 45 cases seem to be holding up well.

[almar]

thank you fellas. fyi ive been experimenting with polishing the powder in my old lyman brass vibrating tumbler. I don't use it anymore to polish brass so i figure i would use it for something else. I put the powder in seperate jars and put them in the tumbler. the vibrations and the natural rotation of the jars in the tumbler seem to do the job quite well.

[StevenDJ]

Help me out guys! I had a simple pucking die that was 3" steel pipe with a 1/8th wall. I was stretching this die under the strain of my 20tonne press. I made up a new steel die with an 5/16th wall by sleeving two pipes together and welding them. Internal diameter is 1 3/8th inch. I'm stretching this die too. I need a diy option as I don't want to buy a die from USA and ship to Australia. It just gets crazy expensive.

My powder has a density of around 0.86 g/cc with my 3" die. I was hoping to increase it with a smaller stronger die.

I know that some will say I'm crazy using a steel die from a safety perspective. Aside from a perceived safety issue, is steel not suitable due to mechanical properties?

What to do?

[Trapper-Jack]

I'm using a brass 2" plumbing nipple that is smooth on the inside for a die. It sits on top of a piece of 1/4" plate with another piece of 1/4" turned down to a slip fit within the nipple to press with. I use a 20 ton jack to press with and haven't yet altered the dimensions of the brass nipple. The nipple cost me $12 at a plumbing supply store. I usually get a little better than 1.7 g/cc puck density after dried and comparing my ground powder to Goex 2F, I'm about 92 - 95%.

[2TM101]

thank you fellas. fyi ive been experimenting with polishing the powder in my old lyman brass vibrating tumbler. I don't use it anymore to polish brass so i figure i would use it for something else. I put the powder in seperate jars and put them in the tumbler. the vibrations and the natural rotation of the jars in the tumbler seem to do the job quite well.

I still have two vibratory tumbers - I have seen these re-used for both tumble lubing, and powder coating but in these cases doing it by hand only takes about one minute so I don't see an advantage. Doing the final polishing stage of powder production would free up one of my ball mills currently used for that purpose to make regular powder instead - but I don't see how tumbling actual jars of powder in the tumbler would work.

Tumbling loose powder might work but i do nto know anyone who has tried that. Are your jars finishing this process with a significant amount of dust in them?

[HamGunner]

Help me out guys! I had a simple pucking die that was 3" steel pipe with a 1/8th wall. I was stretching this die under the strain of my 20tonne press. I made up a new steel die with an 5/16th wall by sleeving two pipes together and welding them. Internal diameter is 1 3/8th inch. I'm stretching this die too. I need a diy option as I don't want to buy a die from USA and ship to Australia. It just gets crazy expensive.

My powder has a density of around 0.86 g/cc with my 3" die. I was hoping to increase it with a smaller stronger die.

I know that some will say I'm crazy using a steel die from a safety perspective. Aside from a perceived safety issue, is steel not suitable due to mechanical properties?

What to do?

I do not see any safety issue by using a steel die. There will not be any sparks and that would be the only safety issue that I could foresee. I use one of Woody's 3" dies with a 20 ton press and it does not have any give to it. I believe the metal is stainless steel and the meal is compressed with a solid aluminum ram, but the thickness of the die material is 11/64" or just under 3/8". I suppose 1/8" steel must be a bit thin unless it would be really hard grade steel. Apparently soft steel just will not handle the pressure unless really thick.

Your density sounds good to me. With my 20 ton die cranked down at near max., I get about 94% density of Goex. I give it all the pressure that I can manage with the stock jack handle. I don't see any need to use a cheater bar and possibly over tax the jack. That is what happened to my Chinese 12 ton jack with the stock handle. I was able to over tax it to the point that it gave it up.

I wish I could help you out, but I certainly do not have any advice as to what you might use as to locally available material. Someone with more knowledge on steel tinsel strength and types of steel stock could surely get you off in the right direction. Good luck with your search.

[Nobade]

Help me out guys! I had a simple pucking die that was 3" steel pipe with a 1/8th wall. I was stretching this die under the strain of my 20tonne press. I made up a new steel die with an 5/16th wall by sleeving two pipes together and welding them. Internal diameter is 1 3/8th inch. I'm stretching this die too. I need a diy option as I don't want to buy a die from USA and ship to Australia. It just gets crazy expensive.

My powder has a density of around 0.86 g/cc with my 3" die. I was hoping to increase it with a smaller stronger die.

I know that some will say I'm crazy using a steel die from a safety perspective. Aside from a perceived safety issue, is steel not suitable due to mechanical properties?

What to do?

If you have a hydraulic shop near you, see if they will sell you a few inches of honed tubing of whatever size you need for the size of your press. I just made a 2 1/2" one and have been very happy with it. Using aluminum for the end cap and the ram to avoid wear on the die and possible sparks.

[almar]

I still have two vibratory tumbers - I have seen these re-used for both tumble lubing, and powder coating but in these cases doing it by hand only takes about one minute so I don't see an advantage. Doing the final polishing stage of powder production would free up one of my ball mills currently used for that purpose to make regular powder instead - but I don't see how tumbling actual jars of powder in the tumbler would work.

Tumbling loose powder might work but i do nto know anyone who has tried that. Are your jars finishing this process with a significant amount of dust in them?

it seems to work quite well. If you leave the jars half full, the powder is free to move around and the vibration removes the sharp edges, my 1.5 f no longer produces dust when i shake it in the jar but it took a few hours in the vibration tumbler, some of the edges a starting to reflect light, it might take 24 hours or more to get a swiss type shine. I dont like the idea of loose powder like that but if you could seal the thing with a lid i guess it might be ok. I let it run for a few hours, then screen it to remove the dust
(alot at first) then put it back in. My 3f seems to take more tumbling/screening steps to get it done. I dont know if its the most efficient way to polish powder but i'm experimenting.

I ended up just getting 1000 45 cal FMJs 230 gr to use as media in my tumbler. It get the jar about half full.

[Sandro_ventania]

Help me out guys! I had a simple pucking die that was 3" steel pipe with a 1/8th wall. I was stretching this die under the strain of my 20tonne press. I made up a new steel die with an 5/16th wall by sleeving two pipes together and welding them. Internal diameter is 1 3/8th inch. I'm stretching this die too. I need a diy option as I don't want to buy a die from USA and ship to Australia. It just gets crazy expensive.

My powder has a density of around 0.86 g/cc with my 3" die. I was hoping to increase it with a smaller stronger die.

I know that some will say I'm crazy using a steel die from a safety perspective. Aside from a perceived safety issue, is steel not suitable due to mechanical properties?

What to do?

I use a PVC mold. And I have no problem.

[StevenDJ]

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I am thinking that regular mild steel is just too malleable for this task.

I think I will try the hydraulic repair shops in our area. I live in a rural area and there are lots of machines to be maintained so I will see if I can find an off-cut of this honed tubing you speak of. A brass nipple threaded into a brass nut should given an extra measure of stiffness if I try that method. 20 tonnes is really an incredible amount of pressure!

I'd really like to increase my densities as I am loading 25-20WCF and I can only fit about 13 grains by weight of powder in the cases. It is "supposed" to fit 17 grains of powder. My current density is more than sufficient for loading my shotgun.

Back to the drawing board...

ALMAR, I have been tumbling my corned powder in a second ball mill jar and found that this does an excellent job of knocking of the sharp corners. I re-screen when I am done and find that I end up with a little less 2F, no change for 3F and a little more 4F. I just drop about 5% of the powder down a grade. I like tumbling it because it gives me another process and I like the tinkering. It looks better, but I have not been able to measure a change in burn rate yet. This is what my 25-20WCF is for, but I am still waiting on dies to be delivered.

[HWooldridge]

I use a brass piston in an aluminum housing and have never seen any swelling or distortion. It’s difficult to see how a piece of steel pipe would be affected but stranger things have happened, I reckon.

[StevenDJ]

HWooldridge, I thought it was strange too. I pressed four 35mm pucks through my new home made die last night and the die expanded to around 38mm by the fourth. I turned it upside down and tried again. One puck was enough to swell it out to more than 36mm.

I'd be better off using an old toilet roll!

Yep - stranger things have happened. I think it is not unreasonable to find that material properties change at their extreme ends of stress.

[Sandro_ventania]

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I am thinking that regular mild steel is just too malleable for this task.

I think I will try the hydraulic repair shops in our area. I live in a rural area and there are lots of machines to be maintained so I will see if I can find an off-cut of this honed tubing you speak of. A brass nipple threaded into a brass nut should given an extra measure of stiffness if I try that method. 20 tonnes is really an incredible amount of pressure!

I'd really like to increase my densities as I am loading 25-20WCF and I can only fit about 13 grains by weight of powder in the cases. It is "supposed" to fit 17 grains of powder. My current density is more than sufficient for loading my shotgun.

Back to the drawing board...

ALMAR, I have been tumbling my corned powder in a second ball mill jar and found that this does an excellent job of knocking of the sharp corners. I re-screen when I am done and find that I end up with a little less 2F, no change for 3F and a little more 4F. I just drop about 5% of the powder down a grade. I like tumbling it because it gives me another process and I like the tinkering. It looks better, but I have not been able to measure a change in burn rate yet. This is what my 25-20WCF is for, but I am still waiting on dies to be delivered.

If you need high density, use a maximum 2-inch die, and work one disk at a time. Little dust and almost no water. The disc must be no more than 3mm thick. I do it this way and I get up to 2g/cc... my press only has 10 tons. In the 25-20 I would use 4F.

[StevenDJ]

If you need high density, use a maximum 2-inch die, and work one disk at a time. Little dust and almost no water. The disc must be no more than 3mm thick. I do it this way and I get up to 2g/cc... my press only has 10 tons. In the 25-20 I would use 4F.

Thanks for the tips. I already keep my pucks fairly thin as they are easy to feed them into the grain grinder. I aim for 2% water, however pressing some pucks last night, I think I needed a little more water as the pucks came out of the press a bit more crumbly than they have before. I do aim to have no water squeeze out, but this time I think 2.5% or 3% would have been better as I ovendried all my ingredients individually before milling.

Regarding 4F in the 25-20, I have had others say similar things so I will give it a go and see what performance I get from it.

[DoubleBuck]

StevenDJ;
I use a steel 2 inch die., but 1/4 inch wall. You might try a harder material. Mine is a pin and pocket for a backhoe bucket. You can buy one new from any machinery sales company or from most machine shops that do repair work on heavy equipment. Pins and pockets are high grade abrasion resistant steel. If you want to go with the smaller diameter you might try
dropping to an inch and a half pin and pocket. Those are the smaller pins for the buckets. They have a friction fit. A solid pin will make a perfect die piston if it has no end bevel.
Good luck finding what you need and getting higher densities.