Anyone Know Anything About Pyrodex

Cpappa27

Well-Known Member
Im not too familiar with chemicals and stability and my question is can Pyrodex granules be milled to a powder? Is it stable enough where it can be milled without blowing up in my face?
 

dux

Well-Known Member
I feel an accident in your near future...
Pyrodex pellets are just pre measured and formed gun powder(black powder).
I had a neighbor who was into fireworks and use to use a rock tumbler too make black powder into a fine powder. He also had the tumbler in a hole with a kiddie pool full of water over it....

Your gonna be playing with fire..
 

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
I looked it up. Pyrodex is mostly gunpowder with ingredients to slow it (graphite), add energy per weight (potassium perchlorate) and "fluff" it (proprietary ingredients) to make it measure by volume like regular gunpowder.
Milling it will have two effects: defeat the slowing agent, and make the grains finer and denser. This will make them burn faster. Unless you're building a bomb I can see no reason to do this. Also, milling a mix that has sulfur and perchlorate? These like to go up without warning every so often when subjected to friction or impact. And milling has both, oh yes.
Singlemalt covered it.
 

Unclebaldrick

Well-Known Member
I looked it up. Pyrodex is mostly gunpowder with ingredients to slow it (graphite), add energy per weight (potassium perchlorate) and "fluff" it (proprietary ingredients) to make it measure by volume like regular gunpowder.
Milling it will have two effects: defeat the slowing agent, and make the grains finer and denser. This will make them burn faster. Unless you're building a bomb I can see no reason to do this. Also, milling a mix that has sulfur and perchlorate? These like to go up without warning every so often when subjected to friction or impact. And milling has both, oh yes.
Singlemalt covered it.
Reported as long overdue. Welcome back bear
 

budlover13

King Tut
I have seen pyrodex be wet down with water and mixed into a paste before. There was very little 'grinding' , per se. When it dried completely, it was solid. It was mixed like this in order to shape it.

Btw, I wasn't the one mixing it.

Edit: We eventually found that rolling cotton cord in the paste makes a decent makeshift fuse.
 

mr sunshine

Well-Known Member
I looked it up. Pyrodex is mostly gunpowder with ingredients to slow it (graphite), add energy per weight (potassium perchlorate) and "fluff" it (proprietary ingredients) to make it measure by volume like regular gunpowder.
Milling it will have two effects: defeat the slowing agent, and make the grains finer and denser. This will make them burn faster. Unless you're building a bomb I can see no reason to do this. Also, milling a mix that has sulfur and perchlorate? These like to go up without warning every so often when subjected to friction or impact. And milling has both, oh yes.
Singlemalt covered it.
Hello how are you? I missed you..
 
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