Powder question

[Michael Az]

Well, I have been quiet for some days now to give you guys a break and have been reading old posts. {Anybody know how to get to page, say 30, without clicking so many times to get there?}
I have a friend that made a trip to Phoenix and said he would look for me some powder. I told him what I wanted but told him to bring back anything rather than nothing so he brought back some Hogdons Super Seven, three f.  Now keep in mind I'm a newby and don't know anything about black powder. So I guess I need to know how similar is this to black powder, does it smoke? I guess it is similar to Pyrodex. I remember reading some older posts that black powder was going to get hard to find. Is it now hard to find? He also brought some fuze so looks like I will be ready to shoot when I get my gb mortar finished.
Problem--  I got ahold of seven pieces of 4130 today for a customer job. Four inches in diameter and 13" long. So should I tell him one of them got lost?
CU, if you read this, did you get my second PM?
Michael

[GGaskill]

Don't know if Triple Seven will work in artillery not not.  Pyrodex burns but is half or less as effective as black powder.  Try emailing Hodgdon @ help@hodgdon.com and asking the "horse" so to speak.  Also check out this page about Triple Seven.

Re. the 4130, OK as long as you charge it against your profit (13" is a little short anyway.)

[Cat Whisperer]

Pyrodex works IF there is enough resistance (pressure) from the projectile being pushed.  Low pressure (light projo - like golf balls) it doesn't burn well.

It's a bit more of a problem with short barrels as the powder doesn't have as long a burn-time.

I've used a mixture of FFg and Pyrodex successfully - it was enough to get the burn up to pressure.

[Rickk]

powderinc.com can have you black powder of any grade there in a few days... easy as 3.1415926 ... err... PI

[Double D]

.... I told him what I wanted but told him to bring back anything rather than nothing so he brought back some Hogdons Super Seven, three f.  Now keep in mind I'm a newby and don't know anything about black powder...
Michael

Do Not, I repeat Do Not use Triple 7 in a cannon. 

I was one of the earliest users of T-7.  I used it in my Martini Henry rifle in volume for volume loads.  I took my T-7 loads to Africa in 2002 and sucessfully harvested two Kudu. You will still find my picture posted in the sucess section of the Hodgdon website.  We learned that loads of large volume stared developing some serious burning problems.  I was testing loads of 95 to 100 gr. of T-7 equal by volume to 95 to 100 grs. GOEX 1F. (60+ grs by weight T-7) In those volumes T-7 starts developing a crud ring in the throat, making muzzle loading difficult.  The crud ring take some serious work to get out once developed.  At less than 80 grs by volume the T-7 worked as advertised  except in my case wasn't very accurate in the Martini.

All the powder companies will ship to you. Powder inc will ship small lots. 

Oh and don't forget don't use smaller than 1F in a cannon,  Cannon grade prefered.

[Michael Az]

Thanks for the advise fellows. Guess I had better order some black powder. I think I am trying to understand the problem with pyrodex and the other substitutes. Do they make this stuff for fellows that don't like smoke and sulfer or what?
With the experiences of Double D, it sounds like it has drawbacks even for firearms it was made for. Anyway congradulations on the hunt DD.
George I was just kidding about the 4130 prehard, but it would sure make a nice barrel. I am rough turning all of these to then run between centers for finish turning and so far they almost look like cannon barrels.
Michael

[GGaskill]

Do they make this stuff for fellows that don't like smoke and sulfer or what?

Many years ago when Pyrodex first came out, it could be shipped easier than black powder and got around some explosives laws because it was classified as a flammable solid instead of an explosive.  With the coming of the "hazardous materials" surcharges, it doesn't make a great deal of difference any more.  It was intentionally made to smoke like black powder.

[Rickk]

Pyrodex smokes like black powder, but the smoke is very nasty if you breathe it... Acidy is how I would describe it.

[rusty barrels]

As other folks told you, DO NOT use T-7. My personal experiece is I think it develops more pressure (seems to kick more)  and I don't get any smoke out of a 45 flintlock rifle or cap and ball pistols

[Michael Az]

Thanks for the replys. Now I have a much better understanding of the substitues.
Michael

[CU_Cannon]

I have no experience with T-7 but I have used pyrodex.  I would not use it again unless I had noting else.  It is useless for blanks.  High pressure is needed for it to burn properly.  I have had success with it in my golf ball mortar but the results were rather inconsistent.

Michael-  I just sent you a PM.

[reddog]

I've tried both T-7 and Pyrodex, No good results. Black powder is the only way to go!

[Rickk]

If you are shooting blanks, Powder, Inc's"Skirmish Powder" is so much cheaper than Pyrodex that there is really no reason to use Pyrodex anyway.

[MaxSmoke]

Well, I have been quiet for some days now to give you guys a break and have been reading old posts. {Anybody know how to get to page, say 30, without clicking so many times to get there?}

Michael,

When on the first page of the forum, the address in your web browser should end with "&board=88.0.html" (without the quotes)

The numbers after 88. indicates the thread number displayed at the top of the page. So to get to page 30 you need to multiply the (threads per page) X (the page you want to view)  - (the 20 threads on the first page). To see page 30 this would be 20X30-20=580

Change the 0 to 580 and hit enter.  Should take you right there.

Tim

[Michael Az]

Hey, thanks for that tip Tim, that will save a lot of wading through all the pages.
Michael

[Cat Whisperer]

Well, I have been quiet for some days now to give you guys a break and have been reading old posts. {Anybody know how to get to page, say 30, without clicking so many times to get there?}

Michael,

When on the first page of the forum, the address in your web browser should end with "&board=88.0.html" (without the quotes)

The numbers after 88. indicates the thread number displayed at the top of the page. So to get to page 30 you need to multiply the (threads per page) X (the page you want to view)  - (the 20 threads on the first page). To see page 30 this would be 20X30-20=580

Change the 0 to 580 and hit enter.  Should take you right there.

Tim

COOL!

That is a) simple and b) slick!

Thanks, Tim.

[Michael Az]

Yes, that works great!
Michael