Insert BS here A place to discuss anything you want

Laugh at my pain and solve this problem for me.

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 03-25-2015, 10:57 PM
  #1  
Elite Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (7)
 
samnavy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: VaBch, VA
Posts: 6,451
Total Cats: 322
Default Laugh at my pain and solve this problem for me.

Smokeless gunpowder used in modern firearms comes in all shapes and sizes. From a few feet away it just looks like sand, but when you get closer, they actually have "shapes". There are a few primary shapes that they come in, and here we have "flake" and "stick". Not only are they different shapes, but different sizes and even colors. These are 2 very popular powders for small-caliber centerfire rifle.

A buddy showed up this afternoon while I was cleaning up after loading up some ammo and we got to bullshitting about stuff... and I broke a cardinal rule: "ONLY ONE BOTTLE OF POWDER ON THE TABLE AT A TIME". I poured all my excess from the scale into the wrong bottle, and now I've got a mess.

It's only $40 worth of powder and I could always scatter it in the yard as fertilizer, but I'm willing to do a spoonful every night (for the next year) with some tweezers just because I hate to waste it. I am all ears if you've got a solution on how I can mechanically separate these easier. Sifting, sieve, sluice box, filter... I will try anything.



Attached Thumbnails Laugh at my pain and solve this problem for me.-20150325_193802-large-.jpg   Laugh at my pain and solve this problem for me.-20150325_193732-large-.jpg   Laugh at my pain and solve this problem for me.-20150325_193655-large-.jpg  
samnavy is offline  
Old 03-25-2015, 11:11 PM
  #2  
Cpt. Slow
iTrader: (25)
 
curly's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Oregon City, OR
Posts: 14,181
Total Cats: 1,131
Default

Attached Thumbnails Laugh at my pain and solve this problem for me.-match.jpg  
curly is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 01:14 AM
  #3  
Senior Member
iTrader: (1)
 
gesso's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 811
Total Cats: 270
Default

?

Attached Thumbnails Laugh at my pain and solve this problem for me.-451_sieve.jpg  
gesso is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 02:33 AM
  #4  
Elite Member
 
codrus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Posts: 5,165
Total Cats: 855
Default

They're pretty clearly different sizes, so if you got a sieve that's just the right size it should work. No idea where you'd get that, though, and it's probably cheaper to just buy more.

Ask the manufacturer?

--Ian
codrus is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 03:16 AM
  #5  
Elite Member
iTrader: (10)
 
Reverant's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Athens, Greece
Posts: 5,977
Total Cats: 356
Default

Don't waste it, blow up a caravan?
Reverant is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 03:40 AM
  #6  
Former Vendor
iTrader: (31)
 
Savington's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Posts: 15,442
Total Cats: 2,099
Default

Easy. Find a sifter that will clear the small grains, but not the large.

When I say "easy" I really mean "probably a bitch", but there you go.
Savington is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 06:05 AM
  #7  
Elite Member
iTrader: (21)
 
rleete's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 6,593
Total Cats: 1,259
Default

Oh, come on. Powder isn't that expensive. Just burn it and get new. Why go to the trouble of reloading if there's a possibility it won't be right?
rleete is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 09:19 AM
  #8  
Elite Member
iTrader: (3)
 
Monk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Huntington, Indiana
Posts: 2,885
Total Cats: 616
Default

I'm not sure what the composition of either of those powders is, but you could see if one is slightly magnetic.
Monk is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 09:37 AM
  #9  
VladiTuned
iTrader: (76)
 
18psi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 35,821
Total Cats: 3,481
Default

make a pipe bomb out of both?
18psi is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 10:40 AM
  #10  
Boost Czar
iTrader: (62)
 
Braineack's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Chantilly, VA
Posts: 79,493
Total Cats: 4,080
Default

Originally Posted by 18psi
make a pipe bomb out of both?
I like this one.
Braineack is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 10:51 AM
  #11  
Junior Member
iTrader: (5)
 
hankclaussen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Houston
Posts: 369
Total Cats: 62
Default

So far we have Dimitris, Vladimir and Scotty that want to have you get arrested. :lol:
hankclaussen is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 10:57 AM
  #12  
Elite Member
 
z31maniac's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: OKC, OK
Posts: 3,693
Total Cats: 222
Default

Burn a Satanic effigy in front of your neighbors home?
z31maniac is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 11:07 AM
  #13  
Slowest Progress Ever
iTrader: (26)
 
thirdgen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: The coal ridden hills of Pennsylvania
Posts: 6,022
Total Cats: 304
Default

Originally Posted by 18psi
make a pipe bomb out of both?
This is exactly what I was going to recommend.
Those little c02 cylinders for pellet guns work pretty good.
thirdgen is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 11:51 AM
  #14  
Elite Member
iTrader: (2)
 
Mobius's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 3,468
Total Cats: 365
Default

Blow something up and go buy new powder.

That way
* it isn't wasted, you get to blow something up
* you don't spend a thousand hours with tweezers
* you support the economy
* you get to blow something up
Mobius is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 11:55 AM
  #15  
VladiTuned
iTrader: (76)
 
18psi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 35,821
Total Cats: 3,481
Default

Use it to rob a bank and buy another miata
18psi is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 12:30 PM
  #16  
Elite Member
iTrader: (2)
 
good2go's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,702
Total Cats: 1,143
Default

I was going to say this might be considered a first world problem, but then I thought NO, gun powder issues are definitely within the bailiwick of the third world.
good2go is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 12:39 PM
  #17  
Elite Member
iTrader: (37)
 
EO2K's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Very NorCal
Posts: 10,441
Total Cats: 1,899
Default

You poor, poor bastard

Time to make some homemade fireworks!
EO2K is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 12:41 PM
  #18  
Elite Member
 
codrus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Posts: 5,165
Total Cats: 855
Default

Perhaps you should experiment with gunpowder injection in the intake manifold.

--Ian
codrus is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 12:42 PM
  #19  
y8s
2 Props,3 Dildos,& 1 Cat
iTrader: (8)
 
y8s's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Fake Virginia
Posts: 19,338
Total Cats: 573
Default

McMaster-Carr

how big are your grains?
y8s is offline  
Old 03-26-2015, 02:17 PM
  #20  
Elite Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (7)
 
samnavy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: VaBch, VA
Posts: 6,451
Total Cats: 322
Default

^Dood, that stuff would be worth a try if I could find a small square of it locally in various sizes... good thought. I'm thinking I could get a set of tiny drill bits and make my own out of plastic and rig up something on my tumbler to vibrate it.

The "burn it" option is always there... but I'm 100% sure there's an easy and quick solution out there to accomplish this task.
samnavy is offline  


Quick Reply: Laugh at my pain and solve this problem for me.



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:23 AM.