if for whatever reason you want to make your own smokeless powder propellant instead of using the hilti loophole, i wrote a guide on making it from scratch. if you're careful, follow all of the instructions in it and just have common sense, you won't get hurt. this is fully legal in the us so i'm not violating any rules

here's the gitlab link (i couldn't upload to odysee because of opsec reasons): https://gitlab.com/disposableaccount/double-based-powder

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[–] 2 points 3 months ago* (1 child)

IANAL, but individual states, counties, etc can have varying laws prohibiting simple possession of explosives. I am not sure how a a prohibited item being used only as a precursor to a non-prohibited item works legally, do your own research and make your own decisions.

I notice in your acid mixture you do not call out if your percentages are by weight or volume.

I would also separate out the synthesis of nitroglycerin and probably call out quite a few more safety considerations. How much can/should be made in one batch? How do you keep it from thermal runaway? What to do for thermal runaway? PPE?

Do you have loading/velocity/particle size data to show why you arrived at 0.162g? Grain surface area is a huge factor in burn rate and should be controlled in some manner.

I’ve always been curious why microcrystalline cellulose (your average hard supplement pill binder) hasn’t been used.

Not trying to be overly critical, this is very important, but also very dangerous to encourage others to do without a very thorough exposition.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 3 months ago

    yeah, it does have quite a bit of flaws in the documentation, i didn't really notice them because i had several assumptions in mind. that's on me, sorry

    i'm not really familiar with the legal part, but the nitration mixture's measurements are by volume, and as for the nitroglycerin concerns, single-based smokeless powder is far less powerful and prone to decomposition, so that's why i included it in instead of making the synthesis process be a separate document. it might not have been the best choice, but oh well. you shouldn't do more than 500 grams from what i've found, and i've only ever done around 100g batches. you should always be stirring the nitroglycerin and keeping it in an ice bath, using a thermometer to observe the temperature if you can. if the temperature ever goes above 30°C, you should take the glass container with the nitration acid and the glycerin out of the ice bath and pour it directly into the ice bath to prevent an explosion

    the measurement of 0.162g is what i've found to be best, it's around 2 to 2.5 grains but i opted to use grams in the documentation

    microcrystalline cellulose can be used but it also needs more a precise process which is why i didn't include it. modern manufacturers use it though so i might make a new guide with that in mind

    thanks for the constructive criticism

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