Gunner Asch wrote in
:

On 21 May 2010 18:15:26 GMT, steamer wrote:

--I've been trying for ages to get my .177 cal mortar to shoot a
pellet more than a foot. I'm using FFG which is the finest powder
available locally. What I need, I think, is the stuff that's normally
packed into firecrackers. Now' I've toyed with the idea of making a
brass mortar and pestel to grind the FFG powder into something finer
but I thot I'd better ask here B4 becoming a candidate for a Darwin
Award.
--Any useful advice appreciated!

NO!!!!

BP will ignite under compression, no matter what is compressing it.

You need to wet it down completely..let it turn in mud...then when its
ALMOST dry...break it down into finer particles...then let it dry
completely.

Or get a can of 4X priming powder used in flintlocks and save yourself
mondo trouble.

When I was a kid, we used to visit the duPont museum on the Brandywine
River near Wilmington. It was very well done, and you could walk along
the river where they had the remains of several blackpowder grinding
buildings. They each had three heavy stone walls, with the 4th side
along the river. The roof sloped towards the river as well. That way
when they blew up, all the burning wood got blown into the river. Each
building had a plaque on it: Built such & such year, blew up several
years later, rebuilt, blew up several years later, rebuilt, blew up, etc.

Doug White