******************************** * HOW TO MAKE GUNPOWDER * * and detonation devices * * * * BY: * * * * THE \/\/ /-\ \/ E * * * ******************************** How to make gunpowder and explosives with it: One basic ingredient in gunpowder is * potassium nitrate *. You can get this at most pharmacies and some drugstores on the shelf. If you can't find it on the shelf, you'll half to ask the pharmacist (you will probably need a parent signature if you aren't 21). You also need * sulfur * and * charcoal *. The sulfur can be obtained at most drugstores on the shelf and the charcoal, well I think most people can figure it out. The quantities are as follow: 3 parts potassium nitrate 1 part sulfur 1 part charcoal (finely powdered) You can experiment by changing the quantities slightly to get the best results MAKING GIANT FIRECRACKERS: To make giant firecrackers, you need the following materials: 1) A dowel rod (about the diameter of the firecracker you want) 2) A brown grocery bag 3) Glue (Elmer's) 4) Gunpowder Rap a strip of the brown bag around the dowel until it is about 1/8 in. thick. Then cut 2 1/4 in. pieces of the dowel and glue one of them inside the rolled paper (you can tape the paper once you have it rolled so it stays). Fill it about 1/3 of the way with gunpowder (it works better than all the way full). Put the other cap on and make a hole in it for the fuse. Put the fuse in and have fun!!! ** Note ** ---------- A nice smoke bomb can be made by filling a pop or beer can with gun powder with a little extra charcoal. Stick a fuse in and throw it on the beach for a good laugh or two! Detonators: A really good fuse can be made with potassium nitrate: Soak some filter paper (or strips of Mr. Coffee filters) in a P. nitrate-water solution. Make sure you put alot of p. nitrate in the water (heat the water up so it dissolves better). Twist them up real tight and let them dry ** until they are very brittle ** and you are done! Another good detonator is an * elctrolytic capacitor * (which you can get at any Radio Shack). Make sure it has a lower voltage than the source (ex.: a 9 volt battery, car battery, 110 volt wall socket). All you need is a small # of microfarads, but if you get something with about 2000, you will have a nice explosion from the capacitor alone! Another detonator you can use is a flashlight bulb (or something about the same size). Break the glass, but not the filament! Put it inside your explosive and wire it up to a 9 volt battery with a switch! (if you forget the switch you can kiss your ass goodbye!) TIME BOMB: To make a time bomb out of a wristwatch is really quite simple. Get a wristwatch with a metal casing and metal hands (not digital). Make sure you have some sort of explosive ready. Get a 9 volt battery and 3 pieces of wire. Break a small hole (enough to put the wire in), then put on wire in the hole and tape it so it doesn't fall out. Hook the other end to the battery (by the way a car battery will also work). Take another wire and hook it to the rim of the watch, and hook the other end to the detonator. Last, attach a wire from the battery directly to the detonator. Oh yeah, make the hole in the watch at the "6" and set the big hand to the "12" giving you 30 min. If you want 15 min. put the big hand on the "3", etc. If you want to use hours, break off the minute hand & use the hour hand. For seconds, use the second hand, etc. Finally, put the detonator inside the bomb and sit back & enjoy the fireworks! If you would like some more stuff like this, leave a message to me on The Master's AE: (513) 832-1938 Some segments were taken from "The Poor Man's James Bond" by Kurt Saxon