Making Gun Cotton

Using common household items, we turn ordinary cotton in to gun cotton. This experiment is for entertainment purposes only. Be safe and don't try this at home. This is for entertainment purposes only.

[@officialdirtmcgurt]

No gloves, metal spoon to stir, I love the reckless abandon at which you operate Sir!

[@SpiritedMaker]

safety third or not at all.

[@jackandy1736]

All kichen utensils are made out of stainless steel which doesn't react with sulphuric acid and does not oxidize However the glovelessness is inexcusable

[@CLCasual]

Safety squints engaged!

[@scinanisern9845]

Somebody lemme know when he pushes his last video. I want to see what he was up to when he disappeared.

[@jackandy1736]

@oddjobbob I don't know where you live, but where I live They sell all utensils made from the same shiny steel. I have used forks that I bought for a dollar each in electrolysis experiments to great results. Chances are if it's meant to handle food it will be made from stainless steel.

[@DavidHey-vd5wn]

When i was a youngster i used to steal nitric acid and sulphuric acid from an electroplaing works a few streets away from where i lived in hunslet leeds and myfavorite trick was to pour nitric acid into sodium hyperchlorite (i think thats what i used!!- memory!!) and watch the reaction. i could get the acids but could never access glycerine which was just as well. the acid was stored in glass carboys in straw filled metal frames at the rear of the building out of the sight of prying eyes and using wire and test tubes to access the acid and when the wire eroded away use a newer piece of wire. My clothes were always disintigrating driving my parents mad and staining my hands which were constantly peeling. At that time you could buy potassium nitrate and potassium permanganate over the counter in chemists with no problem and sulpher from gardening shops and of course i did have a disaster mixing weedkiller(no fire retardent at that time) with suger and learning quckly of its ability to spotaneously combust ......there were other things.....Im now almost 80 and how iv got this far in years is beyond me.........

[@Peasmouldia]

Aged about 11/12yrs, we would buy glycerin from the chemist ; "What do you want it for?" My mum has a cold, it's for glycerin and honey..' We would then put a little potassium permanganate (liberated from the school chem classroom) in a glass bottle with a solid screw top lid, drop a little glycerin in and chuck it sharpish...... very effective little grenade. BTW, we are of similar vintage. Ta.

[@ProlificInvention]

I'm 43 but I caught the tail end of absolute freedom and was very similar in my interests and ability to acquire "interesting" -dangerous and contraband materials for lots of super risky testing.. Had some close calls, alot of fun, and never got really caught. Good times

[@Anon-xd3cf]

I hope to live a life like yours... I'm halfway there. But every year seems there a new law making fun illegal.

[@bobbimega]

You had access to nitric acid but not glycerol?😂

[@DavidHey-vd5wn]

Yes-13-14 years old !! There was also a railway siding which my friend and I used to frequent there were carriages with no doors (that I can remember and the access wass through the roof inside the walls were quilted with insulation and the Carriages carried large blocks of frozen carbon dioxide with sacking and bits of string also a deep breath as I knew carbon dioxide being heavier than air asphyxiation was possible gulp if air lower into the carriage quickly tie a string and manoeuvring with sacking climb out and drag to the nearby river air and dropping in as close to the canal middle as possible walking on large pipes slung on the outside of the suspension arms of the bridge I think the pipes carried gas but not sure about that. A few years ago I wanted to build an organic nitre bed but my offspring weren't going to have that happen as it involves manure wood ash and urine! Lots of urine!! I gave in to the protests !!! My last fling in chemistry! Gone!😂😂😂

[@barnowl6807]

Back in the mid '60's you could by nitric acid easily. Among other things it was used as a copper etchant and cleaner. A nutty friend had a container of both nitric and sulfuric on a shelf in a back workshop. One day his dad bumped the wall with the tractor and both bottles fell to the floor and broke. Wood floor. They knew enough to cut out and replace that section which had become "pithy" and had a bad smell. It sat, leaning against the side of the house for months until they finally were burning some trash. They tossed the cut flooring on the fire and wound up stomping out burning trash hundreds of feet away. With neighbors laughing the whole time.

[@SpiritedMaker]

Lol

[@neafranklin7905]

Can still buy nitric acid ... Is used in gold prospecting processes

[@ChristopherJones16]

Kinda like how popcorn was discovered... Gotta love how man discovers some of the greatest things we have today.

[@hernandovillamarinbuenaven7476]

@barnowl 😂😂😂😂😂

[@theadoresmith2777]

For some reason, I can't help but think a Ren and Stimpy episode plot line could be made out of this ...

[@ohari1]

I applaud your absolute disregard for safety, sir

[@SpiritedMaker]

Safety third!

[@JohnnyBallou]

Keeps ERrooms busy!

[@kennethmoles4643]

When I was visiting a history museum years ago, the fellow who was doing black smith demonstrations had some of that. He had something he'd toss in the forge and it'd flare up just like this. Interesting!

[@maximusmeridius3380]

Additional safety tip. Wear rubber gloves and eye protection while do this, and use tongs to light the sample. Not your fingers. You can also use concentrated nitric acid as the nitrating agent.

[@davestambaugh7282]

They always taught me that it was disolved in nitric acid. It looks to me like you would need to disolve it in acetone before putting it in your spray gun!!

[@redrum9612]

Nice video. Don't understand why we had to watch the regular cotton burn lol

[@buckfizzard291]

Wow many to SEE THE DIFFERENCE

[@rollinmckim4719]

Comparison

[@purdyboi8078]

Yeah...and for 2 whole minutes also 🙄

[@redrum9612]

@@purdyboi8078 lmao

[@MagnumInnominandum]

There was no other way to do it. Nothing can be edited, ever.

[@_L0KI.]

It would have worked much better if instead of "rinsing" it with water, you neutralized the solution by adding baking soda to it and letting it sit for 20 minutes before taking the flash cotton out of the solution. You can then take the cotton out and let it sit and dry. It would combust even faster

[@SpiritedMaker]

Thanks

[@nickaschenbecker9882]

The fact it put the candle out is amusing to me for some reason. It reminds me of how they put out fires in oil wells by dropping dynamite down in them.

[@SpiritedMaker]

use up the oxygen and no fire.

[@subzero-em5br]

I know when making gun cotton you need Sulfuric acid and Nitric acid. I'm thinking the Potassium Nitrate turns into Nitric acid in solution with the sulfuric acid. I would be very careful what time of gloves you use because Nitric acid reacts violently with nitrile gloves. Like it literally makes the glove light on fire. Man when you were stirring the solution I was getting very anxious for your fingers. XD Glad you didn't get any on yourself. I was going to say next time you do this I would have a little baking soda water solution on stand by just in case you need to neutralize the acid.

[@SpiritedMaker]

I had a good sized tub of baking soda and water near by... :)

[@polishnope5609]

It isnt fuming nitric acid it does not react with nitrile gloves like that + sulfuric acid isn't that bad unless its hot

[@rickt10]

@@polishnope5609 A kind of fuming nitric is made by nitric acid with added sulfuric--creates nitronium ions IIRC. So adding sulfuric to nitrate produces the same thing--you just need a bit more sulfuric. And like you said, it does not react to nitrile gloves like that.

[@beargillium2369]

Water is better to dilute acid

[@oliverbullmann6176]

The best is in gloves and a Bittners water in case that the Acid gets in your Skin !

[@occasionalyirasciblegit4084]

Tickles my chuckle nerve.No protectives, exothermic reaction, chilled water, acting on a container constructed using one of the most common, efficient, (very efficient), insulation materials, (that will incidentaly disintergrate readily into potentially lethal shrapnel), one living, breathing, crash tester Have you used up all of your medical insurance cover yet? We have the national health, get rolled in, bagged out, wheeled out, or walk, no exit charge to either survivors or succesors.

[@SpiritedMaker]

Who needs em

[@PenDragonsPig]

Don't forget gauntlets, respirator, and eye protection.

[@anthonytroyrussell8179]

I jumped when you lite them like I was doing it myself lmao 😅

[@SpiritedMaker]

I think most people were expecting me to just blow up my shop.... heh

[@Johnpao215]

Bare hands is much safer than having gloves in nitration reactions. :) Use non-nitrile gloves, if you can find any.

[@richardphillips8475]

Work it into a tight string. Wrap it around something wooden, a pencil maybe, wrapping it in a spiral then ignite it.

[@celestecohn3484]

There was a waste of 15. Minutes I’ll never get back

[@SpiritedMaker]

I waste time on the internet daily... :D

[@stephenalexander6721]

I think this is what Victor Barbicane used to go from the earth to the moon.

[@intellectualiconoclasm3264]

Y'all, your home doesn't suffice for well ventilated. You're releasing nitric acid fumes. Even if you aren't harmed, your property will be. Picture rust on your stainless pipes and cookware. That's just the beginning of your issues, so take it outdoors!

[@madd-mattmitchell917]

2/3 the way into the video I see you have baking soda on hand as well as a bottle of vinegar. Good on Ya!

[@josephdupont]

When I take the cotton and blend it in the blender

[@morningstarsci]

If only metal spoons could be nitrated... 😂 In all honesty, the stabilizers in the drain cleaner likely keep the spoon from being attacked too much.

[@madd-mattmitchell917]

Where is your bucket of baking soda solution for "just in case"!

[@SpiritedMaker]

Just off screen

[@alexjason7741]

I suggest you to use a pincerz next time, preventin u from burn))

[@willmore8765]

Yeah, metal spoon, no gloves, bro, good thing the chemicals were weak. Cheers

[@indridcold8433]

I use nitric acid, mercury, and make ethanol made from corn mash. Then add love My end result is mercury fulminate. The most important ingredient is the love.

[@patrickw9520]

Dried extracted wood cellulose became the preferred feedstock for industrial production.

[@netfoot]

Do you know how many Gun Cotton factories remain as historic sites world wide? Answer: NONE. Do you know why? Answer: Because every Gun Cotton factory in the world that was ever built, eventually blew itself out of existence. Please continue to make Gun Cotton at home! Two or three times a day, if you wish!

[@timcross2510]

I hopethe kids you injure noticed you didnt start with the chemicals. You put cotton (of undetermined amount in first)- well ventilated.

[@garyelsik3376]

What you showed us is how to make cotton flash in your fingers.

[@levihill9590]

What is the mixture of drain cleaner to sulfuric acid

[@taggartlawfirm]

Yanno I bet adding glycerine would be exciting.

[@kittywampusdrums4963]

I'm surprised the impure nitrate in that crappy stump killer worked, you're supposed to use nitric acid with sulfuric mix.

[@randyshaffersr.785]

I wonder if you used cotton string instead of cotton balls, would it make a good fuse ?

[@tomarmadiyer2698]

Much too fast and unreliable

[@tomarmadiyer2698]

But maybe in a pinch

[@SpiritedMaker]

A new meaning to a short fuse... heh

[@tjrubicon5463]

A metal spoon? Hmmmmmm. Just make sure to lick it off when your done.

[@samsien9105]

you train the kids to burn the house if they got those thing on hand, how do they release this info on public You Tube .

[@JeWCyDuDe]

For what reason would one use gun cotton?

[@SpiritedMaker]

not sure these days.

[@jessemills3845]

Research it! Never trust a video , things can be doctored. Maybe not what was shown. But STILL RESEARCH! Also with the addition of glycerin. This is good stuff to remember when CHINA is in the US! Or Having to deal with turbines !

[@carrielancon8306]

That big one went woosh

[@r2old636]

Purple stains on your fingers are a tribute to your abilities.

[@THEVICTROLAGUY]

soak cotton in nitric acid, instant gun cotton...

[@bradpitts289]

What's the point of it??

[@archiehendricks6093]

Put your finger in a little deeper, sodium hydroxide at 250 degrees will remove your fleash

[@SpiritedMaker]

Thankfully still have everything.

[@WabuhWabuh]

can this be done with polyester cotton balls?

[@floorpizza8074]

No. The video makes nitro cellulose, and the cotton balls ARE the cellulose part.

[@UpcomingJedi]

Does sulfuric acid taste like super acid pickles or rotten eggs since ppe is not required ?

[@cliffordbaxter1992]

I'm kinda surprised that your still with us ✝️🇺🇸🤔

[@matlilly8795]

You didn't wear gloves on the step you needed them, and wore gloves on the step you shouldn't wear them. Sulphuric acid will burn your skin but not your gloves, nitric acid can cause gloves to burst into flames but will react very slowly on skin.

[@SpiritedMaker]

good info, thanks.

[@ODColon]

A college friend was a physical chemistry major, would bring the two acids home from the lab, and was making gun cotton in his dorm room. He would entertain himself by setting a gun cotton ball on top of an incandescent light bulb, and it would go "pfffttt". One day, he came down to lunch with no eyebrows. He was doing some soldering in his room and got the soldering iron too close to a good sized batch of gun cotton.

[@DIXIEMAFIA251]

Thanks for this story of you and your Friend! You made me laugh hard! I can soo picture this happening! Hope all is well Brother! Stay safe! With love from Gulf Shores,Alabama! ~ROLL TIDE~

[@JesusChrist_IsTruth-LoveForALL]

😂 got any pictures?

[@billgausman5887]

@@JesusChrist_IsTruth-LoveForALL It was 50 years ago. I don't think my cell phone worked then.

[@JesusChrist_IsTruth-LoveForALL]

@@billgausman5887 😄 great story though!

[@colemair5367]

If he was using both acids He's lucky it didn't spontaneously combusted. Which is extremely common if not taking serious safety precautions

[@donwyoming1936]

Mix gun cotton & petroleum jelly, you get Cordite. Makes the gun cotton stable. But still goes boom.

[@johnfernandez7468]

Danke

[@nottellin1340]

​@@johnfernandez7468DNT I think is used in the industry as a burn rate reducer.

[@Max_Chooch]

Didn't they originally use camphor?

[@chemistryofquestionablequa6252]

@@Max_Choochthat’s for celluloid plastic, like in high quality ping pong balls.

[@SayaialahBeliau]

Bro just tell the recipe

[@WRWhizard]

When I was a kid, my dad taught me the ingredients were nitric acid and sulfuric and you could use glycerine or cotton. The formula was in his Gilbert Chemistry set manual. The reason it's called 'Gun Cotton" or Nitro Cellulose is because it was the first replacement for black powder in firearms. Current smokeless powder is a mixture of nitro cellulose and nitro glycerine with stabilizers.

[@bobdllewellin7602]

ummm.... among other thingies!

[@TubeRadiosRule]

Depends on if it's single-base powder (guncotton only) or double base powder (guncotton & nitroglycerine)

[@jamesfowley4114]

A version is used for big naval guns, like 16-inch battleship main guns. Fast burning powders would destroy anything that big.

[@djsnowman06]

Nitro guanidine is also added in triple base

[@miguelcastaneda7257]

FYI urin also...fill a jar let it dry thr scale on side..nitric acid..years ago there were books improvised explosives

[@tipofthespear7182]

When I was 12 years old a friend of mine introduced me to gun cotton which was easily purchased from a paint manufacturer that was just across the road. Still to this day don't know why they sold it to kids. Any way his first experiment was to fill an old paint tin with the gun cotton , put a small hole in the lid and put a length of fuse around 6ft long into it. He then had a hole around 5 ft deep and placed the tin at the bottom. Then covered the hole with a sheet of tin with fuse hanging out and covered the tin with sand and some old bricks . We then lit the fuse and rushed to the side of the house to watch. When this thing went off it was a real explosion that lifted the tin sand and bricks about 3ft in the air with the loudest bang I'd ever heard. Powerful stuff.🇦🇺

[@SpiritedMaker]

That's awesome.

[@max_headroom_1987]

You had a proper childhood 👍

[@concernedaussie1330]

@@max_headroom_1987100%

[@UpcomingJedi]

You just described why children would buy it yet you dont get it? Merchants really didnt care what you did with it but now we have everyone suing them for their own stupid actions and judges agree.

[@tomhubbard353]

Back when screwing off like that got you experience, knowledge and entertainment unlike today gets you arrested for terrorism, bomb making or some other nonsense.

[@natew.5511]

This is basically solid nitroglycerin. I was not aware potassium nitrate could be used in place of nitric acid (although I am aware potassium nitrate is used to manufacturer nitric acid. When I was a teenager we attempted to make nitroglycerin. I guess we were successful because it went off on us and luckily we were about 40 feet away from the reaction. Used a mixture of fuming nitric and sulferic acids and glycerin chilled in an ice water bath. Should have used dry ice because the reaction is not cooled sufficiently with ice water. In our case, the mixture went off as a fast burn like a rocket motor, did not explode. We were lucky! Made mercury fulminate too. Reckless as hell, and had a lot of fun with it. Made lots of it. It's a miracle I was not blown up and gives me the chills when I think about what could have happened. When you are a teenager you think you are invincible. Now I just realize me and my friends were just plain lucky, very lucky!

[@SpiritedMaker]

Thanks for the info.

[@donbaughhman3979]

been there, done that, luckily still have all my fingers LOL

[@SpiritedMaker]

@@donbaughhman3979 me too

[@Computski]

And we couldn't understand why all the adults chastised us so much, like, what did they know?

[@swarnamohanty3121]

Where is glycerin??

[@jeremylarson6267]

just a quick tip, if you are trying this at home, don't dry the cotton in a clothes dryer after rinsing, or if you do, make sure you have a fire extinguisher near by

[@DIXIEMAFIA251]

Too late! I burned my barn 3/4! My wife is pissed at me now!!

[@JesusChrist_IsTruth-LoveForALL]

Learned from experience? 🤔😂

[@michaeleverett2650]

I prefer using the microwave

[@mikegLXIVMM]

Not mentioned, but use baking soda in heated water to neutralize the remaining acids on the guncotton.

[@SpiritedMaker]

yep

[@jeffreyyoung4104]

I love it! The gun cotton mixture can be used on any cellulose to make anything you would want to make burn faster! Use paper, and you can make flash paper, but use as thin as possible paper for the fastest burn rates, like tissue paper!

[@robertjenkins5440]

I thought the same thing, use that crate paper they use for party decoration's, that stuff is already super flammable!

[@JaimeGarcia-pe7bj]

The illegal bookmakers never use computers to take chalk. The buy old school paper blotters and convert them to nitro cellulose. Then they write down their bets. They always keep slow smoldering punk wood in the area of the back office. If the police come piling through the front door......yelling "police" by all in front! The punk wood ( there are several) gets tossed on the days treated blotter and the door is slammed and the chair against the door. By the time they get in......no markers.

[@jeffreyyoung4104]

@@JaimeGarcia-pe7bj I heard the cigar or cigarette smokers would blow on the smoldering coal and touch it to the daily blotter if needed!

[@JaimeGarcia-pe7bj]

@@jeffreyyoung4104 Thank you. Smoking and smokers are persona non grata these days. Bookmakers are actually a very healthy living inspired group. During the horse racing season in places that do not have off site betting among those bettors that make very big wagers with some very high thresholds players are few but the bettors are already vetted. As far as I know these high level book makers are honest because people that can get these amounts of money for fun can both pay debts and settle scores. I have been told by police officers that the race horse crowd only works this way during race horseseasons and don't do other sports? When you think about it newest is not always best. Such as the 30'06 has been around over 100 years and with new powders has more flexibility than it did a few years back. I am not a sworn police officer but just the forensic chemist.

[@josephdupont]

What about toilet paper? They're using toilet paper to make carbon for gunpowder, and it works very well

[@stevefridell4555]

I got one for you- next time you're out roasting marshmallows slip a cotton ball on one of your drunk friends branch and watch the fun.

[@augustm.moschera8646]

🤣 That's funny right there!!!! I'm going to have to try that!👍

[@KY-np6ow]

If I only had a metal tray…I know: I’ll use the access panel from my desktop computer! 😂

[@SpiritedMaker]

use what ya got! :)

[@brycesstuff]

10:17 flash cotton be damned, I want some of that magic dissapearing cotton you have there 😂

[@Graeme_Lastname]

I'd look to letting it soak for a while longer. That was pretty slow burning and left a lot of residue.

[@mweskamppp]

In my city there is a company that makes this gun cotton. About 25 years ago it was on fire. The drums with the cotton inside were flying 60m or about 200 feet in the air. The blinds of the houses next to it melted. I dont know who was there first the manufacturing or the houses. It would not be allowed to build that close to it in this time.

[@SpiritedMaker]

Yikes

[@geeder9086]

I love the test burn table -- old PC lids make the best burn tables -- LOL

[@SpiritedMaker]

As a PC tech... I have them in abundance... lol

[@mdforseth]

A hemostat to hold the gun cotton for ignition would be a good idea. Also, watching a cotton ball burn for 00:01:20 will scare away viewers; it’s okay to fast forward that stuff.

[@bigsmiler5101]

at 2:45-minute point, you show "Crystal Drain Opener." (lye) Is that just irrelevant background noise or some secret ingredient we should know? And at 7:20, did you forget to mention SODA to neutralize the acid? I sure Wish you aren't disposing of acid in a silly way. 8:54... the vinegar? 10:49!!! OMG. hey everyone, notice he said, "don't try this at home." I would add, "... OR ANYWHERE." -->SAFETY

[@MSmith-jf5wo]

Also called 'Pyrocellulose", in the magic industry. Used to make it in Chemistry Class, back in '59 (Yep, I'm THAT Old...!). Lol

[@bekindandrewind1422]

If you didn't do the "wash", what would happen? Since both components are soluble in water, wouldn't that mean the "wash" is dissolving or taking some of the reactants away?

[@DudeInWalmart]

It whould spontaneously combust.

[@_L0KI.]

You don't have to wash it. You just add a little baking soda to the mixture and let it sit for 20 minutes before pulling the cotton out to dry

[@_L0KI.]

It's much safer and effective

[@randallmarsh446]

put a tablespoon of glycerine in with a teaspoon of ammonia an dthen put your cotton bals in and let it sit for a couple hours .lo

[@1SmokedTurkey1]

Why? What’s the purpose of doing that?

[@stephenembrey883]

It's got a whole lot more oomph than black powder. I've seen people shoot it in their cap and balls and then the 357 magnum I'm sure it's got a hefty pressure spike. I'm gonna make some more, but this time I'm gonna try activated charcoal instead of cotton, no idea what that'll do😂😂

[@PhycoKrusk]

Sounds like a blast

[@floorpizza8074]

Nothing. Gun cotton is nitro cellulose. The cotton balls are the source of the cellulose. If you made your charcoal correctly, there won't be any cellulose left, just carbon.

[@zackzimmer7167]

If this video taught me one thing, it’s that tongs are over rated.

[@John-ir2zf]

And to think... you only needed to add about 30 grams of erythritol to the nitration mixture, keep the temp low, and stir for several hours to produce stuff with some really punch 🤷‍♂️

[@Computski]

Wow, at first i thought, yeah but I can't buy these ingredients in Australia.... Sulfuric acid is available as pool cleaner and yup, a company here will ship you potassium nitrate as stump remover, which BTW can be used to make black powder with sulfur and good quality charcoal.... not that anyone should try any of this.

[@ramzezcerberus1417]

HOLY HELL DAWGGY...time lapse my friend...I wanna watch the important bits...ur really jus gonna make me watch u stir something..what's next a riveting video of paint drying?? Shit man I thought we was friends. ..

[@TheOneAndOnlySame]

Handling sulfuric acid with no gloves. Prob no safety goggles, let's not even mention air filtering masks Nice

[@catman4644]

Ok I got tired of reading the replies from the safety "officers" and didn't see what I was looking for and yeah I know I am a year too late to the party also. However I noticed that unlike most gun/flash cotton this leaves a bit of ash and I was wondering if this ash could be eliminated (or mostly eliminated) using the same method and chemicals but with a few modifications such as maybe a longer soak time? More thorough rinsing? Maybe a different ratio of the chemicals? Or are we just stuck with needing fuming nitric acid and the traditional methods to make ashless flash cotton/paper? In any case an extremely interesting video and if I am going to have to just put up with a bit of ash then so be it, it's worth it to not have to go to the hassles with obtaining and using concentrated nitric acid, thanks al lot!

[@TheFireGoose]

Yeah the ash can be reduced/prevented by simply doing this but more carefully. Make sure the nitrate salt is fully dissolved, let the,cotton soak for longer, wash very very well, and dry well too. All This can improve the final quality of the NC

[@ralphkoch6652]

not completely nitrated. to make nitric acid with Potassium Nitrate, you need to distill the acid off the solution. Just mixing H2SO4 with KNO3 as in this case still leaves the Potassium present

[@occasionalyirasciblegit4084]

11:17 How about a REALLY big piece? Look! No hands!

[@johannlangner289]

Lol, yeah, even before he tried the gun cotton, I was like, woaw! Stop, get away from other chemicals, outside and use a stick or wire to put it in the fire, not your freak'n hands 😂

[@terrylane1492]

I made gun cotton when I was a young chemistry student using nitric acid. Was much messier than this. Well done, thank you

[@utahknifeworks5443]

You've got the chemistry working for you, but I agree with everyone else who has chided you for your unsafe procedures. Spraying pressurized water into the acid bath to wash the cotton, right next to your legs? Igniting a whole ball of the cotton in your hand? Everyone else has already said it, but I hope nobody out there tries this procedure the way it is shown here. You're asking for some injuries. Anything done with strong acids like this, especially nitrating processes, should be done with every basic high school chemistry safety measure.

[@SpiritedMaker]

I survived ... :)

[@utahknifeworks5443]

@@SpiritedMaker I've said that many times myself :) But there's always the next time. I've been doing this stuff for 40 years, and I count myself lucky that I have all of my fingers and eyes still. I've got scars from shrapnel, and burns from reactions that happened unexpectedly. I wasn't always careful, but now it terrifies me to work with dangerous explosives like this. I'm much more careful. Just sayin' so you don't get hurt, man.

[@SpiritedMaker]

@@utahknifeworks5443 Thanks my friend, after my rocket fuel disaster (there's a video) I have actually taken thing more seriously... thanks for watching out!

[@utahknifeworks5443]

@@SpiritedMaker I've made plenty of sugar rockets myself, and had a couple of them blow up because the nozzle hole was not large enough. It's no fun having a rocket turn into a plastic pipe bomb, especially if you're standing fairly close. Keep all of your chemicals separate in plastic containers with lids. And if you mix any rocket fuel or flash powder, only make enough to use right then. Don't store volatile mixtures for any amount of time. Think about how important your eyes and hands are, and always wear protection, especially on your eyes. I'm 60 now, but started messing with chemistry when I was 16. Luckily I made it this long without any serious injuries, but I must have a whole crew of guardian angels around me 😂💥

[@sheliaansley]

You should of turned off that crazy music in the background we could of heard you better.

[@BerzerkaDurk]

The only thing that would have been better than the metal spoon and lack of gloves at the beginning would have been if you were smoking a cigarette while dumping the sulfuric acid solution onto the sodium hydroxide.

[@bradpitts289]

Dirty burning gun powder, if you like eroding your breach and Barrel.

[@ralphhernandez3521]

Yes, I like the reckless abandon that you create your concoction with, but really can we do something about the background music from John Travolta‘s 1970s dance movies?

[@billrivenbark8983]

Hey Einstein, some Hemostats would be a good way to not cook your fingers!

[@poolshoesandrandomscrews1156]

You know if you just add charcoal to this instead of cotton balls you have…

[@JugglesGrenades]

Sometimes when I watch the news, they have stories about some random house in the suburbs blowing up. The authorities like to say it was a "gas leak". Now, I am not so sure. 🤔

[@SpiritedMaker]

lol

[@thatoneguy454c]

You shoud have golves and an acid gas cartridge respirator. You can absolutely destroy your lungs if you breathe in those fumes.

[@jonduggan7433]

Dollar stores , yard sales and flea markets are great places to find old pyrex pots and pans. LONG handled wooden or bamboo spoons and tongs would be useful too. Get stuff you can just throw away when you are done. You DEFINITELY don't want to have someone come along later and try making mac and cheese in the brew pan.

[@herbertsmith6085]

In the early days of aviation we used cotton cloth, and painted it through with celliose nitrate, ( nice clear finish) , when the engine backfired, you landed right where you are, even at 1000 feet of alt

[@jakelandry5645]

Do what???

[@floorpizza8074]

@@jakelandry5645 Early aircraft had cloth covered wings and fuselages instead of aluminum skin.

[@hanssborder6551]

Kwas siarkowy mieszać metalową łyżką, bez rękawiczek...

[@jerryragan9414]

I can clearly tell that you don’t know what your doing. If you would have used the proper method 1 to 1 taking the cotton balls apart before submerging wait at least 24 hours 30 is better then the cleaning process use baking soda to neutralize the acid. Use test strips Bringing the pH balance to neutral. You can dry it with a hair dryer. Just remember it only takes 160* to set it off. Then when it’s dry. To fluff it up use a coffee grinder without the lid. It on a glove the cotton can ignite by friction being cocked by one of the blades, so just be careful. When you lighted there should be absolutely no carbon no black spots absolutely nothing left behind, and you should ignite within a split second you could even hold it in your hand, and like it should not leave any black spots at all.

[@SpiritedMaker]

Of I didn't , I was trying it out, never claimed to be an expert. :)

[@bawdydog176]

I sense a Darwin award in the making.

[@SpiritedMaker]

You should see my Rocket fuel episode... heh

[@o5245607]

I appreciate when people share recipes etc. with others. But, this video could be titled what not to do when working with very corrosive substances and with fire. DUH!!!

[@SpiritedMaker]

For entertainment purposes only. :)

[@Gitano-k7t]

C'mon dude use gloves for the test results, there are some people that still havent met the evolution scale. Overall, good tutorial for magic effects. Please be a little bit more responsible for the ones that cant chew gum and walk at the same time.

[@SpiritedMaker]

Safety third.

[@blg53]

Your gun cotton leaves some carbon residue after it burns. Is that because the ingredients are not pure enough?

[@bertcremers3134]

nice video but it would be better if you leave the childisch "music" out of it.

[@SpiritedMaker]

stopped that a while back

[@bertcremers3134]

Thank you 🙂@@SpiritedMaker

[@johnceglarski9460]

A short spoon and no gloves. I'm sure you probably didn't bother with those silly safety glasses either, right?

[@dlmsarge8329]

I was thinking the same thing given his overall lack of concern over safety.

[@deanallman2506]

Is it ok to lick the spoon when you're done?

[@SpiritedMaker]

Probably not. :)

[@averagelithuanian]

As I live in the tyranny of the EU can I use potassium nitrate extracted from the soil?

[@SpiritedMaker]

Above my pay grade... heh

[@gunslingerfromwish4656]

Fbi, cia my only intent is for education i stg.

[@ArminSchnur]

Sulfuric acid is banned in Europe, and you're not even allowed to own battery acid here. Not to mention making explosives... Potassium nitrate is subject to a tax code and may not be sold freely... If you made a video like this, you'd have a special task force in the building by tomorrow... Gruß aus NRW, DEUTSCHland.

[@SpiritedMaker]

well, that sucks. Big brother always watching you huh.

[@SpiritedMaker]

Sounds restrictive. :D

[@ArminSchnur]

@@FernandoCapeletti-wr1xw That's exactly what it looks like. But it also appears that this progress is on the verge of dissolution.

[@paddyglenny]

You neeed to learn about editing videos. Watching you stir the mix for over 60 seconds is neither interesting nor instructive.

[@SpiritedMaker]

Thanks that was a few years ago.... so I doubt I have gotten any better. :)

[@neafranklin7905]

Is only acid .... It doesn't hurt the skin ..... Lol

[@scinanisern9845]

Just do me one favor, invest in a pair of hemostats. I get the heebejeebies each time you light one of those things off.

[@SpiritedMaker]

Thank you for your concern.