bottle to a bath, a large glass baking pan, a fine cloth or filter paper, and pHydrion paper (available from most drugstores and some gardening stores — try the latter first and tell the clerk that you're testing your soil for acidity) . If you can't find pHydrion paper, litmus paper or even vinegar can be used in a pinch. Make only small amounts of the final primer material at a time because this chemical is highly explosive. Here's the procedure: 1. Make a bath of lye solution in a glass pan (do not use aluminum; the lye will react with it) . Use one part — by weight — of lye to two parts of water. Caution: Add the lye very slowly because when it dissolves it generates enough heat to cause the water to boil and/or splash. Wear eye protection and have a bottle of vinegar handy to neutralize any spills. 2. Mix the sodium bisulfate (several spoonfuls) into the bleach and then put the mixture into the bottle. 3. Cork the bottle and vent the gas through the tubing so that it bubbles through the lye solution. The gas produced is poisonous; be sure you vent it fully. 4. When the lye solution is transformed into a potassium chlorate solution, it will change from a base into an acid. You can determine when the process is finished by testing the solution with the pHydrion or litmus paper. If neither of these is available, you can test the solution by taking a few drops in an eyedropper and putting it into vinegar. Base chemicals, such as vinegar, fizz when placed in acids. When the solution quits reacting with the vinegar, the solution has become acidic. 5. Pour the acidic solution into a shallow pan and place a small flame under it. Do not allow the solution to boil vigorously. 6. Watch for crystals that will form on the bottom of the pan. When these start to form, turn off the heat and allow the solution to cool. This will cause the potassium chlorate to precipitate from the solution, forming more of the crystals. 7. When the crystals have precipitated, pour the liquid and crystals through a cloth, paper towel, or other filter. Save the crystals trapped in the filter and discard the liquid. 8. Dissolve the crystals in water, 1 part crystal to 1 part water. 9. Pour the mix into a shallow pan and place a small flame under it. Do not allow the solution to boil vigorously. 10. Continue heating until crystals again form on the bottom of the pan. When this starts to happen, turn off the heat and allow the solution to cool so that the potassium chlorate again precipitates from the solution. 11. When the crystals have precipitated out, pour the liquid and crystals through a cloth, paper towel, or other filter. Keep the crystals trapped in the filter and discard the liquid. 13. Grind the damp potassium chlorate crystals to the size needed while they are wet. 14. Once the powder has dried, mix it with a little alcohol to create a paste. If alcohol doesn't dissolve the mix, try acetone or MEK. 15. Place the paste into the primer cup. 16. After the mix has dried fully, it's ready to be placed in the cartridge. Mercury Fulminate Making mercury fulminate is a simple procedure but calls for mercury and nitric acid, both of which are usually hard to obtain (although, as we'll see later in the powder section, it's possible to make the nitric acid) . The major downside to mercury fulminate is that it is hard on brass. After the primer ignites, it deposits mercury on the inner surface of the brass, with the pressure of the burning powder driving it into the brass. Once the mercury amalgamates with the brass, the metal becomes brittle over time. The embrittlement of the annealed (softened) brass can lead to split cases or head separation in instances where the chamber and cartridge fit isn't right on the money. However, oldtimers used mercuric primer routinely since it was the only one available. In a bare-hands situation, mercuric primer is the safest, surest homemade primer to make and use. And if you use nickeled cases, the mercury will have no effect. You can get nickeled cases in any handgun caliber. And if you're still worried, for a few bucks you can get a bottle of electroless nickel compound and nickel-plate the inside of all your brass cases. On the other hand, mercury fulminate doesn't cause much damage to a firearm, unlike potassium chlorate, which is such an effective oxidizer that it promotes rust in firearms within