sugar to create the actual powder. Here's how to do that: 1. Mix (by volume) 56 parts of potassium nitrate with 48 parts sugar in 84 parts of water. (Up to 3 parts ferric oxide — rust — is sometimes added to increase the burning rate of the powder.) 2. Boil the mix over a small flame while stirring it. Both the potassium nitrate and sugar will dissolve in the water. 3. Boil the water down to one-fourth its original volume. This should create a thick "fudge." 4. Pour the mixture onto a flat surface and allow it to dry in the sun, if possible. Scoring deep furrows in it will speed the drying process. 5. When the mix is moist to the touch but no longer sticky, granulate it by pushing it--a little at a time — through a mesh or screen. 6. Allow the particles created to dry in the sun. The size of the granules will be determined by the size of the screen. Ideally, you should use a fine window screen for this process. If you have a mechanical bent, you can devise a press similar to that used on pasta machines and to extrude the moist mix through small holes to create long threads that can be broken after the mix has dried. This would give you very precise control of the burning rate of your powder, permitting you to increase the diameter of the strands to slow down the burning rate or decrease the diameter to speed it up. Your "powder" is ready to load once it has dried. If you store it, put it in an airtight container. Don't store the powder in glass because it will deteriorate more quickly if you do. After you load cartridges with this powder, carefully seal the cartridges with lacquer (as discussed elsewhere) since the mixture is highly hygroscopic. POTASSIUM CHLORATE Potassium chlorate is a substitute for black powder as well as a primer material. Like black powder, potassium chlorate is highly corrosive and dangerously explosive. That means that if you use it in a firearm, it's essential that you clean it within a few hours of firing, or you're likely to see some serious rust form on your firearm. And you must use a minimal amount of this powder to avoid blowing up a firearm. When potassium chlorate is used for making powder, it must be mixed with sugar to down its burning rate. The mixture can then be substituted for gunpowder with slightly less of the potassium chlorate being loaded than for the same charge of black powder. In a bind, this material can also be substituted for "smokeless" powder in cartridges, but may not create enough energy to cycle the bolt of semi-auto weapons. Again, to avoid excessive chamber pressures, take great pains to not use too much powder. Potassium chlorate is found in most match heads. Safety matches are almost pure potassium chlorate; if you are using strike-anywhere matches, be sure to remove the tip of the match. Failure to remove the striking tip could create excessive chamber pressures. You'll need a candy thermometer or similar device to keep track of the temperature of this mix. Here's the procedure to create the gun powder substitute: 1. Mix I part table sugar with just enough water to dissolve it into a slush and heat it slowly to 250 degrees Fahrenheit until the sugar melts. Take care not to let the sugar turn brown (carmelize) from excessive heat. 2. Remove the sugar from the fire and stir it as the temperature drops. 3. When the sugar has dropped to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, add 1 part potassium chlorate to the "fudge" a little at a time as you mix it into the sugar. 4. Pour the mixture onto a flat surface and allow it to dry in the sun, if possible. 5. When the mix has dried to the consistency of fudge, granulate it by pushing it through a mesh or screen. (If the mixture is hard, too much heat was applied to the sugar; if the mixture is gooey, too little heat was used. In either case, discard the mix and start over, paying careful attention to the temperature.) The size of the granules determines the burning rate of this mixture. Small granules should be used for pistols or shotguns, whereas larger sizes are suitable for muzzle-loading rifles. As noted above, you might also fashion a mechanism to create small strands of this powder for more precise control of burning rates. Your "powder" is now ready; place it in a sealed container or load it into cartridges. Be sure to seal the cartridges carefully because the mixture is highly hygroscopic. And don't forget