



Explosives 
 
     Underground cumputer bulletin boards vary in emphasis. I have seen boards
that were devoted to finding a mate, remenisient of the want ads in certain
underground newspapers. Some are primarily interested in software piracy.
Others are strong on hacking computer systems or phone phreaking. In 1984 a new
interest appeared which was quite startling to your present author -- do it
yourself explosives. Though seemingly disrelated to telecommunications, it was
on the phreakhhack boards that this information began appearing. 
     The longest and most descriptive article on explosives ever written for a
computer bulletin board showed up about the middle of the year on Pirate-80 and
a few other elite underground systems. About the only subjects of consequence
not covered by the article are thermite and nitroglycerin both of which
established themselves early as very popular. Because of its comprehensive and
representative nature I am prsenting it here in its entirety including the
warning statement which is a part of the original article. 
 
EXPLOSIVES AND INCENDIARIES 
 
*** W A R N I N G *** 
 
THIS INFORMATION IS PRESENTED FOR ACADEMIC STUDY ONLY. THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION
OF THE DEVICES AND MATERIALS DESCRIBED IN THIS FILE WOULD BE DANGEROUS, EVEN
FOR AN EXPERIENCED CHEMIST. ALSO, THE CONSTRUCTION OR POSSESSION OF MANY OF
THESE DEVICES WOULD BE IN VIOLATION OF VARIOUS FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LAWS. 
 
INTRODUCTION: The trouble with text books on chemistry and explosives is the
attitude with which they are written. They don't say, "Now I know you would
like to blow Holy Hell out of something just for the fun of it so here is how
to whip up something in your kitchen to do it". They tell you how Dupont does
it or how the ancient Chinese did it but not how you can do it with the
resources and materials available to you. Even army manuals on field expedient
explosives are almost useless because they are just outlines written with the
understanding that an instructor is going to fill in the blanks. 
 
It is a fun game to search out the materials that can be put together to make
something go "boom". You can find what you need in grocery stores, hardware
stores, and farm supplies. An interesting point to remember is that it is much
easier to make a big explosion than a small one. It is very difficult for a
home experimenter to make a fire-cracker, but a bomb capable of blowing the
walls out of a building is easy. The king of explosives for the
do-it-yourselfer is black powder. It is easy to make and when properly confined
is capable of devastating power. For this reason, I will begin by telling you
how to make black powder, how to make black match fuse, and how to put the two
together with results that would please even a wild-eyed anarchist. I will end
this introduction and begin my instructions with this statement: "I know you
would like to blow Holy Hell out of something just for the fun of it so here is
how to whip up something in your kitchen to do it". 
 
HOW TO MAKE BLACK POWDER: You will need potassium or Sodium Nitrate, Sulfur,
and hardwood charcoal. The common name for Potassium Nitrate is saltpeter.
Sodium Nitrate is sold at farm supplies under the name of Nitrate of Soda. It
is also called Chile Saltpeter. Sodium Nitrate makes a slightly more powerful
black powder but has the disadvantage of being hygroscopic (obsorbes moisture
from the air), so if you use it, store it in tightly closed containers. You can
also get sulfur at farm supplies as a wetable powder used for spraying. It is
cheap and works well. Some drug stores sell sulfur under the name Flowers of
Sulfur. If you use Nitrate of Soda, it will be in the form of prills (little
round beads). Bake it in an oven at 200 degrees for 10-15 minutes to drive out
the moisture. Then dump a cup or two into a blender and switch it on. It will
do a beautiful job of reducin it to powder. Buy a bag of charcoal briquettes
at a grocery store. Put a few briquettes in a rag and pound with a hammer. Dump
the result into the blender, grind, then strain through a tea strainer. Mix by
volume: 6 parts potassium or Sodium Nitrate, 2 parts powdered charcoal, 1 part
sulfur. This mixture will burn if ignited and will explode if ignited while
tightly confined. It can be greatly improved, however, by processing it as
follows: Moisten with water unuil it will stick together when pinched between
thumb and finger. Press it into a disposable aluminum pie pan. Bake in a
preheated oven at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes. get it totally dry. Grind
into as fine a powder as possible. A mortar and pestle is best. If you use a
blender at this point, there is a danger of explosion. It is not very sensitive
to friction or impact, but is very sensitive to sparks. If you followed these
directions, you should have a fine slate-grey powder. 
 
When baking black powder, remember to preheat the oven. Place your pie pan
approximately in the center of the oven. Do not set it on the bottom of the
oven. These warnings are to prevent hot spots that could ignite the powder
causing a fire or explosion. Something went wrong once when my father-in-law was
doing this and it blew the door right off the oven. His training in military
demolitions included field expedient explosives. The point is that things can go
wrong even when you know what you are doing. Protect yourself at all times. Use
common sense. Wear safety glasses; don't stand in front of the oven, etc. 
 
HOW TO MAKE BLACKMATCH FUSE: Take a flat piece of plastic or metal (brass or
aluminum are easy to work with and won't rust). Drill a 1116th inch hole through
it. This is your die for sizing the fuse. You can make fuses as big as you want,
but this is the right size for the pipe bomb I will be getting to later. To
about 122 cup of black powder add water to make a thin paste. Add 122 teaspoon
of corn starch. Cut some one foot lengths of cotton thread. Use cotton, not silk
or thread made from synthetic fibers. Put these together until you have a
thickness that fills the hole in the DIE BUT CAN BE DRAWN THROUGH VERY EASILY.
TIE YOUR BUNDLE OF THREADS TOGETHER AT ONE END. SEPARATE THE THREADS AND HOLD
THE BUNDLE OVER THE BLACK POWDER MIXTURE. LOWER THE THREADS WITH A CIRCULAR
MOTION SO THEY START CURLING ONTO THE MIXTURE. PRESS THEM UNDER WITH THE BACK OF
A TEASPOON AND CONTINUE LOWERING THEM SO THEY COIL INTO THE PASTE. TAKE THE END
YOU ARE HOLDING AND THREAD IT THROUGH THE DIE. PULL IT THROUGH SMOOTHLY IN ONE
LONG MOTION. TO DRY YOUR FUSE, LAY IT ON A PIECE OF ALUMINUM FOIL AND BAKE IT IN
YOUR 200 DEGREE OVEN OR TIE IT TO A GRILL IN THE OVEN AND LET IT HANG DOWN. THE
FUSE MUST BE BAKED TO MAKE IT STIFF ENOUGH FOR THE USES IT WILL BE PUT TO LATER.
AIR DRYING WILL NOT DO THE JOB. IF YOU USED SODIUM NITRATE, IT WILL NOT EVEN DRY
COMPLETELY AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. CUT THE DRY FUSE WITH SISSORS INTO 2 INCH
LENGTHS AND STORE IN AN AIR TIGHT CONTAINER. HANDLE THIS FUSE CAREFULLY TO AVOID
BREAKING IT. YOU CAN ALSO USE A FIRECRACKER FUSE IF YOU HAVE ANY AVAILABLE. THE
FUSES CAN usually be pulled out without breaking. To give yourself some running
time, you will be extending these fuses (blackmatch or firecracker fuse) with
sulfured wick. 
 
HOW TO MAKE SULFURED WICK: Use heavy cotton string about 188th inch in diameter.
You can find some at a garden supply for tieing up your tomatoes. Be sure it's
cotton. You can test it by lighting one end. It should continue to burn after
the match is removed and when blown out will have a smoldering coal on the end.
Put some sulfur in a small container like a small pie pan and melt it in the
oven at 250 degrees. It will melt into a transparent yellow liquid. If it starts
turning brown, it is too hot. Coil about a one foot length of string into it.
The melted sulfur will soak in quickly. When the string is saturated, pull it
out and tie it up to cool and harden. It can be cut to desired lengths with
sissors. 2 inches is about right. These wicks will burn slowly with a blue flame
and do not blow out easily in a moderate wind. They will not burn through a hole
in a metal pipe, but are great for extending your other fuse. They will not
throw off sparks. Blackmatch generates sparks which can ignite it along its
length causing unpredictable burning rates. Now you have the basic ingredients
to shake the earth like thunder. In the next installment or two, I will tell you
how to put it all together to do just that. You will find that you have baked a
very deadly pie. I have twice been accused of setting off dynamite in the woods.
The explosive power of your little grey powder may exceed your expectations, so
choose your testing ground with care. 
 
HOW TO MAKE A PIPE BOMB: Buy a section of metal water pipe 122 by 6 inches long,
threaded on both ends. Buy two metal caps to fit. These are standard items in
hardware stores. Drill a 1116th hole in the center of the pipe. This is easy
with a good drill bit. Screw a metal cap tightly on one end. Fill the pipe to
within 122 inch of the top with black powder. Do not pack the powder. Don't even
tap the bottom of the pipe to make it settle. You want the powder loose. For
maximum explosive effect, you need dry, fine powder sitting loose in a very
rigid container. Wipe off any powder that has gotten onto the top or threads of
the pipe. Gently screw on the second cap. Hand tighten only. Place a small piece
of tape over the hole and go to your test site. Remove the tape and insert a two
inch piece of black match fuse or a firecracker fuse into the hole. Place the
bomb behind a large rock or tree. Using thread or string, lightly tie a 2 inch
piece of sulfured wick to the end of the fuse. Avoid letting the wick touch any
objects. This might cause it to go out. Light the wick and head for cover in a
direction that keeps the rock or tree between you and the bomb at all times. Get
behind cover at least 50 yards away. You may not expect such a large explosion
from such a small object. Be extra cautious until You have done this a time or
two and it gets real what you are dealing with. The pipe will be blown to pieces
which will fly through the air like bullets. An accident could seriously wound
or kill you. This is not a big firecracker. It is more like a hand grenade. The
size of the bomb can be increased by using a larger pipe and caps. To make a big
noise without blowing up your pipe, cap one end only. Drill a 1116 hole at the
top of the threads at the capped end. Put in about 3 to 4 rounded teaspoonsful
of powder. Pack about 2 inches of wadding on top of the powder. Toilet paper or
facial tissue is good for this. Pack it tight. Open up a safety pin and stick it
into the hole. Work it around to loosen up the powder so a fuse can be inserted.
When this goes off, the recoil will be tremendous. You will loose your pipe
unless you brace it securely against something. The pipe can be reloaded and
used again. A fun trick is to mount the pipe pointing upward. Drop a tin can
over the open end and light the fuse. The can will be blown high into the air.
Campbell's soup cans are great for this. 
 
HOW TO MAKE ROCKET FUEL: This is easy to make and fun to play with. Mix equal
parts by volume Potassium or Sodium Nitrate and granulated sugar. Pour a big
spoonful of this into a pile. Stick a piece of blackmatch fuse into it; light;
and step back. This is also a very hot incendiary. A little imagination will
suggest a lot of experiments for this. 
 
ANOTHER ROCKET FUEL: Mix equal parts by volume of zinc dust and sulfur. Watch
out if you experiment with this. It goes off in a sudden flash. It is not a
powerful explosive, but is violent stuff even when not confined because of its
fast burning rate. 
 
As I continue from this point some of the ingredients are going to be harder to
get without going through a chemical supply. I try to avoid this. I happen to
know that B. Prieser Scientific (local to my area) has been instructed by the
police to send them the names of anyone buying chemicals in certain
combinations. For example, if a person were to buy Sulfuric acid, Nitric acid
and Toluene (the makings for TNT) in one order the police would be notified. I
will do the best I can to tell you how to make the things you need from commonly
available materials, but I don't want to leave out something really good because
you might have to scrounge for an ingredient. I am guessing you would prefer it
that way. 
 
HOW TO MAKE AN EXPLOSIVE FROM COMMON MATCHES: The word "safety" in safety
matches is misleading. The chemical on the heads of safety matches is a powerful
explosive. It is similar to black powder but has a lower ignition temperature
(more sensitive to heat) and unlike black powder is easily detonated by impact.
This feature moves it up into the high explosives class. To test this, lay a
paper safety match on ~a hard flat surface and hit the head sharply with a
hammer. What do you know! It goes bang! To collect a quantity of this explosive,
it is best to use wooden safety matches. Buy several cartons. They're cheap.
Note that these should be safety matches, not the strike anywhere kind. Pinch
the head near the bottom with a pair of wire cutters to break it up; then use
the edges of the cutters to scrape off the loose material. It gets easy with
practice. You can do this while watching TV and collect enough for a bomb
without dying of boredom. Once you have a good batch of it, you can load it into
a pipe instead of black powder. Be careful not to get any in the threads, and
wipe off any that gets on the end of the pipe. Never try to use this stuff for
rocket fuel. A science teacher was killed that way. Just for fun while I'm on
the subject of matches, did you know that you can strike a safety match on a
window pane? Hold a paper match between your thumb and first finger. With your
second finger, press the head firmly against a large window. Very quickly, rub
the match down the pane about 2 feet while maintaining the pressure. The
friction will generate enough heat to light the match. Another fun trick is the
match rocket. Tightly wrap the top half of a paper match with foil. Set it in
the top of a pop bottle at a 45 degree angle. Hold a lighted match under the
head until it ignites. If you got it right, the match will zip up and hit the
ceiling. I just remembered the match guns I used to make when I was a kid. These
are made from a bicycle spoke. At one end of the spoke is a piece that screws
off. Take it off and screw it on backwards. You now have a piece of stiff wire
with a small hollow tube on one end. Pack the material from a couple of wooden
safety matches into the tube. Force the stem of a match into the hole. It should
fit very tightly. Hold a lighted match under the tube until it gets hot enough
to ignite the powder. It goes off with a bang. --- For later projects, like a
chemical time delay fuse, you will need some concentrated sulfuric acid. So, I
better tell you how to make it. 
 
HOW TO MAKE CONCENTRATED SULFURIC ACID FROM BATTERY ACID: Go to an auto supply
store and ask for "a small battery acid". This should only cost a few dollars
(about 4 dollars). What you will get is about a gallon of dilute sulfuric acid.
Put a pint of this into a heat resistant glass container. The glass pitchers
used for making coffee are perfect. Do not use a metal container. Use an
extension cord to set up a hotplate out doors. Boil the acid until white fumes
appear. As soon as you see the white fumes, turn off the hot plate and let the
acid cool. Pour the now concentrated acid into a glass container. The container
must have a glass stopper or plastic cap -- no metal. It must be air tight.
Otherwise, the acid will quickly absorb moisture from the air and become
diluted. Want to know how to make a time bomb that doesn't tick and has no wires
or batteries? Hold on to your acid and follow me into the next installment. 
 
HOW TO MAKE A CHEMICAL TIME DELAY FUSE: To get an understanding of how this is
going to work, mix up equal parts by volume Potassium chlorate and granulated
sugar. Pour a spoonful of the mixture in a small pile and make a depression in
the top with the end of a spoon. Using a medicine dropper, place one drop of
concentrated sulfuric acid in the depression and step back. It will snap and
crackle a few times and then burst into vigorous flames. To make the fuse, cut
about 2 inches off a plastic drinking straw. Tamp a small piece of cotton in one
end. On top of this put about an inch of the chloratessugar mixture. Now lightly
tamp in about a quarter inch of either glass wool or asbestos fibers. Secure
this with the open end up and drop in 3 or 4 drops of sulfuric acid. After a few
minutes the acid will soak through the fibers and ignite the mixture. The time
delay can be controlled by the amount of fiber used and by varying how tightly
it is packed. Don't use cotton for this. The acid will react with cotton and
become weakened in the process. By punching a hole in the side of the straw, a
piece of blackmatch or other fuse can be inserted and used to set off the device
of your choice. Potassium chlorate was very popular with the radical
underground. It can be used to make a wide variety of explosives and
incendiaries, some of them extremely dangerous to handle. The radicals lost
several people that way. But, don't worry. I am not going to try to protect you
from yourself. I have decided to tell all. I will have more to say about
Potassium chlorate, but for now, let's look at a couple of interesting electric
fuses. 
 
HOW TO MAKE AN ELECTRIC FUSE: Take a flashlight bulb and place it glass tip down
on a file. Grind it down on the file until there is a hole in the end. Solder
one wire to the case of the bulb and another to the center conductor at the end.
Fill the bulb with black powder or powdered match head. One or two flashlight
batteries will heat the filament in the bulb causing the powder to ignite. 
 
ANOTHER ELECTRIC FUSE: Take a medium grade of steel wool and pull a strand out
of it. Attach it to the ends of two pieces of copper wire by wrapping it around
a few turns and then pinch on a small piece of solder to bind the strand to the
wire. You want about 122 inch of steel strand between the wires. Number 18 or 20
is a good size wire to use. Cut a 122 by 1 inch piece of cardboard of the type
used in match covers. Place a small pile of powdered match head in the center
and press it flat. place the wires so the steel strand is on top of and in
contact with the powder. Sprinkle on more powder to cover the strand. The strand
should be surrounded with powder and not touching anything else except the wires
at its ends. Place a piece of blackmatch in contact with the powder. Now put a
piece of masking tape on top of the lot, and fold it under on the two ends.
Press it down so it sticks all around the powder. The wires are sticking out on
one side and the blackmatch on the other. A single flashlight battery will set
this off. 
 
ELECTRIC FUSE # 3: An excellent electric fuse can be bought ready made at hobby
and toy stores. They are sold for setting off model rockets. 
 
MORE SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION: Some of the ingredients for these can only be had
from a chemical supply so they are not my favorites. Look for powdered aluminum
at a good painting supply. 
 
METHOD # 1: Scatter out a few crystals of chromic anhydride. Drop on a little
ethyl alcohol. It will burst into flame immediately. 
 
METHOD # 2: Mix by weight, four parts ammonium chloride, one part ammonium
nitrate, four0parts powered zinc. Pour out a small pile of this and make a
depression on top. Put one or two drops of water in the depression. Stay well
back from this. 
 
METHOD # 3: Put one gram of powdered potassium permanganate into a paper cup.
Drop two drops of glycerin onto it. After a few seconds it will burst into
flames. 
 
METHOD # 4: Spoon out a small pile of powdered aluminum. Place a small amount of
sodium peroxide on top of this. A volume the size of a small pea is about right.
One drop of water will cause this to ignite in a blinding flare. 
 
METHOD # 5: Mix by volume 3 parts concentrated sulfuric acid with 2 parts
concentrated nitric acid. Hold a dropper of turpentine about 2 feet above the
mixture. When drops strike the acid they will burst into flame. 
 
HOW TO MAKE NITROGEN TRIIODIDE: Here are some notes I took four years ago on how
to make this wild explosive that can be detonated by a fly walking on it. Five
grams iodine, three grams potassium iodide, 20 ml. concentrated ammonium
hydroxide, filter paper, funnel. Stir the potassium iodide and iodine together
in a beaker with 50 ml. of water. Add the ammonium hydroxide with stirring until
no more precipitate forms. Filter and spread a thin layer of the wet solid on
several filter papers. Break the filter papers into many small pieces and allow
to dry for several hours. On drying, the paper is extremely sensitive to touch
and will explode violently with the slightest disturbance. Can be handled safely
when wet. Do not let any sizeable quantity of the dry material accumulate. --- I
was able to buy concentrated ammonium hydroxide from a photographic supply. 
 
HOW TO MAKE UREA NITRATE: Would you be offended if I asked you to go pee in a
pot? Actually, this is the first step to making a powerful explosive called urea
nitrate. Boil 10 cups of urine in a heat resistant glass container until the
volume is reduced to 1 cup. Filter the urine into a second glass container
through a coffee filter. Slowly add 133 cup of nitric acid to the filtered urine
and let the mixture stand for 1 hour. Filter again as before. This time the urea
nitrate crystals will collect on the filter. Wash the crystals by pouring water
over them. Remove the crystals from the filter and allow to dry for 16 hours.
This explosive has the disadvantage of requiring a blasting cap to detonate it,
but I couldn't resist telling you about it. 
 
          ************************** 
 
     The following message was an answer to a question from a user who knew the
ingredients for nitroglycerin, but needed to know how much of each chemical to
use: 
 
     For information only. *** By weight, one part of glycerin is nitrated with
6 parts of mixed acid. The acid mixture is 40% Nitric and 60% Sulfuric. The
Sulfuric acid is slowly added to the Nitric acid with constant stiring. Never
mix them the other way round. Each part of glycerin will yield 2.3 parts of
nitroglycerin. The temperature when adding the glycerin to the acids should
never go above 25 degrees centigrade. If it does or if red fumes appear, the
whole mess should be dumped into cold water fast. Do not take this as an
encouragement to make nitroglycerin. You specifically asked me for the
information and I have given it to you. What you do with it is your
responsibility. 
  
     Because of its extreme popularity, this chapter would not be complete
without a discussion of thermite. And so, by poplular demand, I present to you
straight from the computer underground for a limited engagement: 
 
HOW TO MAKE THERMITE 
 
     Thermite is made from powdered aluminum and iron oxide (rust). Mix two
parts by volume powdered aluminum with three parts iron oxide. This stuff is
hard to lite, but once you get it going, it generates so much heat it can burn
its way through a steel plate. 
     There are several ways to get it going. One way is to use a strip of
magnesium ribbon as a fuse. If made from finely powdered ingredients thermite
can generate a fast enough burning rate to be used as an explosive when
confined. For melting metel, it is best to use a coarse mixture about the
consistancy of ground coffee. 
     Powdered aluminum can be bought at some paint stores or from a chemical
supply. You can make your own iron oxide by burning steel wool in a stove pipe
or similar container. Get it started with a propane torch and then blow a stream
of air over it with a vacuum cleaner hooked up in reverse. 
     
