The Anarchist Cookbook (64 page)

admixture of other substances which modify the rate of burning, in the time-train rings

and in other parts of fuses. Below is a list of black powders and their compositions.

NameSaltpeter(Brown)

CharcoalSulfur
England79(18)3England77.4(17.6)5Germany78(19)3Germany80(20)0France7

8(19)3Forte721513Lente403030Ordinaire621820

185.Explosives and Propellants by Exodus

Almost any city or town of reasonable size has a gun store and one or more pharmacies.

These are two of the places that potential terrorists visit in order to purchase explosive

material. All that one has to do is know something about the non- explosive uses of the

materials. Black powder, for example, is used in blackpowder firearms. It comes in varying

"grades", with each different grade being a slightly different size. The grade of black

powder depends on what the caliber of the gun that it is used in; a fine grade of powder

could burn too fast in the wrong caliber weapon. The rule is: the smaller the grade, the

faster the burn rate of the powder.

BLACK POWDER

Black powder is generally available in three grades. As stated before, the smaller the

grade, the faster the powder burns. Burn rate is extremely important in bombs. Since an

explosion is a rapid increase of gas volume in a confined environment, to make an explosion,

a quick-burning powder is desirable. The three common grades of black powder are listed

below, along with the usual bore width (caliber) of what they are used in. Generally, the

fastest burning powder, the FFF grade is desirable. However, the other grades and uses

are listed below:

GRADEBORE WIDTHEXAMPLE OF GUN
F«0 or GreaterModel Cannon; some RiflesFF.36 -

«0Large Pistols; Small RiflesFFF.36 or SmallerPistols; Derringers

The FFF grade is the fastest burning, because the smaller grade has more surface area or

burning surface exposed to the flame front. The larger grades also have uses which will be

discussed later. The price range of black powder, per pound, is about $8«0 - $9.00. The

price is not affected by the grade, and so one saves oneself time and work if one buys the

finer grade of powder. The major problems with black powder are that it can be ignited

accidentally by static electricity, and that it has a tendency to absorb moisture from the

air. To safely crush it, a one would use a plastic spoon and a wooden salad bowl. Taking a

small pile at a time, he or she would apply pressure to the powder through the spoon and

rub it in a series of strokes or circles, but not too hard. It is fine enough to use when it is

about as fine as flour. The fineness, however, is dependent on what type of device one

wishes to make; obviously, it would be impractical to crush enough powder to fill a 1 foot

by 4 inch radius pipe. Any adult can purchase black powder, since anyone can own black

powder firearms in the United States.

PYRODEX

Pyrodex is a synthetic powder that is used like black powder. It comes in the same grades,

but it is more expensive per pound. However, a one pound container of pyrodex contains

more material by volume than a pound of black powder. It is much easier to crush to a very

fine powder than black powder, and it is considerably safer and more reliable. This is

because it will not be set off by static electricity, as black can be, and it is less inclined to

absorb moisture. It costs about $10.00 per pound. It can be crushed in the same manner

as black powder, or it can be dissolved in boiling water and dried.

ROCKET ENGINE POWDER

One of the most exciting hobbies nowadays is model rocketry. Estes is the largest

producer of model rocket kits and engines. Rocket engines are composed of a single large

grain of propellant. This grain is surrounded by a fairly heavy cardboard tubing. One gets

the propellant by slitting the tube length- wise, and unwrapping it like a paper towel roll.

When this is done, the gray fire clay at either end of the propellant grain must be

removed. This is usually done gently with a plastic or brass knife. The material is

exceptionally hard, and must be crushed to be used. By gripping the grain in the widest

setting on a set of pliers, and putting the grain and powder in a plastic bag, the powder will

not break apart and shatter all over. This should be done to all the large chunks of powder,

and then it should be crushed like black powder. Rocket engines come in various sizes,

ranging from 1/4 A-2T to the incredibly powerful D engines. The larger the engine, the

more expensive. D engines come in packages of three, and cost about $5.00 per package.

Rocket engines are perhaps the single most useful item sold in stores to a terrorist, since

they can be used as is, or can be cannibalized for their explosive powder.

RIFLE/SHOTGUN POWDER

Rifle powder and shotgun powder are really the same from a practical standpoint. They are

both nitrocellulose based propellants. They will be referred to as gunpowder in all future

references. Smokeless gunpowder is made by the action of concentrated nitric and sulfuric

acid upon cotton or some other cellulose material. This material is then dissolved by

solvents and then reformed in the desired grain size. When dealing with smokeless

gunpowder, the grain size is not nearly as important as that of black powder. Both large

and small grained smokeless powder burn fairly slowly compared to black powder when

unconfined, but when it is confined, gunpowder burns both hotter and with more gaseous

expansion, producing more pressure. Therefore, the grinding process that is often

necessary for other propellants is not necessary for smokeless powder. Powder costs about

$9.00 per pound. In most states any citizen with a valid driver's license can buy it, since

there are currently few restrictions on rifles or shotguns in the US There are now ID

checks in many states when purchasing powder at a retail outlet. Mail-orders aren't

subject to such checks. Rifle powder and pyrodex may be purchased by mail order, but

UPS charges will be high, due to DOT regulations on packaging.

186.Lockpicking III by Exodus

If it becomes necessary to pick a lock to enter a lab, the world's most effective lockpick

is dynamite, followed by a sledgehammer. There are unfortunately, problems with noise

and excess structural damage with these methods. The next best thing, however, is a set

of professional lockpicks.

These, unfortunately, are difficult to acquire. If the door to a lab is locked, but the

deadbolt is not engaged, then there are other possibilities. The rule here is: if one can see

the latch, one can open the door. There are several devices which facilitate freeing the

latch from its hole in the wall. Dental tools, stiff wire ( 20 gauge ), specially bent aluminum

from cans, thin pocket knives, and credit cards are the tools of the trade. The way that all

these tools and devices are uses is similar: pull, push, or otherwise move the latch out of

its recess in the wall, thus allowing the door to open. This is done by sliding whatever tool

that you are using behind the latch, and forcing the latch back into the door.

Most modern doorknob locks have two fingers. The larger finger holds the door closed

while the second (smaller) finger only prevents the first finger from being pressed in when

it (the second finger) is pressed in by the catchplate of the door. If you can separate the

catch plate and the lock sufficiently far, the second finger will slip out enough to permit

the first finger to be slipped.

(Ill. 2.11) ___

| } <

Small -> (| } <--- The large (first) finger

second |___} <

finger

Some methods for getting through locked doors are:

Another method of forced entry is to use an automobile jack to force the frame around

the door out of shape, freeing the latch or exposing it to the above methods. This is

possible because most door frames are designed with a slight amount of "give". Simply

put the jack into position horizontally across the frame in the vicinity of the latch, and

jack it out. If the frame is wood it may be possible to remove the jack after shutting

the door, which will relock the door and leave few signs of forced entry. This

technique will not work in concrete block buildings, and it's difficult to justify an auto

jack to the security guards.

Use a screwdriver or two to pry the lock and door apart. While holding them apart, try to

slip the lock. Screwdrivers, while not entirely innocent, are much more subtle than auto

jacks, and much faster if they work. If you're into unsubtle, I suppose a crowbar would

work too, but then why bother to slip the lock at all?

Find a set of double doors. They are particularly easy to pry apart far enough to slip.

If the lock is occasionally accessible to you while open, "adjust" or replace the catchplate

to make it operate more suitably (i.e., work so that it lets both fingers out, so that it

can always be slipped). If you want, disassembling the lock and removing some of the

pins can make it much easier to pick.

If, for some odd reason, the hinges are on your side (i.e., the door opens outward), remove

the hinge pins, provided they aren't stopped with welded tabs. Unfortunately, this too

lacks subtlety, in spite of its effectiveness.

If the door cannot be slipped and you will want to get through regularly, break the

mechanism. Use of sufficient force to make the first finger retreat while the second

finger is retreated will break some locks (e.g., Best locks) in such a way that they may

thereafter be slipped trivially, yet otherwise work in all normal ways. Use of a hammer

and/or screwdriver is recommended. Some care should be used not to damage the door

jamb when attempting this on closed and locked doors, so as not to attract the

attention of the users or owners or locksmith or police exc.

Look around in desks. People very often leave keys to sensitive things in them or other

obvious places. Especially keys to shared critical resources, like supply rooms, that are

typically key-limited but that everyone needs access to. Take measurements with a

micrometer, or make a tracing (lay key under paper and scribble on top), or be dull and

make a wax impression. Get blanks for the key type (can be very difficult for better

locks; I won't go into methods, other than to say that if you can get other keys made

from the same blank, you can often work wonders with a little ingenuity) and use a file

to reproduce the key. Using a micrometer works best: keys made from mic

measurements are more likely to work consistently than keys made by any other

method. If you us tracings, it is likely to take many tries before you obtain a key that

works reliably. Also, if you can 'borrow' the cylinder and disassemble it, pin levels can

be obtained and keys constructed.

Simple locks, like desks, can be picked fairly easily. Many desks have simple three or four

pin locks of only a few levels, and can be consistently picked by a patient person in a

few minutes. A small screwdriver and a paper clip will work wonders in practiced hands.

Apply a slight torque to the lock in the direction of opening with the screwdriver. Then

'rake' the pins with the unfolded paper clip. With practice, you'll apply enough

pressure with the screwdriver that the pins will align properly (they'll catch on the

cylinder somewhere between the top and bottom of their normal travel), and once

they're all lined up, additional pressure on the screwdriver will then open the lock.

This, in conjunction with (7) can be very effective. This works better with older or

sloppily machined locks that have a fair amount of play in the cylinder. Even older

quality locks can be picked in this manner, if their cylinders have been worn enough to

give enough play to allow pins to catch reliably. Even with a well worn quality lock,

though, it generally takes a *lot* of patience.

Custodial services often open up everything in sight and then take breaks. Make the most

of your opportunities.

No matter what you're doing, look like you belong there. Nothing makes anyone more

suspicious than someone skulking about, obviously trying to look inconspicuous. If there

are several of you, have some innocuous and normal seeming warning method ("Hey,

dummy! What time is it?") so that they can get anything suspicious put away. Don't

travel in large groups at 3AM. Remember, more than one car thief has managed to

enlist a cop's aid in breaking into a car. Remember this. Security people usually *like*

to help people. Don't make them suspicious or annoy them. If you do run into security

people, try to make sure that there won't be any theft or break-ins reported there

the next day...

Consider the possibilities of master keys. Often, every lock in a building or department will