Felix Lube

[Ron]

G'day, I recently made a batch of felix lube. I used stearate, obtained here in Melbourne as part of a candle making kit, instead of soap. It turned out OK, just like the bought stuff only a little harder. I think I used too much stearate in the mix. Can't wait to see how it effects my cast pills.

[Blackwater]

Welcome to the club, Ron. I too just mixed up my first batch of FWFL today, and hope to lube up some bullets very soon. I've got 3 lubrisizers set up in my loading room, and one has my BPCR lube in it (Emmert's with lanolin). The second will have the FWFL, and I'm still looking for a 3rd lube to put in the 3rd lubriziser.

I mainly shoot pistols with cast, but am hoping to learn about the rifle bullets as well soon. I'll be lubing some .45's for a buddy tomorrow. I'm hoping to cut down on the smoke and smell I've always gotten with alox/beeswax mixes.

Has anyone got any good recommendations for a 3rd. lube for the lubrisizer? Maybe more FWFL? I've got enough from my first batch to do that now.

Also, I have a question about FWFL, if Ron doesn't mind my hijacking his post? When you get to the part where you add the soap shreds into the hot mineral oil/castor oil mix, is it supposed to turn amber? I really like this lube, so far. Smells nicer than alox based stuff, and I'm hoping it'll smoke less too. Never did like the smoke from the alox based stuff.

Ron, I guess you and I are newbies here with the FWFL. Have you been shooting cast bullets very long? I have, but mostly pistol, and mostly cast for volume rather than quality. I started really trying to cast "perfect" bullets when I started shooting my BPCR. Bullet quality really makes a lot of difference there, and now I'm trying to improve the quality of ALL my cast bullets. I never really gave them the respect they deserve, really. This dang 20th century is just TOO DANG BUSY, if you ask me!

Really want to devote one rifle to cast only. Maybe the #4 Enfield, the Moisen or one of the '03 Springfields. That PH sight on the Enfield's mighty attractive, but can't make my mind up just yet. Will probably wind up dedicating whichever one shoots the best.

I'm also learning the real value of tin in the mix, when I want to cast "perfect" bullets ... or close to perfect, anyway.

Good luck, Ron, and here's hoping our results are mutually satisfying. This board really has some good info and some good guys here.

[buck1]

Felixs lube is GREAT I LOVE IT!!I have tryed without sucess to beat it (Mostly just playing arround) , and I just cant!! Not anything I have tryed is as good, and thats saying something.
Felixs lube seems to be a good lube even if you scr#w it up. as for the soap I bet your too hot. and for the third sizer felix cuts the vis down with Coconut oil??
He will hopefully chime in and give his great advice. ...Buck

[Ron]

G'day Blackwater and others. Thanks for the welcome. I have been shooting pistols since I joined my forces pistol club in 1975. In these days low wages and a young family meant that I had to cast to shoot. Then because of work pressures I didn't have time to cast so bought shop stuff.

Now that I have joined the ranks of the retired I have the money to buy shop stuff but prefer to cast, It's as someone else said somewhere else on this board, I enjoy the fact that I can cast a boolit, now I can spell it right, which is more accurate than any I can buy in Australia.

I was a weapons instructor for my Force for a couple of years and managed to redirect some range scrap to my garage. I am still using it and find that it cast up well with no hassels apart from having to skim off the copper jackets etc. I have learnt a lot just reading the posts here and have just about got my casting down to a fine art. I recently bought a 3 cavity mold made by a local manufacturer. Its a brass block in 125 grain truncated cut nose and it shoots real well in my Glock 34. I am now working up a load for this boolit for my 586 Smith. I also have 2 RCBS mold in 357 RN and SWC. Both very accurate configurations, especially the SWC over 50 metres.

Just for information, I have started making FWFL because we pay $10.00 less change for a stick of RCBS lube. Thats about $7.50 USA so you can see why I want to make my own. All going well, I might even sell enough to cover my costs.

Keep your powder dry,

Ron

[waksupi]

I do notice a change in color when the soap is added. I use my own homemade soap, and keep adding it, until it starts to lightly foam on top. Watch carefully, and you should see a definite change in the mix during this process. I figure that means I have full saturation with the oils, and it will bind to the beeswax and lanolin well. Seems to be working out over the years ok. Probably not all that critical, but works for me.

On the Fourth of July, our man from Canada came down. He's from England actually, and came to help us celebrate whupping the King. He brought a whole bunch of tiny little cheeses.And all were covered with nice red carnuba wax. So, being a first class scrounger, I gathered all the carnuba wax, and have a nice ball of it, plus the seal from a cigar that came in a glass tube. The cigar carnuba is a bit harder, but for the purpose intended, I'm sure both will work. Although I may have to get some Maker's Mark whiskey, just to make sure the blend is proper.

I also met a couple of young English gals that weekend. One is a constable, the other a business woman. They hadn't ever set off fireworks before. So I asked them, don't they celebrate the Fourth of July in England? Both looked a bit embarressed, so I told them we were riff raff anyway, and are better off without us. They got a laugh out of that.

We also found, the constable is a fair to middling shot with pistol, rifle, and shotgun, and her buddy can hold her own pretty well.

Welcome aboard, Ron. What territory are you in?

[carpetman]

Waksupi's homemade soap. I wouldnt trust that--a guy that eats moose/elk poop and reckons it to ripe olives? BTW from looking at his boots,he aint real keen on differentiating about Shinola either.

[Ron]

G'day Waksupi, I live in the suburb of Skye which is part of the City of Frankston. We are situated about 40 miles south east of Melbourne, Victoria on the Mornington Peninsula. It is a bayside area with easy access to beaches. The wife and I have been here since we built a new house after I retired. The kids and grand kids also live nearby, mkes us handy for babysitting!!

We have what they call a temperate climate, not too hot, high 30's C in the summer and not too cold in the winter. Having said that, we are we hope just coming out of an 8 year drought which has hit everyone hard especially our farmers. Some parts of the country are still very dry and farmers are walking off their properties. Our ski fields, yes we get snow in Victoria and southern New South Wales, are having good falls of snow just now. I don't go near snow, too bloody cold for me, thats one of the reasons I left Scotland in 1966 for Oz.

Ron.

[Willbird]

For your third lube you could try PCF lube, that is short for Pinko Commie *** lube, beeswax and ATF nothing else, I have played with it a bit, it was suggested by a person that swears felix will seperate, mine hasnt in 6 months, and I have not heard of any others having it seperate either.

My first batch was too hard, added vaseline to make it flow better, I have not used a lot of it yet, seems to work well tho.

Bill

[felix]

Bill, felix lube will seperate only if castor oil was included, AND the stearate faction was not applied properly, as in not cooking long enough, or at a high enough temp. ... felix

[felix]

Waksupi, the only real difference between home made soap and real Ivory (probably getting less real at time goes on) is that during the war years the soap makers started taking out the glycerine, which automatically gets created when using hydroxides to bring up the soap compound. The glycerine was sent to the double base powder folks, mainly Hercules at that time. A good body (high dollar) soap will always contain some glycerine, especially most shaving creams. This is why I make my own soap as well. Beverly's soap recipe (floodgate's wife) is probably the best of the bunch that I have messed with, and my experience is limited in this area to say the least. ... felix

[buck1]

I have got a year in on my first batch of FWFL. Its been 105F ++ the last several weeks and its been outside in the shed. It hasnt even thought about seperating at all. They just didnt make it right I bet. ,,, Buck