Just the facts: Lube recipes [Archive]

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45nut

02-22-2008, 01:12 AM

I ask for submissions for a thread to simplify and consolidate lube recipes, I would prefer this thread be hard facts and minimal in off topic conversations.

There are 7 pages of threads already when a simple search query for lube recipe is entered into the search and many many days of reading, while noteworthy and helpful, I would like one thread to "sticky" for all time.

Any submissions welcome and encouraged, I just ask we stick to the facts and leave out the "ya, that is what I use" type posts please.

45nut

02-22-2008, 01:21 AM

Bullshops Speed Green:

Beeswax and Bullplate.
The mix is by weight 3 to 1, 3 beeswax to 1 bull plate.

Bullplate can be purchased from http://bullshop.gunloads.com/

Good thread to refer to:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=25037&highlight=speed+green

45nut

02-22-2008, 01:22 AM

Felix Lube formula from Waksupi's thread:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=17548

2 Tablespoons mineral oil
1 Tablespoon castor oil
1 Tablespoon Ivory, or homemade soap (grated)
1 Tablespoon Lanolin
Beeswax - Piece approximately 3 1/2" X 3 1/2" X 1 "

Heat mineral (baby) oil until it starts to smoke.

Add castor oil, and stir continuously for 1/2 hour.

Sliver the soap, and stir into the mixture a little at a time, until melted.

Add the beeswax before the lanolin, and then when that is melted, reduce or remove the heat and add the lanolin, thus not running any risk of burning or scorching the lanolin.

1 teaspoon of carnuba wax can be added to give a shiny bore. This can be found on the seal of Makers Mark whiskey, or the red wax on cheese from the supermarket.

Once made, let cool. This can be remelted in a microwave, and poured into the lubrisize

warf73

02-22-2008, 03:03 AM

Warf's Pistol Lube:

Beeswax & Virgin Olive oil.

Melt 8 oz. of bees wax then add 8oz. of Olive oil. Stir for apox. 2mins on low heat.

This mix runs threw a Star without a heat supply.
You can also use this mix as lip balm.

Warf

Junior1942

02-22-2008, 07:54 AM

44man

02-22-2008, 10:04 AM

45nut, one of us has to figure the weight of the beeswax to make it easier. Most blocks are very large, mine are 4# blocks. It can get confusing for someone new.

For which recipe? ,, Either way I will post links to the original threads.

These are not my recipes, I will defer to the eggspurts and cooks. :)

utk

02-22-2008, 12:05 PM

"California Saeco Green"
2 lbs Beeswax
2 lbs Paraffin
1 lb STP Oil Treatment
------------------------------------------------------------
Old NRA lube formula
1 part Beeswax
1 part Paraffin
1 part Vaseline
All parts by volume
------------------------------------------------------------
In a post by Chargar 071219:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=23191&highlight=comprendo
60% Beeswax
40% Vaseline
"Has worked for almost 50 years in handgun and rifle loads up to 1,9 or 2k fps".
-----------------------------------------------------------
Barry Darr’s Lube
1 lb Paraffin
1 lb Vaseline
2 tablespoons (30 ml) STP Oil Treatment
-----------------------------------------------------------
Modified Barry Darr lube
1 lb. Paraffin
1 lb. Vaselin
No STP
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

jonk

02-22-2008, 03:31 PM

A good blackpowder lube recommended by another board member (I've also used it in low pressure handgun loads, no problems):

I shot BPCR Sil for fifteen years. Emmert's Home Mix (50% pure natural beeswax, 40% Original Crisco and 10% Canola Oil) makes a very successful lube for Black Powder. I have since modified the original formula by reducing the Canola Oil to 5% and adding 5% Anhydrous Lanolin. The lanolin makes the lube stick to the bullet better over time and does a slightly better job overall. Be sure and use a double boiler to melt it to avoid overheating the lube. Over heating will KILL it for bullet lube. Your receipe is almost the same as mine, and I've been using mine for years.

You may substitute olive oil for the canola oil, the olive oil has a higher flash point and works very good as well.

The trick is to keep everything natural, no oil based products (vaseline). The crisco is vegetable based as well as the olive oil. The beeswax, because of it's exposure to the honey, will naturally repel bacteria, thus prevent the lube from going rancid and drying out.

Lead melter

02-22-2008, 07:22 PM

WWVA lube;
4 oz. paraffin
4 oz petroleum jelly
2 oz. Lee Liquid Alox
2 heaping tablespoons Johnsons Paste Wax [carnuba wax]
Heat components until all melted, then pan or dip lube. May require a heater for the Lyman or RCBS lubrisizers.

Sweet lube;
equal parts beeswax and petroleum jelly.
Heat until melted. If you don't like it for boolit lube, it will work for hand lotion or lip balm. Plus it smells good enough to eat.

mroliver77

02-22-2008, 08:49 PM

For muzzle loading rifles I use white hand cleaner to soak the patches. An old feller that shot competition ML used this(he recomended D&L brand) and it works great for me.

Hip's Ax

02-22-2008, 08:57 PM

Well, you asked for it. This is the entire contents of my lube recipe file. I picked these up all over the net over the last few years. Some are repeats, of course the first one is for sure. Amount of text is too long for a single post, I'll split it into two.

************************************************** ***************

Felix Lube formula (for smokeless)

2 Tablespoons mineral oil
1 Tablespoon castor oil
1 Tablespoon Ivory, or homemade soap (grated)
1 Tablespoon Lanolin
Beeswax - Piece approximately 3 1/2" X 3 1/2" X 1 "

Heat mineral (baby) oil until it starts to smoke.

Add castor oil, and stir continuously for 1/2 hour.

Sliver the soap, and stir into the mixture a little at a time, until melted.

Add the beeswax before the lanolin, and then when that is melted, reduce or remove the
heat and add the lanolin, thus not running any risk of burning or scorching the lanolin.

1 teaspoon of carnauba wax can be added to give a shiny bore. This can be found on the
seal of Makers Mark whiskey, or the red wax on cheese from the supermarket.

Once made, let cool. This can be remelted in a microwave, and poured into the lubrisizer.

************************************************** ****************************************

Lube Formula - Colorado Shooters

1/3 Candle Wax (140 Degree F Melting Point)
1/3 Cosmoline
1/3 Bowl Wax
4 oz. Olive Oil added per pound of lube

Ratio's are approximate and are non-critical. A little more or a little less of any
component seems to make no difference in performance. Candle wax is available at any
hobby store, which sells candle-making supplies. Cosmoline is available in small
quantities from suppliers such as Midway, USA, Inc. 1-800-243-3220 or
http://www.midwayusa.com . Bowl wax is available in any Home Depot or similar store.

************************************************** ****************************************

Buck Emmert's Lube Formula (for black powder)

1750 grains Beeswax
1368 grains Crisco Shortening (White)
328 grains Crisco or Wesson Vegatable Oil

This recipe makes 1/2 pound lubricant. If you tray lube as I do, you'll probably
want to double the recipe.

************************************************** *****************************************

Barry Darr's Lube Formula

1 lb. Paraffin
1 lb. Vaseline
2 Tbsp. STP

Somebody told me this is Barry Darr's Lube Formula. It's been around for years - a great
lube for pan lubing bullets.

************************************************** *******************************************

California Saeco Green: 2 parts beeswax, 2 parts paraffin and 1 part STP (parts by weight)

************************************************** *******************************************

In my opinion unless you are only striving for a slow pistol lube you are wasting your time
with parraffin, you would be served better by using beeswax, or microcrystalline wax. I
have done alot of playing with lubes and parraffin always failed as a main ingredient.
Any concoction I have tried with more than 15 percent parraffin has failed to reach rifle
velocities. Try mixing this one up and see if it serves you for the higher end loads:

1 lb beeswax
1 TBLSP vaseline
1 teaspoon johnson paste wax

This would be considered a hard lube, but the addition of more vaseline would make it
softer to suit your desires. The johnsons might not be totally neccessary, but I think
it helps to keep the bore shiny. Whatever you do do not add a penetrating oil like kroil
to a lube, it must actually enter the pores of the bullet, cause it has caused leading in
recipes that previously did not lead. Keep the kroil for cleaning that is where it shines.

************************************************** *******************************************

Junior Lube
exactly 3 fluid ozs of melted lard

exactly 400 grs of solid beeswax

exactly 100 grs of Alox solid bullet lube.

************************************************** *******************************************

BPCR LUBE
1 pound Bees Wax

1 pound Citronella Candle

2 Tablespoons shortening

************************************************** *******************************************

Pistol Lube
1 part Beeswax

.75 parts petroleum jelly

.25 parts parafin (candle wax)

Rifle Lube
1 part Beeswax

.75 parts petroleum jelly

.25 parts parafin (candle wax)

I use the above recipe , doubled , then I add four tablespoons of automatic transmisson
fluid a four ounce bottle of LEEs liquid alox and a extra half pound of candle wax. I
adjust the amount of candle wax for winter and summer shooting......., a little softer
for winter and a little stiffer for summer.

I know, yall were expecting the "eye of newt" thing right? Sorry, its just not that big
of a deal.I use the lube with everything I shoot and I never have any leading problems.
I shoot a 170 gr cast bullet in a Model 94 over 29 grains of IMR 4895 with a magnum primer
useing this lube and never have I had any lead left in the barrel. Thats a jacketed bullet
load guys!As soon as I get the chrony in Ill get yall some numbers for that load .

One hint, if you can get your hands on a quanity of carnuba wax, use that in place of the
regular candle wax. I dont know what it is about that stuff but it will polish your bore
better than anything Ive ever seen , and a smooth bore is probably the single greatest
mechanical factor affecting lead bullet performance.

************************************************** *****************************************

I've had better luck with my Emmert's with lanolin than I have with SPG. Emmert's is,
as I understand it, an old Schuetzen lube, and it's simple and easy to make - always a
plus. It's

50% beeswax,
40% white Crisco (like Mama used to make biscuits with) and
10% canola cooking oil.

To that I've added about 6-7% anhydrous lanolin. The lanolin is a
good high temp, high pressure lube and it's sticky. It helps the lube stick to the
bullets, and helps make it better for pan lubing. Sure has seemed to keep the fouling
softer than the SPG seemed to, or at least in my gun it has.
The anhydrous lanolin can be ordered from your local pharmacy, but it'll probably be
cheaper to order it. Try a search for Majestic Mountain Sage. Can't remember the url
at the moment. It'll probably save you some money. The beeswax can also be had there,
if you have trouble finding a local bee keeper to get it from. The Crisco and canola
oil are at your local grocery.

Good lube, IMO. I shoot it in a Saeco #745 bullet, and that bullet is oft criticized for
barely carrying enough lube. Works in my 30" barrel, anyway. FWIW?

************************************************** ***************************************

Lead pots Lube. (Blackpowder lube)

6 cups unmelted soy wax.
½ cup Jojoba oil.
½ cup mutton tallow, or you can use beef tallow. I don’t like it as well.
1/3 cup unsalted lard.
1/3 cup liquid Bayberry wax.

This is a good lube I made it for my knurled bullets.
You can thicken this out by adding soy or using less to thin it or add more lard to make
it softer
If it gets to hot add Palm Vegetable wax or use block Bayberry wax instead of liquid
Bayberry wax.
Palm wax melts at about 160*

If you cant find Tallow it is easy enough to make.
Go to a butcher shop and ask for fat trimmings most will gladly give to you.
Cut it in small chunks or better yet grind it. Put it in a large pot and ½ the amount
of water and slow boil it for about 4 hours at a low temp.
Strain it out with a sieve or cheese cloth and cool it in the fridge.
When solid take off the solid white top and scrape off the bottom till it is clean.
By the way this stuff makes a darn good hand lotion for those bleeding fingers.

************************************************** ***************************************
SMOKELESS

I got tired of being accused of shooting BP on the centerfire line (Alox-beeswax) and
used lube recipes offered on the cast bullet list by Adrian Pittfield and John Paul Jones.

Adrian's Goo ( AKA lithi-Bee)
1 part Beeswax
1 part Lithium auto lube cartridge
mix with heat do not exceed flashpoint labeled on cartridge (225degrees iirc) does not
require heat to lube bullets

Recipe for Saeco Green Bullet Lube (A soft lube, equal to 50/50 Alox/Beewax)
2 lbs Beeswax
2 lbs Paraffin
1 lb STP Oil Treatment
(It is possible that a small amount of Stearic Acid (Stearine) will make the lube harder.)
(Temperature 140F (60C) for lube sold currently by Redding).

Saeco Green is less smoky than Adrian's Goo and both are less smoky than Alox Beeswax but
needs 105 degrees (41C) in luber-sizer. YODAR
(It is probable that Yodar used a candle wax with stearine instead of pure paraffin. That
would explain the need for a lube heater).

************************************************** *****************************************

SMOKELESS

This is "ole Junior." My 411 lube is by volume

4 parts cleaned Mississippi Delta cotton field beeswax
1 part lithium automotive grease
1 part Dexron ATF fluid

Heat and
mix well. If the lithium doesn't want to blend, carefully increase heat.

When cooled, the lube is pink in color but otherwise the consistency of Alox stick. The
lube is also easy to make--and cheap. Also good for pan lubing. I figure enough to equal
the volume of an Alox stick cost 25 cents vs $3.50+ for the Alox stick.
I've tested 411 lube extensively in two Model 94 30-30 rifles to 1950 fps with a few rounds
going 2000 fps+. All results equaled zero leading and a mirror-like bore. When my 450
Lubrisizer runs out of Alox stick, I'm pouring the reservoir full of 411.

************************************************** ******************************************
Black Powder

from an old American Rifleman magazine

10 pounds paraffin (40%)
10 pounds tallow (40%)
5 pounds beeswax (20%)

They say that mutton tallow is best but beef tallow works just fine

************************************************** ******************************************
The February 1943 issue of the American Rifleman (p.31) has an excellent article on bullet
lubrication.
Though nearly 60 years old, this article is still valuable.
Within it are two old-time recipes for bullet lubricant worth passing along. These are both
recipes used by factory ammo-makers long ago, in the 19th century and perhaps before that.
I have used the recipe for outside-lubricated bullets for some time. It is nearly identical
to SPG Lubricant.
I have used it in reloading the .32 Long Colt with outside lubricated bullets and it works
very well.
I also soak felt wads with it, for use between the ball and powder in my cap and ball
revolvers and it works great. The bore bears only a trace of fouling when such a greased
wad is used under the ball. Seat the greased felt wad firmly down on the powder, then go
back and seat the ball.
I've also used it to a limited extent for lubricating soft lead bullets in my .45-70 with
black powder loads, with success.
This outside-lubricated bullet lube was once used in .22 rimfires and center fires such as
the .32, .38 and .41 Long Colt.
It is still useful today.
I mix it in a quart Mason jar, set in a low pan of boiling water. The ingredients are
measured then added to the jar. I stir them with a disposable chopstick found at oriental
restaurants. When cool and set-up, tighten the lid on the lubricant and store it in a
cool, dry place.
This creates a medium-hard lubricant that really softens black powder fouling.

I have not used the inside-lubricated bullet lubricant but thought it might be of interest
for those who wish to duplicate the old-time loads, right down to the lubricant

OUTSIDE LUBRICATED BULLET LUBE
1 part paraffin (I use paraffin sticks found in the canning section of grocery stores).
1 part tallow (I use sheep tallow, sold by Dixie Gun Works)
1/2 part beeswax (Available as a toilet seal in hardware stores)

CENTER FIRE BULLET LUBRICANT
9 parts Japan Wax (available from Dixie Gun Works or some hardware stores in the furniture
refinishing area).
4-1/2 parts paraffin
4-1/2 parts beeswax

A few more things: I suggest you mix these outside to avoid friction with the Hausfrau.
And always use a double-boiler method, or set your jar in a heavy iron skillet and use a
low temperature to melt and mix the ingredients.
These lubricants will flash and catch on fire if subjected to higher temperatures, just
as any grease will.
Keep a box of Baking Soda handy, away from the stove (so you don't have to reach across
flames to get it) to extinguish any fire. Throwing water on the grease fire will only
spread it.

Enjoy these old bullet lubricants.

************************************************** ******************************************

Hip's Ax

02-22-2008, 08:58 PM

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ideal Handbook #15
From the Ideal Handbook, ca. 1904:
Recipe #1: Three parts beeswax to two parts cylinder oil
Recipe #2: Vaseline with enough parafin as required to harden it
Recipe #3: Japan wax with sperm whale oil to soften it
Notes:
'Japan Wax' is the wax of the carnauba tree. Commonly used as ski wax.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Horace Kephart's Lube
From the Ideal Handbook, ca. 1904:
"Melt over a slow fire three parts of of crude ozocerite and two parts vaseline. That is
all there is to it. The proportions may be varied to suit individual notions; but I have
found that the above compund needs no modification for any range of temperature that we
have at St. Louis. "
From Sharpe:
"Horace Kephart's lubricant. Crude ozocerite, 3 parts; vaseline, 2 parts. Melt together
in a double boiler. If too hard for your rifle, soften it by adding more vaseline." Notes:
Horace Kephart is the designer of the Kephart style of bullet.
Ozocerite is a mineral wax dug out of the ground like coal. The refined wax goes under the
name cerasine. The refined version does not work as well as the crude.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Ballard
From a conversation with a friend:
"Half beeswax, half toilet wax"
This is what I was told when I found a coffee can marked 'Tom's Magic Lube' in a friends
reloading room.
Notes:
Tom Ballard is a mould maker here in Montana
'Toilet Wax' is, I am told, the wax gasket applied when installing a toilet. Stranger
things have been used.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Niedner Mixture
From Sharpe's Handloading:
Japan Wax Acheson's graphite #1340
"To a half pound of of melted Japan Wax add four heaping tablespoons of powdered Acheson's
graphite #1340. The melted mixture must not be too hot, and the graphite must be added a
little at a time and stirred continuously. When the entire amount has been added, remove
the mixture from the heat supply, and continue stirring. This is very important. If left
to stand in a melted mixture the graphite will seperate from the wax.
Notes:
I have no idea about the Acheson's #1340
'Japan Wax' is the wax of the carnauba tree. Commonly used as ski wax.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Herrick Mixture
From Sharpe's Handloading:
Japan Wax Beeswax Cylinder or castor oil
"...equal parts of beeswax and Japan wax with a small quantity of cylinder oil or castor
oil, the latter added primarily to soften the mass...the smallest amount should be used.
The oil will 'sweat out' if lubricated bullets or loaded cartridges are stored for several
months."
Notes:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Henry Beverage Lube
From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Yellow vaseline 2 oz. mutton tallow 4 oz. japan wax 10 oz. beeswax 6 oz. crude ozocerite
6 oz. gunslick grease 1 tube per 6 oz. of mixture
Notes:
Formula atrributed to Leopold
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlie Dell #36
From Shooter's Talk:
Lithium stearate - 1 part by weight 600W worm gear oil - 1 part beeswax - 1 part lanolin -
1 part synaceti - 1 part
Mix everything except the beeswax at about 400 degrees F. Mix will melt, then jell, then
melt again. Pour in the melted beeswax and bring back up to heat until it all melts and no
gel remains.
Notes:
Synaceti 125 is available from some candle shops and is a substitute for spermacetti.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlie Dell #48
From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Beeswax - 10 parts by weight Peanut oil - 5 parts anhydrous lanolin - 4 parts lithium
stearate - 5 parts gunslick grease - 1 tube per 6 oz. of mixture
The waxes and oils are melted together and allowed to cool until they just start to harden.
Then the Li stearate is mixed in. It will look like tan mud. Reheat and keep raising the
temp. stirring at frequent intervals. First it will start to gel and turn translucent,
then will finally melt around 400F. It must be poured into moulds at this point because
when the temp drops slightly it will gel again.
Notes:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlie Dell #53
From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Beeswax 20 gm. anhydrous lanolin 5 gm. castile soap (Kirks) 2 gm. castor oil 5 gm.
Notes:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manny, Hil, & Metzler
From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Tallow 1 oz. ozocerite 2 oz. japan wax 2 oz. beeswax 5 oz. steam cyl. oil 1 oz.
Notes:
This is probably an excellent pan lube
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leopold #245 - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Japan wax 4 1/2 oz. tallow 9 oz. ozocerite 1 1/2 oz. lye 1/2 oz. rosin 1/2 oz. water 8 oz.
Boil until froth disappears. Mix, boil with lye and water, cool and remove cake from water,
wash and form into sticks for pump. High melting point, not for pan lube.
Notes:
This is probably typical of Leopolds formulas.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Donaldson's Lube - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Beef tallow 6 oz. beeswax 4 oz. rosin 2 oz.
Notes:
Harvey Donaldson was a responsible for several cartridges inc. the .219 Donaldson Wasp.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
N.H. Robert's #1 - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Beeswax 6 oz. beef tallow 2oz steam cyl. oil 3 tsp.
Notes:
Ned Roberts was the designer of the .257 Roberts ----------------------------------
N.H. Robert's #2 - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Crude Ozocerite 1 part yellow beeswax 1 part Japan wax 1 part mutton tallow 1 part
Notes:
Ned Roberts was the designer of the .257 Roberts
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roderick #1 Hard - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Beeswax 4 oz. mutton tallow 3 1/8 oz. Mobil 600 wt, steam cyl. oil 7/8 oz.
Notes:
For use at 80 deg. F and above
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roderick #2 Medium - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Beeswax 3 1/8 oz. Mutton tallow 4 oz. Mobil 600 wt. steam cyl. oil 7/8 oz.
Notes:
For use between 55 and 80 deg. F
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pope Lube - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Beeswax 2 oz. Bayberry wax 4 oz. mutton tallow 6 oz. steam cyl. oil 2 oz. Acheson graphite
#1340 170 gr.
Notes:
If you don't know who Harry Pope was, your mommy shouldn't be letting you play with bullets.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barry Darr #1 - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Paraffin 50% Vasaline 50% old RCBS case lube 1 tbs per lb. of mix
Notes:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barry Darr #2 - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Paraffin 50% Vasaline 50%
Notes:
Same as Barry Darr #1 but minus the RCBS case lube

************************************************** ******************************************

"Have you ever lubed rifle bullets to be launched beyond 2K fps with just beeswax blended
with a little jojoba oil?"

YES, I have it will work, but I still like the liquid lanolin because of the flex and tack
it supplies. Plus it allows me to make a soft enough lube without inducing flyers.

pure jojoba oil added at the rate of 2 TBLSP's per pound "works" but it has no flex and in
my simulated winter shooting tests I had erratic performance. simply adding more did not
make the brittle nature or standard deviation problem go away.

1TBLSP jojoba and 1TBLSP liquid lanolin to 1 pound cappings grade yellow hard beeswax will
cover 90 percent of what any of us wants in a lube. Adding johnsons seems to shinify the
bore, but it makes the lube too soft so you need more wax, and the orange oil seems to
also have a solvent effect so I keep it. Before I knew it I ended up with the 5 pound
batches I quoted earlier. The ivory is not totally neccessary either, but if you cool
it rapidly in the freezer you will see why it can be important, plus it raises melt point
a bit. I have also played with some recipes using microcrysstalline wax, but they need
some tweaking yet. For the most part of this journey I have simply thought too hard, but
in the end I am happy with this.

MIKES MAGICAL MYSTERY LUBE
5 lbs beeswax
1 TBLSP Ivory
1 TBLSP Jojoba
2 TBLSP natural orange oil
1 TBLSP Johnsons p.w
1 TBLSP liquid lanolin
colored candle dye or chips of you choosing ( I will use orange or red if I ever run low
on lube) which will be at least a day or two.

I just hope I spared at least one person from going through the insanity of it all. It was
an expensive lesson, but fun none the least.

EDIT: One more thing DO NOT ever add something like kroil to a lube I did and it showed
promise at first, but a couple a weeks later them loads leaded to beat the band. All I
can figure is that the kroil slowly creeps into the pores of the lead and actually softens
the skin of a boolit.
************************************************** ******************************************
The only thing I do know about this recipe is...it came from Dan Theodore, and it was
posted on the BPCR (dot) net site a long time ago.
CM

"Great For Hot, Dry Conditions" - sourced from Dan Theodore

Ingredients, Procedures, Notes, etc.

All measures are by volume.

4 parts refined beeswax
2 parts LubeGard's "Valve and Assembly Lubricant"
2 parts anhydrous lanolin.

OR

5 parts refined beeswax
3 parts LubeGard
2 parts anhydous lanolin. "This makes a dandy lube for dry, hot conditions."

Note: LubeGard should be available at any NAPA Auto Supply store.
Note: Refined beeswax and anhydrous lanolin are available from:
http://www.from-nature-with-love.com/soap/.

Melt the beeswax and anhydrous lanolin in a double boiler. Once both are well melted,
add the LubeGard and stir for a minute. This lube works well for pan-lubing, as well
as through a lube-sizer.
************************************************** ******************************************
I have used Emmert's Home Mix for both Black Powder and Smokeless loads with excellent
results:
50% pure natural beeswax, 40% Crisco, and 10% Canola Oil (all measurements by volume).
Melt using a double boiler (overheating damages the lube).

A refinement is to reduce the Canola Oil by half and replace that half with Anhydrous
Lanolin. So, the improved Emmert's is:
50% beeswax, 40% Crisco, 5% Canola Oil, and 5% Lanolin.

************************************************** ******************************************
************************************BPCR.net lube list**************************************

50% Beeswax
50% Ballistol

Vary the Beeswax up or down for a patch lube or bullet lube. I melt the Beeswax in a Pyrex
Measuring cup in the microwave. Then add the Ballistol, stir, and pour into a plastic
microwavable container to cool. It can easily be re-melted to adjust the mixture.

The rich, pungent, aroma of the Ballistol adds to the enjoyment.

Jack Roberts, silhoutte4570

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Great For Hot, Dry Conditions" - sourced from Dan Theodore

Ingredients, Procedures, Notes, etc.

All measures are by volume.

4 parts refined beeswax
2 parts LubeGard's "Valve and Assembly Lubricant"
2 parts anhydrous lanolin.

OR

5 parts refined beeswax
3 parts LubeGard
2 parts anhydous lanolin. "This makes a dandy lube for dry, hot conditions."

Note: LubeGard should be available at any NAPA Auto Supply store.
Note: Refined beeswax and anhydrous lanolin are available from:
http://www.from-nature-with-love.com/soap/.

Melt the beeswax and anhydrous lanolin in a double boiler. Once both are well melted,
add the LubeGard and stir for a minute. This lube works well for pan-lubing, as well
as through a lube-sizer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Emmerts" - provided by Ken Hurst

This is an old lube but still has a following and has never failed me when using it
for Black Powder. I understand it can be used for smokeless if you are using
low-pressure loads.

50% bees wax
40% Crisco or lard
10% canola oil

I heat this in a dbl boiler to mix. Do not heat in a micro wave as it offers too much
heat usually. I fill my lubasizer with the lube while it is hot and it works well. I
have also pan lubed with good success.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"1995 Lube" - sourced from Paul Matthews

2 parts yellow beeswax
1 part Pure Neatsfoot Oil
1 part Murphy’s Oil Soap

(easy to make in 8-oz batches)

1) Melt 4 oz of beeswax in the microwave. Usually 6-8 minutes is about the right time.
2) Stir in 2 oz of Neatsfoot oil when beeswax is melted. Stir until the mixture is lumpfree.
3) Stir in 2 oz of Murphy’s Oil Soap, stirring continuously as the soap is added. Again,
mix until there are no lumps.
4) Pour into storage containers as soon as batch is well mixed.

Very soft and sticky. Will not melt in the sun, but works well in the cold, too.
NOT suitable for pan lubing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Shows Promise Lube” - sourced from Paul Matthews

8 oz Yellow Beeswax
4 fl oz Pure Neatsfoot Oil
1 cake (3 .5 oz) Neutrogena Facial Soap

1) melt the beeswax over a low fire
2) stir in the neatsfoot oil until lumpfree
3) cut the soap into fine peels, then add to the melted mixture.

Don’t boil the mixture. A very sticky bullet lube. Looks to be very good.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are some bullet lubes I have used with very good results in the hot shooting
weather of the west. - Mystery Guest

13 oz of beeswax
5 oz of peanut oil
1/2 stick of 50/50 alox
1 oz of anhydrous lanolin

6 oz of beef tallow
4 oz bayberry wax
2 oz beeswax
2 oz synthetic sperm oil
1 heaping teaspoon of Moly

6 oz of beeswax
3 oz of bayberry wax
6 oz of bacon grease
1 tablespoon of Dawn soap
2 tablespoon of neatsfoot oil

40% beeswax
30% conola oil
30% lanolin
......................this looks and feels a lot like SPG

70% Soywax
20% Avocado oil
10% lanolin
......................this is good for cooler weather, spring/fall

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emmerts – for Texas Heat - source unknown

50% beeswax
40% Crisco
10% jojoba by volume

.......................this lube will not foul a .45-2.6 34” barrel

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recipe One

One part clean beeswax
Three parts rendered and refined deer tallow
One part stale canola oil (kitchen reject don't you know)
Powdered graphite (I don't think the graphite play much of a part as it settled out in
cooling)

I just shot my C.Sharps hunting gun (74) for the first time at any distance two weeks
ago and got a three and a half inch 4 shot group at 300 measued yards with this lube,
a Saeco 411 gr 40 cal. bullet silver blade front sight and C. Sharps 108 hunting tang
sight cranked up as high as it would go. I would have gone for more rounds but I ran
out after walking them up on to the target. I had never shot it farther than 100 yards
before. It is a 40-70 SS and I used 70 gr by volume of older Goex 2f. I'm a little
worried about the powder. I store it in a chicken coop in a styrofoam cooler and when
I tried to pour it out of the can there were big lumps in it. I had to shake the heck
out of it to break up the lumps. It has been froze and thawed on and off for at least
5 years maybe longer. I bought it from Coonie's back when Goex was $6.03 per can in
case lots with shipping. I used this lube to kill a couple of deer and to shoot bowling
pins and steel targets in the yard.

Another traditional one I like. (I substitute jojoba for sperm whale oil.)

One part clean beeswax
Three parts rendered then refined buffalo tallow
One part Jojoba oil (killed a buffalo with this one)

Cold weather muzzle loader patch lube is:

Two parts rendered then refined coon oil (two coons will provide a quart or more of
rendered oil and good barbeque plus 20 bucks for the hides)
One part buffalo tallow (this lube melts as you rub it into the patch even below zero)

After I render oils and fats I recook them with water for a while then let them cool
until they crust over. I break the floating disc off the water and scrape off the dirt
and jelly like junk that clings to the bottom of the disc. I do this to try to eliminate
any naturally occuring salts in the animal fat. I used to bear oil my muzzle loaders
and they'd rust over night in a damp tent until I started water cooking the salt outa
the fat.

Duke Munger

357maximum

02-23-2008, 08:15 AM

No message

Molly

02-23-2008, 04:39 PM

From Molly:

Lee and Lyman sell "liquid Alox", and it works pretty well.

The formula for Alox 2138F (no longer available) is as follows:

Material Wt %
Melt in a double boiler:
Alox 350 7.00 (The exact amount isn’t critical. Use 10 or 20 parts if you want.)
Slowly stir in until dissolved
Petrolite C-700 3.00 (Microcrystalline wax)
Blend until fully melted and dissolved.
Add slowly with good mixing:
Alox 350 90.00 (Remainder for a total of 97 parts Alox 350)
Blend until uniform. 100.00 Alox 2138F

To make the NRA lube, you can now add 100 parts weight of melted clean, pure yellow beeswax to the preceding and mix well.

The NRA lube can be molded as you may desire. I’ve found it convenient to just pour it into small cans or even muffin tins. When I need to refill a sizer, it’s simple enough to set the can (or a muffin sized block in an aluminum measuring cup) in simmering hot water to melt the lube, and pour it into the sizer. Allow to cool well before using.

If you simply MUST have it in stick form, solder a tube of the desired diameter near the bottom of a gallon can, and open on both sides, and deburr. Fill the can with water and ice, and pour the tube full of molten lube. It'll harden pretty quickly, and can be pushed out with a stick. If you MUST have a hollow tube of lube, insert an old valve rod in the center opposite the fill side. (Play with a jig to hold it center.)Then pull it out before you eject the lube.

Alox 350 is one of a series of "oxidized petroleum fractions" (ie, partially burnt grease) originally developed by Alox Corp, of Niagra Falls, NY. However, they are now defunct, and the Alox line has been taken over by Lubrizol Corporation, who discontinued the Alox 2138F as too low in sales volume, but continues to offer the Alox 350 and a number of other Alox products, including the stuff sold as "Liquid Alox". You should be able to find them easily on the net at: http://corporate.lubrizol.com/.

Regards,
Molly

44man

02-25-2008, 05:16 PM

Felix lube, I cut a 3-1/2" by 3-1/2" by 1" block of beeswax and it comes out to 6 oz. Lube is a little soft so I would go to about 7 oz. Maybe even 8 oz. Can't hurt anything. I have to harden a batch to see. I don't like paraffin that much so will try just beeswax. I have carnauba if needed.

Dick Dastardly

02-27-2008, 06:29 PM

Equal parts by weight.

Container blend Soy wax flakes
wax toilet bowl ring
cheep vegetable shortening

Melt in double boiler with occasional stirring. Pour in forms.

The formula for Pearl Lube II will not be given.:)

DD-DLoS

yeahbub

03-04-2008, 05:37 PM

There may be similar ones posted, but here are what I use:

541:
5 parts beeswax
4 parts Crisco
1 part anhydrous lanolin, by volume
Melt and stir until thoroghly mixed before allowing to cool. A double boiler keeps it from scorching. It works well on conventional cast boolits, but I've never driven it beyond 1800fps or so. Hardness can be adjusted to suit by varying the Crisco or the beeswax. Melts at 130 deg F.

541 Soft:
1 part 541
1 part Bore Butter/Thompson Center 1000 Plus in the tube, by volume.
I prefer the pine scented Bore Butter. Melt and stir thoroughly and allow to cool. Works great for lube cookies when made into sheets by melting in the outside bottoms of "butter cookie cans" on a level surface with a heat lamp, cooling, and putting in the freezer when solid, which will pop it loose. Also good for under-the-ball/boolit use in C&B revolvers with an over-the-powder card wad, on Maxis, Lee R.E.A.Ls & cetera.

SHOOTER IN EXILE

03-06-2008, 07:39 PM

For years I have been using a 50/50 mix by volume, beeswax and common animal fat for bullet lubing and also for resizing shells for pistol and rifle. I like to keep it simple, cheap and easy to get. Didn't notice any difference with commercial lube, in accuracy or barrel leading. I find it better than other lubes for resizing. Please note that it is a slow procedure. I usually reload between 200 and 300 rounds in one session. With all due respect for the formulas posted by other members.

Molly

03-06-2008, 11:57 PM

For years I have been using a 50/50 mix by volume, beeswax and common animal fat for bullet lubing and also for resizing shells for pistol and rifle. ... With all due respect for the formulas posted by other members.

Isn't it strange that nobody has noticed that since just about everything you can think of - including talcum powder - has been used more or less successfully in bullet lubes, (as witnessed by the plethora of recipies listed here and elsewhere. ) In turn, that suggests that darn near anything CAN be used as a bullet lube, depending on the severity of the load.

I happen to like the various Alox based lubes, but I'm well aware that genericly, they are all what one might call 'burnt grease' ("oxidized petroleum fractions...". And they not only make great bullet lube, they make darn good resizing lube too. You can cut them with a bit of lighter fluid to make them easier to spray on cases, or to roll cases on a soaked rag.
Molly

buck1

03-15-2008, 01:53 PM

This one works well for high vel rifle as well as mag pistol in hot and COLD weather.
It stays on the boolits well, does not run on hot days, and flows without heat through my lube sizer.
I love this stuff! Its a cross between Joes/ leftoverjds with a few tricks from Felixs WFL.
In a crock pot melt 3 parts bees wax and 1 part lithum wheel bearing grease. to about 300 F its hard to mix.
-----Caution this is close to the flash point of the bees wax.---------
Mix, mix and mix some more and let cool. as bees wax can vary in hardness you can now get a rough idea of what you have. Look for a uniform mix (no little lumps) of the grease.
Now reheat and mix again as you still most likely have some little lumps to deal with and add small ammounts of carnauba wax to stiffen (paraffin would mess up the cold weather aspect of this lube).
Repeate this melting and testing several times untill you get the stiffness you like. It seems to help the lube mix better by cooling and reheating many times anyway. But do it outside and dont forget about the flash point.
Nothing else that I have made or bought will do as well for me as this stuff!

Shrek

03-21-2008, 04:40 AM

This lube has worked well for me winter or summer. I use it mostly on rifle because my pistol bullets tend to be TL from Lee.
I got the base recipe from a gent by the handle of dmell.
By weight:
40 parts UNREFINED bee's wax
20 parts paraffin wax
20 parts Lucas oil stabilizer (high-grade, better than STP) or Morey's.
either 2 large kindergarten crayons or 1 wafer candle die, for color.
Heat the bee's wax over low heat, then add para. and stir until melted
Add the Lucas/Morey's and colorant and stir until well mixed.
I have ran this to about 2100 fps on 210 grain 308 bullets in my '06, with no signs of leading.
Never had it melt off, if I kept the ammo out of direct sunlight. This is Arizona, take that into account. It gets a little stiff through my Lyman in the winter, wouldn't hurt to use a heater when it gets cool.
Shrek

pjogrinc

04-09-2008, 03:00 AM

Original Sharps formula

1 part Beeswax
1 part Sperm oil

Since it is nearly impossible to find Sperm oil, use the following instead.

1 part Beeswax
1 part Jojoba oil

Works fantastic up to 1500 FPS, haven't tried any faster in handgun or 45-70. This lube formula is soft. You can harden it up by reducing Jojoba oil up to 1/2 part. Temperature range I've used this lube at has been 10 deg F to 70 deg F. Have not had a chance to try at higher temps yet.

Excellent accuracy out of my 45-70, 34 inch barrel. Have fired a 20 shot black powder string in just over 5 minutes, no cleaning or blowing down the barrel, group was just over 3 inches. Very low BP fowling and no leading. Barrel was very warm.

bushka

04-11-2008, 10:41 AM

sperm oil substitute was said to be starrett oil,very fine oil.
maybe singer sewing machine oil/glass cutting oil may work also.

pjogrinc

04-22-2008, 01:53 PM

Jojoba oil was the first one discovered by US gov. testing to insure a supply of 'sperm oil' during war. Jojoba oil was used in some of the first automatic transmissions that were made. Jojoba oil has a longer C chain C20 - 27 which would allow it to stand up to higher pressure without breaking down.

This summer I will be doing a lot of testing, since it has finnally warmed up and the snow from the last 2 storms, 43 inches has finnally melted.

felix

04-22-2008, 02:22 PM

Pressure is not the problem. We have lanolin for that purpose. Because of the cost of jojoba, I would use it only in cold weather lube where lanolin has too much viscosity for the purpose. ... felix

Molly

04-22-2008, 07:22 PM

...Because of the cost of jojoba, I would use it only in cold weather. ... felix

Hi Felix,

I've enjoyed the thread, but your last post really rang a bell with me. Not to give you a hard time, but decades of product research experience suggests that 'cost first' is the wrong approach. First, you should determine what works. THEN look for cheaper alternatives. But find what works first of all, or you have nothing to base your next steps on.

For example, let me suggest off the top of my head that the 'perfect' bullet lube (however you want to define it) is composed of 70/20/5/5 gold napthenate / silver hydroxide / cobalt stearate / zinc sterate. (That's absolute nonsense, but just for the purpose of illustration.) You might eventually come to that composition if you test metallic salts in general, and work your way toward it, dispite the cost of the materials. You will never come to the perfect lube if you restrict yourself to paraffin and goose grease, just because they're cheap. :bigsmyl2:

Col Harrison, of NRA fame, who developed most of our modern cast bullet technology all by himself, - including bullet lubes - once said something to the effect that "Economy is an understandable and worthwhile goal, but when it leads you to use materials that cannot succeed, you might wish to reexamine your system of values." He was talking about cheap soft scrap lead in rifle loads instead of more expensive type metals, but the principle still holds true.

Try everything you can get your hands on. Even the cost of gold and sliver can be borne for as much as it would take to put together five rounds to see if there is any merit at all. If not, you aren't out much. But if it gives you the best group you ever had, it would be a good clue to look at similar but less expensive metal salts.

OUCH!! Hey! Ya didn't have to ... OK, OK, I'm off the soapbox! (VBG):-D

Molly

felix

04-22-2008, 08:31 PM

Perfectly said, Molly, for something professional rather than for some friggin' hobby. Like finding a "chemical" that can be programmed to cure a cancer type on contact, and not harm any other living cell. ... felix

sundog

04-22-2008, 09:00 PM

yup, how many liberty dimes and quarters does anyone have stashed to be frittered away making unknown alloy with a touch of silver? price of silver would tell us that it is not worth it....

leftiye

04-23-2008, 12:26 PM

Molly

04-23-2008, 02:47 PM

So, just what are the merits (if any) of using a fine oil like sperm oil, or jojoba in boolit lube? I have heard it said that in boolit lubes we shouldn't be seeking true lubrication, but something else. What might that "else" be that we should be looking for? How much would MDS (moly) help or hinder if added to the perfect (or Felix lube even for that matter) lube? Is it compatible with Carnauba?

You might be interested in going back and re-reading Col Harrison's reports on bullet lubricants. Among other things, he reported that "the action of bullet lubricants is unknown." In other words, he couldn't find out what they did in a load, or how they did it. He also said that lubricity of a given mixture had no relation to it's performance: for example, adding a lubricating additive like teflon or mica might or might not give improved give improved results at the target. But in the case of particulate additives, they generally made things worse, as I recall. He also observed that as a general rule, the softer 'lubricants' tended to work better, the stiffer lubes didn't work so well. And he noted that there was absolutely no correlation between the accuracy that you could get with a given lube and whether or not you got any leading with it.

My own work with lubes has suggested that the ability of a lube to shoot well on the target isat least partly related to its hardness, while the ability to prevent leading is directly related to its surface tension. Lower surface tensions mean less tendency to lube with a given load. You can compare surface tensions of two lubes by placing a speck of each on a thin bit of steel and warming it on a hotplate until they melt. Generally, one liquid will have a higher Ts, and pull away from the other with the lower Ts. Accuracy results are less easily predicted, but all else being equal, I think that the long term accuracy (over many, many shots) correlates to the amount of residue it leaves when charred. This is checked easily enough by continuing to heat the panel with specks of lube until it quits smoking (do this outdoors!) and observing the results. Many lube ingredients will leave a black, hard residue, while a few will simply evaporate over time. I favor the ones that leave no hard residue.

As for materials to investigate as lube ingredients, I'd suggest synthetic high carboxylic polyester resins for those in a position to look at them. Esters are well known for lubricity, and carboxylic functionality for wetting (low surface tension). Synthetic resins have the advantage of reproducible properties over time, as they can easily be manufactured to specifications. The problem with this suggestion is that very few people outside the paints and plastics industries will have easy access to them, but I can't help that.

Food for thought.
Molly

felix

04-23-2008, 03:18 PM

In Houston I lived next door to a lube designer working for EXXon. He had access to a large database of chains/polymers etc. I asked him to crete a formula that could be built for our purpose, with the restriction that we could make the stuff at home with household equipment using feeds he would have access to where he worked. He was given the characteristics as you mentioned, Molly. A year later or so, he had no formula that would be easy to replicate. He gave me a sample that was close, but not perfect enough to warrent making more. He told me that to go further it would take too much of his workers time without a large manufacturing run (for profit, of course). So, making a lube that will work with black and white can be done on a professional basis. ... felix

Molly

04-23-2008, 03:36 PM

... I asked him to crete a formula that could be built for our purpose, with the restriction that we could make the stuff at home with household equipment ...

Well, I understand where you were coming from, but I think you put too tight a limitation on him: A LOT of things can be done in the lab that can't be done in the average home. Why did you use such a restriction? There's nothing wrong with a formulation that requires a lab to provide an ingredient. After all, we mostly buy our lubes anyhow, and those who don't, still buy the ingredients. What would be wrong with, for example, buying a new polyester resin from a lab to mix with other ingredients? That's almost exactly what Col. Harrison did in developing his 50/50 beeswax / Alox lube. Alox 2138F is just a modified wax, made especially for him and intended only for use as a bullet lube ingredient. Harrison couldn't make it, but he bought it from the lab, and continued to formulate it himself. (Note that Alox 2138f CAN be made at home: I've posted directions on several sites.)

Molly

leftiye

04-23-2008, 04:20 PM

Molly

04-23-2008, 05:44 PM

Soooooo...........?????? Molly, thanks for your help. It seems that lubricity is of no value (Harrison), but materials with high surface tensions lubricate better? I'm apparently too obtuse or something, but I don't know what you said. Just my opinion, but there is no chance in my universe that something that doesn't keep the lead separate from the steel (lubricate) will work. Something that cools the lead by evaporating might also help? How about Sperm oil, or its replacement Jojoba oil?

No, no. I must have mispoken. Materials with high Ts do not lubricate better. they WET better, thus providing a barrier between the steel bore and the molten lead droplets.

Evaporative cooling of the bore or the bullet alloy? I really can't say, but my initial reaction would be that this is not the road to take. The flame temperature of the burning propellent is above the Mp of the steel bore, much less the lube or alloy. I can see that evaporating most any lube ingredients, but I can't see it allowing the lube vapors to redeposit on the bore, only to be removed a moment later. And any cooling of the alloy from this would - I think - be so small that you'd really have a tough time showing it. It sure wouldn't be as great as the temperature change from one day to the next, and if a load has a tendency to shoot better on cool days - or even frigid days - I haven't seen it. Yeah, in principle, the effect might be there, but I suspect it might be like tossing a spoonful of water in the ocean, and then saying that you personally filled the ocean to it's current level. Might be technically true, but ...

Molly

leftiye

04-23-2008, 06:14 PM

So, does anybody like or dislike sperm oil and jojoba oil for use in boolit lubes?

felix

04-23-2008, 09:02 PM

The big batch of felix that was sent out has a half gallon of it per 135 pounds of lube. ... felix

Marlin Junky

05-16-2008, 06:49 PM

Jojoba oil can be acquired for about 50 bucks a gallon and 2 to 3 TBS is all you should need per pound of beeswax.

I have approx. 2-1/2 TBS of Jojoba Oil per 1-1/4 pounds of lube and it's slick enough for 2200+ fps in the right barrel. Other ingredients are T3-Carnauba and Vaseline. Pure, powdered Sodium Stearate goes into the lube (about 1/4 oz.) which raises the melt temp to about 150-155F for a summer time lube.

MJ

felix

05-16-2008, 06:52 PM

By golly, you got it! ... felix

Marlin Junky

05-16-2008, 06:54 PM

Felix,

You talking to me? :-D You wouldn't be yanking my chain now, would ya?

MJ

felix

05-16-2008, 06:58 PM

You'd da' man, MJ. Keep on spearmenten' ... felix

Marlin Junky

05-23-2008, 01:34 AM

:) Come on Felix, you can't possibly be satisfied with my simple recipe as is! How would you tweek it? There's 3-1/2 ounces of Vaseline in there and 1/2 ounce of T3-Carnauba but I think I'm going to move up to 3/4 ounce Carnauba and maybe a full 4 oz. of Vaseline and drop down to just 2TBS of Jojoba (all per pound of beeswax).

BTW, I cook all the ingredients on a hot plate at about 250F for 2 hours. It doesn't start to smoke until about 275F and if you go over 300F for any length of time, the finished lube ends up Javelina brown in color.

MJ

felix

05-23-2008, 08:22 AM

Gotta' tweak it per application! Accuracy is consistent at the velocity desired for 50-80 shots, such that no gum appears between relays. Time between relays is 20 minutes or less for my ideal demarcation. The first shot of any relay must be in the group, cold or hot barrel. This should be your objective per gun-ammo combo, in the ambient required. ... felix

Marlin Junky

05-23-2008, 04:16 PM

I agree but what are the tweeking rules? In other words, when does one know if the lube is too hard, too brittle, or too oily? Usually I add a little Vaseline with the Carnauba to counteract the brittle nature of Carnauba but I'm wondering if adding a little more Jojoba would be better than Vaseline. What are the trouble signs when a lube has too much oil?

Basically, what I'm trying to do now is push the limits of my fast twist .350 with 250 grain boolits. I reduced very hard boolits to groove diameter and that just made a mess yesterday except for a very impressive first five or six rounds out of a clean, cold barrel. So now I need to increase the boolit diameter .001".

MJ

felix

05-23-2008, 06:55 PM

Basically, on how the boolit reacts and your feeling towards it. ... felix

ra_balke

06-17-2008, 10:13 PM

Bees wax, plus just about any vegitable, or animal based oil to make to soft and useable.

I have heard but not tried bee wax, + Ivory soap. Were it me, I would add to that a bit of a vegitable oil, like peanut oil, or olive oil, to make it soft.

miestro_jerry

07-05-2008, 12:33 PM

For Becky's Bad A&# Bullet Lube: Green Dragon

Here is the simple and really good recipe:

2 Pounds Beeswax
1 Pound Alox or Xlox
1/2 Pound Carnuba Wax

Melt the Carnuba first, the add the Alox, then add the Beeswax.

Let with simmer for about 20 minutes, stir occasionally.

Very hard, good for higher velocity bullets.

Jerry

missionary5155

07-11-2008, 11:58 AM

:-D For my 44-40 Unique loads I still use (by volumne) 1/2 wheel bearing grease and 1/2 beeswax. Heat slowly until wax melts and add the grease. Do not overheat as the grease will catch fire if left unattended.. the stuff may smell up the kitchen also.:Fire:

GabbyM

07-11-2008, 03:09 PM

Question:
I keep reading to use capping grade bees wax.
Is that necessary or will brown bees wax work as well? Just not be so pretty?
It seams to be more dense so maybe it's just to keep the viscosity consistent in the recipe.

I'll add that from the predictions I hear of the rising cost of bee products. We may all be looking at other waxes for our lube.

Castoff

07-16-2008, 07:45 PM

I need some help and advice on making a lube.
I am relatively new to this so hold on while I make a few mistakes.
It is my understanding that all lube formulas that are to be used in a lubrisizer need a "hardener of some sort--(as oppossed to a liquid lube like Alox).
How do I find out what are some available hardeners and to what velocity they will work well.
Am I correct that paraffin will work to about 900 fps and bees wax to about 1300 fps?
What other "hardeners are available?
I really need a "basic" course in lube components and what roll each one plays.
HELP!!!
Many thanks

Idaho Sharpshooter

07-30-2008, 01:40 AM

My BP and equivalent velocity lube:

half and half beeswax and rendered bear tallow. Haven't tested it past 1750fps, but it has worked with plainbase lead bullets and smokeless or black for twenty years.

Rich

Bad Karma

08-12-2008, 09:46 PM

Wally

09-05-2008, 11:04 AM

As Bullet lube is now over $4.00 for one stick, I have been making my own for years...I get old church candle stubs (free as they throw them out)...I melt in a 12 ounce steel can with a propane torch. I then add grease from a grease gun (lithium grease) and stir vigoriously at a 50/50% proportion. It is evety bit as good as Alox and doesn't require a melter. The Church candles are 51% beeswax/49% parafin. To add to my Lyman 450 sizer, I merely heat the can with a propane torch until it is a liquid...I stir and pour it in.

Wally

Wally

cowboy caster

10-12-2008, 11:52 AM

For smokless loads 6 oz.= 1 and a half blocks of Gulf wax-parraffin 3tbls of pennzoil 10-40 motor oil 2 heaping tbls of NAPA bearing and chassis grease #75-601 1 tbls of STP Heat together pennzoil grease and STP until melted grease will have clumps add Gulf-wax to melt and let cool overnite then re-heat grease will melt completely this way Have used in 45-70 up to 1800 fps also works well down to 1200 fps I pan lube but it works in commercial lubrisizers cowboy caster

yodar

10-13-2008, 01:46 AM

Junior's 411 or Pinko Commie *** lube.

Over heat, mix by volume 4 parts beeswax, 1 part Dexron ATF, 1 part lithium auto grease.

The lithium grease will tend to form little blobs, so squeeze them against the side of the melting container with a spatula.

411 works fine in a 450 sizer-lubricator. Just melt and fill the reservoir. I've shot it to 1900 fps with no leading in Model 94 30-30.

eliminate the Dexron and you have "Lithi-Bee" lube formula which is used by Adrian Pittfield, a professional bullet caster which is much less smoky than Beeswax-Alox

yodar

yodar

10-13-2008, 01:52 AM

This one I developed for use in both pistols and rifles. It seems to work fine.

1 lb Beeswax
1 lb white lithium grease

Combine the two under medium heat until well mixed. This one is as soft as 50/50 beeswax alox. If you want to harden it add 3/8 lb of paraffin wax. This will still flow through my Lyman 450 in the Summer but I think in the Winter it'll need a heater.

Since Alox 2158 is no longer available this recipe is accepted and adopted by a number of professional casters. I use it and for pistols it is excellent

yodar

yodar

10-13-2008, 02:01 AM

This one I developed for use in both pistols and rifles. It seems to work fine.

1 lb Beeswax
1 lb white lithium grease

Combine the two under medium heat until well mixed. This one is as soft as 50/50 beeswax alox. If you want to harden it add 3/8 lb of paraffin wax. This will still flow through my Lyman 450 in the Summer but I think in the Winter it'll need a heater.

YES - ! For pistols!

for higher velocities

SAECO GREEN derived from Mfr. formulation in 66 gal lots

1 lb beeswax
1 lb paraffin
1/2 bottle STP
green crayons or green votives for color

needs heater

works at rifle velocities

from a Saeco distributor

yodar

utk

10-13-2008, 03:07 AM

My batch of Saeco Green doesn't need a heater, it is soft.
If you get your paraffin from candles also containing stearine, the lube might get harder and requiring a heater.
(I didn't use any coloring, crayons might make it harder?).

Maj Dad

10-13-2008, 09:41 PM

Gents,
Whew! That's quite a bit to digest. But I would like to add one I didn't see: aerosol graphitic, as in some of the mold release agents sold by Midway, Dillon et al. I read about it some years back and tried it - and it worked very well. I seat the gas check on the bullet (311291 is one I've used with great results) and size it (except for 303/7.65 Mauser, just use it as cast), then stand them up in a pie pan or on a flat surface and spray concentricly. No mess, no fuss and no leading whatsoever in rifles @ about 2000 fps. Works just as well for 45, 38, 44 and 357. But I tend to stick to the hollow sticks for most - this is just another tool in the kit.
Cheers,
Maj Dad

10 ga

02-12-2009, 05:09 PM

Oils in recipes! The "smoke point" of various natural lubes can add unwanted things to the shooting arena rather quickly. Smoke point is the temperature where the lube begins to vaporize and the vapors can ignite and produce nasty soot and carbon byproducts. I have noticed where some use oils with low "smoke point" in their lube recipe. For information the various smoke points of oils is here given in degrees F, low to high: olive oil 375, sunflower 390, corn 400, canola 435, peanut-soybean-safflower 450. For reference, most animal fats smoke at 365 to 400. The harder fats tend to have higher smoke points unless you can get oils from marine mammals. I have found deer (whitetail) and sheep fats stay hard at higher temperatures than other animal fats available. Bear and coon fats are softer and have rightly earned the term grease. Perhaps this may help in your recipes for the lube character you desire. OH yeah, I guess you can just make up your favorite receipe and use it for lube or pemmican. Best to all, 10 ga.

357maximum

09-16-2009, 08:15 PM

MML Mike's Micro Lithi

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

cut and paste from another thread...thought it should be posted in the cookbook, been meaning to post it for awhile now, and a thread about lithium grease reminded me. It is a tweaked variation of the old lithi-bee recipe.

I get my microcrystalline wax frome here:

http://www.blendedwaxes.com/blendedw...ne/default.asp

I have used a few grades and find the BW-430 to work the best. The company is excellent when it comes to customer service also.

I use the following lube for all my loftier goals in singlehot HV pistols and rifles. It does slow loads well also but is not neccessarry.

3 lbs Beeswax
1-14oz tube of cheap MAG1 multipurpose lithium grease (Wal of china mart)
1/2 lb of the micro 430 (blendedwaxes.com)
1 lb of canning/candle parraffin (craft or grocery store)
1 block of Yaley solid candle dye (do not use the flourescent colors, they just settle to the bottom...ask BaBore bout that )(craft store candle aisle)

I have made lubes that were real soft by excluding some or all of the parraffin...but I took a good idea too far and accuracy suffered...the lube needs some body to it.

It takes alot of steady heat to mix and you are getting real close to the poof point of the waxes...so do it with a well fitting lid handy just in case. Cook on med-high for 1/2 hour minimum after all the gooey lumps go away. Do not use a lithium COMPLEX grease too much of a good thing and the lube star will drip off the muzzle like a leaky faucet and accuracy gets iffy in hot weather.

And for domestic harmonies sake ...do it outside. it smells like an engine fire while being made. I pour it into pint jelly jars or blocks...then melt and pour into the sizer...............lube sticks are a royal pain in my .
__________________

357maximum

11-21-2009, 12:25 PM

Old County Legs Lube #301

BY volumetric measurment:
50% rendered deer tallow
50% LouAna brand coconut oil
I added 1 Fl. Oz natural orange oil to a 1/2 lb batch to make it domestic friendly (I.E. I can make it in the house with out offending SWMBO) and it actually helped make it clean up after itself as you shoot as an added side benefit.

Makes a dandy PRB lube ,so far tested at 30-50 degrees. Very similar in handling/use to Young Country Arms Lube 103 without all the soapy/cetyl alcohol smell of the youngs. I would not call it a direct copy by any means but it acts like the youngs in use.

KenBlue

12-17-2009, 05:10 PM

I tried Barry Darr's pan lube receipe (parafin, vaseline, STP) but got very poor adhesion to the cast .45 LC bullets from my Lee mold.

There is a similar receipe that adds beeswax - will that increase the 'stickiness' and give better adhesion?

Other options???

This is my first foray into pan lubing - any specific advice would be appreciated.

Happy Trails
Ken Blue

ebg3

12-25-2009, 10:24 AM

I'm new to the forums, just found the link on sixguns. I've been using RCBS green lube with good resuts in a SBH .44 mag and I'm out. I really want to make abatch of my own lube and am wandering what a simple RCBS-like lube would be. I'm thinking 50% Beeswax and 50% Lithium greese(or 1/2 lithium and 1/2 ATF). Am I on the right track? Velocities will be held to 1400fps with Keith style slugs. Thanks in advance,
Eddie

Green Frog

12-25-2009, 01:25 PM

Ken, I think you'll do better on both adhesion and lubrication by staying away from those petrochemicals and going to beeswax and crisco with anhydrous lanolin added in small amounts to make it sticky... this is the basis of Emmert's Lube with which I have had very good success doing pan lubing. Try 50%, 40%, and 10% respectively or even 50/45/5 as a starting place.

Eddie, the same advice ought to work for you as well! I'm not at all experienced with lithium grease and ATF in bullet lubes, but since you already have the beeswax, you're 1/3 of the way to Emmert's also. :)

Froggie

ebg3

01-01-2010, 09:09 AM

Just made a batch of Beeswax/lithium moly greese lube. I used 16oz wax and one 14 oz tube of grease. Lube set and feels a little sticky but seems to be like RCBS lube. Going to size/lube some Keith bullets and give it a try.

indymadcaster

03-04-2010, 08:50 PM

what speed range will felix lube cover?????????

Bulltipper

03-04-2010, 10:30 PM

I have found if your Beeswax / Petro grease lube is too soft and sticky, you can remelt and add a little parrafin wax to stiffen it up a bit. my wife thinks I am crazy too...

Greenhorn44

03-13-2010, 10:05 AM

My wife's favorite lube idea. makes the range smell beautiful

1 part beeswax.
1 part parafin
1/2 vasoline
1 tbsp stp oil treatment.
couple crayons.
1 tbsp of lavender oil.

buck1

03-13-2010, 10:31 AM

I have found if your Beeswax / Petro grease lube is too soft and sticky, you can remelt and add a little parrafin wax to stiffen it up a bit. my wife thinks I am crazy too...

Carnuba wax works well in fact I really like it.

lavenatti

05-02-2010, 06:35 PM

I've been using the following:

Beeswax 100 grams
Carnuaba wax 10 grams
Lanolin 10 grams
Marvels Mystery Oil 10 grams

The Marvels Mystery Oil just happened to be what I had on hand when I decided the other three ingredients were a little too stiff on their own. The lube is nice and sticky, stays put and works just fine in my lubrisizer. Just gently melt them all together and color with a crayon if you like it pretty.

I've been using it for pistol and rifle (up to about 1500 fps) and have seen absolutely zero leading.
Accuracy has been fine as well.

theduck

05-17-2010, 03:57 AM

So many great recipes I might have to try one or two of these. I have used Red Rooster and SPG in the past but have wanted to make my own for some time now I guess I have no more excuses!

And for those wondering about Japan Wax(as I was) it's not from the Brazilian (Carnauba) palm It comes from a berry of a type of sumac tree native to Japan and China.

Japan wax

That product is not a true wax but is more like a vegetable tallow found in the kernel and outer skin of the berries of Rhus and Toxicodendron species, including those yielding Japanese lacquer. It contains a high amount of palmitic acid triglycerides (93-97%), long chain dicarboxylic acids including C22 and C23 chains (4-5.5%) and free alcohols (12-1.6%). Its melting point is 45-53°C. That wax is much used in Japan in cosmetics, ointments and to make candles but becomes rancid with age.

Great info about Waxes and other Esters
http://www.cyberlipid.org/wax/wax0001.htm

BCM45

07-05-2010, 07:18 PM

Which one of these would good for tumble lubing?

CiDirkona

07-09-2010, 05:40 PM

357maximum

07-09-2010, 07:18 PM

I'm looking for a decent panlubing forumla that I can use for 9mm Lee TC lubegroove bullets. Beeswax for some reason is unreasonably expensive around these parts. I have at my disposal: 'mary' candles, vaseline, alox, and johnson's paste wax. I'm sure I can find crisco too if a forumla needs that.

I've also planned on making the Recluse tumble lube, but am not hearing nice things about it in 9mm...

Thanks!

Trying to make a "decent" boolit loob without beeswax and/or microcrystalline wax is like trying to drive with your eyes shut IMHO. Seek out RandyRat here on the forum for some good beeswax or go to blendedwaxes.com and get some microwax #430....better yet do both of those things. Beeswax and microwax both make a great base wax but a combination of the two will allow you to do anything you want with a loob.

Papa Jack

08-12-2010, 01:59 AM

I found this recipe in the #158 (2009) Dixie Gun Works Catalog:
Listed as "Bob Roller's Bullet Lube"

1 pound beeswax
1 pound white Crisco
1 pound Mutton Tallow
5 oz. Bag Balm

Mix all ingredients in a large pan over low heat.
Works well with Black Powder or Smokeless.
used for over 50 years.

Papa Jack

08-12-2010, 02:10 AM

Taken from R.A Steindler's Reloader Guide :

1/3 Beeswax
1/3 Paraffin
1/3 Cosmolene

"Papa Jack"

Papa Jack

08-12-2010, 02:28 AM

I think I found this recipe in an old "Handloader Magazine", not sure the issue number.
I have used this recipe til I ran out , it seemed to work very well for me. I made two batches... I was almost out of the RCBS lube so I substituted "Power Punch" oil additive ( kinda like "STP")... According to the writer, the Vaseline acts as a "Plastisizer" to prevent Flaking of the Paraffin...He says to melt the lube and pour it into the lubricator, it works smoothly and is stable under various temperatures. ( I made sticks and used it as as a Pan Lube, prior to buying my Lyman lubricator.

Richard Hoch is a GunSmith ( Mold Maker ) from Montrose, Colorado .

1 lb. Paraffin
1 Lb. Vaseline
2 table spoons RCBS Case sizing lube

Writer: Ralph J. Lelii, New Castle PA.

"Papa Jack"

Elkins45

08-12-2010, 08:45 AM

This is my most satisfactory creation yet:

8 oz beeswax
4 oz Coastal pale brown lithium grease
1 tablespoon stearic acid
4 heaping tablespoons carnauba wax flakes
1 tablespoon anhydrous lanolin
2 red crayons

Melt lithium grease first as much as possible, then add beeswax and other ingredients. Mix to incorporate the lithium grease if it makes little clumps, then let cool in the pot. Remelt and pour into hollow stick molds, or whatever shapes you use for storage.

The remelting is important because it really helps to homogenize the melt and eliminate the little globules of grease that might remain otherwise.

This lube need a touch of heat to flow well in my 4500 and it hangs into the grooves well for storage. Initial results in 44 magnum and 357 Sig have been very good. I have not tried it at rifle velocities yet, so no info there, but I have high hopes.

Shooter6br

08-12-2010, 10:00 AM

I use Emments lube to pan lube 41 mag 32 Mag 45 ACP. it is neat( no bad smell or hard clean up) Bullets look purdy. Look on Cast Pics web site . Follow the article. Works great. i tried to pan lube many times. never worked........Article from Single Shot Rifle Journal "Pan lubing a piece of cake" I believe in "Kiss" Keep it simple stupid"

Jeffrey

09-12-2010, 10:27 AM

Which one of these would good for tumble lubing?

Can something like acetone be used as a evaporating solvent to liquify some of these lubes so they can be used as a tumble lube? Jeffrey

projectile

10-13-2010, 02:51 AM

Can something like acetone be used as a evaporating solvent to liquify some of these lubes so they can be used as a tumble lube? Jeffrey

I see where you're coming from, good thinking!

Perhaps a non-polar solvent such as hexane or diethyl ether, there are many others. Acetone is a polar solvent, good for fingernail polish remover, but it's most likely not right for our purposes here. :grin: Hmmm, you got me thinking... Been tagging along for a while, thanks for all the good info!

randyrat

12-02-2010, 10:07 PM

trap4570

12-11-2010, 11:44 AM

1 part canuba wax
1/2 part bee wax
3 parts lard
one tablespoon oil of wintergreen

Jailer

12-15-2010, 09:32 PM

BackWoods Billy

12-16-2010, 02:16 AM

semtav

12-16-2010, 08:37 AM

You all are wondering what the weight by volume is with pure beeswax here you go.
"A PINT IS A POUND THE WORLD AROUND" 16 OZ is slightly less than a pound.
I don't recall where I've seen or read that, but it is kinda catchy.

I remember that old saying, but it probably refers to water.
You can look up any specific gravity by just typing "specific gravity of-----" into yahoo and figuring a comparable amout of that substance
Beeswax is .960 to .970. (and like Randy said, slightly less than a lb)

kelbro

12-25-2010, 03:16 PM

Equal parts beeswax and Sta-Lube Extreme Pressure Moly-Graph Multi-Purpose Grease. I throw just a little canuba and paraffin in the mix. Works real well in the .44 mag heavy loads and makes the gun clean up real fast.

Great lube that works very well but it sure stinks when you are heating it up to pan lube. The wife doesn't squawk when I melt the Felix lube.

cbdb

12-26-2010, 12:12 AM

Several of these recipes mention "cylinder oil." This (probably, given the apparent age of the original recipe) refers to steam cylinder oil, NOT automotive engine oil. Steam cylinder oil is soluble in steam (but not in water) and is kind of hard to find these days, although it's still out there.

Captain*Kirk

02-27-2011, 12:16 AM

wiljen

02-27-2011, 09:09 AM

As Semtav mentioned, "A pint is a pound" is for liquid measure and comes from the kitchen where liquids are usually 95% or better water. It is not applicable to solids.

You all are wondering what the weight by volume is with pure beeswax here you go.
"A PINT IS A POUND THE WORLD AROUND" 16 OZ is slightly less than a pound.
I don't recall where i seen or read that, but it is kinda catchy.

Dave Pool's horse

02-27-2011, 02:02 PM

Captain*Kirk

02-27-2011, 02:20 PM

Winter recipe

1 part crisco shortening

1 part T/C bore butter

1 part bees wax

1/10th part extra virgin olive oil

Method;
melt bees wax in cast iron pan, bring up to smoke point and remove from heat. Add bore butter and crisco, stir for 20 minutes with a whisk, at about 15 minutes add olive oil. Let cool in pan and cut into managable blocks.

Summer recipe

1part crisco

1 part T/C bore butter

3 parts bees wax

1/10th part extra virgin olive oil

Use the same method as winter recipe, this will be much harder than the winter recipe and won't "melt" off your minie bullets on those hot summer days at the range and is non toxic, so eat all you want.

Known the world over as "Old number 91"

What do you use to apply this to the boolits? (In my case, REALs)
They are .50 cal, slightly over .050 with the driving bands. I assume I'd want to bore some holes in something, place the boolits in them up to the top driving band, pour in the lube and then let it harden?
Or do you apply the lube, let it set up, then shave the lube with an appropriately sized "die" (maybe a piece of tubing?)
Enlighten me, if you will...

JonB_in_Glencoe

03-09-2011, 11:54 PM

"Dominataur"

2 oz DOMINATOR®
10 oz beeswax
½ tblsp Lanolin
1 tblsp reduced JPW

use a double boiler or electric hot plate, so as to not get too hot.
also, do this outside.
-First I gently heat the JPW to cook off some of the solvents
I reduce it by half (2 tblsp down to 1tblsp).
-Then I add the beeswax and melt that.
-add a color crayon if you wish to change the color from pinkish.
-Then add the Dominator
-Then cut the Heat and let it cool some.
then add the Lanolin while still warm...around 115º

DOMINATOR® is a polyalphaolefin (PAO) based
AMSoil 2 cycle racing oil, that's suppose to be
able to handle the higher heat and pressures of racing engines
and not smoke.

I have successfully used it in pistols and mild rifle (22 Hornet) so far.

nanuk

03-12-2011, 10:58 AM

As Semtav mentioned, "A pint is a pound" is for liquid measure and comes from the kitchen where liquids are usually 95% or better water. It is not applicable to solids.

too bad that jingle won't work for Imperial measure. up here a pint is a pound and a quarter

Shooter6br

03-12-2011, 01:57 PM

"Boil , boil,trouble and toil". I use Emments lube for pan lube. LLA and JP when lazy.

bertus

03-16-2011, 12:24 PM

in warfs formula olive oil can be replaced with sunflower oil.

Nick2010

03-28-2011, 09:25 AM

Made some lube this weekend for my 9mm and it works great.
1 part beeswax
.75 parts petrolium jelly
.25 parts candle wax

i added a little more candle wax to make it a little hard, its pretty hard, can't push fingers through and goes through lyman 450 great.

Chicken Thief

03-30-2011, 02:39 PM

sperm oil substitute was said to be starrett oil,very fine oil.
maybe singer sewing machine oil/glass cutting oil may work also.

Up until WWII sperm whale oil was used in auto trannies. Whales got scarse and demand rose so Dextron was invented. Dextron III is a superb substitude for sperm whale oil.

Oh and my BP lube:

Winter=
5 parts bees wax
3 parts Canoola oil
2 parts cocoa butter
1 part olanolin

Summer=
5 parts bees wax
3 parts cocoa butter
2 parts Canoola oil
1 part lanolin

jim147

03-30-2011, 05:13 PM

A lot of interesting recipes. I'll be doing some playing once I restock my ingredients.

This isn't a recipe but maybe a way out of a bind. If you are wanting to load up a test batch out of a new mold and your low on lube, see if you other half has a stick of Burt's Bees lip balm.

You can rub it right into the grooves. Just don't put it back in your wifes purse when your done.

jim

randyrat

04-28-2011, 10:12 PM

Pint of beeswax (melted, liquid) is very close to a pound, the world around.:o

hot44ball

05-28-2011, 04:25 PM

:veryconfuHey, Maybe I'm l:veryconfu:veryconfuike others that don't want to say, but they add what they have on hand.
OK, this is what I have on hand:
100% Bees wax,
Candle wax,
Petroleum jelly,
spray graphite,
various auto oils,
and etc.
So what can I do with this?
I only want to avoid leading on my cast bullets, (soft lead).

Lefty SRH

11-18-2011, 12:22 PM

Where can you buy the ingredients like parafin, beeswax, carnuba, jojoba, etc......?

Someone posted that parafin doesn't work well for higher velocities. Can beeswax be an alternate ingredient?

fryboy

11-18-2011, 12:51 PM

Where can you buy the ingredients like parafin, beeswax, carnuba, jojoba, etc......?

Someone posted that parafin doesn't work well for higher velocities. Can beeswax be an alternate ingredient?

ummm i almost posted this in a PM ... as this thread is primarily for recipes ,in our vendor sponsor list is randyrat's offerings .... he also offers a ummm "kit" with the harder to find ingredients ( for some folks ) and he's also a member and a great guy to deal with !! paraffin is available in many places from candle remnants to the canning section at most larger grocery stores a,d actually beeswax is preferred and paraffin a distant second , google searches can also be your friend , i recommend Mystic Mountain Sage , good stuff and good prices and swiftness and shipping only second to randyrat ( randy has the packaging down to a art form IMHO ) many many things can and will work for lube - the higher the desired velocity the more finicky it becomes , fair warning - many people try and they throw everything "slick" in there they can think of yet i found out the hard way one can make too slick of a lube ( but that makes great flux for smelting lolz )

Marvin S

12-09-2011, 10:42 AM

Hey Mike, I was going to make some MML but the link for the micro wax does not work. Any ideas where to get it? http://www.blendedwaxes.com/blendedw...ne/default.asp

rockrat

02-04-2012, 08:13 PM

OK, here is my lube recipie. It is just a blend of lubes that you can currently purchase. I use two sticks of CR, one super moly, as I like a bit of moly, one lbt soft and one vodoo lube, for its synthetic component.
It needs a heater for my Star, but is OK in my 450 if its not too cold.
Started using 1 stick CR, but a bit too soft.

I call it "Midnight Blue"

It works pretty good with rifle, even up to 2600fps in my 357Max. I use it also, in my 50 Cal. No leading.

gwpercle

02-16-2012, 09:41 PM

Here in Louisiana and Florida too, It's available from beekeepers. There are vendors at local farmers markets and a few small shops that mainly sell honey, They use the beeswax , which is sort of a by product, to make candles , hand rubs , and whatever else they can think of to sell but are very happy to sell you the raw wax. I found the beekeepers in my area by googling " local honey producers " and that led to a local organization of beekeepers , phone nos. , addresses , web sites etc.

Good luck.....gary

Corporal Willie

02-23-2012, 03:39 PM

My lube is
50% beeswax
25% beef tallow
15% coconut oil
5 % olive oil or jojoba oil
5% lanolin.
I use it in my 45-70 Sharps (BP ammo) and 45 LC BP BP ammo.Works great.

Titch

03-04-2012, 05:31 PM

Here's my mixture, works very well for pan lubing... All warmed up in a saucepan together

One third paraffin wax
One third beeswax
One third petroleum jelly
Splash of STP
Big splash of olive oil
Dollop of Wonderlube

But for single shot rifles like the .310 cadet or my 45-90 rolling block..

One third the above mixture
Add two thirds petroleum jelly

Then dip each bullet into the sticky mess before putting it in the breech. Saves getting wax all over your brass, and will shoot 50+ shots with no loss of accuracy.

Josh Smith

03-07-2012, 08:25 PM

8 parts beeswax
4 parts paraffin
2 parts marvel mystery oil
1 part lanolin
1 crayon, color of your choice

Lead pot

03-09-2012, 09:33 PM

Kurt's Lube.

12 cups melted Soy wax or Ozokerite wax.
12 oz Petroleum jelly. Vaseline or generic.

Very simple and it works.

GabbyM

03-10-2012, 05:23 AM

Oh My Gosh

leadbutt

03-20-2012, 08:14 PM

Is there any benefit to mixxing paraffin with beeswax? From what im reading paraffin is a second grade sub. Are there benefits in pariffin that beeswax doesnt have?

L. Bottoms

beex215

03-25-2012, 03:37 PM

i have to check some of these out.

BenPerfected

03-26-2012, 09:04 PM

Hi Randy,
I am a new member with no experience on bullet lubing. We are shooting .22 Benchrest with factory lubed competition ammo such as Eley, Lapua, etc. Most shooters clean the barrel after each target. It now takes an additional 5-20"conditioning" shots with the factory pre-lubed ammo to get the best performance. I am thinking about a post cleaning process where you might run a lubed patch or two after cleaning and just prior to shooting to jump start the conditioning process.
Would you have any ideas on what lube might be tried that would be compatible with the factory .22 lubes?
Ben

Old Jim

05-03-2012, 11:52 AM

To render mutton or deer or beef tallow, cut the fat into very small pieces (ground is good) and place these pieces in a cheese cloth bag. Weight the bag so that it stays on the bottom. Cover with water and boil carefully so that you do not scorch the fat. The fat with flow through the cheesecloth and leave the debris and cracklins behind. Pour off the tallow and either discard or freeze the bag. When frozen, the debris can be broken off and discarded. The bag can then be reused. The debris can also be used for a fire starter.

geargnasher

07-23-2012, 09:50 PM

Here's a post by UTK from another thread, he dug up the recipe for the famous "Big Batch of Felix Lube" made by Felix himself many years ago. I don't want it to get lost so I'm going to stick it here for reference:

"I have followed Felix-lube threads almost from the very beginning. Back in 2003 Felix listed all ingredients in his "BIG BATCH":

The batch that was sent out to everyone has the chemistry set as follows:

All super-refined cosmetic grade.

1. 110 pounds of beeswax
2. 20 pounds of anhydrous lanolin.
3. 3.5 gallons of mineral oil.
4. 0.5 gallon of Jojoba oil.
5. 0.5 gallon of castor oil.
6. 3 pounds of carnauba.
7. 2 pounds of (180F degree) micro wax.
8. 3 bars of Ivory, washing hands size.
9. 1 pound of Vibar 103.
10. 1 pound of A-C-100

A lot more ingredients than today's recipe (What is A-C-100?) and different ratios."

Gear

eng125ine

09-05-2012, 01:25 PM

A lubricant I just started making with a good deal of success is as follows:

45% Beeswax
45% Alox-350
10% Carnauba Wax (flake form)

Also added some blue candle dye that blended nicely with the beeswax to form nice hunter green color. Made some moulds from 1" PVC and 3/8" dowel, which made excellent lube sizer sticks which flow nicely through my vintage Lyman #45 Lubrisizer. I just crafted this all up last night, and am excited to try it out for 45acp, 357 Mag, 38spl, and 35 Remington.

Tom W.

10-17-2012, 02:54 PM

First you have to obtain the earwax from a left-handed Swiss goatherder that yodels.....

PineTreeGreen

11-16-2012, 01:21 PM

Back about 1985 or so I mixed my first batch of Pine Tree Green(hense the handle).Over the years,I've tried about everything that came down the pike. I'm not sure anything works any better than the original.

1 lb. Beeswax
13 oz. jar of petroleum jelly
3 oz. Amsoil 100:1,two cycle oil

Hunter57dor

01-03-2013, 07:57 PM

hey all, fairly new here, but this is what i use with good effect:

50/50 mix of high performance lithium grease and lucas oil stabilizer,
with carnuba/ paraffin wax added for desired thickness.

to make it easy, i usually mix the grease and lucas seperate, heat them on a small camp stove, then melt the wax and mix it thoroughly. because i pan lube, i mix in enough wax to make it firm.

edit: i have dubbed it "black magic" because it has about the color of tar.

donerightsigns

01-31-2013, 11:54 AM

OK here's my recipie. I think this is the way you spell recipie. I could look it up in my handy dandy blue 500,000 word spelling book, but that would take to long to find the word, so I'll just stick with this- RECIPIE. Doesn't look right. Oh the hell with it.
1 lbs petroleum jelly
2 1/2 pounds parafin wax
2 table spoons STP gas treatment
5 black crayola crayons for color
Heat and melt in small electric crock pot.
Using as a pan lube, let bullets set in lube for 12 hours before poping bullets out of wax. This seems to work best because the wax stays in the bullet grooves. Poping out any soon tends to make wax come out of grooves. What wax is on the outside of bullet acts as a lube in your resizeing die. Just push them through the die and wax is compressed into grooves.
Now i am no chemical expert, but someone said that lube is lube nomatter what you use. You could spend a life time looking for that magic concocktion.
And if you do spend your time looking for Just The Right Lube, I swear to god and 3 other white men, I will be out shooting my *** off while your still wasteing your time. I'm Just Saying?

geargnasher

01-31-2013, 02:21 PM

GAS treatment? I don't think so.

You're also the only one so far on this thread who's managed to misspell "recipe" :kidding:

Gear

edwin41

02-05-2013, 04:35 PM

my recipe is a simple one , i just mix beeswax and petroleumjelly in even parts, by volume .
i use this lube for my .38 spec , .357 magnum and as a patchlube when i paperpatched my 6.5x55 mm.
this lube runs good through my lyman lubesizer without the need of preheating.
must say that my loads are on the sissy side though ...

ncbearman

02-13-2013, 01:40 PM

Emmert's Lube for all my needs. BP, smokeless. Good up to 1800 fps.

50- Bee's Wax
40- Crisco
10- Canola

oh, and my favorite color is blue so;
5 blue crayons

Where can I get more info about Buck Emmert?

Ben

02-13-2013, 02:15 PM

Why do people continue to put gas treatment in their bullet lubes ? ?

Beats me !

Ben

Boneguru

02-15-2013, 11:42 AM

Ok I read thru this and found some great recipes (Thanks By The Way!!!)
Now my question is color, what are people using with success to add color?
I would like to color by caliber, may not seem necessary but I dont like the look of the wax that was created.
I was curious about crayons but thought that would require a whole new work-up to get the same hardness.
Any thoughts?
Thanks again
Ray

357maximum

02-15-2013, 01:01 PM

I use Yaley solid block candle dye, availble from any HobbyLobby or Michael's type craft store. They will have an area devoted to soap/candle making...it will be in that area.

Boneguru

02-15-2013, 01:05 PM

Simple and effective... does it change the viscosity as you have noticed?
that really opens up the color spectrum I assume, I simply need to obtain more pans to have one for each color, but then I can do a different color for every caliber
Thanks

357maximum

02-17-2013, 03:23 PM

The total amount of dye in any lube recipe is so miniscule it does not seem to matter any at all and I am quite heavy handed with dye when I actually use it. If it matters I am not observant enough to tell it anyway.

Just remember that if you are coloring beeswax based lubes that you will have to correct for the color of the wax. In low amounts red will become orange and blue can make green, etc.....sometimes. I prefer red colored lubes...they make the boolit go faster. :lol:

bfuller14

02-17-2013, 03:40 PM

357 Maximum,
I love to read your posts...
Red makes anything go fast.

357maximum

02-17-2013, 04:02 PM

357 Maximum,
I love to read your posts...
Red makes anything go fast.

Thank You.......I guess I now have a fan club of one. :lol:

BTW. I tried Fuscia colored lube once but it made my boolits go high and left.

bfuller14

02-17-2013, 04:54 PM

I like the florescent orange they glow at night...

jjfitch

03-02-2013, 12:46 PM

What is the color sequence when loading magazines? White, Black, Blue, Orange, Green, Brown, Slate?

Cheers,

John

357maximum

03-06-2013, 10:50 PM

I like the florescent orange they glow at night...

Actually FLOURESCENT dyes settle out and make a layer at the bottom of the cake........trust me on this one eh......Babore will back me up on it too.

CanoeRoller

03-17-2013, 12:45 PM

I have been reading over this thread and found myself overwhelmed by the number of lubes listed. So I decided I would need to take what I was seeing and organize it a bit, and list each different lube's ratios as best I could, total the list and see what sort of patterns I could find. I limited myself to just bpcr lubes, because that is my thing, and so that I could compare like with like.

There are 27 different black powder formulas that I could find. Any lube that was listing the same ingredients and ratios as another posting, I did not count, as I was more interested in seeing what people felt worked for them, not what they got from someone else. I did not include the amounts of each item in the count, only that the item was listed in the formula.

My thinking is that looking at a list this way, it would be possible to see what is used most often, and create a good starting point to develop my own own lube. If something is in nearly all lubes, it is probably effective, if it is used in very few lubes, it probably brings a bit less to the party.

So......

Bees wax 81%
Tallow 44%
Crisco 19%
Vegetable Oil 30%
Lanolin 26%
Soy Wax 11%
jojoba 7%
Lard 7%
Citronella wax 4%
Graphite 11%
Bayberry Wax 22%
Whale oil or other highly refined oils 22%
Dish Soap 4%
Neatsfoot Oil 4%
Murphy's Oil Soap 4%

(yes, I know I need a life)

357maximum

03-17-2013, 03:18 PM

Most "homebrew" lubes are way more complicated than they need to be. Alot of potential lube ALCHEMISTS add things to a lube all willy nilly because they read it somewhere or it just seems "right". Very few loob cooks actually think about "WHY" an ingredient is there and fewer yet think about whether it is actually needed or not, and fewer yet actually SERIOUSLY TEST their assumptions and consult with . DR GUN often enough. If you want to truly understand "LUBE" taking the minimalist aproach to lube making is a great place to start.

I try to keep my lubes to the "THE RULE OF 4THS" as in less than 4 ingredients. I know for a fact I can make pretty damn decent smokeless rifle/pistol lube with only two things (cheap lithium grease/beeswax)...it can be made better modified to your requirements with things like microwax/paraffin and perhaps a SMALL AMOUNT of soap, but IF I HAD TO....I could shoot all that I have "smokeless" with cheap ol lithi-bee made using beeswax and cheap caramel colored lithium grease. Blackpowder lube can be made with as little as one thing (many 1 things btw), deer tallow being the best I have found for 1ingredient BP lubes. Again modifying the tallow lube with microwax and perhaps small amounts of soap are normally beneficial depending on your needs.

When I see a lube recipe with 6,8, or 10+ ingredients I have grown to instincly and almost instantly discount that lube recipe as someone just throwing shi....errr....stuff into a pot or trying out their hands at being a keyboard commando. When I see lubes that list only a few ingredients they are normally being tested and may actually work right nice.

Lube is a good place to apply the K.I.S.S philosophy IMHO. Lube does not need sound KEWL to work and the more I play with lubes both smokeless and BP the more I find that less is normally more. There are some that may jump down my throat and declare me to be a KOOK over what I just wrote....all I got to say to them is keep typing...maybe you can baffle someone with your BS, but it ain't gonna be me.

CanoeRoller

03-17-2013, 09:07 PM

I agree 357, simple is better. Most of the old formulas that I could find were two or three ingredients. A sticky and hard fat of some sort, either beeswax and something to soften it or tallow with something to firm it up. I can see very real patterns in my little chart in what seems to be effective versus just throwing stuff together.

Chilmonty

03-21-2013, 09:27 PM

Has anyone tried food coloring for added color? Curious if heat would effect it.

357maximum

03-27-2013, 05:41 PM

Has anyone tried food coloring for added color? Curious if heat would effect it.

Food coloring = waterbased....not gonna work here. Dyes made specifically for coloring candles and oil based dyes such as those used to color diesel fuel are all that need apply. Crayons settle out of the mix and I do not like them, plus they may contain clay type substances......I am not risking pushing clay down my bores with 30,40,50,to 60 thousand psi....are you? I normally use Yaley brand solid candle dye but the local crafty store has been a bit lax about carrying them lately.

ncbearman

03-27-2013, 06:23 PM

I am not risking pushing clay down my bores with 30,40,50,to 60 thousand psi....are you?

Yep and have for years. In fact I think they shoot better with crayon seasoned blue Emmert's lube recipe instead of the old flesh color.

357maximum

03-29-2013, 02:29 AM

K.I.S.S-Modified Lithi-bee

will cover 95% of what anyone could want from a lube. It can be as easy as the following:

by weight:
4.5 to 5 ounces (cheap caramel colored lithium grease)
1/2 to 1 ounce grated ivory soap
10 to 15 ounces of good ol yeller American beeswax for an NRA50/50 like consistency or up to 20 ounces for an Orange Majic consistency........ (adjust to you and your guns liking)

Melt the grease over direct heat, when it is fully liquid and smoking a bit add the ivory soap slowly until it is all gone.....remove from the heat and let it cool a bit. When it is starting to look like grease again put it back on LOW heat and add the beeswax till that is gone........thats it and you are done. If this was too complicated you can always skip the Ivory soap as it is not 100% required, but it does help with accuracy/handling and raises the melt temp slightly.

357maximum

04-05-2013, 02:41 AM

Was diggin and sorting stuff under my bench from my lube spear-a-menting a few years back while moving to a newly made bench and found another good recipe along with it's test targets and lube sample in a baggie. This was a good lube and was accurate in my rifles and ss pistols at normal and normal plus castboolit velocity. I am calling it "Satans Mix" because of the way the balance of the ingredients worked out to get me where I wanted to go. I was trying for a semi soft yet flexible lube that did not need the microwax that most my lubes contain and the ingredients shook out in a balanced yet evil way. :lol: Lube is about the hardness and texture of NRA 50/50 or maybe just a touch stiffer.

Melt the vaseline/paraffin and add the ivory soap flakes into it til fully dissolved, remove from heat for a bit and then add the beeswax last.

EDIT 3/14/14...It is very important that you melt the ivory into the vaseline/paraffin mixture as a whole....If you melt it into just the vaseline and then add the paraffin the temp change will cause the ivory to precipitate out of suspension and cause you some grief getting it back into the mix.

6oz vaseline
6oz paraffin
6oz beeswax
1 oz dried ivory flakes (foodprocessor)

Marlin Junky

04-05-2013, 04:07 PM

Was diggin and sorting stuff under my bench from my lube spear-a-menting a few years back while moving to a newly made bench and found another good recipe along with it's test targets and lube sample in a baggie. This was a good lube and was accurate in my rifles and ss pistols at normal and normal plus castboolit velocity. I am calling it "Satans Mix" because of the way the balance of the ingredients worked out to get me where I wanted to go. I was trying for a semi soft yet flexible lube that did not need the microwax that most my lubes contain and the ingredients shook out in a balanced yet evil way. :lol: Lube is about the hardness and texture of NRA 50/50 or maybe just a touch stiffer.

Melt the vaseline and add the ivory soap flakes into it til fully dissolved, then add the paraffin, remove from heat and then add the beeswax last.

6oz vaseline
6oz paraffin
6oz beeswax
1 oz dried ivory flakes (foodprocessor)

Thanks Mike...

This is kinda what I'm going for except I want to lower the Vaseline and paraffin a couple ounces and add Dexron VI. I was also thinking about adding the soap to a solution of Dexron, Vaseline and paraffin (I found the Gulf Brand canning paraffin at Wally World this week).

MJ

357maximum

04-05-2013, 07:58 PM

Thanks Mike...

This is kinda what I'm going for except I want to lower the Vaseline and paraffin a couple ounces and add Dexron VI. I was also thinking about adding the soap to a solution of Dexron, Vaseline and paraffin (I found the Gulf Brand canning paraffin at Wally World this week).

MJ

Don
No problemo...I knew I had that recipe stashed away somewhere so that those that did not wish to buy microwax could still make a good flexible yet accurate lube, I just could not find it for you in my green lube binders awhile back when I was looking for it for ya before I sent your care package. As luck would have it I never took care of that recipe, targets, sample and results....somehow in my clutter it got lost to the nether regions of my old loading bench, in a gallon zipperlock buried under all the other baggies and ovaltine jars full of boolits and other assorted shhhh---stuff. I am a slob, but I am trying to fix that flaw....slowly but surely. I had no work today so made another batch just to make sure all was well and it was repeatable...good news...it worked as good as the original batch and I actually shot some through a few guns this afternoon. It was a bit gusty but all is well on the target board. The recipe could use some colored dye though....it looks like somewhat albino SPG without color added to it. ...mental note...go buy some more dye mister. :lol:

The nicest thing about recipes like this one and the ones like you posted is that they can be adjusted to meet their makers needs and wants, and they are still re-meltable and pan-lube-able for those that wish to do it that way. Soap is good...to a certain point and then it becomes a liability.

Have fun,
Mike

Smokepole50

04-15-2013, 08:45 PM

Wow, I am amazed at all the different types of home made bullet lubes. I can see there being a basic old time lube for black powder and a few others for modern cast boolits but there must be 30 different versions of lube here. Bee's wax seems to be the base material but what are the added benifits of the various other ingredents?

I see I should have read above first. I will read this other thread about bullet lubes to see if my answer is there.

kdiver58

05-28-2013, 05:45 PM

Has anyone thought to break these down into separate categories ie. Black powder, heater needed , no heater needed , LOW smoke, high bullet speeds, long shelf life lubes that have no perishable organics (tallow , lanolin) ? just a thought ..
I'm looking to modify the lube I used years ago with more modern ingredients , my old mix was Paraffin was , lithium grease and lanolin , I'd like to get rid of the lanolin. Just a thought .

victor3ranger

05-31-2013, 12:26 PM

Has anyone ever tried just plain candle wax and Dextron trans fluid for pan lubing 45ACP??

357maximum

06-01-2013, 12:43 PM

VICTOR3RANGER..........The 45ACP is not "DEMANDING" and can be lubed with almost anything that is waxy with some "SLICKUM". I used 60/40 Beeswax/Petroleum jelly in almost all my 45ACP/45Colt loadings and was very happy.

The lube you are thinking about above would lack "body" and be difficult to handle, but it would "work" if a balance of wax/oil was perfected. Beeswax is a lot better at adding flex/handling characteristics than straight paraffin would get you. If you insist on not using beeswax a mix of vaseline/paraffin would likely serve you better as the vaseline can induce some flex and improve the handling qualities as well as contributing some "slickum" in the process.

victor3ranger

06-03-2013, 11:47 AM

I put 2 oz of Dextron into the candle wax melt just to see how well it would harden back up when cool. Seems to have a little bit of a softer feel to it and does feel slick. I think I will add 2 table spoons full of vaseline and see how it does.

Dale in Louisiana

06-26-2013, 09:20 PM

You all are wondering what the weight by volume is with pure beeswax here you go.
"A PINT IS A POUND THE WORLD AROUND" 16 OZ is slightly less than a pound.
I don't recall where i seen or read that, but it is kinda catchy.

Sixteen fluid ounces (a pint) of water is close enough to a pound for most purposes here.

Further, most of the ingredients are very close to the specific gravity of water, which is by definition 1.0. For instance, beeswax is in the 0.96 range, oils are in the 0.92-0.94 range (they float, okay) so if you take all that into account, then within a few percentage points, volume equals weight.

No, we're not talking about laboratory accuracy, but face it, most of us are mixing random ingredients on the stove here. Close counts.

dale in Louisiana

Dale in Louisiana

06-26-2013, 09:32 PM

too bad that jingle won't work for Imperial measure. up here a pint is a pound and a quarter

Imperial? Gahhhh!

I can do metric, though: A liter's a kilogram...

dale in Louisiana

timberhawk

06-28-2013, 05:03 PM

I just read all 8 pages of this thread. Wow, so many recipes to choose from.

I'm looking for a recipe that doesn't smoke too much for regular and magnum handgun loads.

I'm currently using a commercial lube with Unigue powder that produces more smoke than I want, especially with reduced loads.

Can anyone recommend a good lube that works with both low and high end loads that doesn't smoke so much.

Thanks in advance.

timberhawk

06-28-2013, 05:19 PM

jsheyn

06-28-2013, 06:00 PM

1 lb beeswax
1 lb paraffin
1 tablespoon TSP
2 tablespoon petroleum jelly
1/4 lb colored wax for color (usually crayons or candles)

Melt it all together an mix....finished!!!

I currently use it on 41mag,40sw,9mm,45acp.... seems good up to 1000fps

303Guy

07-25-2013, 07:33 PM

Castor oil makes a beeswax/carnauba wax with other oils, sticky and softens a hard mix. It softens the mix more than Vaseline.

meeesterpaul

09-29-2013, 04:46 PM

eljefeoz

10-07-2013, 02:38 AM

I get nose bleeds some times, reading the cornucopia that Ian/Lamar and the gang post.Esp the lubes.

I read, takes me a couple of days to undersand, more time to find references, make sense ( a little bit) and I am back, lurking the threads. Using a little mish mash of "...a little knowledge is a dangerous thing..."

I made up my first, independent lube-
BW -150grams
Olive oil -10ml
Graphite powder-5g
Ichthammol- (a shale oil derivative I believe) 15g
I even stole the kids crayons to make it a zombie green, dip lubed, sized my .285/145 gr RCBS Sil and am awaiting trials.This time ,planning to push some hard cast loads over 2200fps

runfiverun

10-07-2013, 10:48 PM

elJefe.
that's why I done the simple lube recipe.
melt stir use, adjust if needed to suit your bees-wax.

eljefeoz

10-08-2013, 02:24 AM

Absolutely, R5R.
Want to see how the ' need for speed' can be fulfilled too.
I am happy with the performance at 1700-1900fps, Now I want to see the other side of the coin. Oven treat the next batch, PP a few-So much to do...

runfiverun

10-08-2013, 03:20 AM

eljefeoz

10-08-2013, 04:02 AM

a little umm thicker lube generally does better with the quicker boolit speeds.

a squishy malleable slightly sticky playdough type lube that takes a little heat to flow in a
65-f room and has a little bit of glide when you run your finger over it, seems to be the better all round lube that holds up to velocity rather well over a broad range of temps.

Run,
Am going to post up a vid of my latest creation.
It looks like all that you describe.Now lets hope it performs too...Its just that I had a jar of the shale oil derivative laying around, slippery, black stuff, so, I decided to give it a go.
Cheers

Socal147

11-18-2013, 12:34 AM

Equal parts beeswax and Sta-Lube Extreme Pressure Moly-Graph Multi-Purpose Grease. I throw just a little canuba and paraffin in the mix.
Mine turned out too sticky. How much paraffin and carnauba did you add?

Bogone

01-26-2014, 12:33 AM

I think cost is factor also, so you would need a new spread with a cost analysis also.

str8shot426

02-08-2014, 11:22 PM

Just threw this together and it works for me.

1-16 oz. Cr laurence tube wax lubricant.
2- lyman alox sticks

Melted and mixed. Pan lube boolits.

The tube wax lubricant contains.. white paraffin, multiwax?, tallow and petamber. Per msds sheet. No percentage is given. Just played mad scientist and tried it out and got lucky.

Bill*B

03-30-2014, 05:49 PM

Here's a simple lube that I use in my 30-30 carbine.

Take a nice piece of clean yellow beeswax and weigh it. Divide by 3 and weigh out that amount of "LubeGuard Marine 2 stroke oil and Engine Additive" into a paper cup. Then divide the weight of the beeswax by 15, and put this weight of cetyl alcohol into a second cup. That should give you (by weight):

15 parts beeswax
5 parts TCW (two cycle water cooled) oil
1 part cetyl alcohol

Melt the beeswax in a double boiler, sprinkle the cetyl alcohol flakes over it, and then dump in the 2-stroke oil. Stir gently with a wooden dowel - it will look just like motor oil when done. You can then pour it into your lubesizer, or molds. Paper cups are a convenient way to store the excess.

What you have is 2 cycle oil in a beeswax carrier. The cetyl alcohol helped the mix, by acting as a surfactant.

The choice of LubeGuard was deliberate - the maker states that the esters it contains were designed to emulate sperm oil.

You won't need heat to run it in your lubesizer. It isn't attractive, and smells like grease, but the barrel stays clean - so clean that a patch moistened with BreakFree CLP literally squeaks. After a range session (I usually fire 20 to 25 shots) I will clean with a single patch, and then put the little rifle away until next time.

MaxJon

10-04-2014, 07:05 AM

Whats a good lube for 2200+ fps out of my 7,62 Nagant?
I have beeswax, petroleum jelly, lithium grease, etc... Thinking of some carnauba wax could be good tho too! ?

Forgetful

10-06-2014, 01:27 PM

The 45/45/10 recipe refers to this + LLA + spirits?
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41hRQcE-TOL.jpg (http://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Fine-Wood-Paste-00203/dp/B0000DIWIM)

Desertbuck

10-06-2014, 03:12 PM

I'm playing around with lithi-bee + a dash of LLA.
In my father in laws 91/30 it's working good. A cool unintended side effect is it is making my boolist have a smoke trail :mrgreen:

michiganmike

10-29-2014, 11:33 PM

Good Evening Gentlemen and Ladies:

I have been looking for a good home recipe for tumble lubing. I've been using the tumble method since I began casting bullets. It works well for me and given that, can't justify the high price of a lube machine. The closest I have come is the 45/45/10 recipe of Joshnon"s Paste Wax, Lee Liquid Alox and mineral spirits.

But from what I have read, the 45/45/10 lube has an upper velocity limit that the Lee Liquid Alox (LLA) does not have. So, I am asking myself, "What advantage is there in creating my own lube?" Life seems a lot simpler if I just use LLA, thinned just a bit with some mineral spirits. I am going to begin purchasing White Label Alox to reduce my cost.

I have read all of the entries in this section.All of the recipes seem to require three basic ingredients a hard wax, a soft grease, and a solvent, such as mineral spirits to attain the right consistency/viscosity/hardness. And a lot of the recipes seem to be fellas trying a little of anything they have handy in their shop or garage.

Two questions:
1. Can anyone recommend a cost effective addition to 45/45/10 recipe that would allow increased velocity (up to 2,000 fps)?
2. Is there a cost limit that one must meet with home made lubes to be cost effective in comparison to commercial lubes?

Thank you. I wish you all well,

MichiganMike

Forgetful

10-30-2014, 07:55 AM

Two questions:
1. Can anyone recommend a cost effective addition to 45/45/10 recipe that would allow increased velocity (up to 2,000 fps)?
2. Is there a cost limit that one must meet with home made lubes to be cost effective in comparison to commercial lubes?

1) Carnauba Red
2) It's all inexpensive, in terms of lifetime use.

Bill*B

11-09-2014, 11:14 PM

Rolling your own is for hobby obsessed nuts like me. If you value your time, buying a stick of commercial lube is the cost effective way to go.

RobS

12-09-2014, 11:29 AM

Red 10:
This is a lube I developed and works nicely at lower pressures as well as at high pressure rifle use. It also works well in cold temps and then again in the hotter days of the summer. Great all around lube I use for 45 Auto, 45 Colt, 454 Casull and a 375 H&H 1:12" twist pushing a 270 grain boolit out to 2300 fps or so.

To measure the waxes I melt them down and use a glass measuring beaker to do so.

Here are the ingredients and instructions:
-6 melted oz. of paraffin wax
-6 melted oz. of beeswax
-2 table spoons of Vaseline
-8 table spoons of Red N’ Tacky Grease
-260 grains of dried grated Ivory soap

Procedure:
1. Melt 6 oz of paraffin wax in measuring beaker
2. Poor melted paraffin into pot add 2 table spoons of Vaseline then heat on hotplate high until it smokes
3. Add 260 grains of dry grated Ivory soap
-poor entire grated ivory soap into pot of paraffin wax/Vaseline
-it will foam a lot so make sure your pot is large enough (mine is 5 1/2" diameter by 2 1/2" deep and barely large enough)
-when all the ivory is melted the mixture will not be frothy/foamy and will look like a jell, yellow/brown in color
4. Take off of heat and blend in 8 table spoons of Red N’ Tacky; doesn't take long just so the mixture looks evenly blended
5. At the same time as #4 put the empty measuring beaker back on the hot plat and put in beeswax
-melt down 6 oz.
6. Poor 6 oz. of melted beeswax into pot and blend lube (pot does not go back on heat)
7. After blended let cool and then reheat to a thick but pourable consistency.

Additional info:
Speaking with some other forum members I went ahead and did more experimenting. I wanted to see how the lube itself held up to heat as well as cold. btroj suggested to do the ball of lube on the dash of the car during the summer however it being winter I did an experiment with my convection oven and my PID unit instead. I also stuck the lube in the freezer for 24 hours to define some more characteristics.

Heat testing:
-Started out at 80 degrees and worked up in 15 minute intervals
-One small pea sized ball of lube and a lubed boolit.

degrees
80 - no noted difference as when put in oven; finger print marks from rolling lube still present, lube in grooves looks the same
90 - no noted difference
100 - no noted difference
110 - lube may have had a bit of shine to it; finger print marks present & ball maintaining shape; lube in grooves; no running of oil
115 - no noted difference
120 - lube slightly shiny; finger print marks present and ball maintaining shape; lube in groves; no running of oils
125 - no noted difference
130 - no noted difference
135 - no noted difference
140 - a bit more shiny; finger print marks not as prominent but still good, ball maintaining shape; lube in grooves; no running of oils
145 - no noted difference
150 - no noted difference
155 - shiny; finger print marks smoothing out but ball maintaining shape; lube still in grooves well; no running of oils
160 - shiny; finger print marks nearly gone; lube ball starting to slump ever so slightly; lube in grooves well; no running of oils
165 - no noted difference
170 - shiny; finger print marks gone; lube starts to melt; lube still in grooves though; no running of oils
175 - not much difference
180 - lube ball continues to melt at a very slow rate but lube stays in lube grooves; no running of oils
185 - lube ball is melted down to not quite half but lube stayed in lube grooves; no running of oils

End of test and 4 1/2 hours later

I allowed the ball of lube and boolit to cool back to room temp and there was no running of oils from the lube. The lube from the grooves never ran down the boolit and to the base. The consistency of the lube stayed the same as before it was put into the oven.

Cold testing: A very simple test but I put a strip of lube 2" wide X 4" long and roughly 3/8th" thick in the freezer for 24 hours and pulled it out. The lube still had flexibility to it in that I could bend it fairly easily which I feel is a good characteristic of a lube meant for colder climate. Also noted there is very little shrinkage with this lube in the cold as I typically put the lube pan in the freezer so I can pop the lube out easier. The lube hardly shrinks in the pan unlike many of the other lubes I've made in the past.

gunshooter

12-11-2014, 09:16 AM

I like: 1/3 beeswax
1/3 purple machine grease
1/3 paraffin sealing wax

It gets a bit smeary on 80* F + days. It hardens up a bit on colder days. If I recall correctly, adding the melted wax and beeswax to the room temperature grease lowers the melting point of the grease. I tried to melt the grease but it got over 600 degrees and that is far above the flash point of the wax and paraffin.
It works well for me in a trapdoor spring field and a 45 acp.
I smear in on by hand on each bullet. I think I will try it in a bullet sizer-luber when I find a deal on one. I just keep the lube in glass jars and just scoop a bit out with my finger and roll it on the bullets. It is the consistancy of very firm grease at room temperature.

Sekatoa

12-12-2014, 04:41 PM

RobS, does the red 10 require a heater to use in a lubrizer?

RobS

12-13-2014, 05:24 PM

RobS, does the red 10 require a heater to use in a lubrizer?

Nope no heater needed, this is a soft lube and flows well.

geargnasher

01-06-2015, 01:17 PM

Sticking a link to Ben's Red here, post #2 has a bunch of links related to making it that may come in handy http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?264261-Is-Ben-s-Red-supposed-to-foam

Also, Ben's liquid lube recipe and instructions, looks like good stuff: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?259285-NEW-!-!-T-L-Liquid-Lube

Gear

deadwood pete

03-23-2015, 02:07 PM

I heard about a DIY brass spray lube for reloading using Ice Heat. Do you know anything about it?
deadwood pete

MikeBitzenburger

03-26-2015, 10:19 AM

90% of the alchohol and 10% lanolin or liquid lanolin is the standard recipe for spray lube. Put it in a spray bottle and simply shake well before using.

Southron

05-13-2015, 07:33 PM

From 1968 to 1989 I used Crisco as an ingredient in my muzzleloading Rifle-Musket Minie Ball lube (Bees Wax and Crisco.) I shot extensively in the Rapid fire Musket Team matches of the N-SSA (www.n-ssa.org/).

I also experienced a lot of "Cook Offs" during the rapid fire matches over the years. These usually resulted in "singed and burned" fingers. However, in 1990 I completely dropped Crisco from my bullet lube formula and I haven't experienced even one "Cook Off" since then. A good replacement for Crisco is Thompson Center's Bullet Bore lube.

So, while Crisco might be fine as a lube ingredient in the lube for a metallic cartridge breech loader, I would suggest that Crisco be avoided in any bullet lube for any bullet that is used in a muzzle loader.

Tenbender

05-16-2015, 08:38 PM

:lovebooli

Bill*B

10-21-2016, 09:03 AM

Here's my latest. For my own use, it has replaced the concoction in my previous post (#165), as it is cleaner to handle and works quite well:

Bullet Lube #2

8 oz Japan wax - melt, then add
12cc of carnauba wax flakes (4 cc Lee dipper X3), melt,stir, add
150 ml of Lubriplate synthetic worm gear oil, stir, add
32 cc of cetyl alcohol flakes (4cc Lee dipper X8), melt,stir

pour into lubesizer, store excess in paper hot cups

This is roughly:

63% Japan wax (the carrier)
31% worm gear oil (the lube)
2% carnauba wax
4% cetyl alcohol (a surfactant, to help the mix)

The Lubriplate worm gear oil is PAO based, ISO 460 (SAE140).

Best regards, and good shooting! Bill

P.S.
When the lubesizer runs dry, you can put your stored excess in a Pyrex cup and nuke it a 1000W microwave for about 3 1/2 minutes - melts it nicely. Mamma won't care because it has no odor!

gwpercle

10-21-2016, 03:59 PM

Lithium - Beeswax Lube
Garth Choate made and sold this lube in the 1970's , he was kind enough to give me the recipe.
I have never had a leading problem when used with handgun or moderate rifle loads.
After trying many , this one is still my favorite.

3 parts beeswax
1 part lithium grease ( I use Lucas Red-N-Tacky ) Garth didn't specify a brand.
Melt the wax first and then add the grease and heat very slowly, or the wax will start burning and is hard to put out.
Make it outside and have a couple of fire extinguishers handy.
Garth Choate
Choate Machine & Tool
www.riflestock.com

Thanks Garth,

wraven

08-24-2017, 06:03 PM

Hi guys what's wrong with Carnauba Red wax? I see many use only beeswax because it is cheaper or what else? I use only CR wax with no add-ons.

rvenneman

03-08-2018, 11:24 AM

Where o where does one get bee’s wax in chunk quantity? If have looked and looked and only find small amounts for a small fortune?

Rcmaveric

03-10-2018, 06:16 AM

Also checking to see if there any local aperies (bee farmer). They will sell you capping grade bee wax cheap. Mine sells it to me for about $5 a pound. Its easy to clean up with cheese cloth and sinker. Then boil it. The wax melts and floats leaving all the bees and crud in the cheese clothe.

DukeInFlorida

05-03-2019, 11:38 AM

Reviving this old thread.

I'm looking to make my own Canauba Red.

Have searched and searched and searched, and cannot find an actual recipe.

Can anyone assist with a reliable recipe?

JonB_in_Glencoe

05-03-2019, 11:57 AM

I am fairly certain the CR recipe is proprietary info.

DukeInFlorida

05-05-2019, 08:40 AM

That may well be. However, I am thinking that someone, among the brilliant lube creators here, could have discovered a close resemblance thereof. The internet is chock full of clone recipes for things like Oreos, etc.

So, one thought I have is to try a batch of Ben's Red, and just add canauba wax to it. Thoughts?

DukeInFlorida

05-08-2019, 09:39 AM

Have had some side discussions, and am abandoning my efforts for Canauba Red.

Stuckcase

05-08-2019, 09:18 PM

Beeswax and crisco
50/50

John Boy

07-22-2019, 01:37 AM

Carnauba wax is a vegetable wax obtained from the leaves of a Brazilian palm tree (Copernica cerifera) known as the “Tree of Life.” Carnauba wax is the hardest natural wax available. Commercially, it is widely used in the cosmetic, body care, food, pharmaceutical, automotive, and other industries.

Next, Start by putting 1 part carnauba wax in the soup can, then place the wax filled can in a pot of hot water and slowly heat until the wax is melted (approximately 185° F.) Once the carnauba wax has melted, remove the can from the heat (it's hot, use some pliers) and add 4 parts beeswax and enough turpentine to cover all the waxes

The 'red' is just a specific coloring additive

Richnewcast

02-02-2020, 12:38 PM

Just made up my first batch of lee 175 tc 10 mm boolits using Barry Darr formula from early in this thread. I’m not shooting these too fast and have had good luck pan lubing 44 mag and special with this lube. Using lee alox on some 175 tl swc to compare. Hope the work as well as the 250 rn 44 mag loads I’ve made w Barry Darr lube recipe.

Hanzy4200

04-17-2020, 08:22 PM

I never write down my recipe, but it's along the lines of

2 parts beewswax
1 paraffin
.25 Alox
.5 carnauba
steal a few crayons from my kids to make it perdy.

Hanzy4200

04-17-2020, 08:24 PM

I'm convinced you can essentially mix any ratio of the 25 common lube ingredients at any ratio, and then add enough paraffin and carnauba to get it as hard as you need. They all work!

JonB_in_Glencoe

04-18-2020, 11:33 AM

I'm convinced you can essentially mix any ratio of the 25 common lube ingredients at any ratio, and then add enough paraffin and carnauba to get it as hard as you need. They all work!
Hanzy,
This is very true.

When I first started to play with homemade lube formulas, a friend who is a Commercial caster (and a member here) gave me some advice. One thing he said, he knew of one caster who just used 100% melted crayons (he got free) and that worked fine for 38spl loads.

The problem is, "They all work"...until they don't.
Some Lubes will not work in high heat conditions,
some will not work in cold temperature conditions,
some will not work in high pressure loads,
some are more smoky than others, which isn't good for indoor ranges,
some are very messy during the reloading process,
some are real messy, especially when shooting revolvers, but if a greasy gun isn't a big deal...well, you get the point.

Elkins45

04-19-2020, 10:25 AM

My first attempt at making lube was a 50% mix of gulf wax paraffin and white lithium grease. After a few shots you could barely hold onto a revolver! This was the lube that allowed me to experience first-hand the phenomenon of the purge flyer in rifles.

Tar Heel

01-03-2021, 12:14 PM

It has become glaringly obvious to me after a year of research on the internet, purchasing and reading multiple publications, and participating in many online discussions, that the following conclusions can be drawn regarding bullet lubricant formulas.

1. There is absolutely no consensus as to ingredients or the proportion of ingredients used to make bullet lubricant.

2. Everyone’s specific recipe has been used to win local, national, world, and intergalactic competitions and is the best available.

3. There is no agreement on whether using natural or synthetic ingredients work better. Synthetic ingredients are non-polar and natural ingredients are of course polar in their molecular alignment.

4. There are no “new” recipes out there. The debate regarding the formula and use of homemade lubricants seemed to die on the vine a decade or two ago.

5. Current online “discussions” on a host of pertinent pages are simply a rehash of a decades old debate and in fact, I see responses made to original posts from 2007 or older. Nobody seems to read the dates of the original post or read the 127 pages of “answers” and argument which arrive at no conclusion.

6. Even the US Army’s bullet lubricant recipes from the 19th century are nebulous and all over the place regarding ingredient proportions. One recipe calls for 1-part beeswax to 1-part tallow and in the next year, 16 parts beeswax to 1-part tallow. With a 16:1 ratio, why even add tallow?

7. There is today, absolutely no need to make your own bullet lubricant other than for the thrill of it. It is cheaper to purchase excellent lubricants online without all the hassle of locating, buying, shipping, blending, and storing your own lubricant.

8. Having experimented with multiple recipes, I have discovered that the commercially available SPG bullet lubricant works better than any I have brewed up for my black powder cartridges. I use two versions of Confederate lube for my Cap & Ball shooting; either a 1:1 or a 2:1 ratio of beeswax to tallow depending on temperature, and the NRA 50/50 lube works best in all other cast bullet/smokeless powder applications for both handgun and rifle.

I am sure that this posting will generate a decade of responses with no conclusions. I just find it amusing that we continue to generate discourse on a matter that simply will have no agreeable conclusion regarding formula, use, and purpose.

What say you?

JonB_in_Glencoe

01-03-2021, 12:37 PM

Tar Heel

01-03-2021, 12:46 PM

Tar Heel,
you forgot to add, that a recipe without clear and specific cooking/blending instructions, will likely yield different lubes by different people, even though the lube contains the same ingredients.

Case in point, 10 years ago, the very first lube I made was Speed Green. I had bought some Speed Green from the original maker (Bullshop) and liked it, so I wanted to make some. It's a very simple recipe. Just Beeswax and oil. How can you goof that up, right? Well, the first batch I made was much more sticky/tacky then the Bullshop made lube, which made me dislike the lube, even though it's a fine lube for many applications.

Good point. Another significant omission is ingredients by weight or by volume. That never seems to be specified. A cup (8 oz by volume) of pearled beeswax is a hell of a lot less than 8oz by weight of pearled beeswax. Liquids are closer and will generate the same approximate ratios of ingredients but this GLARING omission seems to never be addressed.

greenjoytj

04-10-2021, 09:12 AM

I measure my ingredients in grams on a digital kitchen scale and write down the gram weight of all the ingredients. I measure by weight solid or liquid because it is easier.
This is particularly important if at the last minute I toss in something extra that wasn’t part of the original recipe.
I take note of the order the ingredients are added to the blend and note the temperature with an digital thermometer.
I try to be as scientific as I can so that whatever I create I want it to be accurately repeatable or avoidable in future lube making sessions.

John Boy

04-10-2021, 03:42 PM

45nut ... instead of banging out 10 pages of lube recipes, read this link, the"mother of lube recipes"
http://www.lasc.us/lubeingredients.htm

Sprue

06-21-2021, 07:56 PM

This is the only lube I've ever made/used. I put piece of a green crayola in it for the RCBS look

Gunleather

08-05-2021, 02:56 AM

I use equal parts beeswax and bag balm. That is also my recipe for mustache wax.

Ironwrx

08-22-2021, 01:48 PM

This is the only lube I've ever made/used. I put piece of a green crayola in it for the RCBS look

What do you mean by “this”?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ironwrx

08-24-2021, 09:47 AM

JonB_in_Glencoe

08-24-2021, 04:01 PM

I realize that I haven’t been a member for long, and that I have only read “the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to lube recipes, I am intrigued by the 45/45/10 mix, and wondered if anyone had thought of using Butchers wax instead of JPW? also thought of using turpentine instead of mineral spirits. How about that?

those are good questions.

the easy one first...Yes turpentine will work just fine.

a quick search of Butcher's came up with same ingredients as JPW (Solvent, Paraffin, Carnauba)...and since it has a similar application, it's probably a similar formula, so it "may" be ok to use in the same percentage in 45-45-10...BUT too much carnauba wax in a boolit lube can lead to fliers in rifle cartridges, so if that happens, just use less Butcher's.

Rifledude

01-03-2022, 03:36 AM

BJ's Lube
6 parts white beeswax
3 parts Manteca Lard
1 part Lanolin Oil
Heat and Stir then pour it into your pan for pan lubing or into PVC 1" tubes to make sticks for your lube/sizer
Works for me! EZ PZY!

almar

01-08-2022, 07:37 PM

Black powder lube from paul mathews book:
Beeswax - 2 parts
Pure neatsfoot oil - 1 part
Murpheys oil soap - 1 part

Edit: warning, make sure that you use a big pot because when you add the murpheys, that stuff will swell up quick and leave a big mess on your stove top and the wife wont let you forget it either.

JonB_in_Glencoe

01-17-2022, 10:40 AM

1hole

01-17-2022, 12:55 PM

Bee's wax is the actual lube.

Neetsfoot oil doesn't spoil in storage. It leaves a very small bore residue and softens the wax for easy application on bullets.

Pure soap (Murphy's) softens the fired crud and helps water clean it out.

The mixed ratios of the three components are not critical.

gwpercle

01-18-2022, 02:14 PM

This is a very simple and very effective lube . It was commercially made and sold by Garth Choate in the 1970's . In 1978 I called to place an order for sticks of their 50-50 alox-beeswax (NRA formula)
Garth answered the phone and he was telling me the old Alox formula was no more and he wasn't thrilled with the new formula Alox he could get ...But his other lube was made of Lithium Grease & beeswax and he believed it was a better lube and told me if I wasn't satisfied he would refund my money or send the alox-beeswax lube to replace it . Well the stuff worked and I liked it and over the years I would try other lubes ...and come back to the lithium-beeswax lube .
About 2012 I needed more and tried to place an order but was told they no longer made lube but gave me the recipe and told me it was easy to make .
blend together : 1 part Lithium Grease with 3 parts Beeswax . That's it !
The lithium grease doesn't melt with heat only softens , the beeswax will flash at 450 degrees and burn ...it's dangerous and keep a fire extinguisher handy .
I find melting it in an old crock pot is safest , set the pot on high and use a hevy wire whisk to blend the grease and wax . It's hard to blend in one heating ... do three heatings and whiskings ...turn off and let cool between ... the grease will not "melt" it softens and must be mechanically mixed into the beeswax ...letting cool and repeating seems to help the blending / mixing process .
I melt the finished lube and pour it into my Lyman 450 ...or you can cast lube sticks .
I like to use Lucas Red-N-Tacky Lithium Grease ... it makes a nice red colored lube .
I've never had a leading problem when using it ...Never , that's why I keep coming back to it .
Gary

John Boy

01-18-2022, 04:00 PM

Time to move this thread into the archive

greenjoytj

03-23-2022, 10:03 AM

All Season Emmerts Lanolin Enhanced No Oil Lube

I call this lube mix “ASELENOL” this is an acronym of its full name.

On the Cast Bullets forum 24 July 2019, poster Dale53 says:
“I now (and for may years) have used a modified Emmert’s recipe consisting of: 50% pure natural beeswax, 40% Crisco and 10% Anhydrous Lanolin.The liquid oil component has been eliminated. It handles and shoots the same and it seems to last forever. A definite improvement and my go to formula for Black Powder Cartridge Rifles and Handguns as well as my Schuetzen lubricant.”
Note that Dale53’s modified Emmerts formula has no liquid oil in the mixture of ingredients.

I wrote a post in the Cast Boolits Lube Forum where I complained that my Emmerts Improved is causing lube purging in summer hot weather and hot barrel conditions.
Poster Dale53 replied. He recommended that I drop the oil component entirely in my next batch.
I also looked at White Label Lube Co. BP lube. White Label says “their has an obscene amount of lanolin in the mix”.

So my next lube batch was a small test batch where I increased the lanolin content from my current 5% to beyond Dale53’s 10% to be a little more like White Label Co. version of BP lube, adding another 4.5% for a total of 14.5% Lanolin.

I have cut back the Crisco by 5 percent to make room for the extra Lanolin as percent must add to 100.
Also I added half percent of hard Carnauba wax for the bore polishing effect.

I made a 200 gram test batch of ASELENOL
As Dale53 recommended I eliminated the liquid oil component that is usually in Emmerts lube and like the White Label Co. I increased the amount of Anhydrous Lanolin in the lube.

Hopefully this no oil version with an enhanced quantity of lanolin will work as an all season, all temperature BP & smokeless lube.

All Season Emmerts Lanolin Enhanced No Oil Lube
The General formula is: Beeswax 50%, Crisco 35%, Lanolin 14.5%, 0.5% Carnauba Wax.

I made a small 200 gram test batch that made 4 solid 1"x4" lube sticks, the format required for my Redding Lubri-sizer.

Component % wt. in g wt. in grains. I hope the nice chart format below will maintain its shape, doubtful though.

Beeswax 50% 100 g = 1,543.2 grains Real BW. I have it in pellet form.

Crisco 35% 70 g = 1,080.2 grains Shortening - no salt added Blue box.

Lanolin 14.5% 29 g = 447.5 grains An Extra 10 percent to make it more like White Label Co. BP lube.

Carnauba 0.5% 1 g = 15.4 grains The hardest wax, supposed to keep the barrel shiny.

Totals 100% 200 g = 3086.3 grains Each stick weighs 50 g or 771.6 grains.

A 796 ml (28oz) soup can was placed on the kitchen digital gram scale the can weighed 79 grams.
The bees wax then the Crisco then the lanolin were each added to the can until the scale confirmed the required weight increase for that particular ingredient.
The small amount of Carnauba wax was weighed on my powder grain scale and sprinkled in last.

Melted in the can double boiler style on the kitchen stove.
The can sitting in an inch of water in the medium size frying pan.
Not too much water as it would cause the can to float with all the ingredients in the can.

As the sides of the steel can heated the gooey lanolin slid down the can side into the melting BW & Crisco.

Chopping and stirring with a wood tongue depressor speeds melting and mixing of the ingredients.

Poured into my 4 molds and taken outside to -10*C temperature to solidify.

I cut plastic shopping bags to 8.5” x 11” for wrapping the sticks.

This ASELENOL lube version is just slightly more yellow appearance that my previous standard Emmerts Improved lube.
Next time I'll add a tiny piece of a yellow or orange crayon to darken the appearance of this lube slightly so it easier to distinguish from my standard Emmerts Improved.

PP-67

02-19-2023, 12:33 AM

Wow!

:veryconfu:veryconfu:veryconfu:veryconfu:shock:

I read from pages 1 to 11

parkerhale1200

03-19-2023, 06:23 AM

For the dutchies?
From "kroon oil" grease nr 2, lithium grease, used in/for hydrolic pistons and bearings
temp range -25c to 125c.
With pure fresh clean beewax
50-50 by volume

B1GB1RD

03-31-2023, 10:21 PM

I finally decided to try to do my own, and to say it was a great day, understatement. I did the 50/50 beeswax and lucas red, did a slow melt and mix, used the mold suggestions on the other thread, and low and behold, 6 nice sticks to go in the lube o matic, thanks everyone!!!

B1GB1RD

04-12-2023, 10:13 PM

Well I guess I didnt read it as 50/50, but 1 to 3, mine was way to soft, but easily fixed, re melt re figure and now a nice bunch of stick lube, next into the sizer, Ill let ya know, thx again everyone!

DwarvenChef

04-14-2023, 04:23 PM

megasupermagnum

04-18-2023, 12:27 AM

Just got some lamb tallow to mix with my bees wax (I’m a beekeeper-Plenty o’ Wax) Currently in Southern California so I’m not worried about extreme temp ranges, however I’ll be moving to IL/WI area in the near future. I’m only Muzzle Loading and CapNball shooting.

Will 50-50 tallow and beeswax be supple enough to use on patches and grease cylinders?

I'm guessing that will be too hard a mixture for either purpose. A 50/50 mix like that is pretty good for bullet lube. I recently did a 60/40 mix with 60% olive oil, 40% beeswax, and it is a little soft for most bullet lubes, but seems perfect for muzzleloading bullets like the TC maxiballs I used it on. It is still pretty thick to be used for greasing cylinders. It might work for patch lube. I'm pretty sure most people use lamb tallow straight, no mixing for patch and cap and ball uses. I've never tried lamb, but Bear, and Mink tallow are all best used straight, not thickened. Maybe try 25% beeswax if the heat there is a problem. I wouldn't try 50/50.

B1GB1RD

04-24-2023, 10:57 AM

Follow up on my mistake remake, it works perfect, I have 2 different ones I made and tried, 3 to 1 beeswax to red and tacky, and 3 to 1 beeswax to white labels newer alox 600, added some red candle dye and man this stuff is the bomb, and hardly any smoke, super clean barrel and easy to make, I made mine on my hot plate and bought a candle making pot with handle and pour spout off amazon, made it easy peasy to do! I have a lube o matic so poured all mine into hollow stick form using the molds off here, this place is awesome!!! Thx.