An interesting lube mix

[Jim]

I'm reading Earl Naramore's book and found something interesting in the boolit lube section. 10% coloidal graphite and 90% beeswax. I have both so I whipped up a batch. We'll see in a coupla' weeks.

[SciFiJim]

Wouldn't the graphite act as an abrasive? I would think that straight beeswax would be better.

(I need a smilie for myself that would be "stumbling through the darkness with a flashlight")

[rockrat]

Wasn't the old lyman black colored lube just graphite and beeswax?

[runfiverun]

grahite is a slight abrasive.
something i add to my lube for the first 100 or so rounds in a new bbl.
coloidal graphite is just a super fine grade same as the stuff they sell for locks.

[Jim]

Deleted.

[303Guy]

Wouldn't the graphite act as an abrasive?What kind of graphite are we talking of? Graphite is a dry lubricant - but it doesn't work in space . It needs air. It is a very good lubricant. It has a ring molecule structure which gets air between the rings which allow them to slide across each other and I am going on a bit..... ! Is black carbon being called graphite? Carbon is abrasive as a solid. Come in chemists please! (Diamonds are also carbon - that's really abrasive!):mrgreen:

[jar-wv]

I think graphite is made from black carbon by heating to re-align the molecules. I would think that graphite would be abrasive.

jar

[sqlbullet]

Graphite is a dry lubricant. I can find no references on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite) to it having abrasive qualities. It is a form of carbon.

However, it can cause pitting in stainless steels and causes corrosion to aluminum when in the presence of water. The Armed Forces don't allow graphite lubes for weapons for these reasons.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I`m still trying to forget ever having to use the black lube Lyman had! I was given a Lyman 450 sizer once that had dried up Lyman black lube in it, took about 3 nights of really trying to get it all out and workable again. Yes it was about all you could get back in the 50`s and 60`s, I did not like the stuff which is why I started designing my own lubes way back then. Robert

[303Guy]

I think graphite is made from black carbon by heating to re-align the molecules. I would think that graphite would be abrasive.It could be that there are carbon impurities in the graphite. i.e. not all the carbon is converted to graphite. Pure graphite is definately not abrasive.

[wrcook]

19th Century military 45-70s were lubed with graphite and bees wax.