Problem with Darr Lube

Made up Darr lube for 1st time yesterday using a half batch from the recipe, 1/2# parafin, equal amount of vaseline, tbsp STP. But pan lubing 358 LSWC boolits resulted in about half of them either not filling the lube band or the lube falling out of the band once I pushed them through the cake. I tried pushing them from base out of the cake and from the top out of the cake but both ways resulted in more than half the boolits will need to be relubed. I did not warm up the boolits before pouring in the lube, they were at the outside temp. which was around 32-35 deg. yesterday afternoon.

Am i doing something wrong in technique or in the proportions of the ingredients?

Thanks,

Joe

I warm the boolits and the lube together in the pan in a toaster oven. After everything is melted, take the pan from the oven and let cool. This lube does tend to fall out of the grooves so I used a kake cutter instead of pushing them from the cake. I made mine exactly like you and I wound up adding an extra 1/4 pound of parafin to stiffen it up.

granted that darr lube is simple , the first few times i made it i also made a half batch , after the first half batch IMHO i found that less vaseline helped ( which is almost the same as adding more paraffin ) the last i made i used lanolin ( sticky stuff ) to replace half the vaseline , i agree that it seems to work best if the lube and boolits are warmed up to equal temps , if one is pan lubing and making a "cake" every batch but the first will be that way , the first batch i bring to melted temp as the lube tries to solidify at the cold spots first ( pan edges and boolits ) i also found that in pan lubing with darr lube the "crack" of the seal between the lube and boolit really helps ie; best results with the crack and without it it was much like you state ( some work and some dont ) the freezer trick for a few minutes also seemed to help me ( even tho it sounds like your weather is almost the freezer lolz )

Is it a soft paraffin or the hard crystalline brittle paraffin used for canning?
I would think that the large crystalline wax would be a major reason for brittle lube falling out. Of course, everyone has much more experience than I do, but I would think that micro-crystalline wax would be better. Also, the paraffin/petrolatum blend should eliminate a lot of the large crystals from forming. If you mixed the two with heat high enough to start a little smoking, this would oxidize the wax and oil and help eliminate some of the crystallization.

Jal5,
I have not had much luck w/ any pan lube without warming the bullets first.
Also a little lanolin helps make the lube stay together.
Like Centaur 1, I warm the lube and the bullets together and cut them out w/ a cutter.
Good luck, jmsj

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Originally Posted by jmsj

Jal5,
I have not had much luck w/ any pan lube without warming the bullets first.
Also a little lanolin helps make the lube stay together.
Like Centaur 1, I warm the lube and the bullets together and cut them out w/ a cutter.
Good luck, jmsj

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+1, warm boolits and lube together after adding some lanolin to the lube, about 1-2 Tablespoons per pound of lube. Heat the lube to just barely above melting, where it wants to solidify around the edges, and then add the lanolin. If the wax is too hot it will scorch the lanolin and that ruins it.

I never had any luck pan lubing with Darr lube, too brittle and not sticky enough per the origninal recipe.

Gear

I added another stick of parrafin wax to the melted lube from batch #1 plus I warmed up the boolits, so I will let you know how this turns out. Thanks for the help.

Joe

I added another stick of paraffin and this made it a little harder and they filled out better. I think next time I mix up this lube I will go 4 sticks paraffin to 1/4 lb. vaseline. I am basically 3:1 as it is now.

Joe

Waiting until the lube is about "half set" and pulling them out from the top with pliers. I drop them on foil to finish setting. If I do it just the right time they come out perfect. Much better than "cookie cutter" or "push from back" methods.

Good idea on pulling them out. But is the lube still soft or does it harden up some once it finishes setting? I think mine is still soft even at 3:1 mix of paraffin to vaseline.

Joe

Just thought I would update this thread.

After lubing them and letting them sit for a few weeks I loaded some up this week. The lube seemed to stiffen up a bit over the weeks and reloaded pretty well. I haven't shot them yet so I will let you know how it goes.

thanks,

joe

Where do you get lanolin?

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Originally Posted by stainless1911

Where do you get lanolin?

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randy rat one of our vendor sponsors has started selling it , some folks use nipple cream but IMHO that's a bit pricey but if one needs it in a hurry it can be found at walmarts and walgreens etc , there's a horse hoove dressing ( corana brannd ) that is lanolin heavy as well ( smells kind of medicine-y tho ) and of course various online sites , a current fav is the sage

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/...ad.php?t=94639

http://www.thesage.com/catalog/FixedOil.html#Lanolin