Ben's Red- Help

[Ben]

Gary:

In response to your question about getting the Red and Tacky out of the tube............

---------------------
Ben you've probably got a good way to do this .. please advise

gary
---------------------
As to getting Lucas Red and tacky out of the tube, Probably the best way is to use a grease gun, but that isn't what I do, I bought a long handle spoon ( similar to a long handle tea spoon ) in a thrift store for .10 cents.

I use it ONLY for the purpose of removing Lucas Red and Tacky from the tube, I keep it rolled up in an old rag close to my Red and Tacky.

DeanWinchester & 41 Mag Fan , in my opinion, have a good handle on making Ben's Red, I'd follow their lead if I were you.

[DeanWinchester]

A spoon will certaily work, but I'm tellin' ya....Rubber spatulas are cheap at the dollar store and work great. I keep them in a ziplock bag so I don't have to clean 'em. With a rubber spatula you can get your pyrex measuring cup dang near spotless in between each ingredient.





I like to get a clean silicone baking pan, the pliable ones that are really easy to remove things from...and set it on the bench, then I melt the first ingredient, not worrying about volume, just get what you think is enough. Once melted [toaster oven] I pour into another measuring cup the exact amount. Then I pour over into the baking pan, scraping the cups out each time. Once all my ingredients are properly proportioned into the baking pan, I pop it into the oven, stirring occasionally until it is a perfectly blended amalgam and set it aside to cool. Then use it as you will.

Spatulas boys! I feel like the announcer from Weird Al's movie UHF. Spatula City! Spatula City!!!

[41 mag fan]

Good ole utility knife, cut up the sides of the LR&T and used my wooden spoon to dole it out. Worked for me.

[geargnasher]

If you want quick and no mess that will get 98% of it out, flatten the tube with your hands and squeeze out what you can through the open end, then fold the metal end 90 degrees and flatten it with your hands or between two boards with a clamp. Roll the tube up like a toothpaste tube, it will extrude the grease in a big lump. Pinch off the last bit of the grease and toss the empty tube.

Gear

[DeanWinchester]

Laying any doubts to rest as to Ben's formula working or not:

325g RNFP gas check, air cooled WW, Ben's Red, 24g of H110 in a starline case and a Win primer. Haven't chrono'd yet but it's deep into 1200+ FPS Stout!

ZERO LEADING. End of argument or doubt.

[Ben]

Dean ,

That looks like a real " fight stopper load ".

Glad the lube is working well for you.

Ben

[ChuckS1]

Okay, so now you guys have me thinking about trying this. But one question...

Assuming I make a batch using 24 ounces of beeswax, per gary's recipe, how much does it make? I'm thinking in terms of how many hollow lube stick equivalents, like the lube sticks I get from White Label.

[DeanWinchester]

Ben's original recipe is simple. The thing that seems to trip people up is NOT following the original directions. I mean, I'm a first class dumb aßß and it makes sense to me.

It goes as follows.
50% beeswax
30% Red, Tacky Lucas High Temp Grease
10% Johnson's Paste Wax
5% Dexron II or Dexron III Trans. Fluid
5% STP Oil Treatment


So Chuck, it's really simple to answer your need for a knowledge of final amount given a percentage formula to work with. Decide how much YOU need, and that figure will be exactly twice the amount of beeswax you start with. A properly made batch using 24 oz of beeswax will made 48oz of lube.

I will say this to adhering to the recipe closely. AFTER you've made your lube and it has cooled, you should feel the consistency between your fingers to see if it will suit your environmental needs. Harder if it's warm, softer for the winter....or whatever method seems best to you. You may want to harden it up a bit. You can do that by adding small amounts of beeswax after the fact. Unless you have already done it, you're not going to be able to accurately figure what you need for the consistency you need so do it after the batch is made and do it in small amounts. It's easy to add more, it's hell to try to take some out.


This lube is the best I've ever used. 50, 30, 10, 5, 5. Stick to these percentages and stiffen to taste after the batch is made. You won't be disappointed if you do it right. I know I threw out several pounds of homemade lube and several stick of store bought stuff after I used this for a few months.

[44man]

I finally got all I need to make it tomorrow. I have most measured out.
I melted the beeswax and poured 1-1/2 cups in a weighed pan because I split the recipe, pans not big enough.
I weighed the pan and wax and came out with 9.75 oz dry weight so the 3 cups for a full batch should be 19.5 oz of hard wax.

[runfiverun]

james melt the grease first.
then add everything else.
then the wax when things cool down a bit.
everything will blend together without the little grease floaters others ask about.

[375RUGER]

+1 on DeanWinchester - follow the directions.
I used a whisk to get things all mixed up.

[44man]

james melt the grease first.
then add everything else.
then the wax when things cool down a bit.
everything will blend together without the little grease floaters others ask about.

Thank you, I had given that some thought. I wondered why the wax was put in early.
I have been thinking of putting the JPW in the melted beeswax too. Seems the solvents should evaporate in the beeswax. They sure won't do anything in super hot grease.

[44man]

That experiment failed!
I used my Coleman stove out at the barn. I got the grease softened a little and dumped in the oils. In seconds it melted so I took it off the heat. It turned brown so I think the ATF burned.
Good thing I made a small batch.
I will follow the instructions next time.
It is cooling so I will see what I get.

[375RUGER]

Jim,
I did about the same thing using a hot plate and I was trying to keep the heat low. Mine is brownish but that did't seem to affect the performance any. I lubed up 5 onto some 7mm boolits and put them over a case full of H870 in a 7mag and didn't have any problem with those 5 leaving any lead behind. I wish I had used the chrono, a similar load in jacketed gives 3000+fps. By no means a complete and full test of the capabilities of the lube but I learned what I needed that day.

[44man]

That is encouraging, It feels OK so I will see what it does.
I was surprised at how the oils just took over so fast and it melted. I didn't really need to stir much at all.

[44man]

I have a stupid question; why try and melt the grease?
What happens if you put the wax in the pot, add the grease and stir as the wax melts? Why does the grease need to be so hot?
I might take a small amount and try it in a little pan.

[DeanWinchester]

The grease gets all lumpy and makes a very UNuniform mess. Tried that. You CAN however melt your beeswax separate and when the grease gets fairly well smooth, add the wax and stir. It really speeds up things. The little lumps that the grease makes makes for a really sticky mess though so they gotta go. That's why when I'm finished I filter the whole batch through a clean t shirt. There's a good bit of grease lumps there you won't even notice until you filter it. You can take a heat gun to it while filtering and gently stir them around to push them on through. It works for me.

[44man]

OK, I will try that.
Mine is smooth, no lumps but seems very soft, about half the hardness of Felix.
I am loading some now to try out.

[41 mag fan]

I have a stupid question; why try and melt the grease?
What happens if you put the wax in the pot, add the grease and stir as the wax melts? Why does the grease need to be so hot?
I might take a small amount and try it in a little pan.

Jim...heres what I have done and seems to work best for me.
I wouldn't use anything with a flame to it. I.E. Coleman stove.
I IMO think a flame is a focused heat so to speak, that goes to a high temp too quick, vs a hotplate, that has a spread out even heat. Plus the benefit of a hotplate will cycle on and off, keeping a constant heat temp, for example med/low heat.

When I made my batches put the beeswax in first. After reading over time, about people having problems with their batches, even if they follow it to a tee how to make it and the amount of ingredients used, they are trying to get it to mix together too quick with too high a heat.
But first i add the beeswax, get it to melt, med/low heat, but not to the smoking point. Then I will add the JPW, melt, then the Dexron & STP, stir and then LR&T.
With the LR&T I switch over to the whisk from the spoon.

It takes a pretty much constant stirring, don't let the melt smoke any. It starts to smoke, back off heat a smidge.
But to make it, I will spend anywhere from 35-45 minutes on a batch. Stirring constantly.
When I think I can't get anymore lumps to dissolve and break up, I'll strain it over a tee shirt, using my spoon to push the mix thru the shirt. It'll take time to get it strained, but not before it cools.

Now I read where RFR mentioned on melting the LR&T first. Maybe on that our 2 mad scientists , while doing their ultimate lube quest discovered something about melting it first?
Maybe melting it first over a hotplate would work vs a direct flame??
Hopefully RFR will let us in on this secret they might of discovered!!!???

Jim, if you still have problems shoot me a pm, and I'll send you some to try out. Lord knows I got enough to lube an easy 100k of boolits.

Now one thing I did try, was I added carnuba flakes as I was laid up and didn't want my wife driving all around for me looking for IIRC JPW.
At that time I melted the carnuba first then added the other ingredients. I didn't like how my batch turned out, so I remelted and added it to a big batch, which it turned out just fine that way.

One thing I might add....if you can find an old mixer, that might be a big boost on getting the lumps broke up quicker. I figure I make another batch, my wife will be getting a new mixer!

[Ben]

old mixer

Wow, next time I'm at the Thrift Store, I bet one of those will be following me home.

Great idea !

Ben