Hey, .357 maximum, lubes

[btroj]

Ok, made some just now.
180 g beeswax
180 g paraffin
120 g Vaseline
30 g mineral oil
30 g microwax
30 g very dry Ivory


I used some mineral oil and microwax as I want to see if the make the lube a bit less dry yet a bit more adhesive.

No burns!

[357maximum]

OK, another question...probably a dumb question, What do you mean by "Dry" ivory flakes ?

also, when chopped or shaved, is finer better or is there a desired texture ?

Here is a photo of a Bar of Ivory soap that's been on my laundry tub for about a decade, it sure has dried out. I hope that isn't what you mean.

I said "dried"...not "mummified" ....wow

I take my soap out of it's packaging and put it in the lube making cupboard...by the time I use it is dry enough to shave/mince/dice/process....less water in the soap means less foam is all.....you can use it a bit "fresher" than what is in your pics. I normally run 3 or 4 bars through the foodprocessor (my own, not the boss's) and just put it in a jar so I can scoop out what I need, when I need it.

[btroj]

Wow, you have your own food processor. I have a cheap pan, a metal spatula, and a hot plate.

I bow down in your presence.

Mike, I really like the feel of that Satans lube. It just has the right feel to it.

[357maximum]

Ok, made some just now.
180 g beeswax
180 g paraffin
120 g Vaseline
30 g mineral oil
30 g microwax
30 g very dry Ivory


I used some mineral oil and microwax as I want to see if the make the lube a bit less dry yet a bit more adhesive.

No burns!

That might be a bit better way than using slack wax rings......I have seen too much "variable" in the toilet rings.....you can buy two of em from the same company and in the same box, yet they can vary in color.....one can only assume that "they" are not the same when they are slightly different in color..........consistent ingredients are the only way you are gonna get consistent results. Beeswax variables are enough variable to deal with.......another good resaon to buy your "ingredients" in BULK I guess.


I normally see the "dry" lubes to work just fine, but there is a "CLIFF" factor to them...get it too dry and bad things happen...get it too "wet" and worse things happen. Just like all things "cast" one must find BALANCE. I am using STAN'S LUBE as posted 6+6+6+1 and have seen no "issues" yet and I have done quite alot with it.

Q. Has anyone other than Jim used it as posted or is everyone tweaking before they hit the gate? Betty/Martha/ Julia and Lydia post recipes for a reason ya know????

[357maximum]

Wow, you have your own food processor. I have a cheap pan, a metal spatula, and a hot plate.

I bow down in your presence.

Mike, I really like the feel of that Satans lube. It just has the right feel to it.

It is just a little one, but yes it is MINE......got it free from work......might find another some day....want me to save ya one if so???


I find it amazing how you can tell alot about a lube just by "feel" and "smear" after one has played with alchemy for awhile...not always 100%, but it will get you close normally....WEIRD RIGHT?

[btroj]

I modified it a bit after doing some reading online. Seems that slackwax is sort of microwax that has oils still in it. Vaseline is a microwax/oil mix.

I figured a small change might replace the old style Vaseline?

Yeah, I know, I salted my food before I tasted it.

[44man]

To TWEAK OR NOT TO TWEAK? That is the question.
WHAT IS IN TOILET RINGS? That is the question.
Beeswax doesn't matter, white or yellow, just what flowers. If you need clover only you are in trouble.
Used toilet rings add better color.
Why do so many think they can improve?

[btroj]

Because we can. After all, isn't Satan a tweaked NRA old school formula?

Some of us do it because we can't simply leave well enough alone.

[357maximum]

I modified it a bit after doing some reading online. Seems that slackwax is sort of microwax that has oils still in it. Vaseline is a microwax/oil mix.

I figured a small change might replace the old style Vaseline?

Yeah, I know, I salted my food before I tasted it.

Slackwax "CAN BE" exactly as you describe....CAN BE

SATANS" LUBE is made with MODERN DOLLAR STORE PETROLEUM JELLY when I make it......I made it work with what I could aquire easily and cheap.....that was kind of the idea.....find a lube that worked like MML or MML+soap that did not need any exotic items that needed to be ordered, yet would still have the anti- first shot flyer syndrome.

This is me asking aloud this one time...please "try" it before you "think" it.


I am not 100% sure but I think it was Colonel Sanders or maybe it was Dave Thomas that would take perspective higher ups out to a meal for their "interview" if said perspective employee salted his/her food before they tasted it....they immediately failed their interview.......just saying.

[Eutectic]

Q. Has anyone other than Jim used it as posted or is everyone tweaking before they hit the gate? Betty/Martha/ Julia and Lydia post recipes for a reason ya know????

Mike,

Mine is 31.7% Vasoline, 31.7% Paraffin, 31.7% Beeswax, and 4.9% very dry Ivory (but not mummified!) all by weight. I don't think I can get too much closer to your formula! And the Hornet is still going strong with no change in bore condition. I'm hollow pointing some of the 225107 boolits as they shot better with EsterBee350 in earlier tests. See if I can get a small group to post back. Have to shoot between the snowflakes lately....

Eutectic

[357maximum]

Because we can. After all, isn't Satan a tweaked NRA old school formula?

Some of us do it because we can't simply leave well enough alone.

Ahhh yes you are not wrong, BUT.....BUT......the old NRA pre alox mix WAS TRIED FIRST...before the aforementioned "tweakage" happened.

[357maximum]

Mike,

Mine is 31.7% Vasoline, 31.7% Paraffin, 31.7% Beeswax, and 4.9% very dry Ivory (but not mummified!) all by weight. I don't think I can get too much closer to your formula! And the Hornet is still going strong with no change in bore condition. I'm hollow pointing some of the 225107 boolits as they shot better with EsterBee350 in earlier tests. See if I can get a small group to post back. Have to shoot between the snowflakes lately....

Eutectic

This recipe can be "doubled" with no ill effects, but I have not tried "going big batch" with it yet.....that will be tried in a month or two .....not all lube recipes can be "bumped up" or made big...we shall see if she hold true eventually.

I actually am going to use my range today as soon as the daysleeper/night shifter wakes up.......The sun is shining and I can actually see the 100, 200 yard swingers now and I have a couple of new toys to beat on steel with.....no load testing....just pure fun hammering steel.....one of the toys is going to be shooting them red coated heathen bullets too as I have not enough stuff to properly cast for it yet.....heresy I know, but still fun. How can a couple hours spent with a 45/70 and a 44carbine be bad time right??

[fryboy]

[chop]
I am not 100% sure but I think it was Colonel Sanders or maybe it was Dave Thomas that would take perspective higher ups out to a meal for their "interview" if said perspective employee salted his/her food before they tasted it....they immediately failed their interview.......just saying.

umm what about pepper ? i loves me some pepper ( fresh ground and everything :P )

[357maximum]

I too would have failed the interview I like my black pepper and some salt , I also keep lemon pepper and fennel seed on the table

[geargnasher]

The first batch I made last year was very small (just over three ounces) and used Gulf paraffin, Store brand white petrolatum, Randyrat's yellow, dry beeswax, and wet Ivory soap. The batch I made a couple months ago was modified a bit based on the way the first batch came out, I wanted to raise the melt point a tad, add some flex, and improve the "smearability" factor, so I subbed in some higher melt-point paraffin, some sticky, feathery, glidey toilet wax ring, a dash of heavy mineral oil, but kept the basic percentages all the same. It works well, no real complaints except it still won't take Texas Trunk Temperatures.

For most purposes, I think close-nuff on the ingredients is plenty good. BUT! I totally agree with stick to the freakin' recipe until one has proven a good reason that it needs changing. Most people will be hard-pressed to demonstrate that this basic recipe needs any changing.

Jailer: Once you add the beeswax, NEVER attempt to fully melt the lube again. Your one shot to get the soap in happens with the Vaseline, soap, and paraffin, which can all take however much heat you deem necessary to get the soap to dissolve. Mike just dissolves it, which is why he has to dry and powder it, he never actually MELTS the soap. This works fine. I do it differently to build a strong soap matrix that really holds the oil in the Vaseline. That means fully melting the soap, and melting the soap is MUCH easier to do if you use it while it's fresh and wet. Just slice it with a knife and crumble up the bits to match-head sized chunks in your hand. This will foam up when heated with the melted paraffin and vaseline and will actually dissolve into very fine particles when the water boils away, no need to dry it or powder it. Once you get it all melted, IF you choose to do it that way, it really matters not what condition the soap started at except for how much to use, because the dry soap takes less than wet soap due to water weight. Ivory is about 30% water weight when fresh. If you put the dry soap in, it takes a lot longer to fully melt it than if you slice/crumble/boil fresh soap, and for that reason I use it wet to prevent scorching the mix while trying to melt the soap.

Add the beeswax after the soap has melted and the mix cooled to below 300F. Brad and I like to quench the pot immediately after reaching the fully liquid stage to minimize oil loss through smoke/evaporation, this makes a thick gel right away, so stir constantly. Then, when it's still 200-300F, throw in your chunk of beeswax and stir stir stir to blend the melted part a little at a time. I've even taken the chunk out for a minute if it's melting faster than I can stir it in the gel. Once I get the beeswax in, it's pretty much done. The mix can be remelted to a thick goo stage and blended further, but you can't get it liquid again without screwing up the beeswax.

Pics to follow...

Gear

[geargnasher]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...=1#post2092851

This is the post with pics of making basically this same lube but with a few different ingredients and a whole lot more soap.

Gear

[Jailer]

Gear from your description it sounds like I got it just right. The soap I used was very dry and after grating was noting but a fine powder. I was getting a bit worried when the soap powder wasn't disolving in the melted vaseline so I called Mike to ask him if it sounded like it was doing what it was suppose to be doing. Never messed with a soap lube so I had to phone a friend.

Anyway as I was talking with him on the phone the powder just all of a sudden dissapeared all at once so I hastily hung up and pulled it off heat. I added the parafin first and then the beeswax. I actually had to put it back on the warm burner to get all the beeswax to melt so I know I was good on temps. What you describe as a thick goo is exactly what I got when I remelted it. I figured it was going to damage the wax if I tried to put any more heat to it so I took it off and poured it out to cool. Now to get some loaded and do some shooting.

Sounds like I got lucky with my first attempt not knowing what to expect going into it.

Funiest part of this experiment was when the Warden walked through while I was melting the soap and vaseline mixture and asked what I was doing. I told her I was trying out a new batch of lube. Her comment, "Oh it doesn't smell as bad as it usually does."

[Elkins45]

The mix can be remelted to a thick goo stage and blended further, but you can't get it liquid again without screwing up the beeswax.

So how do you get it into the sizer since it sounds like you can't just remelt it and pour it down the tube? Is this one of those lubes you have to cut into pieces and shove down the reservoir? Can it be poured into lube stick molds?

[btroj]

Could be poured into lube sticks, otherwise it is a pack it in by hand kinda thing.

[Jailer]

So how do you get it into the sizer since it sounds like you can't just remelt it and pour it down the tube? Is this one of those lubes you have to cut into pieces and shove down the reservoir? Can it be poured into lube stick molds?

You can get it soft enough when re melted that it should pour in no problem. It starts out as a thick goo when it's melted and goes to a somewhat thinner goo, about the consistency of warm corn starch gravy, when you put a little more heat to it.