New Chef in town, needs good recipe...

[saxguy]

Okay, so now I have my new shiny ‘Star’ bolted to the heater plate on my loading bench. My dies are not ordered yet as I don’t have the pistols to slug (might be a month yet)… so, I thought I might get some lube on the boil. Yes I can just buy the regular stick I suppose, but hey, I’ve come this far so why compromise with any ol’ stuff?

So, I thought to take a look at the various recipes here on CB, and oh dear lord, where to start, there are so many!!!

Okay, maybe I have to narrow it down a bit. Lets be logical about the procedure. What are the priorities, and what do I intend the lube to accomplish.

I would like a general purpose lube that would serve to pistol rnds inc 9mm ,357 .45acp and .44 mag
The boolit speeds will be anything from “did anyone see it actually leave the barrel” to “OMFG… everyone clear the range… this guy is INSANE”…

I would like the smell of the freshly shot rounds to have the distinct essence of fresh mountain air, long warm summer evenings, hints of French boudoirs’ and fine Cognac and maybe a touch of teenage spirit. (not a thick haze of chocking acrid smoke that resembles a 50/50 mix of pepper spray and burning napalm).

The lube should also be temperature stable, to a fair degree, as I don’t want to have to have summer and winter boolits if possible. To be fair, if its 10 degrees out there, I aint shooting (Ill be the one inside sipping Cognac chatting up the French bird!).

Now here’s the hard part. I have to be able to actually get the individual components of the mix. Here in New Zealand, stuff can be hard to find, and dam expensive too. So, Ground Unicorn horn is off the list for a start.

I found a local source of beeswax. Oh, honey is one of our main products here, so comparatively speaking, beeswax should be considered ‘inexpensive’ here. Anyway, for 1lb is about $17.50US natural beeswax is around $7US for 1lb

I haven’t yet found a good supply for any other wax's, oils etc, but I would like a couple of good recipes to get me started on the right track.

Any takers?

[DLCTEX]

Ben's Red has worked for me in heat and cold. It is sticky in the original formula so some may want to dust the lubed boolit with mica dust or add carnuba wax or more bees wax to the recipie. I just keep wipes handy when loading ammo

[saxguy]

Ben's Red has worked for me in heat and cold. It is sticky in the original formula so some may want to dust the lubed boolit with mica dust or add carnuba wax or more bees wax to the recipie. I just keep wipes handy when loading ammo

I will take a look... thank you.

[fryboy]

ummmm ... "I would like the smell of the freshly shot rounds to have the distinct essence of fresh mountain air, long warm summer evenings, hints of French boudoirs’ and fine Cognac and maybe a touch of teenage spirit. (not a thick haze of chocking acrid smoke that resembles a 50/50 mix of pepper spray and burning napalm)."

as long as you're dreaming at least have good dream thoughts :P actually one can add a essential oil ( in minute quantities ) to impart a different aroma , just start small and go slow as it does add oil to the mix

most recipes listed one can add a wee bit of wax to make the final product harder , a good for instance is instead of 50/50 use 60% wax and 40% vaseline ( this should cover most pistol app's ) if using an oil instead of a wax try a 4 to 1 mix of wax to oil instead of a 3 to 1 ( the 50/50 & 3/1 mixes usually do not need heat to flow and are what i'd consider soft lubes ) i really like the FWWFL version of felix lube ,it has done well at all the various pressure levels i have tried it at and i have to admit that i added a wee bit more carnuba and beeswax to help make it harder

[captaint]

I think the old NRA formula was 50/50 Beeswax & Alox. Now, that particular type of Alox is no longer available, BUT a modern Alox is available from, among others, our own White Label, Lars....
That old formula lube did work in any application I tried it in. In fact, a stick arrived in my Star luber package for free. Because of the Alox, it did smoke a bit but hey........ it worked.
That, or try making up some Ben's Red. It's simple enough and is rumored to be very effective, in just about any application. Mike

[Elkins45]

If you can find beeswax you're most of the way there, because that's the most difficult lube component for me to find. I have to order it from a vendor here on CB. If you can find petroleum jelly (Vaseline is the common brand name here in the US) then you can make an entirely satisfactory soft lube. 50/50 by weight is a good starting point, adding more or less beeswax as needed to control consistency.

You can also undoubtedly buy cans or grease gun cartridges of lithium based automotive grease at the local auto parts store, preferably the light brown variant. A 50/50 mix of lithium grease and beeswax makes "lithibee", which is a highly regarded lube for practically any pistol cartridge and many speedier rifle rounds as well.

Ben's Red relies on the Lucas Red n' Tacky #2 grease as a large volume of the ingredients. I don't know if it's available in NZ. I've never made Ben's Red but people talk about it having a fairly objectionable smell during the manufacturing process. I don't know how it smells when firing.

[fredj338]

I wanted a simple lube for most of my handgun needs. One of the guys here pointed me toward BW & 2 stroke chainsaw oil; 4-1 or 5-1 as you like. It seems to work fine for my needs. If you want it to be a bit stiffer, add some scented candle wax, so you can get that just right smell. It's cheaper, easier & better for me to buy from WhiteLabel, but good to have options, especially if you live across the pond.

[ubetcha]

Run5run's recipie for simple lube ( or may be called simple green) seem's to work quite well also. Very easy to make and can be modified to suit your need's.

[Wasalmonslayer]

You should give the 6-6-6-1 lube a try. They call it satans lube because of the ratio.
It is 6 oz of bees wax 6 ounces of Vaseline 6 ounces of paraffin wax I use the canning stuff gulf wax and 1 ounce of shaved ivory soap.
Start out with a way larger than you need pot trust me when you add the soap it will foam like crazy!!!!
You melt the Vaseline and paraffin and add the soap flakes when it is all dissolved turn off the heat and add the bees wax this will help keep it from scorching.
When you are done you will have a yellow lube that smells like honey and shoots like a million bucks.
I have to pay all the thanks to 357 maximum for developing this lube. He kept it simple and it shoots lights out and does not smell like a drain field when you are cooking it.
Trust me this is so simple it's scary.
Check out the huge thread on it something like 11 pages long.

Wasalmonslayer

[Dale53]

I used the mix my own lube (I still do black powder lube, when necessary). However, for the past several years I have used Lars Carnauba Red;

http://www.lsstuff.com/lube/

It works perfectly with heat, the cost is so low that it's not worth it to any longer make my own. I use it for ALL of my lube needs. He has it in bulk if you prefer it that way - me, I just buy the solid sticks for the Star (get hollow for those of you who use a Lyman or RCBS luber/sizer).

FWIW
Dale53

[357maximum]

You should give the 6-6-6-1 lube a try. They call it satans lube because of the ratio.
It is 6 oz of bees wax 6 ounces of Vaseline 6 ounces of paraffin wax I use the canning stuff gulf wax and 1 ounce of shaved ivory soap.
Start out with a way larger than you need pot trust me when you add the soap it will foam like crazy!!!!
You melt the Vaseline and paraffin and add the soap flakes when it is all dissolved turn off the heat and add the bees wax this will help keep it from scorching.
When you are done you will have a yellow lube that smells like honey and shoots like a million bucks.
I have to pay all the thanks to 357 maximum for developing this lube. He kept it simple and it shoots lights out and does not smell like a drain field when you are cooking it.
Trust me this is so simple it's scary.
Check out the huge thread on it something like 11 pages long.

Wasalmonslayer

The thead that WaSalmonslayer speaketh of: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-maximum-lubes

The more I use it, the more I like it. It is not stinky/non-toxic and it has done faaaaaar more demanding things than you are asking of a lube. If you can make a bowl of instant pudding ...you can make this lube.

[gwpercle]

Ben's Red is excellent all-around. Overheating and scorching lead to objectionable smell. Use slow cooker for long and low heating with many whiskings to blend. use high at the end, just keep an eye on it when on high.
Lucas Red-N-Tacky is a lithium grease, fortified with rust preventatives and other stuff. If it isn't available I'm sure a substitution can be found in automotive store.
I have been using some lube, given to me by a friend , that is 50/50 beeswax and Lithium grease (don't know what brand), that has worked just fine in cast pistol, revolver and rifle loads under 2000 fps. I call it "easy lube" because it is easy to put together and easy to remember the amounts. I am sure a good lithium grease could be used in place of the Lucas brand.
Good luck with your lube,
Gary

[ShinyPartsUp]

OK, so you make up the lube of your choice. What do you use as a mold to pour it in? Or am I being too obvious a rookie at this?

[357maximum]

Shinypartsup

I just pour my lube into mini-bread loaf pans, or mini-muffins for storage. When I need to fill the sizer I melt a bit and dump it in. Once upon a time I made lube sticks that looked commercial, but that is a serious waste of time/effort in my opinion.

One can do far worse than using one of the beeswax/lithium grease ....A.K.A Lithi-Bee like recipes....in fact it is a great place to START. A Lithi-bee type lube is easily modified/tweaked to your wants/needs/desires.

[eljefeoz]

..." I would like the smell of the freshly shot rounds to have the distinct essence of fresh mountain air, long warm summer evenings, hints of French boudoirs’ and fine Cognac and maybe a touch of teenage spirit. (not a thick haze of chocking acrid smoke that resembles a 50/50 mix of pepper spray and burning napalm).

The lube should also be temperature stable, to a fair degree, as I don’t want to have to have summer and winter boolits if possible. To be fair, if its 10 degrees out there, I aint shooting (Ill be the one inside sipping Cognac chatting up the French bird!).


Any takers?..."

Kiaora, Saxguy
There will be plenty of takers, believe me. Laze around a bit,browse,lurk. It me a year to make sense of many a post.
Welcome to the madness
Cheers

[Lead Fred]

Randy's bee's wax isnt but $4 bucks a pound, and Ive yet to find better

My age ole formula is 1 pound Bee's wax, 1 pound lard, 8oz STP (modern powder) 8oz cornola oil (holy black)

Shooting 30 and 45 cals out to 1750fps no problems

[Frank V]

I don't know about availability, but I've been using SPG for a few years. I don't run my bullets at 1600+fps, but it works well for std velocities & especially handgun velocities.
Good luck.