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Thread: Making Ben's Red

  1. #21
    Boolit Grand Master
    Mk42gunner's Avatar
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    I see the mix with a full tube of grease will fit into a two quart sauce pan, this is good news because I have been contemplating using a used Teflon three quart pan myself. Saves buying a new pan.

    The sad thing is I have newer utensils for making boolit lube and soap than I have for cooking food. But then soup or stew isn't totally ruined if your measurements are off by a cup or two.

    Robert

  2. #22
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    I made some with toilet bowl rings and ended up with a gooey mess that makes a pretty good fluxing agent and that is about all it is good for.
    Are my kids/grandkids more important than "o"'s kids, to me they are,darn tooting they are!!! They deserve the same armed protection afforded "o"'s kids.
    I have been hoodwinked but not by"o"
    In God we trust,in "o" never trust
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  3. #23
    Boolit Master

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    The few wax rings I've seen the last few years have all clearly been some kind of paraffin sort of wax softened with something. I say paraffin because I tired making lube with it years ago and it was a disaster. That mess was one of the reasons I started lurking here.
    Disclaimer: Reloading and casting I only look at cents/round and ignore any other costs

  4. #24
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    When making lube, melting beeswax, be very careful not to heat it above it's flash point temperature. I had some melted beeswax burst into flames when it got too hot. Keep a lid handy and glove on hand to put out flames....I'm not going to ruin a pot of lube spraying it with a fire extinguisher.
    I'm going to explore using an old slow cooker to melt lube with. That seems like a great way.
    Gary

  5. #25
    Boolit Master

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    I always try to use a double boiler for these kinds of things. But then I don't know how hot we're talking about here either.
    Disclaimer: Reloading and casting I only look at cents/round and ignore any other costs

  6. #26
    Boolit Grand Master



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    Wquiles,
    Excellent tutorial with excellent photos!

    Dale53

  7. #27
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Wquiles,

    Now that is what Ben's Red is supposed to look like.

    Ben

  8. #28
    Boolit Grand Master
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    If I don't ever hear the phrase " Toilet Bowl Rings " used in a Ben's Red thread again that will suit me just fine.

    If someone wants to start them a lube thread and expound on the merits of " Toilet Bowl Rings", by all means do it. However, Toilet Bowl Rings are not a part of Ben's Red .

    Beginners that are trying to learn about Ben's Red are only confused by this kind of thing.

    Ben
    Last edited by Ben; 12-01-2015 at 09:08 PM.

  9. #29
    Boolit Buddy str8shot426's Avatar
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    Toilet bowl wax is good for two things...

    1- installing toilets
    2- lubing wood screws (works real good)

  10. #30
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    Here Here BEN! If they don't want to make your "Ben's Red" the correct way ..... Let them call it something else and post it in a new Thread! So it dosen't degrade your original Lube & All your hard work!!!

    Maybe they can call The Thread: "Almost Ben's Red BUT NOT "!
    " Associate with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation: for it is better to be alone than in bad company. " George Washington

  11. #31
    Boolit Master 35 shooter's Avatar
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    Only one way to make Ben's Red....no substitutes...wait till you have the correct ingredients as per Ben's instuctions.
    You will then have a top notch lube that actually works the way it should.

    Wquiles, great job!!

  12. #32
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    Lock the thread and make it a sticky.

    This is how it is done.....PERIOD!

  13. #33
    Boolit Master

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    Suggestion for getting the Lucas Red & Tacky grease out of the tube with less mess. Hold the metal sealed end against a grinding wheel with the capped end still on, grind as much as possible the curved inside of the crimped-on sealed end. Once enough of the crimped end inside is ground away the outside ring will slip off easily. Take the flat end of a hammer handle or some such device, the larger the better, and after removing the other end of the grease tube, the entire tube of grease can be shoved out all at once. The Lucas Red & Tacky is good stuff but it is sticky as can be and hard to clean up. Big Boomer

  14. #34
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by wquiles View Post
    Thanks to Ben and others who shared how they make it, I decided to try it today. This is the basic mix:
    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


    But a forum member was nice enough to describe that in other units, and using a complete Red Tacky Lucas Grease:
    24 ozs. = 3 cups - melted beeswax
    14 ozs. = 1 3/4 cups - Red N Tacky , heat it..it doesn't really melt
    4.6 ozs. = 2/3 cup - Johnsons Paste Wax - melted
    2.3 ozs. = 1/3 cup - Dexron II or III ATF
    2.3 ozs. = 1/3 cup- STP Oil Treatment

    Note, 1/3 cup = 5 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon

    I want to give this a try, and I may be overcomplicating it, but are those percentages by weight or by volume? Also, with the translated ounces and cups, are those fluid ounces or ounces by weight? I see you're weighing the beeswax so I assume it's by weight, but just want to double check beforehand, so I don't waste a batch.

    Has anyone run into any limitations with this lube? (Like a velocity limit where a different/harder lube might be a better choice). Also, would this be suitable for moderate/slower rifle loads (like 1400 fps out of my 1889 Belgian Mauser in 7.65x53mm), or would I be better served with something softer?

    So far in my short casting career, I've only used LLA, Lyman Super Moly, and just old fashioned 50/50 on handgun boolits. I grew up helping my dad cast for his revolvers, but we never cast for rifles. I've recently gotten more involved and have begun casting for most of my rifles and pistols (and shotguns, for that matter).

    Thanks for any help! I'm learning as I go....

  15. #35
    Boolit Master 35 shooter's Avatar
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    Ben's Red will work from handgun to rifle and slowest speeds to as fast as your cast boolit will accurately shoot.

    I you use the volume method(1st one), just make ten even marks up the side of your cooking pot and add ingredients and melt and stir each one till it reaches the appropriate volume marks on the side for each ingredient.

    example 50% would be 5 lines melted on the beeswax and 3 lines would be 30% etc.

    By the weight version(2nd recipe), just melt the beeswax till you have 3 cups, then melt the johnsons wax till you have enough cups, etc.
    The red n tacky is just a full 14 0z. tube.
    The listed weights will get you very close to the melted cup volume.
    You may or may not have to melt a bit more to get the full volume of the cup filled out.

    I've made it both ways(volume vs. weight %) and couldn't tell a difference in how it shoots.

    I personally like to melt the waxes in first before the red n tacky simply because it won't melt. That way lol, you never burn the grease.

    Hope that helps you rhino72

  16. #36
    Boolit Mold
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    Thank you, 35, that helps! I'll give it a try this weekend and see if I can make it come out as nice as it looks in the original post!

  17. #37
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I've made it both ways(volume vs. weight %) and couldn't tell a difference in how it shoots.


    Ditto !

    Ben

  18. #38
    Boolit Mold
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    Thanks, Ben - I'm looking forward to giving it a try. May not have time this weekend, as I am catching up on Christmas gift making on the wood lathe - my wife turned in a lot of 'orders' and she's anxious to get them mailed out! I'm almost caught up on the backlog, though.

  19. #39
    Boolit Mold
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    Hi, y'all.

    First post. Thank you for posting this recipe and the tips. I just finished my first batch (it's still warm), and I think it's successful. I followed the instructions to the letter (not substituting ATF for sawdust or something else I came up with), even apparently buying much of the exact same stuff now that I've come back to this post. I do have a couple of suggestions:

    I bought the same 2 qt pan. It worked well and was large enough for one batch, but if I had some hindsight I would have bought a gallon sized pot so that I could stir a little more aggressively without spilling. Also, as several on this post have suggested, a wisk will be something I will definitely add the next time I make a batch. The little globs of grease are hard to break up with a spatula.

    I am also trying pan lubing for the first time; it didn't work out too well for me this time as I had already filled a muffin pan to make ingots; and I not only didn't have quite enough to cover all the bullets I had in another pan, the lube had already cooled enough that it didn't want to spread out. Next time I pan lube the lube will be hotter.

    That's it. Thanks again for this recipe!

  20. #40
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Glad it is working well for you !

    Merry Christmas,

    Ben

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check