Soy Wax Lube

[Eutectic45]

Many successful homemade and historic bullet lube mixtures use beef tallow. Beef tallow is mostly a triglyceride of stearic acid. Soy wax is a pure triglyceride of stearic acid. Therefore, soy wax should be a direct replacement for tallow in a bullet lube formulation. Soy wax is consistent, so repeated formulations can have the same properties. It does not have any unsaturated fat so it is stable and does not become rancid. Pure soy wax has a melting temperature of 120 to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. It is also inexpensive and readily available in craft stores which sell candle making supplies.

Soy wax is soft but would not stay in the bullet grooves it has no tack, it crumbles easily and falls out I needed an additive provide the desired tack so the lube would adhere to the grooves and have high viscosity to deliver toughness without brittleness. I picked Smoke-B-Gone (SBG) by Warren Unilube a heavy paraffinic oil, with viscosity modifiers, used as an oil additive. SBG is very thick and strings out in long threads when measuring. Testing showed 10 to 20 percent SBG provided the cohesion to hold the soy wax matrix together as well as giving excellent tack.

I tested soy wax with 20 percent SBG in 38 special loads and 357 magnum loads. The 38 special H&G 148 grain wadcutter at 750 fps was no surprise, just about any lube works at this pressure level, accuracy was excellent. The 357 magnum full loads with 158 grain Saeco RNFP plain base bullet at 1330 fps is a more demanding application, poor lubes fail. Soy wax/SBG performed excellently, no leading and the accuracy was equal to the best this revolver has produced. There was considerable smoke and a generous lube star on the muzzle. The cylinder acquired a greasy coating after 50 rounds. Probably excessive lube, which is OK. Rifle testing will wait for spring when the outdoor range is comfortable.

Soy wax has good potential as a primary bullet lubricant component.

Have fun experimenting.

[randyrat]

Have you tried Lanolin as a sticker additive, it will also be an additive that is a good lube ( 1 Tablespoon per pound of lube). Lanolin won't bleed out in the heat. Also keep in mind changing temp outside, summer you will be moving closer to the melt temp and will the characteristics be the same. Just something to think about.
PM me if you need a little for testing.

[GregLaROCHE]

The melt point is one thing, but what is the flash point compared to other lube ingredients?

[Lead pot]

Soy wax is a good substitute for B wax and like stated you need a binder if you want to use it for lube grooved bullets.
Ozokerite Wax is another very good wax that comes in several different grades that have higher melting temperature and also most important for a black powder load is the absorption (or carrier of oils) is were this wax out performs B Wax. If your loads sit out in a truck when the temp gets up in the 90's or higher around the 130 degree mark in a truck sitting in the sun this wax will hold the mix in it from running and it hydrates using a blow tube.
Soy wax lube wads with nothing added for black powder loads with just a simple wax paper or butcher paper wad on the powder does a fine job keeping the fouling soft and no worry contaminating the powder. When that charge goes off with just a thin paper wad on the powder and the soy wax on it the heat from the powder and the pressure behind it does a very good job keeping the fouling soft.
For smokeless or black powder loads using GG bullets mix straight Vaseline with the Soy wax to the consistency you like, I like my lube on the soft side, works well for both powders. You can get a bulk bag of Soy for the price of a couple pounds of B-Wax. I got a 50 lb bag of Soy Wax on E-Bay for $52.
OZ wax is used for cosmetics and it comes at a high price but in my opinion there is nothing better for lube with the right witches brew mix.

[Eutectic45]

I have a tin of lanolin but have not tried it. I have tried it in other formulas and it works well. At close to 20$ a pound it is expensive. I may give it a trial, might not need much. Good idea!
I wanted to get the melting point above 125 F. Soy wax runs a little over 1$ a pound. Castor wax is high melting and ~5$ a pound, carnauba wax melts a bit higher but is more expensive. I made some soy/SBG/castor wax and the properties look promising but no firing tests as yet.