Alox ?

[gwpercle]

Because of the changes in alox formulation you might want to try a lithium beeswax lube that was sold by Garth Choate : 3 parts yellow beeswax to 1 part lithium grease . Garth measured the ingredients in pounds...he said they used 24 pounds of beeswax and 8 pounds of lithium grease...I reccomend cutting this recipe back just a bit .
He said that it was actually a better boolit lube . This is a soft lube and requires no heat .
If this mix is too soft add a little paraffin wax to harden the mix.
This is known as Lithi-Bee lube . It only has two ingredients .
I use Lucas Red-N-Tacky lithium grease but any similar brand would do .

I've used many many lubes over the last 50 years but this is still my favorite lube .

[gloob]

Dunno what is the different types of Alox, but the stuff that Lee sold as Liquid Alox (10 years ago, anyway) is far different than any wax or grease. When the solvent evaporates, it is very hard and tough. I had a bottle completely dry out, and the remaining solid is only about 1/6th the volume, maybe, of what it starts with. It dries hard like a hockey puck. It has a little bit of elasticity to it, but it is not malleable/bendable like wax. E.g., if you push a fingernail into wax, you leave a permanent mark; if you do that to solid Alox, you can leave only a little dent that will slowly disappear. It will bend a bit before it breaks, but breaking even a thin piece is not easy. It is very tough and has to be almost torn apart more than snapped in two. And it is very dense/heavy. I imagine a solid piece could be molded into a very durable and effective club or soft mallet.

[alamogunr]

Here are some of the details, taken from White Label Lubes website, re; making a sorta substitute for "real" Alox 2138F. Micro-crystalline waxes are harder waxes, Carnauba comes to mind as does (IIRC) Paraffin. The 6-7% is by weight as is the 50-50 ratio of Alox to Beeswax.

"Alox 350 has the consistency of a light grease.
This is not a tumble lube. It can not be made into a tumble lube.

The traditional NRA forumula for 50-50 lube Is 50% BeesWax and 50% Alox 2138F.
Alox 2138F is no longer made. Alox 350 is the current replacement.
Alox 350 can be mixed with 6-7% Micro Wax to get an approximation of Alox 2138F.
Your mix of of Alox 350 and micro wax can now be mixed with 50% Beeswax to make 50-50 lube."

That is about as accurate a recipe as you will find. I corresponded with Molly(Ken Mollohan) 2-3 years before he passed away and he gave me a similar recipe. As a humorous aside, he recommended that I contact one of the makers of micro wax and express an interest and see if they would send me a sample. Sure enough, one of them sent me a gallon bucket full of little opaque beads along with a data sheet.

He didn't know me from Adam but took the time to answer questions and provide help. He is missed.

Anyone reading this thread, don't go and buy a 5 gallon bucket of Alox 350. It will make enough lube to supply a dozen active shooters/casters for their lifetimes. You don't have to ask how I know.

[MN91311]

Because of the changes in alox formulation you might want to try a lithium beeswax lube that was sold by Garth Choate : 3 parts yellow beeswax to 1 part lithium grease . Garth measured the ingredients in pounds...he said they used 24 pounds of beeswax and 8 pounds of lithium grease...I reccomend cutting this recipe back just a bit .
He said that it was actually a better boolit lube . This is a soft lube and requires no heat .
If this mix is too soft add a little paraffin wax to harden the mix.
This is known as Lithi-Bee lube . It only has two ingredients .
I use Lucas Red-N-Tacky lithium grease but any similar brand would do .

I've used many many lubes over the last 50 years but this is still my favorite lube .

.................................................. ..

I have a small boxful of 2 or 3 different stick lube mixes I think were from him. From back in the days before the internet, early 1970's. I think I saw an ad of his in a shooting magazine. I will dig it out and see.
...50/50 beeswax/Alox 2138F (brown)
...beeswax/lithium
...Maybe another I cannot remember.
Only used one or two out of a box of 10-15.
One of them was red.
I am getting back into cast bullets again. I wonder if the lubes are any good. Maybe hardened surfaces ? Melt it and pour into my 450 ? Back then it was the real original 2138F, not 350 or whatever. Any suggestions ?

[RED BEAR]

I use the lee alox only because i have a good amount of it from all the lee sizers.

[Alstep]

What is Micro Wax, and where can it be purchased?

I've heard that alox was used as automotive rust proofing. I've got some "Russfree" left over from many years ago. The solvent has mostly evaporated from it, and what's left is a light colored grease. Just wondering if it's alox? I tried calling the company to get some info on it, but they're out of business. Can't find any info on line either. Anybody here got a clue?

[alamogunr]

When Alox was in business, before they sold out to Lubrizol, I think they manufactured Alox 606-55 and Alox 606-70. The numbers after the dash refer to the solvent cut. There may have been more but these are the only two I know about. I don't know if Lubrizol still makes either one. As I posted earlier in this thread, I bought a 5 gallon bucket of Alox 606-55 over 13 years ago. I'm probably stuck with it since it probably takes special licensing to ship.

What little information I've soaked up over the years indicates that any 606 based material is not optimum for mixing with beeswax for lube. If thinned substantially more it can be used as a tumble lube. There are recipe's that use it together with various waxes and solvents to make tumble lube. I've tried several of them and found them very good lubes and also quick drying(relatively).