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Thread: Home-made 50/50

  1. #1
    Boolit Master



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    Home-made 50/50

    I would like to try making my own loob. I have some beeswax, and some Alox of some sort. Mixing 50/50, is this by weight, or by volume?
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  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    I always measured mine by melted liquid volume.
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  3. #3
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    50 / 50 , 1 lb. - 1 lb. , 1 cup - 1 cup , 5 lbs. - 5 lbs. , 1 cubic yard - 1 cubic yard
    ...aren't they all 50 - 50 mixes ?
    Equal amounts , regardless of the measure would still be 50-50 ...or am I looking at it to easily?
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  4. #4
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    I have gone by melted volume for beeswax and Crisco. Liquid volume for Alox and floor wax mixes too. Can be done with two measured marks one as "full" and one 1/2 way to full on a container. Squirt bottle or can vegetables came in. I just mark "full" and mark 1/2 full. Fill the bottom half full first with one ingredient, then the top half second

    I'm not sure if weight and liquid volume would work out the same. You would think, enough so that I wouldn't think to cast aspersions on anyone that claimed it was true. Both measures have to be in the same units to get equal amounts. Can't weigh one and use a measuring cup on the other. The old a pints a pound the world around applies to water, not other liquids. Such as melted wax or solvents.
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  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master Bazoo's Avatar
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    Weight and volume are not the same thing. A pound of lead chips takes up a lot less room than a pound of tumbling media. But with wax and alox, I spect it would be close to the same.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    I have alway used a kitchen weigh scale and measured in grams because it was easier that way.
    Whether it’s a solid or liquid I measured all ingredients in grams and treated each ingredient as having the same specific gravity because there so close.
    Last edited by greenjoytj; 02-20-2020 at 06:58 AM.

  7. #7
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    "Alox of some sort" does not indicate it will make a suitable lubricant. The original Alox was 2138F and there is a wide variety of compounds called Alox.
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  8. #8
    Boolit Buddy hockeynick39's Avatar
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    I use 1 lb beeswax and 1 lb high pressure NGLI. Works for all my boolits up to 2200 fps.

  9. #9
    Boolit Grand Master
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    ? NGLI = lithium grease ?

  10. #10
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    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NLGI_consistency_number

    Knowing the type and weight of the grease used is required to complete the lube recipe.

  11. #11
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Here are the instructions for a Beeswax-Lithium Grease lube given to me by commercial lube maker Garth Choate ...

    "It's a 3 part wax 1 part grease ratio . When we made it we used 24 pounds of beeswax and 8 pounds of lithium grease.
    Melt the beeswax first and then add the grease and heat very slowly or the beeswax will start burning and it is hard to put out. Do it outside and have a couple of fire extinguishers handy .
    Thanks , Garth Choate "

    This mixture was measured by weight in pounds and makes a lube that doesn't weep or break down over time . I'm using some made in 1978.
    Garth told me the Lithium beeswax lube was better than the new reformulated alox beeswax lube.
    The new Alox just wasn't the same as the older version and he believed the lithium beeswax to be better.

    Lucas Red - N - Tacky is the lithium grease I have used with success .
    Gary
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  12. #12
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    I would suggest that the OP listen to stubshaft and gwpercle. There are/were several types of Alox. The most prevalent one was identified as Alox 606-55 or some other dash # indicating solvent cut. This was only used as tumble lube to my knowledge.

    The previous post gives a recipe that sounds very good. Also somewhere on this board is a recipe for a similar lube named Ben's Red.

    If you have beeswax the usual Alox used today is Alox 350 plus a small amount of microwax. This approximates the old NRA lube usually referred to as 50/50 which specified Alox 2138f. This would be used in lube sizers.

    This is the full extent of my knowledge of lubes and when I deviate it doesn't always work.
    John
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  13. #13
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    Adding links to a couple of short old threads discussing Alox lubes:

    https://tinyurl.com/rhsf2vm

    https://tinyurl.com/r6bn245
    John
    W.TN

  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master Bazoo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gwpercle View Post
    Here are the instructions for a Beeswax-Lithium Grease lube given to me by commercial lube maker Garth Choate ...

    "It's a 3 part wax 1 part grease ratio . When we made it we used 24 pounds of beeswax and 8 pounds of lithium grease.
    Melt the beeswax first and then add the grease and heat very slowly or the beeswax will start burning and it is hard to put out. Do it outside and have a couple of fire extinguishers handy .
    Thanks , Garth Choate "

    This mixture was measured by weight in pounds and makes a lube that doesn't weep or break down over time . I'm using some made in 1978.
    Garth told me the Lithium beeswax lube was better than the new reformulated alox beeswax lube.
    The new Alox just wasn't the same as the older version and he believed the lithium beeswax to be better.

    Lucas Red - N - Tacky is the lithium grease I have used with success .
    Gary
    I'm interested in what your experiences are. Particularly what velocity / pressure levels you've pushed in rifle.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master curioushooter's Avatar
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    Not sure by what you mean by 50/50 lube. If you are referring to Glen Fryxel's 50/50 moly-bee it is BY WEIGHT, not by volume.

    It is 50% Sta-Lube Moly-Graph Grease (a lithium grease fortified with molybdenum disulfide and graphite) and 50% beeswax.

    It is an effective lube for all handguns I have tried (though I never shoot low powered "target loads") it in and flows in a room temp (well if you room temp is like 70 degrees) lube-a-matic II. It works from temps in the single digits to the 90s. I've never tried it in rifles.

    It is dirty and smokey and stinky lube and it is the sort of lube you must leave in the barrel after use. It is therefore not the lube for fussy people that like clean guns and keep all their guns clean when not being used. It is also somewhat creepy and hot ammo will allow some migration of the lube. I can definitely smell it afield (after it is shot) and if you are a person who cares about how you smell afield it is not a good lube for hunting if you plan on taking multiple shots.

    I've made Felix Lube and it is strictly a rifle lube IMO. Way too stiff and requires heat to flow. It also has allowed leading in some loads that was not allowed by 50/50 or by Carnuba Blue which is my favorite lube. It also leaves a lot of lubricant residue behind and would be a definite no-go for a gas-powered semi-auto.

    Carnuba Blue has worked as well as anything I've tried, does not migrate in heat, smells nice and has no strong post-firing odor, flows in a slightly warmed Luba-A-Matic (with a hair dryer), works in rifles and handguns, doesn't wreck your kitchen or any cooking pots and pans, has not allowed leading in any working load I have. It is very sticky. It works from temps in the teens to the 90s. It costs as much to buy as it would to cook up any other beeswax based lube (like Felix lube). I get the blocks because they are cheaper and just melt it in a small metal can and pour into my Lube-A-Matic.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by curioushooter View Post
    Not sure by what you mean by 50/50 lube. If you are referring to Glen Fryxel's 50/50 moly-bee it is BY WEIGHT, not by volume.
    If you picked 50/50 from my post above, I was referring to the NRA lube consisting of 50% Alox and 50% beeswax.

    Quote from post #12: "If you have beeswax the usual Alox used today is Alox 350 plus a small amount of microwax. This approximates the old NRA lube usually referred to as 50/50 which specified Alox 2138f. This would be used in lube sizers."
    John
    W.TN

  17. #17
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bazoo View Post
    I'm interested in what your experiences are. Particularly what velocity / pressure levels you've pushed in rifle.
    Mainly handgun , 32 acp , 38 S&W , 9mm Luger , 38 special , 357 magnum , 41 magnum , 45 acp
    all with light target and standard velocity , 750 to 900 fps usually plain base boolits .

    9mm Luger , 357 and 41 magnum at 1000 to 1200 fps , usually with gas check boolits .

    30-30 , 303 British and 7.5 Swiss at 1200 to 1600 fps with gas checked boolits .

    The simple Lithi-Bee lube has not shown any leading at these velocities , alloy is air cooled , COWW (rifle) and COWW and scrap lead 50/50 (handgun) . I have used other lubes over the years but keep coming back to the Lithi-Bee because it works . Also I prefer a soft lube which it is .
    I don't know what the pressures of these loads are .
    Gary
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  18. #18
    Boolit Master curioushooter's Avatar
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    over the years but keep coming back to the Lithi-Bee because it works
    Glen's moly-bee is basically Lithi-Bee + moly and graphite. It's basically an improvement over traditional lithi-bee. Sta-lube moly-graph is a lithium complex grease.

    In general lithium greases are all going to dirty and stinky. Calcium lubes are worse in this regard supposedly. Felix Lube is basically a sodium grease - beeswax lube with some other stuff added (castor oil, mineral oil, lanolin, carnuba wax). I have my doubts about the castor oil and mineral oil doing anything. There is so little of it compared to the beeswax that is is maybe or or two percent of the mass. The lanolin makes it sticky (and expensive).

    I am highly confident that Carnuba blue is beeswax based. It smells like it and has the properties of a beeswax base. Though it may have other waxes besides Carnuba to make it cheaper. Whatever it is, it works well.

    I don't see any reason to use Alox based lubes. Alox is not something you can make at home. So you might as well buy your lube pre-made. The bases of quality lubes are expensive (beeswax or microwaxes), so you save very little by making it yourself. I've done it, mostly because I keep bees and cattle (so I have an anbundance of beeswax and tallow which is how you can make sodium stearate to make Felix lube), but is seems hardly worth it.

  19. #19
    Boolit Grand Master Good Cheer's Avatar
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    I'm sold on LOOB (lanolin-olive oil*-beeswax in various proportions) with the occasional adjunct when I want to try pushing the envelope.


    *Peanut and other oils can work well but the acronyms aren't as cool as the original formula!

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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
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