Home made bullet lube question - beeswax + vaseline

[mikeg1005]

So I have been reading around about homemade bullet lube.

Right now I lube cast bullets with carnbeau red(sp?) lube and I really like it. It produces very little smoke and doesn't lead.

I heard that a common lube used for pan lubing bullets is 2:1 beeswax + vaseline... I'd use carnbeau red but from my understand its very difficult to get out of containers and punch bullets out of if used for pan lubing.

The main goal I am trying to accomplish is making a lube that isn't smokey since I shoot IPSC and the worst thing is lots of smoke and sunlight.

It will be used for 200gr 45acp rounds using solo 1000 powder at around 830-840fps.

Is beeswax + vaseline smokey? And if it is what other non-smokey alternatives are there for home made stuff? I have heard to stay away form alox wax since it very smokey.

MIke.

[Moonie]

Felix lube is a good one to try:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=543

But honestly CR is hard to beat and for the price one can hardly make a good lube for what Lars sells it for.

[Char-Gar]

A couple of thoughts on the subject at hand:

1. I have been using beeswax/Vaseline lube for 50 years with complete satisfaction.

2. It smokes a little, but I have never given it any thought or concern, as it has never been a problem.

3. There is no such things as a "smokeless lube".

4. I don't engage in your pistol game, so I can't speak to your issue.

[Von Gruff]

As Charger says, the bees wax and vaseline works very well. I have used it for pan, dip, and lubrisizer lubing and with velocities from subsonic through to 2400fps+ with complete satisfaction. There are many lube recipies and most work but the simplicity and effectiveness of the bees wax/vaseline lube makes it a winner in my book.

Von Gruff

[geargnasher]

Like Chargar said, there is no such thing as a smokeless lube. There is also a lot more to preventing leading than using a good lube.

My two cents on your situation, especially if you shoot IPSC, is to buy a lubrisizer, either Lyman or RCBS. Even better, buy a Magma Engineering Star sizer if you can afford it and only shoot one or two calibers in quantity (dies are expensive and re-adjusting for another caliber can be a pain), that way you can keep using Carnauba Red (you'll need a heater with the sizer to do this) and never look back. Pan lubing for competition will get really old really fast. If you really want to keep pan lubingand need to keep the smoke down, try mixing White label BAC and Carnauba Red 50/50, and maybe adding a touch of lanolin for stickiness.

Gear

[mikeg1005]

I have a RCBS lubesizer... It just takes a while to get the lube to the right temp and if its too hot or too cool it SUCKS at filling the grooves.. but if I get it right I can crank them out at a decent speed.

I tried pan lubing today when I got back from class... have a tray sitting and cooling(I just used a small tupperware thing and a stick of carnuba red.... by the looks of it... I will not be doing this again... it just seems like it takes more time than lubesizing actually does haha... maybe if I do it on a much larger scale but IDK how well this wax will stick since its pretty hard.

MIke.

[geargnasher]

Put a 150-watt bulb in a high-wattage fixture and point it at your lubrisizer reservoir for about ten minutes. Turn it on again when the lube gets too cool to flow well. Much easier than fooling with pans for quantity lubing.

gear

[Rangefinder]

Gear has the right idea if you're going that route. ME? I'm a lazy twit anymore. I went to tumble lubing a while back with push-through sizers. My lyman 450 has been a great dust-magnet ever since. LLA cut with mineral spirits or JPW blend runs everything I'm shooting, from low pressure pistols to rifles in the 2K fps range.

I have heard to stay away form alox wax since it very smokey.

Not really bad at all. I'd say if someone is getting a lot of smoke with alox or any tumble-lube for that matter, look at a few of their lubed bullets. I'm betting they have enough lube on one bullet to effectively lube five. A little bit goes a looooong way with this stuff. After using traditional lubes, it's kinda tough to get a person's head wrapped around that notion--myself included. You DON'T need to fill the grooves flush with this stuff--just a very light coating will do it, especially with handguns and short barrel travel.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

so with the Vaseline and beeswax it is 2:1 beeswax/Vaseline? does it hold in the grooves well, and are there any recommended additives? thanks, Travis

[w5pv]

I have used Ben's Red for thousands of rounds fired with no leading

[Oklahoma Rebel]

crickets chirping.........

[DerekP Houston]

crickets chirping.........

The original post you asked on was from 2010...most people have probably moved on from this .

"11-16-2010, 01:33 AM"

[Cowboy_Dan]

OK Kid,

Not sure about the ratio unless it is mentioned above, but I would think more beeswax than Vaseline. As far as additives, beeswax will make it harder and a little tackier, Vaseline will make it softer. If you have problems with it sticking in the grooves, add a little lanolin from the maternity section. They sell it as a soothing cream for nursing mothers.

[GhostHawk]

Ben's Liquid Lube. Period.

And I am with Rangefinder, probably over lubing them if they are smokey.

[35 shooter]

Ben's Liquid Lube. Period.

And I am with Rangefinder, probably over lubing them if they are smokey.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

im not to fond of liquid lubes, just don't trust them to have enough lube to do the job,. I know technically if you do it right they work great, I dunno, its a mental thing, and also I like the older way of doing things and I don't think they were using lla 100 years ago

[Oklahoma Rebel]

yup, I'm weird

[barrabruce]

I use 50/50 bees wax/vasalene.
In rifle loads for plain base bullets.
I dip lube and place on a sheet of grease proof paper to harden.
Great for tapered moulds.
No nothing about pistols thou.
Won't hurt you and you have now made lip balm.

[blikseme300]

My opinion, for what it's worth, is that for volume pistol cast shooting you need to bite the bullet, pun intended, and buy a Star. Nothing beats these units in terms of production no matter the lube mix you prefer or use. My further opinion is that if smoke bothers you then you need to shoot where there is better ventilation.

[Pipefitter]

I dont know about using this mixture for bullit lube, but it does make an excellent waterproofer for leather coats and boots. Slather it on and then warm it with a hairdryer until it melts, then buff with a rag to remove excess.