This will probably seem like a real dumb question but I'll ask it anyway . . . .
For lube for my muzzleloading, I have always mixed the wax from one toilet bowl ring with 1 pound of Crisco . . . melted together in microwave, mix well and pour in to old musket cap tins - no muss, no fuss and NO MEASURING. This creates what I would call a "soft lube" - great for patching material, smearing over loaded BP revolver cylinders, minie ball bases, etc.
I am loading 38 spl. with BP - using a 358-311 160 grain cast boolit with one lube groove. I want to make a "stiffer" lube than what I've been using. So . . . .
I have looked at the various formulas . . . for example
50% natural beeswax
40% Crisco
10% Canola Oil
but . . . while it gives percentages . . . what are we talking about here? Are we talking weight or raw materials. I.E. 5 ounces of beeswax, 4 ounces of Crisco and 1 ounce of Canola Oil with the beeswax /Crisco / Canola Oil weighed in their normal form?
Or are we talking "liquid measurement"? I.E. 5 cups melted beeswax, 4 cups melted Crisco and 1 cup of Conola Oil?
I can melt the beeswax and Crisco in a double boiler - measure out in warm form and combine the three . . . .
Or . . . I can weigh out the beeswax and Crisco in solid form - then melt and combine the Canola Oil with it.
What is the correct way to mixing the lube up? Will doing it by weight as opposed to liquid measurement make a big difference in the "consistency" of the lube? Will one way over the other make the final concoction more "soft" rather than "stiffer"?
I know everyone has their own "favorite formula" so I have just use the beeswax, Crisco and Conola Oil as an example. I keep running across various "formulas" for BP cartridge lube but I've never seen in what form the components are measured out - by weight, by liquid measurement, etc.
Many thanks.