Felix Lube - the Short Version

[hotbrew]

Shouldn't that be 12 Tbsp of Ivory? Also, can this be recooked to add more Ivory without messing things up?

[EScott]

Finished my first batch of Felix lube the other day. I think it came out well, but I am getting lube buggers at 50 yards. I don't know if I should add more lanolin or oil/soap blend. Can the gurus here give me some advice?

[waksupi]

If a rifle boolit, lube fewer grooves.

[EScott]

waksupi,

Thank you,

It is a 45-70 with two lube grooves and a small space ahead of the gas check. I will try just one groove. The lube is about the same consistency as LBT blue. Even with the lube buggers the groups were half the size of my previous lube.

Scott

[waksupi]

waksupi,

Thank you,

It is a 45-70 with two lube grooves and a small space ahead of the gas check. I will try just one groove. The lube is about the same consistency as LBT blue. Even with the lube buggers the groups were half the size of my previous lube.

Scott

Thar ya go.

[billdean]

I hope to hear from someone on this thread..........I see it has been a while since anyone has posted.

I made the this lube today and used WILJEN DIRECTIONS FOR FWFL WITH STEARIC ACID + CARNAUBA INSTEAD OF SODIUM STEARATE:

It is my understanding one should not use STEARIC ACID when making this lube as it will rust anything that is metal................USE SODIUM STEARATE OR IVORY BAR SOAP INSTEAD

[Dale in Louisiana]

Wow! Seventeen pages on ONE lube formula.

Far be it from me not to add to a discussion.

Decided to make up a batch of Felix lube. Being an engineering type, I wanted ratios by weight, so I came up with a little spreadsheet:



A few caveats:

1. All the specific gravities are in the ranges turned up by Google search. You'll note that everything is close to 0.95. Makes that old saying, "a pint's a pound the world around" accurate enough to make bullet lube.

2. The Ivory soap is going to be a bit 'iffy'. From the factory, it has a standardized water content. After it's sat on the shelf, that water content changes. If you doubt this, unwrap a bar, weigh it on a good scale, then let it sit on the shelf for a while and re-weigh it. You'll see the loss of moisture in the weight reduction. By the way, I grated my soap on a microplane that makes it into almost a powder. How much of a powder? Believe me. You'll breathe the stuff.

3. The lanolin is based on 'anhydrous lanolin', not the raw stuff.

Now I think I'll go try the recipe.

dale in Louisiana

[BAGTIC]

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.


Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

[high standard 40]

I hope to hear from someone on this thread..........I see it has been a while since anyone has posted.

I made the this lube today and used WILJEN DIRECTIONS FOR FWFL WITH STEARIC ACID + CARNAUBA INSTEAD OF SODIUM STEARATE:

It is my understanding one should not use STEARIC ACID when making this lube as it will rust anything that is metal................USE SODIUM STEARATE OR IVORY BAR SOAP INSTEAD

I have not found this to be the case, at least not for me. I made a batch of FWFL earlier this year and use it exclusively in two different 7mm handguns, a 357 Mag, and a 44 Mag. I have bores that shine like chrome and no sign of rust. My Lyman 450 does not show any sign of rust either. Is it possible that the PH of the other components renders the finished lube PH neutral?

Long story short, I have not experienced any rust using Stearic acid in my FWFL.

[geargnasher]

Mine corroded gas checks on stored boolits and left pitted rings inside of loaded cases after a few months. Also had a couple of bores get a light dusting of rust in them when set up for a while uncleaned, which is my usual practice to preserve bore season and had never been a problem with the origninal formula. When I cleaned out the sizer, the insides had turned black and blackened the lube slightly. The stuff won't rot your fingers off or anything, but it did cause enough concern that I will never use stearic acid in lube again unless reacted with some sort of metal hydroxide.

Gear

[prs]

I have only made it the way Felix described back on another, now defunct, forum quite a few years ago. Worked really well and had no problems with any corrosion even on lever action rifles being shot routinely without cleaning for weeks at a time. I have used steric acid in other lubes and saw no benefit at all in keeping the blend homongenous. However, I found that a better soap than Ivory (at least for me) is easily had. "Soap base" (glycerin or Castle) is a very strong natural bar soap sold in some soap making supply stores with the intent of being blended with whatever fats or oils the novice soap maker may want to make the soap "her/his own homemade product"; that is the active lye component is strong enough to soaprinzie fats and oils when blended in a melt. It works and makes a wonder BP lube when added to Emmerts type blends. Mine came from a company online called Gloribee.

prs

[Dale in Louisiana]

So I made a batch of Felix lube. I followed the recipe meticulously with the exception of adding a bit a candle colorant (from Hobby Lobby) because I wanted a bit of contrast when I lubed and sized.

Since none of my lube-sizers were empty when I finished making the batch, I poured it into c couple of clean Rotel tomato cans and put it on the shelf in an air-conditioned room.

Today I needed to add some lube to one of my sizers. I put one of the cans in a pot of water to gently heat it.

THE STUFF NEVER MELTED. Not at 212 degrees F. It turned slushy and thick and I finally got it to where it would pour, so my Lyman 450 got a load added, but I was surprised by the failure to completely liquify.

Just wondering if anybody else noticed this.

dale in Louisiana

[high standard 40]

This is a followup question on post number 326 and my earlier response to it. Specifically as to the use of Stearic Acid vs Sodium Stearate as it pertains to possible corrosiveness in our FWFL. Please understand that I have no intention of starting an argument here. I am NOT a chemist nor do I play one on TV. I am merely seeking knowledge and understanding. So I did a search on the differences between Sodium Stearate and Stearic Acid and this is what I found. Sodium Stearate is a salt of Stearic acid. Now we all cringe at the idea of introducing an acid into a lube we use in our prized firearms because of a fear of causing damaging rust. Would we not also be cautious of instead using a salt for the same reason?

Again, I don't know the answer, I'm seeking it.

[geargnasher]

Sodium stearate, as with all the metallic salts such as lithium, calcium, aluminum, barium, antimony, zinc, lead, etc., can be used to gel oils for the purpose of making lubricating grease. A "salt" is what's left over after an acid/base reaction, such as vinegar and baking soda, or sodium hydroxide (caustic lye) and stearic acid (one of the triglycerides found in animal and vegetable fat, principally beef tallow and castor oil). These salts aren't corrosive like table salt, although some of them are prone to absorb moisture.

The problem with stearic acid in lube seems to be that it affects the final pH. Since there isn't much else in the lube with which the stearic acid can react, the acid is still there in the finished lube where it can react with metal ions in steel, iron, copper, and even lead. This is what I believe causes the rust and corrosion that I've observed.

Gear

[high standard 40]

Thanks for the reply Gear, and I have just one additional question. Again this comes from a desire to understand the dynamics involved here.

When I was reading up on the information I was able to find online, one of the industrial uses I found for Stearic Acid is that it is used in the fireworks industry as a coating for aluminum and iron powders to prevent corrosion. This of course I find confusing.

"Inquiring minds want to know"

[high standard 40]

Stearic Acid in Felix lube........Update.

It was mentioned in this thread that some people have experienced issues with rust and corrosion in lubrisizers and firearms when using Felix lube made with Stearic acid in the place of Ivory soap. Of course this caused me some concern because I made a large batch using stearic acid. As I mentioned, I have not observed any issues (as of yet) with rust or corrosion, but I was still concerned it could be a future problem. So I started a test. I took a piece of 1/8" X 3/4" steel flat bar about 4" long and roughed up the surface with a 120 grit belt sander till I had a bare surface. I heated the bar to about 150 degrees and then applied some of my Felix lube (w/stearic acid) to a 1" section of the bar. To the other end of the bar I placed pure stearic acid. Ten days ago I placed the sample in my workshop, which is not climated controlled and have been checking it every day. During this time, the humidity has been about 60%. The bar is still bright and shiny with no sign of rust. I plan to leave the sample in it's current location long term and will continue to monitor it, but so far, no problems with rust.

[geargnasher]

Test it on copper and polished brass, 3-6 months.

Gear

[waksupi]

Test it on copper and polished brass, 3-6 months.

Gear

Carry loaded cartridges in a leather gun belt for the same period, and see how they look!

[high standard 40]

Test it on copper and polished brass, 3-6 months.

Gear

That's a good idea. I will add that to the test today.

[high standard 40]

That's a good idea. I will add that to the test today.

This is to update my test results regarding the use of stearic acid in FWFL (mentioned in post #336 in this tread) to address my concerns that the acid may cause rust or corrosion in my firearms,ammunition, or loading equipment.

It has now been 7 weeks since I first started the test using steel as a test medium. There is no sign of rust on the test sample yet. It is important to note that not only has the sample been subjected to FWFW made using stearic acid, I have also subjected it to "Pure" stearic acid for the same period of time with the same result. No rust or even any discoloration. On Sept 19th I added a polished cartridge case and a copper Hornady gascheck to the test, again with FWFL and "pure" stearic acid. To date, there is no sign of corrosion on these samples either. I plan to let this test run for at least a year and I'll update from time to time.