Crayola Lubes

[bruce drake]

Has anyone ever used boolit lubes made with crayons? I overheard a couple of old-timers talking about it on the range I was visiting but I didn't hear any specific recipes.

I went home and thought about and raided my son's crayon box for all his busted up crayons (I replaced them with a new 48 pack) and melted them down in a campbells soup can placed in a larger soup can filled with water (cheap double boiler without ticking off the missus if I screwed up one of her good pots). A full can of crayons melted down to fill half the can and I then put a tube of Bore Butter and a good sized squeeze of Lee Liquid Alox into the soup can (I figured if I added a good muzzleloading lube and the Liquid Alox it would offset the straight crayons hardness when it cooled.)

It melted and congealed into to a dirt brown color and I have just took it out of the freezer and warmed it up and poured it over some bullets (10) upto their driving bands and once it cools I'll punch them out with an oversized cartridge case ( I cut the head of the case off already) and prepare them for loading in one of my rifles.

My questions to the Expurts on our board is: Will this be a good lube or was I just screwing around on the bad advice of a couple of greybeards? :smile:

Thanks in advance,
Bruce

[Wayne Smith]

I'm not an expert, but it should be good at least for up to about 1200 fps. Over this it may work, depending on how much Alox is in it. Over that you may run out and not get a lube star, with maybe a little lead in the barrel. It might work with a gas check over 1200 fps.

You'll never know until they go out the barrel! Let us know how it works.

[carpetman]

Bruce Drake---that stuff will look like ear wax---you mean you would shoot something not looking like it was designed by Calvin Klein?

[buck1]

Has anyone ever used boolit lubes made with crayons? I overheard a couple of old-timers talking about it on the range I was visiting but I didn't hear any specific recipes.

I went home and thought about and raided my son's crayon box for all his busted up crayons (I replaced them with a new 48 pack) and melted them down in a campbells soup can placed in a larger soup can filled with water (cheap double boiler without ticking off the missus if I screwed up one of her good pots). A full can of crayons melted down to fill half the can and I then put a tube of Bore Butter and a good sized squeeze of Lee Liquid Alox into the soup can (I figured if I added a good muzzleloading lube and the Liquid Alox it would offset the straight crayons hardness when it cooled.)

It melted and congealed into to a dirt brown color and I have just took it out of the freezer and warmed it up and poured it over some bullets (10) upto their driving bands and once it cools I'll punch them out with an oversized cartridge case ( I cut the head of the case off already) and prepare them for loading in one of my rifles.

My questions to the Expurts on our board is: Will this be a good lube or was I just screwing around on the bad advice of a couple of greybeards? :smile:

Thanks in advance,
Bruce


I am most surely no expert! But for what its worth.
I think almost any lube will handle low pressure loads. crayons are just paraffin anyway. you may want to look for lines in the lube. to make sure it stayed mixed. my .02 .....buck

[Buckshot]

..............Bruce, Bruce, BRUCE! You didn't really mix up the crayon colors didja? :-). You messed up the entire aesthetic appeal of your boolit lube. Now it looks like it could be just about any ole stuff. You went and wrecked what could have been uniquely your own special top secret lube.

Seriously I do beleive that most any combination of several common items will serve as a lube in low to moderate intensity loads. In the old days all bullet lubes were found in nature. Animal fats, oils and greases and plant waxes pretty well cover them. Only after the advent of smokless powder and it's attendant higher pressures did these old lubes fail.

I wouldn't normally add anything to a lube concoction I was mixing up that was normally in a liquid state at room tempurature. The reason is that I'd be afraid that it might not be compatable with other ingredients, and either wouldn't mix at all, or it would sweat or leak out of the mix eventually.

...............Buckshot

[bruce drake]

Well, I've punched them out of the lube cake and have loaded the 10 test bullets into some 7.62x54R primed cases (185gr Lee Gas Checked .312 with 12.5gr Red Dot) I had standing by. My work (office and home) schedule dictates testing will hopefully be done next weekend. I think I'll add some more crayons to the mix to stiffen it up. Right now it flows into the bullet bands but can be wiped out if I try. The LLA and Bore Butter does give a pinefresh smell to the lube though :)

Bruce

[bruce drake]

Well, I finally got to go to the range today and I shot my ten test rounds. After 10 rounds I checked the crown of the barrel and I was happy to see a lube star at the end. I guess I can use this lube for my lower velocity loads (1400-1500fps) because I always put gas checks on when I size them as well.

The big fight I will have with myself will be weaning off the Liquid Alox. I love the performance of the Liquid Alox but the look of a cast lead bullet with the lube in the bands is really nice and the worry about getting the tumble-lubed bullet dirty in my pocket while out in the field disappears with the pan lube.

Thanks everyone for the help and advice, it looks like I've got a ton of lube now and my sons better keep a close eye on thier Crayolas!

Bruce