will this work?

[sergeant69]

been reading some of the stickys about making lube and am not sure i am ready to go to all that trouble yet. so....i have some of the hard stuff magma sells but its a little too hard. i also have some of the WHITE LABEL BAC orange stuff, which is a litlle too soft. can i mix the 2 like 75/25? in an old pan over the b-b-q pit. and pour it straight into my star sizer w/the air assist? yes i have the heater too. better ideas? thanks

[btroj]

Only one way to know for sure.
Should be fine for most applications.

[geargnasher]

Do it to it. I'd be inclined to go more like 50/50, or maybe a little heavier on the BAC depending on what I was shooting. You don't say too hard/soft for WHAT exactly, so specific advice is impossible.

Gear

[runfiverun]

they'll mix....
i'd work to harden the bac a little at a time.
1/4 stick of the magma will harden a b-wax based lube quite a bit..
b.a.c. is on the hard side of where i run my lubes.

[geargnasher]

Yeah, some of us are working with some really soft lubes compared to what most folks think is necessary. Opinions based on lots of shooting even in drastically different climates tend to lean toward softer compositions, provided measures are taken to keep the melt point fairly high.

Gear

[sergeant69]

ok, heres the deal lucille. am lubing 44 mag and 45acp, 20 lbs WW w/about one lb pure lead mix. or there abouts on the lead. running em thru a star, w/a heater and air assist. the magma stuff works ok if i turn up the heat almost to runny and run 80 lbs pressure, on the 45s. the 44 is the Devestator and the 45 is the lee 6 banger 200 gr BB truncated nose. the BAC fills in about 3/4 of the groove if heated and always goes on "runny". the magma fills in better w/ sometimes pinhoes along the lube groove. its a balancing act between too much heat and lube on the nose or up the pressure, back off the heat, and a clean nose. so, the magma works better but i have concerns it is too hard to lube a bbl. properly. i was told, but don't know really, that it is made for commercial casters to keep the lube in place during shipment. i am not a casting/lubing guru like you guys ( not being funny) just cast and shoot a few thou rds a year for fun/hunting, so lube making is a bit much. but i was looking in my favorite woodworking catalog and see they sell beeswax and carnabua so.................who knows. you got suggestions i'm open. thanks gear.....was at the lease in castroville recently, still too hot.

[geargnasher]

You can make either lube work fine with heat/pressure adjustments, provided your boolits are big enough to seal in the die. If your boolit's front bands are smaller than the die, or out of round, or the depth adjustment isn't just right, or if you have extra, un-plugged holes in the Star die below the lube groove, you can get lube on the noses. Just some things to check, it may be a little more the Indian than the arrow in this instance ;)

Incidentally, either lube would be fine by itself for what you're shooting, or mixed in just about any proportion. If you want GOOD beeswax, filtered to a nice, bright yellow but not bleached/refined into submission or scorched, member RANDYRAT is your man. His stuff is very affordable, too, like 4-5 bucks a pound, and you can buy a little or a lot. He sells carnauba wax as well and is a first-class businessman (shameless plug from a long-time, multi-repeat customer). Buying lube from White Label in the flavor you like would be a good choice, too, if you don't want to make it.

Gear

[cbrick]

can i mix the 2 like 75/25? in an old pan over the b-b-q pit.

You've been given good advice on the lubes. Here's another tip for you. You don't need the BBQ pit to melt lube, very low heat on the stove or on a hot plate. Go slow & easy & stir as it melts, it's very easy to scorch beeswax & very little heat is actually needed.

Rick

[sergeant69]

cool. thanks.
if i melt lube in the house won't it smoke/smell? i stay in the dog house enough by myself w/out any help!

[cbrick]

Keep the heat down, if you get it smoking it's too hot and yes, you will stink up the house.

If your worried about the fluttering and gas that you mentioned in the other thread get a cheapie hot plate & do it outside. Keep the heat down, you only need just barely enough to get the lube melting & that don't take much. I use a little thermometer when melting lube and keep it under about 150 degrees to save the beeswax.

Rick

[sergeant69]

i have an old propane pit i use occassionally. was thinking of that. but a cheapie plate would work too.

[Larry Gibson]

I'd use a souble boiler over an electric stove in lieu of the BBQ pit. A small sauce pan with water in it and a Pyrex measuring cup with the handle over the pan edge to melt the "mix" in works for me. Once melted and mixed you can easily pour the mix intothe luber as the Pyrex has a good pour spout on it. Much less fire danger that way also.

Larry Gibson

[sergeant69]

ok. but whats a "souble boiler"? did u mean a double boiler?

[sergeant69]

Keep the heat down, if you get it smoking it's too hot and yes, you will stink up the house.

If your worried about the fluttering and gas that you mentioned in the other thread get a cheapie hot plate & do it outside. Keep the heat down, you only need just barely enough to get the lube melting & that don't take much. I use a little thermometer when melting lube and keep it under about 150 degrees to save the beeswax.

Rick

the fluttering and gas is gonna happen, whether inside, outside, or both. and does!!

[fcvan]

When I was making my own loob last year, I heated a 1 lb coffee can in a pan of water, stirring once things began to liquefy. I poured directly into the Lyman 450 - and here's the trick. I cut the top off a 16 oz soda bottle to make a funnel. The cap portion of the top fits snugly into the lube sizer. I poured until the loob was flush with the top of the sizer. As the loob cooled it shrank into the sizer body to where the pressure nut would fit into the sizer body. This helped keep things from being messy.

[454PB]

I use an spare (replaced with a fancier) microwave oven to melt my lube. It melts quick, so I keep an eye on it all the time it's running.

[cbrick]

Much less fire danger that way also. Larry Gibson

Good point, there would be much fluttering & gas if you burn the house down. :mrgreen:

Those pesky souble boilers are tough to find. Yes, double boiler :mrgreen:

Rick

[**oneshot**]

I mix BAC and Carnuba red in a 3 to 1 mix. Hardens it and makes BAC less sticky.

[runfiverun]

this should help with the runny issue.

turn the heater on and let it cycle on/off three- four times to let the entire lube column/and body of the machine heat up.
with the lubes you mention and a couple of others the lower area will heat up and try to flow lube but the air assist can't help you because it isn't moving the lube.
you really only need 40 psi for magma lube [and bout 120-f]
the carnuba will do better at 55-60 psi and and about 105-f temp

[sergeant69]

dam, i'm gonna try that. thanks!